An Unlikely Hero (1) (27 page)

Chase slammed his fist down on the desk. “She must have gotten it out of her purse last night when I was in the shower. I took her phone and thought that would be enough.”

Zoric put his bony hand on the shoulder of the much taller Chase Hunter. “I’d suggest taking her into the shower with you next time, my friend.” Zoric’s humor could not be disguised in his raspy voice.

Benjamin Clark glared at Chase with narrowed eyes. “Once again we seem to have underestimated our Grass Valley housewife. What would have made her bolt? I thought she was on board with us.”

Ms. Coleman noticed a file folder on her desk that had been repositioned. “This,” she said lifting up the file of information. “I went to get her some water. She must have gone through it. She knows about her family,” she said with irritation, knowing that this was her fault. “Director Clark, I’m sorry. I trusted her.”

Ben sighed. “She’s good at that, Ms. Coleman.” His eyes watched the security loop on the computer screen. Tessa removed roughly three hundred dollars from her account, punched in another account number, and took another three hundred from savings, the daily maximum. Hailing a yellow cab, Tessa took one look behind her and disappeared into the backseat, and into congested morning traffic. “Vernon,” Ben said with an eerie calm.

“On it! The cab is stuck in traffic just four blocks from here.” Vernon loved having access to street cameras, traffic monitoring devices and information the general public had no idea was available. It was a one man peep show for him. “Better hurry, Chase. Police are on the scene to get traffic moving after a little fender bender.”

“Oh no!” Ms. Coleman started lifting other files on her desk and pulled out a couple of drawers.

“Ms. Coleman?” Ben asked impatiently.

“My Enigma phone! It’s gone.” Her eyes went to Ben. “Will she be able to use it?”

Chase shook his head in disbelief. “That would be like putting the launch codes for thermal nuclear war in her hands.” He motioned to Vernon. “Do what you can. Maybe we can track her with it. She’ll probably try and call her husband.”

Sam returned after trying to make her way downstairs to follow Tessa. It didn’t take her long to realize the woman was gone. “When this is all over I want to wring that little Wal-Mart housewife’s neck.”

Chase started out the door with Zoric. “You’re going to have to wait in line!”

Chapter 18

By the time Chase and Zoric reached the yellow cab, someone else rode in the backseat. The driver in a thick Indian accent waved his hands in alarm, saying the crying lady jumped out after paying him twenty dollars for a ten dollar fare. He motioned the direction in which she’d gone and begged to leave.

Vernon broke in on Chase’s earpiece: “See a car rental nearby, Chase? Got a hit that our little Grass Valley commando paid cash for a blue Chevy Equinox; no destination or return date listed, but plans to keep it at least a week. Clerk added a note that the woman appeared upset.”

“If that vehicle has
On Star
get them the stats and shut her down!” The two Enigma men were already in the Hummer, zigzagging through traffic toward the Interstate 80 on-ramp.

“Me again, dude.” It was Vernon. “Yeah. Refused the On Star option. Guess she thought it might be a problem.” Vernon chuckled and continued. “Don’t worry. I have enough info to hack into On Star and get her stopped. It’s going to take me about twenty minutes. She’s a piece of work. Are you sure she doesn’t work for us? Wait a minute.” There was a pause. “Headed east about five miles from Auburn on Interstate 80 and she’s breakin’ the speed limit. Want me to call the highway patrol?

“Negative. I want to take care of this myself!” Chase stormed.

Tessa finally regained some composure and realized her driving could draw unwanted attention to her location. Her thoughts raced at supersonic speed, jumping from one image to another. A blaring horn jolted Tessa to swerve back into her lane and concentrate on the road. All this time she’d believed her family vacationed in a safe location, unaware of the sinister world of terrorists, isotopes and a secret government agency called Enigma. Yet she discovered by accident that two unsavory characters were actually watching her family. Why would they do that? Why would they not want her to know? Could Enigma think she possessed more information than she actual had? Perhaps they planned to use her family as leverage for her cooperation in something illegal against her country. Maybe they weren’t with the government at all but some private vigilante organization that took the law into their own hands.

