Chapter Twenty-Five

Friday

“You don’t have to leave right away, do you?” Diane sat on the bed watching Valerie dress. “It’s not even nine o’clock.”

Valerie hesitated, still not used to disclosing the particulars of an operation to anyone. Of course, before Diane, there had never been anyone close enough other than Cam. Now, even though she would trust Diane with her life, she felt uneasy discussing the work she did. She had only just returned from spending the day finalizing the last details of the plan with Cam and Savard, and her mind was completely engaged with what was to come. It occurred to her then that there were reasons intimate relationships were discouraged for agents such as herself. The needs of others were a distraction. Life was a distraction.

Forcing herself to focus on Diane, Valerie found her looking more pale than usual. She knew Diane hadn’t slept the night before, even though she had tried to pretend she was sleeping. Eventually they’d both admitted they were awake and had made desperate love until morning, when Valerie had silently slipped away while Diane slept.

“I want to be at the rendezvous point well before he arrives,” Valerie said.

“What about the others? They’ll be with you, won’t they?”

“They’ll follow a short time later. Don’t worry, they’ll be there long before anything happens.”

“Can I come with you to the marina?”

Valerie shook her head as she tucked her long-sleeved T-shirt into her jeans. “I’m riding down with one of Tanner’s crew and they won’t be coming back here.” She kissed Diane softly. “I don’t want you getting marooned out there in the middle of the night.”

“I don’t mind waiting.” Diane rose and clasped Valerie lightly around the waist. “I’m going to go slightly stir crazy waiting here.”

“You need to stay here,” Valerie said gently, pulling Diane close. She brushed her mouth over Diane’s ear. “It’s important that you stay close to Blair in case you have to leave quickly.”

Diane stiffened. “You mean if something goes wrong out there.”

“There are any number of reasons why Stark might want to move you both, and it won’t necessarily mean that anything has gone wrong. Just promise me you’ll do whatever Stark says.”

“I’m not leaving here without you.”

“You may have to. Please, love, I need to know that you will do what Stark says.” Valerie cupped Diane’s cheek. “I need to know you’re all right so I can concentrate on doing this thing. Can you help me?”

Diane took a deep breath. “Yes. But promise you’ll call me or come find me as soon as you can?”

Feeling Diane tremble, Valerie murmured softly and kissed her. “I won’t disappear. I won’t do that to you again. No matter what.”

Diane nodded. “Where’s your gun? You’re taking your gun, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” Valerie released Diane and went to the dresser where she kept her weapon. She clipped the holster to the waistband of her jeans. “He’ll expect me to be armed.” She didn’t add that he might also ask her to relinquish it as a show of good faith. Diane didn’t need more to worry about.

“I’m sure there are things I should be doing or saying, but I forgot to ask Blair for pointers,” Diane said shakily.

Valerie gathered her close again, drawing deeply of her scent, imprinting the shape and feel of her body and the way she fit so seamlessly into her own waiting places. “You don’t require any advice on giving me exactly what I need. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes you will,” Valerie said gently. She kissed her and was careful not to make it feel like goodbye. She would not leave Diane with that memory.

Cam reached for her shoulder holster but Blair got to it first and held it up so Cam could shrug into it. She pressed against Cam’s back, caressing the tops of her shoulders and down her arms. When she reached her hands, she slid her fingers between Cam’s.

“Tanner was here earlier. I think she wanted to come with you.”

Cam shook her head. “We’re using more civilians than we should already, but since I know I can’t keep Tanner from sending her people out on the water to do perimeter surveillance, I asked her to head up that part of the operation. But there’s no way I’m letting her get anywhere close to Henry.”

“I wish you didn’t have to get close either,” Blair said, meeting Cam’s eyes in the mirror over the dresser. What she saw made her tighten her hold on Cam, wrapping their joined arms around Cam’s middle, as if she could keep her safe within her embrace, forever. “You’re worried about something. What is it?”

“The problem is we can’t really get close enough,” Cam said, “so we’re going to be relying on some pretty dicey technology. That’s not the way I like to do these things.”

“No, I know,” Blair murmured. “You like to be right there yourself. Is it selfish of me to be glad that you’re not going to be able to stand in front of her if someone starts shooting?”

Cam eased out of Blair’s embrace and turned. “No, it’s not selfish. I wouldn’t feel any differently if the positions were reversed. This is just one of those times when it’s actually better to be close to the line of fire.” Cam kissed her before walking to the closet to retrieve her windbreaker. “But we have an experienced team, and with Stark and Mac here coordinating and Tanner’s people on the water, we’ve got all the bases covered. It’ll be fine.”

