Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (36 page)

“
I take it you
’
re
Morgan.”

“
I am. And you are no longer of use to us.
”
Morgan stared at her as if expecting a reply.

“
Yeah, I don
’
t play well with others, especially when they kidnap me.
”

“
Fortunately for you, that time is at an end.
”

Angel
’
s stomach lurched and she looked at the weapons rack. Was this where she was to die? She swallowed hard.

“
Cool. So I can go, right?
”

“
Yes. After you fight me.
”
This time Morgan did smile, but
there was neither laughter nor guile in her eyes
. She was serious.

“
That
’
s stupid. If you
’
re going to let me leave, just point me to the door and I
’
ll be gone. No need for anybody to get hurt.
”

“
That is my condition, the same one I give everyone who is of no use. Fight me. If you win, you leave by the front door. If I win, you leave by the back door. It
’
s all very simple.
”

“
Right. I win and your lackey shoots me in the back, I suppose.
”

“
No. I meant what I said. Leave with honor or leave in disgrace, but you will not leave until you fight me. Locke thinks you might afford me a challenge.
”

“
You
’
re crazy. I guess you want to fight with those swords and spears and crap?
”
Angel hoped the answer was
“
no.
”
Knife fighting she could handle. Maybe a spear, if it was anything like a bo staff. But a sword? No way. And she didn
’
t even recognize some of the weapons, which looked medieval and more than a little sinister.

“
If you wish. I prefer hand to hand fighting,
”
Morgan said.

“
Mano a mano, huh?
”
Angel stared into Morgan
’
s eyes for a full five seconds, waiting for any indication that this was all a big joke. No dice. As she stared, she reminded herself that this woman was apparently the boss, which meant she was the one responsible for Angel
’
s kidnapping. Now she stood there, the arrogant cow, wanting to fight her. Fine. If there was one thing Angel knew how to do, it was fight.
“
All right. Take these cuffs off of me and let
’
s do this.
”

Jacob removed her cuffs and Angel took a moment to rub her wrists and work the kinks out of her shoulders. This wasn
’
t an ideal situation. She
’
d been captive for a few days now, and her body wasn
’
t at its best. There was nothing for it now. She took a deep breath, turned, and faced Morgan.

“
Say when.
”

Morgan raised her fists and flowed gracefully into a fighting stance.
Despite her beauty queen
appearance, she looked like she knew what she was doing. They circled one another, eyes locked.

Angel snapped a quick jab
which Morgan evaded
with ease.
She’d obviously done this before. Angel had better
take her seriously.

Morgan whipped a roundhouse kick that Angel checked and answered with a kick of her own that just missed. If she was fit and warmed up, she
’
d have landed it. Morgan grabbed Angel
’
s leg and tried to take her down, but Angel kept her balance and fought free. They traded kicks, to little effect, and Angel missed with a jab.

Now Morgan sprang forward with a flurry of punches. Angel blocked them,  landed an elbow that split Morgan
’
s cheek, and followed with a back fist that Morgan sprang back from. Angel pursued her backpedaling opponent, knocking her into the wall with a front kick, but Morgan danced away before Angel could close the gap.

It became a chess match. Morgan kept Angel at bay with kicks and jabs, always circling. She had correctly assessed that Angel was a brawler who hated this kind of fight, and thus refused to get in close. Angel
’
s lip
was bleeding, her eye
was puffy from taking several solid punches, and she was wearing down. Her arms felt like they were made of lead.

Morgan feinted a jab and, when Angel raised her hand to block, drove a side kick into Angel
’
s ribs, sending her sprawling to the carpet.

Knowing she was in serious trouble,
Angel
rolled to her feet before Morgan could pounce.
Okay, time to get to work.

She stalked Morgan, watching the woman
’
s footwork, the way she held her hands, the movements that indicated she was about to strike, looking for a pattern. Morgan pivoted her back foot, a sign that a roundhouse kick was on the way.

As Morgan
’
s weight shifted to her front leg, Angel lashed out with a kick of her own that smacked into Morgan
’
s kneecap. Morgan grunted in pain and tried to circle, but her leg betrayed her and she staggered.

Angel leapt into the air and drove a knee into Morgan
’
s gut. Morgan absorbed the blow and caught Angel on the chin with a left hook, but there was no power behind it. Angel barely felt it as she grabbed Morgan by the back of the neck, held her head down, and punished her with a flurry of
knees to the face and body
.

Desperate, Morgan struck blindly, clawing at Angel
’
s face, but scratches weren
’
t going to stop her. And, if Morgan could fight like a girl, so could she. She grabbed a handful of blonde hair, slammed Morgan
’
s hair into the wall, and followed with three hard
punches to the side of the head
that wobbled Morgan, followed by an uppercut that put her on the ground. 

