Phoenix Inheritance (16 page)

“He knows his owner is down there. Sirius wants to go back to him and complete the mission. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep him quiet.” She scratched his ears. “It's okay, boy, we're figuring out the best way to help him.” She sighed. “What will the guards do to the passengers once they have all the supplies loaded from the plane?”

Daz took a while to answer. “I'm not sure.”

That was an answer all by itself. “You think they'll kill them?”

“That would be the easiest way to cover this up. Then again, they could have killed them already and just taken the supplies. They haven't. I'm not sure why.” He shook his head. “It'd be easier to form a plan if I knew who these people were and what they wanted.”

“We have to do something and soon,” she said.

“Absolutely,” he said. “First, we prioritize. People over supplies. Agreed?”

She nodded. “Obviously.”

“So here's my idea. The easiest way would be to take control of one of those trucks, load everyone up somehow and take off,” Daz said.

“Sounds simple when you say it that way,” she said.

Gabe snorted.

Daz continued. “But we do it that way, that leaves them with the other trucks and a means to pursue. Now, if I knew how to fly a plane, we could organize the passengers, get them on board and take off. Once we neutralized the guards.”

“Neutralizing the guards would have to be a pretty necessary part of the plan,” she said.

“Lieutenant, any direct attack on them could be suicide,” Gabe said. “And they might kill the hostages at the first sign of us.”

“Absolutely,” Daz said again, as if this was a small matter. “We'll have to do it under cover of night. Renee, can you drive stick shift if those trucks have a manual transmission?”

“I own a truck with a stick,” she said.

He smiled. “Naturally.” Daz pointed to her hand. “And you can still handle it with your injured hand?”

“Oh.” She'd forgotten about her hand. “Luckily, it's my left hand that's hurt. I'll be fine.”

“Good, that's the best option: you drive the truck, Gabe and I handle the rest.”

“The rest?” Gabe asked.

“I'll explain later. But the first thing is we need to do is let the hostages know someone is out here so they can be on alert to move.”

“I could send a note with Sirius to Jake,” she suggested.

“They might read a note,” Gabe pointed out.

“Right.” She looked over all three dogs. “What if I switched collars between Sirius and Loki? They're both black collars, but Loki's has his name on it. It's something that only Jake would probably spot. Once he sees it, he'll know I'm out here.”

Daz nodded. “Good idea. You don't happen to know what your Jake did in the Marines?”

“A gunnery sergeant. He's got combat medals.”

“Excellent,” Daz said. “Then we can count on him to keep his head and also organize the rest of the passengers when we attack.”

She grabbed his arm. “Daz, you'll be killed in a direct attack!”

“Which is why we don't attack directly. Trust me, Renee.”

“I do trust you.” She squeezed his hand. His rough calluses rubbed against her palm. “But you're outnumbered at least six to one. What if we call in help with my radio?”

“We have to assume they're monitoring frequencies. And that means they'll be alerted and your passengers will be screwed.”

“Hell,” Renee said.

“Yep,” Daz said. “But, like I said, this is what we do. We even the odds. We keep the guards busy with a few surprises and you get the passengers on the truck and book on out of here.”

She glanced between Gabe and Daz. They sat under a tree, ready to risk their lives against crazy odds. Hell, her too. And Daz understood that. He was making her part of the plan.

He
got
her.

Daz brushed pine needles away from the ground to reveal the dirt underneath and began sketching out the plan. “Here's what we do.”

The whole plan seemed organized chaos. “You two have the more dangerous part,” she said. “All I have to do is get to the truck and drive.”

“It's all dangerous.” Daz stared at her. “You get everyone on that truck then you go, you go like hell, you hear me? You don't wait for me or Gabe if we're not there.”

“Daz, I can't—”

“You go like a bat out of hell and that's an order.”

“I'm not under command. I'm not leaving you behind.”

“You sure are. You agreed to be under my command when we started out. You get those people out. That's the whole point of all of this. If I'm not with you, I'll make the camp in two days. I've no plans to die today. And, besides, it's less dangerous than facing a bear with a stick.” He grinned.