“Where’s your vest?” Blair said sharply.

“In the truck.”

“Tell me you’re going to wear it.”

“I will.” Cam grabbed Blair and kissed her again, harder this time. “We’ll need to debrief as soon as we’re done, so it might take awhile before I can call. Don’t worry, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

She stepped back, but kept a grip on Blair’s forearms. “If for any reason Stark wants to evacuate, it might be tomorrow or the next day until we reconnect.”

Blair narrowed her eyes. “Why might Stark want to evacuate?”

“We don’t think Matheson will try to hit here, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Blair,” Cam said pleadingly.

“Cameron. When will you stop trying to protect me?”

Cam shrugged ruefully. “Probably never.”

Blair stroked her face. “All right. Good enough. Then just answer when I ask, if you’re not going to volunteer the information.”

“If Stark loses communication with us for any reason, we’ve agreed that she will get you out. It might be something as simple as the satellite link going down, so there’s no reason for you to worry if it happens.”

“You can’t honestly believe that.”

“The only person at risk here is Valerie,” Cam said. “That’s the truth.”

“Don’t think I don’t care about what happens to her, Cam,” Blair said, “because I do. I like her. Diane loves her. I don’t want anything to happen to her.” Blair tangled her fingers in Cam’s hair. “But you are my lover, and you come first, before anyone. Before Diane. Before my father, before this country.”

Cam held Blair’s face as gently as she could and caressed her mouth with her lips. As she kissed her, she whispered, “The same is true for me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“How’s the leg feeling?” Paula asked as she buttoned her shirt.

“Good. Steady.” Renée slid an extra clip of ammunition into her jacket pocket. “Did you post extra people on the beach?”

“Yeah.” Paula threaded her belt through her holster and snugged the buckle down. “We tightened the perimeters and doubled the guards. Matheson is not coming ashore without us knowing it.”

“What about the road?” Renée sat on the bed to lace her boots. It still hurt to squat down or bend over. Fortunately, she wasn’t going to be doing much moving once they got on board the boat.

“We put up roadblocks diverting everything except local traffic, and we’ve got two people there to check any cars coming through. Fortunately, island traffic is really light this time of year.”

“Yeah, I know. If this had been summer, it would’ve been a nightmare.” Renée walked to Paula and snaked her arms around Paula’s shoulders. “Don’t take any chances, okay? I don’t have to tell you how good Matheson’s people are.”

Paula thought back to the attack on the Aerie and the insane few moments when the automatic weapons fire was all she could hear. It seemed almost incomprehensible that six short weeks ago an attack like that had been beyond imagining, and now she was preparing to protect the first daughter of the United States against a possible assault by a group of US extremists as if it were business as usual.

“The commander was right moving us here. It’s more defensible than if we were almost anywhere else. But don’t worry, at the first sign of any problem, I’m moving her.”

“Good.” Renée kissed her quickly. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Hey,” Paula said, stopping Renée with a hand on her arm. “I know you want this guy. We all do. Just…just don’t take any chances, okay?”

For the first time, Renée recognized that Paula was worried. Worried and trying not to burden her by saying so. For the last two days, they had both been so caught up in planning the operation that they’d barely had a moment alone together. When they had taken a break, they’d had little energy to do more than fall into bed to catch a few hours’ sleep before getting back to work. And, she had to admit, she was excited about another operation and thinking about nothing else. She was eager to get back into the field, and hungry, aching, for payback. Ever since 9/11 she’d felt impotent, and the thwarted raid on Matheson’s compound had only added to her sense of helplessness. Now she had a chance to settle the score, and that was all she’d been thinking about.

“Hey, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Renée said. “I’ve been running on autopilot since yesterday morning. God, I want this guy so bad.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to take Henry alive?” Paula asked.

“That’s going to be Valerie’s call, I think,” Renée said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and patting the space next to her. “Sit with me for a minute.”

Paula sat beside her and slipped an arm around her waist.

“If Valerie reads Henry as still friendly, she’s going to recommend a meeting between the three of them—her, Cam, and Henry—someplace on neutral territory. If she doesn’t trust Henry or if Matheson shows, I think Valerie is going to make a different call.”

“That’s got to be tough after all the time they’ve worked together,” Paula said.

“She’s ice.” Renée said it respectfully. “She’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

“I know. We all will.” Paula kissed Renée and squeezed her hand. “Try not to mess your leg up again tonight.”

