Mission Made For Two (16 page)

As soon as he handed over the pesos necessary
, she stuck the
cap in
the back pack
to put on when they arrived at the airport.

Sierra led the way back to the bike.  She and Jake both grabbed their helmets. 

“You’re not fooling me, you know,” Jake said as
he strapped
h
is helmet in place.  “You’re as white as a sheet and look like you’re about to topple over.”

Sierra pulled her own helmet on, wit
hout meeting his gaze. “But I haven’t yet, have I?” she asked
and straddled the
b
ike.

Jake shook his head and settled in front of her.  “You are one stubborn woman,” he muttered.

Sierra wrapped her arms around his hard abdomen as he cranked the bike and took off.  She couldn’t deny his words.  Stubbornness was what had gotten her through most of her life. 

Stubbornness had kept her from being victimized by some of the low lives she’d encountered during her youth.  Stubbornness had forced her to study hard and finish high school, so she could join the military.  Of
course, she preferred to think of it as determination. 

And one thing she was determined to do was
prove to Jake he didn’t have to worry about her so much and
stop Diaz.  
   
 

Unease tickled the back of Jake’s neck as he and Sierra walked through the airport.  Thirty more minutes.  That’s all they n
eeded before they were
on a flight back to the States. 

Sierra walked beside him, her shoulders squared, her steps steady.
 
He wondered how much strength
her performance cost.  Worry gnawed his gut. 

Regardless of what she said, she needed medical attention.  She’d been lucky enough the bullet hadn’t done more damage than it had. 
Without a
ntibiotics
an
infection could cause as many problems
.

Jake laid a hand on Sierra’s arm to halt them at t
he arrival and departure board, not missing how warm her skin felt.  But there was nothing to be done at the moment.

He scanned the lighted screen.  “Shit!  The flight’s delayed.”

Immediately, he gazed around, noting the other traveler’s moving past them, looking for anything that seemed out of place.  His na
pe still tingled.

“Only another thi
rty minutes,” Sierra said.

A man standing beside a water fo
untain directly across from them
caught Jake’s eye.
  He looked like any other tourist,
a
baggy tee shirt, baggy shorts,
stra
w hat, e
xcept for the slight bulge at hi
s side and the way he looked at
Sierra. 

Her hair was covered, but she had the kind of build that stood out.  Tall and athletic, and the angles of her face without any sort of disguise were quite memorable.

Jake wrapped his hand ar
ound her upper arm and pointed to the board as if talking to her about the departure times
.  “There’s a man beside the water fountain. I’m pretty sure he’s one of Diaz’s men.”

Sierra, being the professional
she was, didn’t even flinch, nor turn to look at the man.  She nodded.  “There’s another one to our right.
Standing by the men’s restroom.
 
Has on a green flowered shirt.
  Good bet that bulge at his side isn’t his love handles.
  Do you think they’ve made me?”

“Good chance.  We’re going to turn and walk toward the coffee sho
p.  There’s no way Diaz
will
let us get on that plane
.”

Sierra nodded and they turned.

“Are you going to be all right if we have to make a run?”

“Don’t worry about me, Harding.  I’ll keep up.”

Jake glanced at the set of her mouth.  His worry
for her
mixed with admiration. 
He wasn’t sure her body could back up her claim, but he knew it wouldn’t be because she gave up.  Quit wasn’t in her vocabulary.

He kept his hand on her arm as they walked casually toward the small shop.  The man beside the water fountain
trailed
behind them.

“The other guy’s tailing
us too,” Sierra said. 

It was kind of spooky the way their minds worked in unison. 
Almost like they’d been partners for years.

“You’re
going to buy two cups of coffee and a pack of cigarettes.
  I’m going to make a quick call on my cell in the back. 
When we head for the front of the airport, they’ll think we’re just going outside for a smoke.”

“
Who are you calling?”

“A friend
.”

Sierra nodded.  “Okay, so after we h
ead to the front of the airport,
t
hen
what do you have in mind?”    
  

“
We’ll play it by ear.”

She chuckled.  “
And you say I don’t plan.
”

“The plan depends on the bad guys.
”
Jakes steered them into the shop.

Sierra didn’t hesitate, but walked to the counter and ordered two cups of coffee and a pack of cigarettes.
  Jake
moved behind a magazine rack and placed his call.  He got voice mail, but he left a quick message and prayed that if the time arose, their help would be waiting. He slipped his phone back into his backpack and
pocketed a book of matches
, then pulled out some pesos and handed them to the cashier.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw Straw Hat walk to the magazine rack across from the shop and concentrate on the array of titles.  Green shirt leaned against the wall on the other side.  Definitely tails.

With their coffee in hand, they headed
toward the front exits
.
  “Have you decided how to handle this yet?” Sierra asked casually as they neared
a wall of glass
doors. 

“With any luck we’ll catch a cab.” 

