Reach For the Spy (40 page)

Stemp would suffer for
this. For causing these good men pain. For making me lie to them.
He would suffer.

Germain released my
hand with a sympathetic look as our food arrived. We ate in
silence, the men with their stoic grief, and I with my tortured
conscience.

By the end of the day,
my head was pounding even before I stepped out of the virtual
network. When the wave of extra pain hit, I swore violently and
clutched my skull.

“Aydan, stop!” Spider’s
agitated voice penetrated my misery. I cracked open one eye and
realized he had both hands wrapped around my head.

“Stop,” he repeated
urgently, and I desisted from beating my head against the couch. I
let out a prolonged whine while I slowly uncurled.

“Are you okay?” His
worried face hovered in front of me.

“Fine.” I massaged my
temples, trying to hide how much my head still hurt. Poor Spider.
He really didn’t need any more stress right now.

“No, really, I’m fine,”
I repeated. “Just a long day, that’s all.” I stood slowly and
carefully. “I’m going home for a while. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay...” His distress
was plainly visible on his face, and the guilt surged back stronger
than ever. I was afraid of what might happen tonight, but I didn’t
think I was as worried as Spider was.

Why couldn’t I just
tell him Kane was alive? It would change everything for him.

As I stood wrestling
with indecision, Mike Connor poked his head in the door. “Ready to
roll, Spider?”

“Yeah, just about,”
Spider replied. He turned to me, his face still troubled. Then he
wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “See you later,”
he said tremulously.

I hugged him back. “See
you.”

He glanced back at me
one more time with anxious eyes as he went out the door.

Promptly at nine
o’clock, I pulled up in front of the park. My hands shook, and my
stomach toyed distastefully with my supper. I leaned back in the
seat and took a few long, even breaths, trying to slow my
pulse.

There was no reason to
be worried. Nothing bad could happen. Kane was there. And the mole
couldn’t deliver me to Fuzzy Bunny because they didn’t even know he
was doing this. Plus, they wanted me alive. Really, they did.

My heart stepped up the
pace. I blew out a shaky sigh and picked up the shopping bag from
the passenger seat. I’d packed some candles and other props into
it, hoping to look as though I was convincingly absorbed in
preparing for the memorial.

I gulped down my fear
and strode toward the clearing Spider and I had selected. He would
already be in place with his video camera, so I deliberately
avoided glancing in that direction.

I was just kneeling
down to reach into my bag when the sounds of a violent struggle
shattered the silence. Underbrush crackled and snapped, and the
sound of heavy impact and male grunts of pain and effort made me
rocket to my feet.

Kane!

I dashed toward the
noise.

When I burst through
the bushes, Kane and Germain were locked in combat. Shock and
horror rooted me to the ground.

Germain was the
traitor? I had trusted him with my life.

My mind whirled while
they battered each other. I’d seen them spar before, but the speed
and violence of a real fight was appalling between the two men I’d
liked and trusted.

My paralysis broke, and
I lunged toward them. “Stop!”

They both froze for a
fraction of a second, and in the momentary silence, another voice
spoke behind me. “Yes. Stop.”

I whirled to face
Stemp. He sidestepped, looking for a clear shot, his gun already
searching for Kane.

“No!” The word tore
from my throat and I flung myself between them.

“Aydan, don’t!” Kane’s
voice sounded almost simultaneously.

I backpedalled rapidly,
still staying in Stemp’s line of fire until I backed into Kane.
“Run!” My voice didn’t seem to be working right. I spread my arms
to make myself a bigger target. “John, get the hell out of
here!”

“Stay where you are.”
Germain’s voice was hard as ice as he snatched his gun up from the
ground to aim at Kane, too.

Heart pounding, I
shifted my position to cover Kane from two angles. I shoved my back
against him. “Go!
Go
, dammit!”

“Aydan, no.” His hands
closed on my shoulders and he tried to move me out of the way.

Germain’s face twisted.
“You knew he was alive. You lied. You sat there beside me at his
funeral, and you knew he was alive.”

The betrayal in his
face stabbed me in the heart. “Carl, I swear I didn’t know. Stemp
knew. He lied to us all.”

“Shut up.” Stemp jerked
his head. “And move.”