“I won’t.” Renée smiled, tightening her grip on Paula’s hand. “By the way, I love you like crazy.”

“Same here,” Paula whispered. “Same here.”

“All set?” Cam asked as Valerie joined her and Savard in the kitchen.

“Yes. Where are the others?”

Cam tilted her head toward the closed doors of the adjoining room. “Operations center. Do you want to look at the setup?”

“No,” Valerie said. “I’m sure Mac has everything under control.” Valerie stood next to the table where Savard was drawing a clear solution from a 50cc glass vial into a 1cc syringe and unzipped her jeans.

“How does your neck feel?” Savard asked as she opened a foil wrapper and extracted an alcohol swab.

“A tiny bit sore,” Valerie said, rubbing a fingertip lightly over the spot just below her ear where the transdermal microphone had been inserted that morning. “How do you read it?”

“Loud and clear,” Savard said, pointing to the wireless receiver that was barely visible in her ear. “Right leg or left?”

“Left.”

Savard pulled on gloves, swabbed Valerie’s upper thigh with the alcohol, and palpated for the femoral pulse. When she found it, she inserted the needle half an inch away, drew back until she saw venous blood, and injected the Neosynephrine. “You’re going to feel your heart race in a few minutes, but the peripheral vasoconstriction won’t be maximal for an hour and a half to two hours.” She met Valerie’s eyes. “Once this starts working, your skin is going to be damn cold and if he touches you, he’ll know.”

“If he touches me it will only be for a second and I don’t think he’ll notice,” Valerie said as she zipped her jeans.

Savard gathered her equipment. “Wear as little as you can on the boat on the way out to drop your core temperature even more. I don’t know how well this is going to work. I’m just guessing on the dosage.”

“I dressed light and I’ll take my jacket off. I’d go in the water, but he’ll notice if I’m wet.”

“We can’t risk you getting that cold,” Cam said, shaking her head. “If you have to go into the water for any reason later on, and you start out with a core temperature that low, you won’t last thirty seconds.”

Valerie smiled. “You’ll be there before that.”

Cam said nothing.

“See you later,” Savard said, touching Valerie lightly on the arm before leaving.

“There’s a car outside to take you down to the marina,” Cam said as she and Valerie walked toward the front door. “I’ll ride with you.”

Valerie stopped. “No. Stay here. I know how many last-minute details there are to check. I’m all right, Cameron.”

The hallway was dimly lit, and Cam thought Valerie looked almost ghostlike in the shadows, as if she were already gone. It made her uneasy, and she unconsciously reached out and touched her cheek. “You’re not going to be alone out there.”

“I know. I’m not worried.” Valerie covered Cam’s hand for a brief second. Then she drew it away from her face, but kept Cam’s fingers in her grasp. “There are many things unsaid between us. You should know that there were times that your presence in my life was the only thing that mattered to me. There was never a single moment when I felt anything but cared for by you.”

“Valerie,” Cam murmured. “You’re—”

“Let me finish, because we’ve got work to do,” Valerie said gently. “I’ve been happier these last few weeks, despite everything, than I’ve ever been in my life. Diane means everything to me, and if it weren’t for having met you and realizing that I could love someone, I don’t think I would have been able to love her the way I do. Take care of her for me, if anything happens to me tonight.”

“All right,” Cam said roughly. “I’ll make you that promise because I don’t want you thinking about anything tonight except the operation.

Do your job, and I’ll do mine, and you’ll be back here before sunrise.”

“Thank you, Cameron.” Valerie leaned close and kissed Cam lightly on the mouth. “Happy hunting, Commander.” Then she turned and walked out the front door.

Cam listened to the engine start and the vehicle pull away before heading back to the operations center. The ache in her chest eased as soon as she walked in and saw Mac and Stark sitting before computer consoles. Felicia stood just behind Mac, her hand on his shoulder. These were her people, the best at what they did of anyone in the world. She trusted them to keep Blair safe. To keep Valerie safe.

“How’s the feed?” Cam asked.

Without turning around, Mac said, “Excellent. Our friends in the Pentagon have great toys.”

Cam leaned down to look at the satellite image of the sector of ocean where Valerie would rendezvous with Henry. It was so clear, she could feel the spray. “Amazing. Why didn’t we have this before we hit Matheson’s compound? We might not have dropped into a hot zone.”

“Because it wasn’t their action.” Mac looked over his shoulder at Cam and grinned. “And, you weren’t a deputy director of Homeland Security. If you had been, who knows what kind of cool equipment they would have pulled out for you.”

