Charade (24 page)

And now for the weapons,
she reminded herself, grabbing the dynamite from its hiding place behind the room’s small refrigerator.
Even though you won’t need to blow anything up now because—
she pulled out her credit card and admired it proudly—
you’ve got this!

She had never felt so confident during an op, and forced herself to remember that there were still things that could go wrong. Not to mention, things that may have already gone wrong on Jeff’s end.

But that seemed unlikely. He was too careful, too methodical, to leave anything to chance. He and Teal were awaiting her at the lab—she just knew it—and that knowledge fueled another burst of confidence as she strode out of her bedroom and back into the hall.

Sasha’s bravado took a blow as she battled her way up the mountain with the icy wind stinging her eyes, making her gasp aloud again and again. The hail-like snow combined with the darkness had lowered visibility nearly to zero despite the full moon that was trying to be of assistance.

Then Sasha heard shouting from the direction of the lab door. The sound was moving toward her, and she realized someone was running down the path, calling out in Kestonian. All she could think was that a guard must have spotted Jeff and Teal.

You were supposed to find a safe hiding place and wait for me,
she rebuked them. Then she stepped directly into the man’s path. He drew up short and fumbled with his machine gun, but Sasha was ready for him and kicked it cleanly out of his hands. Then she advanced on him, swinging her right fist as though aiming for his face. As she had hoped, he erroneously assumed she was right-handed, and he tried to block the blow with his own right arm, allowing her to grab him above the wrist with her left hand, shift her weight,
then
flip him onto his back. Diving for the machine gun, she used the butt of the weapon to bash his skull soundly.

He didn’t move after that, even when she poked him with her foot, so she dropped to her knees and gagged him. Then she tied his hands behind him with his belt, bound his ankles with his wool scarf, and shoved him into the brush that lined the path.

Where there’s one, there could be more,
she reminded herself. Concern for Teal and Jeff bubbled through her adrenaline-laced high. Jumping to her feet, she reached for the machine gun, turned, then gasped at the sight of her two accomplices standing right there on the path, wide grins on both of their faces.

“Nice work, Camper,” Jeff said, his green eyes twinkling.

“Teal!”
Sasha strode up to the teenager and gave her a hearty embrace. “Are you okay?”

“She’s amazing,” Jeff said reverently.

“Except I punched Jeff by mistake,” Teal told Sasha. “But he’s okay, I think.”

Sasha gave Jeff a smile.
“So far so good?”

“Yeah.
Did you get the key card?”

Sasha nodded. “And some dynamite, just in case. Now we have a machine gun, too.”

“We have a whole pile of them up by the lab,” Teal told her proudly. “Come and see.”

Intrigued, Sasha followed them to a cache of six guards who were gagged and trussed just like the one Sasha had overpowered. “You were supposed to wait for me!” she reminded her companions with a frustrated laugh.

“If there had been a lot of them, we would have,” Teal explained. “But six? It was so easy.”

“Definitely helps to have a superkid on our side,” Jeff added with a wink.

“He fought four of them. I only did two. He’s been so wonderful, Sasha,” Teal gushed.

“Really?
Well, from now on, he and I will do all the fighting. Understand?”

“You have to let me help!”

Sasha pretended to glare. “Those are my favorite jeans you’re wearing, and I want them back in perfect condition.
No
bloodstains.”

Teal sighed. “We were so worried about
you,
we almost came to get you. But Jeff said you could handle Zelasko, and he was right.”

Sasha flashed him a grateful smile. “Thanks for sticking to the plan. It’s working, right?”

“Definitely.
But we’ve still got a couple of hurdles to clear,” Jeff reminded her. “For one thing, we don’t know how many guards are inside the lab, or what other security measures they’re using in there.”

“And we have to be across the border by midnight for sure,” Sasha added, explaining rapidly about the change in the timing of the demolition.

“That’s a bad break,” Jeff murmured. “We can’t afford to spend much time up here.”

“I’m not leaving without my eggs,” Teal countered stubbornly.