“Bears don't fire back,” she snapped. She swallowed down a sudden lump in her throat. “But, okay.”

“Good. Now, the darkness is going to be our friend. I didn't see anything down there that suggests night vision goggles. We have them, they don't. Renee, you send back Jake's dog, giving the hostages some warning we're out here, we get close enough to make a move and you and Gabe go for the trucks.”

“But what are you going to do?” she asked.

“Provide a better, more interesting target,” Daz said.

They crawled closer to the camp once it was full dark. The passengers had been herded into a circle to rest. Four guards watched over them while two others conferred off to the side. Renee wished she were close enough to hear what they were saying.

What were these people planning to do with relief camp workers? Ransom them? That happened sometimes, though usually in areas a lot more lawless than this. She dug her fingers deeper into the soil to stop the slight tremor that had developed in the last five minutes.

What the hell was she doing?

What no one else was in a position to do. And this was no more dangerous than anything else she'd done. SAR efforts in remote areas, especially at night, were full of hidden hazards. She'd gone into a mudslide area once after Loki had scented someone alive, despite warnings from the firefighters on-scene that the ground could collapse under her feet. That had ended well.

Of course, mudslides couldn't shoot at her.

Beside her, Sirius whined quietly, still straining to get back to his master. She'd swapped the collars but Daz told her to hold off on sending the dog until they were closer to making their move. He was afraid Jake would be questioned if Sirius showed up out of the blue.

Renee heard Jake speak to Orion, his other dog, who was whining louder. Obviously, Orion knew Sirius was nearby.

“The dogs are going to start barking at each other soon if I don't let Sirius go,” she whispered.

They were flat on their stomachs in a depression off the side of the road, their heads barely peeking out to see.

“Just a couple more seconds for me to double-check positions,” Daz said. “I count ten. You?”

“Two,” Gabe answered. “Wait, right, three. One is hidden near the plane. So our count of thirteen was correct.”

She wished she could see, but they only had the two pairs of night-vision goggles and she definitely agreed that the two men with the guns should have them.

“Good,” Daz said.

“Okay.” Daz held out his wrist. “I go one way, you two go for the trucks in exactly five minutes.” He and Gabe put their watches next to each other, synchronizing them.

“Remember, whatever you hear, you keep to the timetable, got that?” Daz said. “Your priority is hostage rescue. That goes for you too, Wonder Woman.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” She mock saluted him. “And be careful.”

“Careful's got nothing to do with this. We do this right.”

She reached out, grabbed the back of his neck, pulled him closer and kissed him. His lips were cold and she suspected hers were as well. But despite the initial chill, she warmed in an instant. It was all she could do not to curl against him.

By the time she pulled away, cold was the last thing on her mind.

“Damn,” Daz said.

“For luck,” she said.

“Ho-rah,” Daz said.

“Man, where's my kiss?” Gabe asked.

She turned her head. “You can have one too.” Why not?

Gabe tapped her shoulder. “Not from you. From him.”

“Kiss the retired Marine when you're done if you're so eager for military tail,” Daz said. “Remember, five minutes.”

“Yes, Sir,” Gabe said.

And Daz vanished into the night. Leaving them to wait. The camp voices became muted as everyone presumably began to sleep or settle in. She counted the stars overhead to pass the time.

“Four minutes,” Gabe whispered.

She switched to counting seconds. The first sixty seconds seemed like hours. Thor and Loki rested near her feet, content for the moment. After such a long day, they were exhausted. Beside her, Sirius whined softly. She scratched his ears. Such a good dog.

“Three minutes,” Gabe said.

“Okay.” She wrapped her arm around Sirius. “So, you're gay, then, Gabe?” Ack. What a stupid question to ask right now. But it kept her from screaming in terror at what they had to do next.

“Yep,” Gabe said.

“And that's not a problem in the SEALs?”

“Not in Daz's command,” Gabe answered. “Two minutes.” He put his hand on her shoulder.