“Hopefully Henry doesn’t have the same toys.” Cam glanced at Stark. “Exit strategy in place?”

“Yes. We’ve got choppers standing by at Bradley.”

“Do they know why?”

Stark shook her head. “No, only that it’s priority one.”

Stark’s phone rang and she pulled it off her belt. “Stark. Send him in.” She closed the connection. “Tanner’s man is here.”

A moment later, Wozinski entered with a thin, sandy haired young man dressed in black BDUs.

“This is Jeff Donaldson,” Wozinski said.

Cam held out her hand. “Donaldson.”

“Ma’am.”

“Tanner tells me you’re a good shot.”

“Sniper duty in Somalia, ma’am.”

“Good.” Cam watched his eyes as she spoke. They were clear and calm and steady. “Comfortable with infrared targets?”

“Yes ma’am. If it’s hot, I can hit it.”

“That’s what we’re counting on.” Cam thought of the injection she’d just given Valerie. “And we’re hoping that one hot target is all you’ll have.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

“They’re leaving.” Blair rose from the living room sofa where she had been waiting with Diane.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stay here,” Diane replied, her voice subdued.

“I’ll be right back.”

Blair caught up to Cam just as the team reached the front door. She smiled briefly at Savard and Felicia, then turned to her lover. She ran the edges of Cam’s windbreaker through her fingers as she leaned close and kissed her softly, far more quickly than she wanted. “See you soon.”

“I’ll call you,” Cam murmured. “I love you.”

Blair stepped away and in the next instant, Cam and the others were gone. When she turned, she saw Diane halfway down the hall, standing in the doorway of the living room. She forced a smile and went to join her.

“What now?” Diane asked.

“It’s going to be quite a while before we hear anything,” Blair said. “I’m too restless to sit, and if you’ll be all right, I’d like to check in with Mac and Paula. I’ll feel better if I know what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.” Diane made an angry sound. “But I don’t need to tell you, sitting around and waiting is not my style. Can I come with you?”

Blair hesitated, remembering the horror of seeing Cam on the video monitor after she’d been shot—lying on the ground, bleeding— and literally watching her die. She doubted that they would have that kind of communication link tonight, but even if they couldn’t see or hear exactly what was happening, she still wasn’t certain that letting Diane listen to Paula and Mac monitoring the events was such a great idea. If something went wrong, Diane would never be able to forget it. Blair didn’t want that kind of nightmare for her.

“I may be new at this,” Diane said as if reading her mind, “and I’m hoping this is the last time I have to wait while she’s out doing something like this, but if she’s willing to go out there and do it, I can at least be a part of it here. Then I’ll feel like she’s not alone.”

“Okay,” Blair said, shaking her head ruefully. “I don’t know why I even questioned it. You wouldn’t have fallen in love with her if you couldn’t handle who she is.”

Diane smiled. “Thanks.”

Blair knocked on the closed door to the dining room before opening it a few inches and sticking her head in. “Can Diane and I come in?”

Paula swiveled in her chair, her expression distracted but her tone polite. “Of course. We’re not going to be able to explain much once things get going, but you’re welcome to stay.”

“Thanks,” Blair said. “You don’t need to worry about us, Chief.”

Blair and Diane moved up behind Mac and Stark.

“Can you tell us what we’re looking at?” Blair asked.

“This is a satellite relay of ten square miles surrounding the meet point,” Paula said, turning back to the computer monitor, which showed a smattering of small blips on a grid surrounding a dark circle in the center. “The majority of the vessels in the area are fishing boats, commercial ships, and the occasional recreational vehicle.” She pointed to a glowing dot in the middle of the circle. “That’s Valerie.”

“How do you know that?” Diane asked.

“We have GPS transponders in all of the vessels, including Valerie’s, the command ship with Renée and the commander and Felicia, and Tanner’s surveillance boats.” Paula skimmed her finger in a semi circle along the border of the screen. “These are Tanner’s people here.”

“When will we be able to see Cam?” Blair asked.

“They’re just leaving the marina now.” Mac adjusted the wireless receiver in his ear and spoke using a throat mic, keeping both hands on the keyboard of his computer. “Commander? How do you read?”

A few seconds passed, then Mac spoke again. “Loud and clear, Commander.”

Paula said without looking at him, “Can you put that on audio, please, Mac.”

“Yes ma’am.” Mac keyed a series of commands into his computer and then spoke again. “Ready for camera scan.”

“Sending image…now,” Felicia’s voice announced from the speakers.