Jeff scowled, but didn’t protest. “Let’s get moving then.
Camper?
We saw a camera over the lab door. I doubt if the feed goes back to the fortress—it’s probably dedicated to the lab. And at this hour, I’m ninety-nine percent sure the monitor isn’t manned. Still, we can’t just waltz up to it. We’ve got to assume we’re being watched.”

“I agree.”

“There’s a palm print device up there as well as the slot for the key card,” Jeff continued. “If someone’s monitoring from inside, they’ll see that the print doesn’t match the card.”

“I got Zelasko’s palm print, so we’re okay on that front. But the video camera—”

“Don’t worry. Jeff has a plan,” Teal assured her, and Sasha had to smile at the adoration in the girl’s tone. Not that she blamed her. Sasha had felt that way about Jeff herself, hadn’t she? The more she saw him in action, the more she watched him plan his ops, the more impressed she had become.

Jeff cleared his throat. “I figure Zelasko’s men have all heard about your romance with him by now. So you’re gonna play you, Teal’s gonna play Teal. And I’m gonna be Zelasko. Think I can pull it off?”

Sasha nodded,
then
reached up to straighten his cap so that it completely hid his blond hair. “You’re only slightly taller. And your coat is just like his. Don’t look at the camera. Like you said, when they see
me,
they’ll think you’re him.
And when you use his key card, that’ll confirm it.
If I seem enthralled, and you seem confident, and—Teal?
You need to act loopy, like you were the other day.” She paused,
then
nodded emphatically.
“Absolutely.
We can pull it off.”

As they approached the arched door imbedded in the mountain, Sasha forced herself to smile and talk to Jeff as though she were flirting with Zelasko. He had one arm around her waist and nuzzled
her a
little as they walked, but his attention was partly on Teal, who was trudging ahead of them like a zombie. They had tied her hands, and “Zelasko” had a pistol trained on her, but it hardly seemed necessary, since she didn’t appear to have the presence of mind to mount an escape attempt.

Jeff’s idea was that anyone monitoring the situation would think the dictator was trying to impress his American mistress by putting on a demonstration of Teal’s powers. If their performance was convincing, the onlookers would be confused enough to hesitate, and that moment of hesitation would give Jeff a chance to swipe the key card and use the palm print. Then the threesome would storm the lab, overpowering any resistance before word could be sent to the fortress.

When they reached the door, Jeff pulled Sasha against himself and kissed her.

She gladly wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. She was so grateful to him, and she suspected that after tonight she would never see him again. It was a shame, because there was so much to say.
So many loose ends to wrap up.
But at least they had rescued Teal together, and if they managed to take down Dante, also, that would have to be enough to last them the rest of their lives.

She knew his thoughts were quite the opposite. His was the thorough, adoring kiss of a man who believed he was
beginning
a long, sexy affair, not ending one. In fact, he was
so
loving, so
tender,
she wanted to warn him that in this one sense, his impression of Vlados Zelasko was completely and utterly unconvincing.

But it was over before she could bring herself to say anything. Then as they had planned, she turned her face up toward the camera, pretending to admire the height of the arched door frame. At the same moment, Jeff slid the card in the slot,
then
placed the palm print over the scanner.

A loud click announced that the lock had been released, and Jeff grabbed the door handle and pushed, then motioned for the females to precede him into the lab. There were two guards, both at attention, neither of whom had drawn a weapon. There were also two men in lab coats. All four were staring at the newcomers, and it was clear they were too afraid to be vigilant or suspicious.

Sasha walked right up to the two soldiers and began babbling as though she had been drinking. Teal distracted the two civilians by pretending to be so unsteady on her feet that they rushed to her assistance. Meanwhile, Jeff strode right past the entire group and down the only hallway. When he finally turned back to them, he was pointing the pistol and barking orders in Kestonian, the signal that he had checked the entry and hall for additional cameras and hadn’t found any.

The soldiers and lab workers fell to their knees, and while Jeff kept the pistol on the guards, Sasha and Teal tied up and gagged the civilians, who seemed relieved that they were going to survive the assault. Then Jeff ordered one guard to tie up the other. When that was done, Jeff cracked the butt of his pistol onto the skull of the unbound guard, who slumped to the ground. Sasha then tied up that one, as well.