“Right.” She reached down to tap her dogs and bring them to alert. Thor crawled up next to her. Loki set himself next to Sirius and nuzzled the other dog's neck.

“One minute,” Gabe said.

An explosion of dirt and wood echoed from their left, near the plane, scattering dust over everyone. The guards shouted, swore and scrambled toward the origin of the mess.

“Thirty more seconds.” Gabe settled himself into a crouch and tapped his helmet. “Daz has cleared them out. All but one guard headed over there. Stick to the plan and this will work.”

The pop, pop, pop of gunfire echoed from the left. She curled her hands around Thor's and Loki's collars. They'd been taught not to react to gunfire. But this was their first real exposure to it, their first real test.

Hers too.

Daz, be careful
.

Someone yelled in English. Jake, she thought. A dog barked. Sirius barked back.

“Let him go,” Gabe said.

“Go find Jake, Sirius. Go!” She pointed toward the passengers.

Sirius zoomed away, a big black shadow in the starlight. Gabe tugged on her shirt. “It's time. Do what I do.”

They ran for the trucks in a crouch. Her hand pulsed, every instant a new slice of pain from the wound. Thor and Loki stayed at her heels.

They jumped to the road, next to the front of a truck, using it for cover. She put one hand on the truck's hood and steadied herself. Gabe peeked inside the cab.

“Jackpot. Keys,” he muttered. “Time for us to split. Get everyone in this truck. Now.”

And he vanished into the dark just as another explosion split the air.

“Thor, Loki, go. Retrieve,” she ordered.

They rushed away, leaving her to creep along the side of the truck, her back flat against it, telling herself not to flinch at the gunfire and yelling that was now a constant refrain out there in the dark. She felt for the back edge of the truck with her one good hand, the cold metal stilling her sweaty palm. Now was the moment of truth. She had to show herself to everyone. She took one deep breath to steady herself and stepped away from the shadows of the vehicle.

Something pinged into the ground at her feet. A dog snarled and a man screamed but it was cut off in mid-cry.

“Jake?” she said into the air.

“Here, kid.” A tall, broad shadow holding a rifle took familiar shape in the dark.
Jake.
“Loki knocked over one guard and I took care of the other. What's next?”

“Everyone in the back of this truck. Now. We're booking out of here.”

“Perfect.”

Jake waved his arm and pointed at the back of the cargo truck. The other passengers scrambled inside, though far too slow for her comfort.

Jake was the last. “Go,” she said. “I'm driving.”

He gave her a quick hug. “What the hell, Renee? You turn a real superhero on me?”

“No, the real heroes are out there still. Just get in the back and tell everyone to hold on!”

He grabbed her forearm. “Won't they follow in the other truck?”

“We got that under control. Get in!”

Jake jumped in with his dogs. She ordered Thor and Loki inside with him too.

She sprinted to the truck's cab. The driver's side door was slightly ajar and she leapt inside. Her hand hovered over the ignition. No sign of Gabe or Daz. Dammit. Daz had said to run like hell. But…

No, she couldn't wait. She had a responsibility now to Jake and the others now. She took quick stock of the stick shift and the dashboard. Yeah she could do this.

Something tapped on the passenger side window. She flinched and smacked her head on the back of the seat.

“Easy, Wonder Woman,” Gabe said. “Let's roll! Go, go!”

“Daz?”

“Go!” Gabe said. “I'll provide covering fire from out here. Go!”

She turned over the ignition, shifted and wished she could go right into fifth gear. Unfamiliar voices screamed in a language she didn't recognize. The pop of gunshots joined the screams. Something pinged off the passenger door. She kept accelerating, shifting gears as fast as she could without risking a stall.

The truck rumbled forward. The speedometer needle crept higher and higher. The roar of the engine drowned out all other noises. They lurched sideways as she hit a pothole. She gripped the steering wheel with two hands, yanking it back to solid ground. Agony blossomed in the bandaged left hand. She ignored it.

Please, please, don't break down.