Yellow, red, and blue images vaguely resembling human forms flickered on Mac’s screen and then stabilized.

“How do you read?” Felicia asked.

“Four hots.” Mac opened a small window within the larger screen and a fluctuating bar-graph appeared. “Temperature variation less than two degrees. Give me a coordinates check.”

Savard rattled off a list of figures.

“What are they doing?” Blair asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Checking the variance on the infrared thermal detector camera,” Paula said. “The lower levels of thermal radiance are due primarily to two things—either larger body mass and high body fat, which blunts the reading, or a true depression in body temperature.”

“You’re the warm one, Renée,” Mac said.

Savard laughed. “That’s what they tell me.”

“Mac, can you correct for body mass using the limited readings we have?” Felicia asked. “Valerie is thin and her core temperature is going to skew the thermal readings. Can you factor for that?”

“Working on it,” Mac said, inputting figures as he spoke.

“You’re in visual range, Commander.” Paula straightened and her voice took on an edge. “We have an approach vessel closing on ground zero, bearing…”

Blair sensed Diane trembling beside her and slid an arm around her waist. She kept her voice low so as not to disturb Mac and Paula. “Just remember that we’re only getting part of the picture here, so don’t worry, no matter what seems to be happening.”

“I know. I’ll remember. It’s just…she feels so far away,” Diane whispered.

“She isn’t. And Cam and Renée and the others are right there.”

“Savard, hold us here,” Cam’s voice said.

The words were so clear that Blair almost looked over her shoulder to see if Cam had miraculously returned. Even miles away over radio, the sound of Cam’s voice eased the tension that had been slowly clenching her muscles and squeezing around her heart until she felt as if she were a piano wire tightened to the point of snapping. She forced herself to take a breath and let it out slowly.

The red numerals in the lower left-hand corner of Paula Stark’s monitor read 2258.

Cam opened the priority one channel to Valerie. “Lawrence?”

“I’m here, Commander,” Valerie said.

“Approach vessel on its way.”

“Roger that.”

“If you’re forced to board his ship and we lose our audio link to you, I want you to bail at the first sign of trouble. Are we clear?”

“Clear, Commander,” Valerie replied.

“Confirming scan now,” Cam said. “Switching to open channel.”

“Roger that. Greetings, team,” Valerie said. “Glad to see you.”

“We’re right behind you, Valerie,” Savard said.

“Do we have her?” Cam asked Felicia, bending down beside Felicia’s computer array against one wall of the ship’s cabin. Behind them, Savard eased the engine down to idle and the ship rocked in the swells.

“I’ve got her,” Felicia said. “I’m just adjusting the feed to Donaldson’s video goggles.” She opened up the com link in her head set. “Donaldson? Target on screen?”

“Sweet and hot, ma’am,” he radioed from his position outside on the bow.

“Not too hot, I hope,” Cam murmured. “Where does she fall on the thermal range?”

“Five percent below mean.”

Cam frowned. “That’s not much to distinguish her from Henry.”

“She’s cold, I can guarantee you that,” Savard said. “Much colder and her reaction time will be so slow she won’t be able to protect herself.”

“Here he comes.” Valerie’s voice filled the cabin. “Switching to transdermal mic.”

Savard linked to Mac. “Anyone else out here with us?”

“Lots of someones,” Mac radioed, “but no one in critical range.”

“Okay, let me know if anyone moves within the strike radius.”

“Roger.”

A minute of silence passed until broken by Valerie’s voice, muted by the shielded microphone.

“Toss me your tie line,” Valerie said, “and come aboard.” “Here you go. Catch,” a deep male voice responded. “Drop your ladder. ”

Savard glanced at Cam in surprise. Cam shook her head, thinking it wasn’t necessarily a good sign that Henry was so willing to board Valerie’s boat. It meant they had an open channel to Valerie if they needed one, but if Henry’s plan was to eliminate Valerie, he wouldn’t want to do it on his own vessel. He’d want to do it on hers.

“Are you armed?” Henry said.

“Of course.”

“What about the others?”

“What others?”

“Don’t tell me you came without backup.”

“Do you see anyone?” Valerie asked.

Henry laughed. “Only about two dozen boats out there.”

“I told you I don’t trust them. No one knows I’m out here. Search the boat if you want.”

“Not necessary. I agreed to this meet under these less than optimal circumstances,” Henry said, “so you’ll believe me when I tell you that you need to come in. You’re in danger.”

“From whom?”

“From Roberts. The White House sent her after you.”

“Why?”