“Come on.” Jeff led Sasha and Teal down the hall, narrating as they walked. “Office, office, laboratory, restrooms,
a
small kitchen and…” He sent Sasha a warning glance before saying, “That room at the end looks like a containment facility.”

“Like a refrigeration room?” Teal asked. “Maybe that’s where my eggs are!”

“I’ll check it out,” he told her gruffly. “You said you’re good with computers, right? Try to hack into the records in one of those offices, will you? Sasha? You help her.”

Teal shook her head. “But—”

“Just do it,” Jeff interrupted. “Until we find out what’s in the containment lab, no one goes in there but me. Got it?”

Teal pouted. “Okay, okay.”

Sasha touched her shoulder. “It makes sense, honey. If you can find records of their experiments, we’ll know
where
the eggs are, we’ll know how many and we’ll know what’s been done to them. Plus, you might find more information about the people behind all this. We need that, right? So we can stop them. Otherwise, you’ll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, wondering if they’ll come after you again.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Teal admitted.
“Sorry, Jeff.
I didn’t mean to be a pain.”

He grinned. “You’re like the bratty kid sister I never had. But I forgive you. Just get going.”

Teal walked back toward the closest office, then turned to Sasha and murmured, “Are you coming?”

“In a sec.
I’ve got to ask Jeff something first.”

The teenager nodded then disappeared into the room.

“Okay,” Sasha said quietly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Jeff cleared his throat. “It’s not a refrigeration
unit,
it’s a Level Four biosafety lab.
Which means they’re storing a lot more than eggs in here.
”

“You
mean,
viruses?
Biological weapons?
In Vlad Zelasko’s hands?”
Sasha groaned. “He’s so power hungry, Jeff. I think he really wants to take over the world.
Or at least, Europe.
But I thought it was just megalomania.”

“Teal can’t go in there, that’s for sure. You and I have to minimize exposure, too. Which means I go, you stay out here. That’s an order.” Stepping closer, he added with a warm smile, “Just for the record, that’s the last order I’ll ever give you. You have my word on that.”

Sasha scanned his expression warily. “What do you mean?”

“Remember when you told me to find a way to be your handler
and
your boyfriend?”

“Jeff—”

“Wait. Let me say this.” His words came out in a torrent. “As your handler, I’d be your superior. I couldn’t ethically pursue a sexual relationship with you. And trust
me,
I’m going to pursue one.”

“Jeff—”

“Ten more seconds,” he insisted. “You’re mad at me. I don’t blame you. But I’m going to make things up to you. From now on, we’re partners.
Equals.
And in my book, partners can get away with a lot more, relationship-wise. So—” he gave her a proud smile “—that’s the new plan.”

“
It’s
soooo romantic,” Teal announced from behind them, her tone breathless. “Sasha, you
have
to say yes.”

S asha sent Teal a warning glare. “Aren’t you supposed to be hacking into the computer?”

“I already found my records. And guess what? The surgery to remove my eggs is scheduled for next Wednesday.” The girl’s blue eyes danced with happiness. “You rescued me before they got them.”

“You’re not rescued yet,” Sasha reminded her. “We need to get you to the border before midnight. And before then, Jeff needs to check out the containment lab, and I need to search for records about A. Are you going to help me?”

Teal nodded, subdued.

Sasha turned to Jeff. “We’ll talk later. Okay?”

“Sure.” He gave Teal a reassuring smile. “We’re almost out of here, kid. Just give me a few minutes.”

Sasha watched him push a metal release button next to the containment door, which then slowly opened with a hissing sound. It closed just as slowly behind him.

“He loves you,” Teal murmured.

“Or at least he thinks he does.” Sasha grimaced. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, honey. But things between me and Jeff are complicated—not to mention hopeless. So don’t encourage him, okay?”

“I can sense things about people.
About their feelings.
Jeff doesn’t just
think
he loves you. He honestly does. The weird part is—” Teal took a deep breath “—I can’t tell how you feel about
him.
”