Morgan struggled to rise, made it to her knees, and fell again. She raised her battered and bloodied face, glared at Angel, and whispered two words.

“
Kill her.
”

“
Here comes one.
”
Bones stepped into the roadway and raised his hands. The delivery van slowed to a halt and the driver rolled down the window. Willis approached the vehicle, holding a clipboard.

“
Is there a problem?
”
The driver sounded annoyed.
“
I
’
m already behind schedule.
”

“
Modron security,
”
he said in a lame British accent.
“
We need to inspect your vehicle.
”

“
But Modron
’
s another kilometer down the road. Why are you stopping us out here.
”

“
Only following orders
.
”
Willis shrugged as if to say, What are you going to do?
“
We
’
ll need to inspect the cab as well as the cargo bay. If you
’
ll step out, we won
’
t waste any more of your time than necessary.
”

The driver frowned, and Bones wondered if the man had picked up on Willis
’
fake accent. He looked Willis up and down, taking in his plain, black clothing and the radio clipped to his belt. Finally satisfied, he nodded, and
he and his father climbed out of the cab
.

Before the men knew what was happening, Bones and Willis had them stunned, bound, and hidden near the side of the road. Later, they
’
d make sure the authorities got an anonymous tip on the men
’
s whereabouts, and they
’
d be sure to implicate Morgan
’
s security staff. Matt and Corey, who had been hiding nearby, joined them.

Matt took the wheel, and Willis joined him in the cab, while Bones and Corey climbed inside the cargo area, which was packed almost to the ceiling with tents and folding chairs for the upcoming event, and rolled the door down behind them. As the truck lurched into motion, Corey fired up his laptop and prepared for his part of the job.

“
This had better work,
”
Bones muttered.

“
Think positive.
”
Corey
’
s words rang hollow. He hated these types of situations, and much preferred to remain somewhere safe and make his contributions from a distance. Bones had to hand it to his crew mate. Corey had really stepped up the past couple of days. Perhaps his confidence would grow.
“
They don
’
t have any reason to turn us away, or even inspect the truck closely. Matt and Willis have the driver
’
s paperwork. That should be enough.
”

“
But if they do
turn us back, we’re going to have to find a
way past motion detectors, over an electrified fence, and past
whatever other security measures
they
’
ve put in place.
”
Bones gripped his pistol and imagined how he might put it into use. Ever since Angel
’
s abduction, he
’
d tried very hard to remain optimistic. Things always seemed to work out for him and Maddock, and he figured it would be the same for her. He
’
d even managed to block the worries from his mind, until now. He was angry and a little afraid
—
not for himself, but for his sister.

“
Getting past those things is Maddock
’
s job. Besides, when did you turn into a rain cloud?
”
Corey asked.
“
Usually he
’
s the one talking about everything that could go wrong.
”

T
he truck made a sharp right
, then came to a stop. They waited in tense silence, straining to hear the conversation
outside
, but all Bones could make out was the muffled sound of voices. His fingers itched, and he felt the sudden urge to jump out of the truck and start fighting. He stilled his rising ire and waited.

Finally, he heard the doors of the truck close and they began to move again. He and Corey exchanged relieved smiles that were quickly wiped off their faces when Willis
’
voice sounded in their earpieces.

“
Bad news, boys. They bought the ruse, but they want their people to do the unloading. Left us standing outside the gate. Looks like you two are on your own for now. The guy at the gate is watching us close. If you need us to take him out, just call.
”

“
Great.
”
Bones turned to Corey.
“
Get as far back into the truck as you can. Make yourself a space behind the boxes. That
’
ll buy you some time.
”

Even in the dim light that filtered in, he
could see Corey swallow
hard, color draining from his face, before clambering out of sight. Bones squeezed into a gap to one side, where he wouldn
’
t be readily visible when the back doors opened. He waited, Glock in one hand and Recon knife in the other, but the doors did not open. A minute passed. Then another. Nothing.

“
How are you coming on that hack, Corey?
”

“
The signal’
s weak, probably because we
’
re inside a metal box, but it looks like the same system that was in place at the museum, at least the security part of
it
. I
’
ll see what I can do with it.
”
A minute later, he heard Corey
’
s triumphant whisper.
“
I
’
m in. Are you ready?
”

“
Always.
”
Bones sheathed his knife, but kept his Glock handy. Tension and exhilaration surged through him in equal measure as he raised the back
door and climbed out
. Now, to find Angel.