Anaz-Voohri (18 page)

Even afterwards, she didn’t let go of him. “Let’s keep doing it.”

“Right now?"
Zack panicked at her uncommon appetite. “I need a few minutes.”

“Sorry." She smiled sheepishly then cuddled against him. “Hold me,
corrazon
. I want to sleep with you just like this.”

How could he resist her? He kissed her shoulder then buried his face in her hair and breathed in the heady scent of gardenias. “I could stay like this forever.”

*****

The week in Key Largo flew by like a honeymoon dream, and Zack never wanted it to end. For the first time since his sister’s abduction, he’d lightened up and enjoyed swimming, snorkeling, boat trips over the reef, walks along the shore, and seafood dinners by moonlight. The torrid nights with Tia in the hotel room sometimes went on for most of the day as well.

Unfortunately, the time came to return to the base and receive their new assignments. Zack found it difficult not to be depressed. What kind of future could he possibly hope for? A tryst between two professional soldiers couldn’t possibly last. He and Tia might never see each other again, except for a few days each year. Not enough to keep a relationship alive.

So when Zack opened his envelope and discovered he was promoted to Captain and given his own unit, he immediately glanced at Tia.

“Congratulations, Captain." She flashed a smug smile. “Ordinarily, I would be pissed at getting passed over. But given the circumstances, I’ll take it as a sign from above." She gave him a sexy salute. “Meet your Second In Command, Lieutenant Tia Vargas.”

“My Second
In
Command?" Zack didn’t dare rejoice, yet.

Tia scoffed. “It’s not like I have a choice in the matter." She gave him a sizzling look that reminded him of their last night in Largo. “The way I see it,
it’s
fate. It means we are destined for each other. But there is a catch.”

“Isn’t there always?" Zack wanted to pick her up and throw her in the air, but he didn’t dare show his feelings on base. Besides, something told him the catch part would be a bitch. “Spill it.”

She sighed and scanned the room. Even though no one else lurked in the dorm, she whispered. “If the military ever learns that something’s going on between a captain and his first in command, it’s not just professional suicide,
it’s
instant Court Martial.”

Was anything ever perfect? How he wanted to plant a big kiss on her soft lips. But he controlled himself. They’d have to keep their love secret. “It won’t be easy.”

As long as they remained close to each other, however, Zack didn’t mind.
Anything but separation.
“It’s going to be hard pretending not to care.”

Tia smiled. “We can still tell each other how we feel.”

“How?”

“When I was a kid, I found a cool code on the internet to correspond with my brother Felipe." Tia’s smile vanished at the mention of her dead brother.

“You loved him very much, didn’t you?”

“Yes." She took a deep breath. “My parents never suspected our secret communications. The code is supposed to be unbreakable. I’ll give it to you.”

“Now?”

“It’s simple. Look." She took out her electronic pad and punched a few keys. “There it is. Give me your epad and I’ll transfer the code.”

“How does it work?" He handed her his epad.

Tia linked the two devices together and pushed a key to download the program. “Just write your message, translate it through the program,
then
send it. I’ll translate it back at the other end and vice-versa.
Nothing to it.”

*****

Zack’s unit shipped out to Afghanistan that morning. He’d met most of his soldiers at Camp Hell during training. Tia took her role of Second
In
Command very seriously. As the others in the team knew and feared her, Zack wouldn’t have to deal with disciplinary measures, something he didn’t like much.

Then started a series of official and unofficial missions, from hostage rescues in Iraq to the jungles of South America, where Tia’s experience and language skills proved invaluable.

But Zack had made a solemn promise to his sister. With each passing month his frustration grew, as rescue or revenge seemed to slip farther from his reach. Occasionally, his unit would attend special training in new weapons and practice some of the skills they didn’t use in traditional warfare, but it never seemed enough.

Zack spent all his free time off base, sneaking out to meet Tia in secret for some very private R&R. No one ever suspected their relationship. Whenever the FBI or the CIA requested Zack to examine or analyze some alien piece of technology found after a UFO crash or a sighting, Tia would take over his command for a few days.

They had been in Afghanistan for six months when the message popped on Zack’s epad one morning, and it made him shudder with foreboding.

Dear Zack Duncan, if you ever want to see your sister alive, please
be
at these coordinates at sunset in two days for a chat, and make sure to come alone.

Latitude and longitude codes followed. The message was signed,
Captain K
.

Chapter Twelve

Ashley was alive! The first news of Ashley in two years since her psychic communications had stopped. Alone in the barracks, Zack reread the message. Despite the sinister tone, his hopes soared again.

The email couldn’t come from official sources, the syntax didn’t fit the concise military style, and they would have used his rank and last name only. Still, he wondered who could have infiltrated the government firewalls. Wracking his brain, Zack couldn’t remember ever meeting a captain whose name started with a K. And who on Earth would have control over his sister?

Did Captain K have connections with the Anaz-voohri? Zack couldn’t believe humans would side with an alien foe. Or could the message come directly from the Anaz-voohri? He flinched at the thought. If they monitored secret military communications, there was no hope to surprise them. He’d have to warn the General in charge to protect the codes better.

Zack only had two days. Due for a break, he’d planned on spending it with Tia. He checked the coordinates of the rendezvous on the topo map, a mountain range in the middle of the Afghani desert, a day’s ride and half a day’s climb from where he was stationed.
The perfect place to land a spacecraft, away from prying eyes and from any human activity.