Taking deep breaths she turned up the air conditioner so it blew full force into her face. Checking the rear view mirror for a tail (Tessa couldn’t believe she was even thinking such a thing could happen to her), she started to relax just a little. Knowing full well it would only be a matter of time before Vernon found her on some of his futuristic spy toys, Tessa tried to make a plan. She’d have to find a secure line that Enigma couldn’t stop her from calling Robert and warn him to leave Tahoe. The bio sheet stated some unsettling characteristics: dangerous, sociopath tendencies, assassin, known IRA soldier and chameleon extraordinaire. Pretty, younger than herself, Tessa remembered the picture of Honey, pale brownish blonde hair that had been pushed behind her ears. A cool narrow smile spread across thin lips and a kind of deadened pain filled her eyes. Freckles across her nose gave the woman a kind of youthful wholesomeness. There was no way of telling how long ago the photo had been taken.

It was the second photo that had confused Tessa the most. The man named Mansur, looked to be of Middle-Eastern descent. Why would someone like that be watching her family? Before she could read anything of value, Tessa had heard Glenda Coleman returning with their drinks. She wasn’t going to sit by and let the lies continue to mount up. Just when she’d started to trust Captain Hunter, even like him a little, she realized everything that had occurred was shaded in half truths. Maybe Enigma was a government sponsored assassination agency that the CIA didn’t even know about.
You’ve got too much imagination, Tess,
Robert always said.

Startled by the ringing of the stolen Enigma phone, Tessa lifted it to see a picture of the captain frowning. It was a live feed.

“Tessa! I know you’re upset,” he started firmly.

“You lied to me, Chase!” she screamed at the phone. “You lied about my family being safe!”

“Tessa, you need to find a place to pull over. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you. Let me explain.” His voice, calm and reasonable irritated Tessa.

“Go to hell!” Tessa threw the phone against the passenger door, bouncing it back to the cup holder.

Zoric couldn’t help but grin as he turned his eyes away from his friend. “Pretty strong language from an innocent, don’t you think?” He knew this woman both fascinated and confused Chase Hunter. That was a first. He was a man used to being admired, respected and even sought after by beautiful women. Even Sam, a prize in her own right, could not resist making herself available to the elusive captain of the Enigma team. Yet, Chase never let anyone get too close, especially a woman. Zoric understood that. Women made men weak, forcing them to see their own shortcomings and vulnerability.

Maybe if he hadn’t loved his wife and daughters so much he wouldn’t have morphed into such a monster he reasoned. Their love had made him whole. When that had vanished in the length of time that it took to bomb the playground where his daughters played, a hideous demon of revenge crushed the joy of living from his life. He’d done many unconscionable things since that time. If it hadn’t been for Chase Hunter, he’d been hanged, shot and butchered by now. Their warped bond of friendship forced Zoric to put his life back together. Although far from trusting, his willingness to think about the future carried him forward. Love could leave a hole the size of a bomb induced crater in you if things went wrong. Zoric still longed to feel his wife’s loving arms wrap around him and the laughter of his little girls. They were the only good memory he had left.

Zoric eyed his friend briefly. He knew the murder of Chase’s parents and the tragic death of his sister kept others at arm’s length. Don’t get too close. Nothing is forever. 911 proved to Chase once and for all that he should keep his feelings in check. Afghanistan had also taken a toll on his friend. Zoric had not been allowed to go, but Chase would share that life when he’d had too much to drink. It had been a long time since he’d heard his friend laugh. Yet in the last few days he’d heard Chase burst into light hearted laughter with Tessa Scott. Maybe the simple fact that she was clueless about the terror around her made Chase feel normal. Of course a man could get lost in those blue eyes. Chase had been protective of her, warning Zoric not to be so forward. She’d shown uncommon bravery for a civilian in Knoxville. How she’d stood up for them, saved the pregnant woman’s life and protected one of the Chase’s men had been nothing less than a miracle. Now as he turned his eyes back on Chase he watched the soldier’s jaw clench over and over. The veins of his hands bulged as he gripped the stirring wheel.