Jake
grasped
her arm as t
hey pushed out in
to the bright mid-morning sun.  The smell of car exhaust hung in the air from all the idling taxis waiting on a fair. 

“Looks like there are plenty…” Sierra began.  Out of nowhere a
man grabbed Sierr
a
and jerked her away.
  Her coffee cup hit the pavement.

Someone else rammed into Jake, making him stumble
the opposite direction
.
Damn it.  He’d been too focused on the men behind them. 

Jake spun
, taking down the man who’d shov
ed him with a
jab
to the man’s nose
. 
Straw Hat and Green Shirt h
ad
rushed
out on
to
the sidewalk
.  The man who’d accosted Sierra lay
on the ground holding his balls
.

Straw Hat
shoved against her
. 
Sierra grimaced
and
staggered. 

Jake
lunged at
Green Shirt
, who was reaching for his gun.  Going down on his hands, Jake
kicked
out
his leg in an arc.  His foot connected with Green Shirt’s ankles, sending the man toppling backwards.

That was just enough of a distraction for Straw Hat.  Sierra
kicked the man in the gut
,
then
landed a blow to his nose
with her palm
.
  He went to his knees.

Jake had
tuned out the others around them
.  Now he heard the gasps and yells for someone to call the police. 
English mixing with Spanish.
 

He didn’t waste time.
  Grabbing his pack off the ground
, he j
ump
ed
over Str
aw Hat, grasped
Sierra’s wrist and ran.
  The commotion had caused many of the cab drivers to move away from their cars to see what was going on.  No one wanted to ge
t involved
, but they were curious as hell.

Finding an empty cab, the driver’s door standing open, he pushed Sierra
and his bag
across the front seat and climbed behind the wheel. 

The cabbie had even been nice enough to leave the engine running.
  He heard the cab driver yell
and curse
as h
e shifted it into gear
and pulled away from the curb.
Their attacker
s were running down the sidewalk. 

Sierra, who hadn’t said a word, chuckled.  “When you said catch a cab, you meant it.”

“Do you ever take anything seriously?”

“Sure,” she quipped and turned to look out the back glass.  “I’m pretty seriously pissed at Diaz. 
And looks like we have company.”

Jake wasn’t surprised.  He glanced in the rearview mirror.  Diaz’s men had commandeered
their own cab.  Jake could only go so fast until they
got away fro
m the airport. 
 

As soon as he pulled out onto the street, he gunned it.  A bullet tinged off the trunk. 

“Damn it,” Sierra said. “I wish I had a gun.  I could take out their tire.”

“We’ll have to rely on good old
evasion tactics.  And for God’s Sake
, stay down.
”

“Yes, dear,” she said and sidled a little lower in the seat.

Sierra kept her gaze on the car behind them.
  That was the only thing keeping her from focusing on her side, which
burned like a son of a bitch.  She was pretty sure
, she’d ripped some stitches.  On top of that, her entire body ached as if she had the flu. 

Another bullet
pinged
the side of the car.
  Sierra flinched involuntarily.

“Put your seat belt on,” Jake snapped and pulled his across his lap.  Sierra did as instructed, knowing that things w
ere about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Two more bullets hit the car
, one cracking the back windshield.  “Hang on,”
Jake said as he whipped the cab
around in the road. 

Tires squealed as two cars slammed on
brakes to avoid them.  He floored
it and they shot down the opposite side
, past their pursuers.  Diaz’s men copied their maneuver, only not as smoothly.  They sideswiped a parked car, tearing off one of the side mirrors.

Jake hung a hard right down the next street.  The tires on the right side left the ground a few inches,
then
bounced onto the pavement. 

The jolt didn’t do her body any good, but Sierra kept her teeth clenched together to keep from groaning.  Jake didn’t slow, doing at least sixty down the narrow street. A car blew its horn as he took a left right in front of it.

He hung another hard right, then another
. Sierra had no idea where they
were. 

She glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t see them.”

Jake nodded, his hands clenched hard around the steering wheel.

He took another turn, this one left and they ended up on a wider
two lane
road. 
T
hey were heading away from downtown.  “What now?” she asked and removed her seatbelt. 

“
We find another way home.”

Sierra pulled her shirt up to exam her side.

The words Jake uttered alerted her to the fact he clearly wasn’t concentrating on his driving.

“Ho
pe you still have the first aid
kit in your bag,” she said calmly.  “Looks like I wrecked your handiwork.”

Jake focused his gaze back to the road.  “I knew you weren’t up to traveling.”

Sierra sighed.  What the hell else did she have to do to prove to him that she wasn’t some weak, feeble female? She was as tough an agent as him.  “You know, I’m
getting pretty tired of your entire caveman attitude.  What is your problem, Harding? I’ve more than proven myself.  And have you forgotten that not that long ago, you could barely walk
a
fter getting the shit beat out of you by Diaz and his men?”