“They need a scapegoat. How long do you think they’ll be able to keep the attack on the president’s daughter quiet? Add to that they botched the assault on Matheson’s compound and let him escape.”

“He had help.”

“The country needs accountability, especially after 9/11. Someone needs to pay for that,” Henry said. “Washburn and the security adviser and a fair number of other people have decided it will be you, for starters. It’s out of our hands.”

“And if I come in?”

“We’ll help you get lost for a year or two. There’s work to be done elsewhere.”

“Convincing, isn’t he,” Felicia muttered. “Bastard.” “What’s the temperature register look like?” Cam asked. “There’s a three degree difference between them.” Felicia keyed Donaldson. “Can you distinguish the primary from the friendly?” “Yes ma’am, as long as they don’t move around too much.” “On my mark,” Cam ordered on the same channel. “Yes ma’am. Locked and loaded.”

“Who tipped Matheson?” Valerie asked. “We think he has friends in the Special Forces.” “Do we have a name?”

“Several possibles. I’ll brief you as soon as you are secure.” “Where do you want me to go?” “I want you to come with me now.” “Tonight?”

“If you go back, Roberts may lock you down and we won’t be able to extract.”

“What about my boat?” “We’ll sink it. It’s a good cover.”

“He came prepared.” Cam checked the digital readout on the electronic timer running in one corner of Felicia’s monitor. Henry had been on board almost five minutes. That was a long time for this kind of rendezvous.

“If she goes with him, he sinks the boat and she’ll disappear,” Savard said. “If she doesn’t agree to go, and he’s bad, he’ll sink the boat and she’ll disappear. Either way, he wins.”

“I need at least 24 hours to create a plausible cover with Roberts,” Valerie said. “I didn’t spend all that time getting close to her to lose my connection to her now. Even if I have to go deep undercover, I’ll still have a link to her.”

“She’ll never give you anything.”

“She already has.”

“What?” Henry’s voice rose.

Listening, Cam tensed. Valerie was playing a dangerous game. If Henry thought she already had important information, he might not let her go even if he wasn’t working with Matheson. If he was Matheson’s front man, all the more reason to take her now, or eliminate her.

“They’re close to identifying…”

Two miles away, Stark’s satellite image showed a new blip at the same time as Mac picked up a thermal flair five miles from Valerie’s boat.

“Christ,” Mac blurted. “It’s an SSM!”

Stark jumped to her feet. “Target?”

“Tracking!”

Stark grabbed her radio. “Hara, this is command one. Stand by to evacuate.”

“No!” Blair exclaimed, grabbing Stark’s arm. “What is it?”

“Missile.” Stark turned sharply to Mac. “Target. I need it now, Mac!”

Mac was already opening the comm channel. “Savard! Ship to ship missile, targeting Valerie’s boat. Forty seconds to impact!”

“Donaldson, mark,” Cam snapped.

“Roger.”

Cam switched to the open microphone on Valerie’s boat. “This is Cameron Roberts. You are targeted for a direct hit by an SSM. You have thirty-seven seconds. Evacuate your vessel.”

“She’s lying,” Henry shouted. “Stay right there!” “No,” Valerie said, “she’s…Henry, we have to…why are you drawing your weapon? There s no one…”

“Thirty-two seconds,” Savard called. “She’ll never disengage from Henry’s vessel in time, Commander.”

“Fire!” Cam ordered and Donaldson’s rifle cracked from just outside the cabin. Cam spun toward Savard. “Get us in there now.” “It’s going to get hot,” Savard noted even as she powered up the engine and shoved the throttle to maximum.

Cam didn’t answer, stripping off her windbreaker and vest as she ran from the cabin. She’d been wrong. They didn’t have thirty seconds.

Blair pressed close to Paula’s back, unconsciously gripping her shoulders. “What’s happening?”

“Time?” Paula shouted to Mac.

“Five… four… three… two… one…”

For a millisecond, the blip in the center of Paula’s screen doubled in size. Then it winked out.

After a minute of silence, Diane asked unsteadily, “Where’s Valerie?”

“We’ve lost the signal,” Paula said tightly.

“What about Cam’s?” Blair’s fingers dug into Paula’s shoulders.

Paula shook her head.

“Fine shooting, Colonel.” Matheson leaned against the rail of the boat, feeling a swell of satisfaction as a tower of flame climbed into the sky on the horizon.

“Thank you, General.”

“We’ve eliminated both problems at once,” Matheson said. “It’s time to rejoin our men and re-dedicate ourselves to our true mission. We have a war to win.”

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 497