“You are worried.” His thick east European accent said matter-of-factly. “I think this woman is smart and will be careful. She has a lot to live for, my friend. You should’ve told her the truth—about everything.”

Chase cut his dangerous dark eyes quickly to his friend then back to the road. “I’m going to wring her neck when I catch her!” he growled through gritted teeth.

Zoric shrugged. “I think you shouldn’t let this woman get to you. After all, she is just a woman.”

Chase accelerated around an eighteen wheeler. “Just a woman!” he stormed. “She’s a menace. Let’s just put her in charge of Homeland Security! She’ll scare the hell out of any terrorist outfit thinking about another attack. Then within six months our troubles will be over! Let’s hope the Israelis don’t make her an offer she can’t refuse. And I’m not letting her get to me!” he said forcefully.

The blinking light indicated low fuel. Taking the second exit to Auburn, Tessa passed two gas stations near the highway in case Chase was following her. She turned the phone off, hadn’t opted for the
On Star
and hadn’t made any obvious moves they would expect. But then again, everything Enigma set out to do was to over compensate for the unexpected. She wondered if her picture was now displayed at Enigma with an overlay of red crosshairs with the words
Know Your Enemy.

The quaint town of Auburn, filled with cozy shops and cottage like restaurants, bustled with Friday tourists from Sacramento. Tessa found an out of the way gas station and pulled in slowly, making sure no one had followed her. As always she turned off the car and slipped the key in her pocket. Several times when Sean Patrick was an infant she’d locked the key in the car and had developed the habit of not stepping out of the vehicle until the window was rolled down enough to reach in and unlock the door.
Paranoid,
Robert teased. Of course, Robert didn’t travel with children or understand the amount of trouble they could get into. Tessa smiled.
I bet by now he knows,
she thought cynically. She longed to hold them in her arms one more time before Enigma found her and locked her up.

Tessa kept watch over the area with a keen eye, expecting Chase’s Hummer to materialize any second. When it didn’t she tried to reassure herself that there was no way they could track her. Her mind switched gears when something caught her eye moving across the street into a large parking lot. A slow moving vehicle, a late model Volvo, drove around the lot several times before parking in the back row, furthest from the street. Tessa didn’t think it odd that they backed into the spot since she always tried to do the same thing to avoid having to look over the heads of children and flying McDonald straws. It made it so easy when you needed to leave.

At least four spots up front were open and yet the Volvo parked in the back. Two men exited from the backseat and looked around as if waiting for something. Tessa leaned down and looked across her front seat so as not to be seen. Someone still inside the car popped the trunk. The man farthest from her reached into the backseat and pulled an old man out onto wobbly legs. The other thug, as Tessa started to call him, lifted the trunk lid and helped shove the man inside. The old guy hadn’t put up a fight.

When the truck slammed shut two other men casually exited the car. One appeared to be in charge for the other three didn’t move until he walked forward toward the Chinese restaurant on the side street. The leader then turned his face in Tessa’s direction before slipping on his sunglasses like a movie star in disguise. There was no mistaking that the man in the sunglasses was the same man in the photo at Enigma. Essid. Where was Enigma when you needed them?

“It’s Tessa, Chase. She’s calling you.” Zoric gave the picture before him his yellow smile as he clicked to respond. “Tessa, are you safe?” Zoric tried to sound sincere and concerned; both difficult emotions for him.

“Zoric?”

“Yes, Tessa.” Just then another picture of a license plate of a black Volvo appeared on the phone screen. She must be right on top of the vehicle to get such a picture.