After warning the higher ups and sending a coded email to Michalski, the former FBI agent now part of the secret committee in charge of anti-Anaz-voohri operations, Zack didn’t feel any better. He’d sent the coordinates and requested Air Force fighting jets stand by. That’s all he could do. He couldn’t wait for a reply or call on the phone for lack of a secure line. Besides, the note said he should come alone.

Pushing away his apprehension, Zack went to the motor pool and put in a request for a motorcycle. From the armory he borrowed several explosive devices, selected his weapons and threw them into a bag.

As he finished packing, Tia walked in, surveying the room. “Going somewhere?"

Zack glanced up. He rejoiced at the chance to talk to her alone before leaving. “Don’t worry. The whole unit is still at breakfast.”

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I thought we weren’t leaving until tomorrow.”

“My plans just changed. Sorry, I can’t make it.”

“Why?"

He showed her the message and explained the situation.

“You can’t just go solo, it’s too dangerous." She pulled out her knapsack. “I’m coming with you,
corrazon
. Someone has to watch your back.”

Of course, she was right, but Zack couldn’t let her be killed, or taken and tortured by the Anaz-voohri. “I’ve got to do this alone, it’s important. I’ve worked toward this moment for years. This is my first shot at rescuing my sister. I can’t afford to botch it.”

She frowned.

Zack would give his life to save his sister, but he couldn’t live with Tia’s death on his conscience. Although as soldiers they faced the possibility every day, this mission was personal. “I have more than enough backup. I need you to stay with the unit.”

“But I..." She stared at him a challenge in her eyes.

“No buts. It’s an order.”

Her body stiffened like each time he pulled rank on her, but she didn’t argue. Discipline was the only rule Tia fully understood.

“I’m sorry,” he said to soften the blow. “But if I don’t make it back, someone will have to take over the fight, and no one is better qualified than you.”

Tia saluted. “Aye, Captain." She faked a loud sigh. “I’d prefer to be over there with you, but I do understand. I’ll stick with the troops." When Zack’s face closed like that, she knew she couldn’t get through to him, so she wouldn’t even try.

Tia didn’t mind taking orders from Zack, most of the time anyway. He was always fair and consulted her when he had any doubts, but she couldn’t let him go alone on a suicide mission to meet Anaz-voohri sympathizers or worse.

Disobeying a direct order could cost her career, but to protect Zack she would chance anything. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time. Her very relationship with him had proved disastrous for her military career. She’d lost her command to him and would face Court-Martial if their relationship were uncovered. Now, she would ignore a direct order? But she couldn’t let him go without watching his back.

Michalski’s jet fighters would be on standby, minutes away, but too far to prevent Zack from getting killed. Tia wanted to be there with him, and she had a devilish idea to make that happen.

Shading her eyes from the morning sun, she watched Zack drive away on the motorcycle, raising a cloud of fine sand in his wake. As soon as he disappeared from view, she took out her epad and punched in the message engraved in her dependable memory, including the precise coordinates.

Within half an hour, Tia had gathered the whole unit in the dorm, fifty soldiers. “We have a special mission of the highest importance. It’s dangerous, top-secret, and no one on the base must suspect anything about it.”

She saw a few troops smile at the prospect. They loved that kind of semi-official mission. No rules, no questions asked.
Free reins on the means.
All that mattered was the outcome.

“Everyone pack your desert gear, weapons, climbing gear, water, rations, but act and dress as if you’re going on leave to Kabul for a spin.”

“Where are we going, Lieutenant?" The soldier caught himself then looked down. “Sorry.”

Tia glared at him. “Didn’t I say top secret?" She scanned the rows of jarheads with a challenging gaze, thankful for the option of keeping her long tresses.
“Any more questions?"
Of course, they knew better than to ask.

The troops stood at attention, no one as much as breathed. No soldier dared to mess with Lieutenant Tia Vargas. She suppressed a smile. She had to maintain her reputation as a merciless dragon, if only to prevent them from getting too close and probing into her personal life. “The captain went ahead, and you’ll be briefed about the target after we leave the base. Be ready in front of the barracks at ten hundred hours. Trucks will be waiting.”

*****

Zack felt like a fool, riding toward what could only be a trap, but he didn’t have a choice. This was personal. He’d waited to meet face to face with his sister’s captors ever since her
abduction,
and he would not fail her now. As for what awaited him on the top of that mountain, he trusted his training and the latest weapons in the human arsenal to give him an edge. Other than that, he had no clue what to expect.

Following his progress on the GPS clipped to the gas tank, Zack swallowed the miles north. He rode through the unmapped desert all day. In the absence of roads, the vibrations shook his body like a constant jackhammer. By nightfall, exhausted, he reached the southern foot of the mountain. He could barely stand once he dismounted the bike.

It would be stupidly dangerous to attempt the climb by night in his state of fatigue. He’d start at dawn. After concealing the motorcycle behind an outcropping of rocks, Zack wrapped himself in a blanket, leaned back against a boulder, laid his rifle beside him, and promptly fell asleep.

*****

Tia didn’t want Zack to know she followed him, so she’d chosen a roundabout way to the mountain. While the three vehicles rode across the rocky desert, she’d gone from truck to truck, briefing her team. Then she’d ordered them to gear up and rest as much as possible.

She assumed Zack would remain south of the range, following the shortest route. So she directed the convoy to the opposite slopes to the north. They reached their destination four hours after nightfall.

Tia ordered the trucks parked in a gully under radar-deflecting camouflage then she designated three sentries. “The rest of you follow me to the top with the equipment." She’d smuggled the portable equipment out of the base and didn’t want to think what would happen if the brass ever found out about it. But she couldn’t let Zack face this particular enemy without big guns.