“You won’t shoot me,” I
quavered. My legs shook uncontrollably.

“I won’t kill you. Of
course I’ll shoot you if necessary.” His gun drifted downward. “You
don’t need your knees to decrypt files.”

“Drop it!” Germain’s
gun snapped around to point at Stemp.

A small canister
tumbled onto the ground just inside my peripheral vision.

All hell broke
loose.

A ragged chorus of
men’s voices bellowed, “Aydan, run!”

I gasped a breath and
immediately doubled over, gagging and coughing. My eyes seared with
scalding tears and I pawed wildly at them. Shots rang out. I heard
the thud of bodies hitting the ground, but I was completely
blind.

I staggered helplessly
sideways, trying to escape the choking agony.

An arm closed around my
shoulders. “Aydan, come on. Hurry, we’ve got to get you out of
here!”

I stumbled along beside
my rescuer. Tears and snot poured down my face and my stomach lost
the battle with supper as I hunched over, vomiting and choking.

“Come on! Hurry!” The
arm around my shoulders was insistent.

I blundered along as
best I could, still blinded.

At last, I heard the
sound of a vehicle door. “Come on, let’s get you in here. Step up.
No, higher.”

“Mike?” I choked.

“Yes, I’m just putting
you in the ambulance. Sit here.” He swivelled me around and lowered
me onto a soft surface. The stretcher, I assumed. I heard the door
close.

“You’re going to be all
right,” he assured me. “Here.”

A cool, wet cloth
pressed into my hand and I mopped at my face uselessly. The
stinging pain didn’t abate and more tears poured down.

“What about the
others?” I gasped.

“There’s another
ambulance coming,” he said firmly. “Our first priority is to make
sure you’re safe. Hold on...”

A small electronic
beep. He must be answering his phone. My guess was confirmed when
he spoke.

“Connor.” Alarm flared
into his voice. “Hang on, we’re coming!”

The ambulance rocked as
he apparently rushed forward to the driver’s seat.

“Aydan, I’m sorry, we
have to go. Spider has collapsed, and there are no other ambulances
available.”

Fresh terror pierced my
heart. “Go, go! Hurry!” I choked.

I barely managed to
keep my balance when he accelerated. “Wait, where are we going?” I
demanded. “Spider’s in the park.”

“No, that’s why I was
here.” Connor’s voice was strained. “He got delayed. He was worried
you’d be alone in the park, so he told me to come and let you know
he was going to be late. He’s still at home.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

I scrubbed frantically
at my face. The burning was starting to dissipate, and I finally
managed to squint my eyes open. My heart hammered in my chest.

“Any word on the others
yet?”

“I wouldn’t know. We’re
shorthanded tonight, that’s why I’m alone.” He swerved around a
corner. “Tonight, of all nights.”

“Did you see anything?”
I persisted.

Three shots. I was sure
I’d heard three shots. And bodies falling. Oh, God.

“Aydan, I’m sorry, I
couldn’t see anything. I barely got you out.” He sounded so
stressed that I shut up and worried in silence instead, still
dabbing at my eyes and nose. At least I could breathe and see
again.

We slid to a halt in
front of Spider’s small newly-purchased bungalow. Connor leaped
from his seat and began to rummage in the back. “Aydan, I’m sorry
to ask you, but can you walk yet? Can you help me?”

I sprang up despite my
still-wobbling legs. “Yeah, come on, let’s go!”

“Hurry. He’s in the
bedroom.” Connor was flinging equipment into a bag as he spoke, and
I didn’t wait around. “I’ll be right behind you,” he called as I
ran up the sidewalk to the front door.

Unlocked. Thank
God.

I burst through the
door, shouting Spider’s name. No response. A wild glance around the
small house revealed a hallway to the left and I sped down it,
glancing in doors as I went.

In the last bedroom,
Spider’s lanky body sprawled motionless on the floor. I dove into
the room and skidded to a halt on my knees beside him. His colour
was good and I gasped a breath of sheer relief when I felt his
steady pulse. Connor’s feet pounded across the hardwood floor in
the living room.

“In here!” I called, my
eyes still glued to Spider. He was unconscious, but at least he
seemed to be breathing well. What the hell could have happened to
him?

I heard Connor behind
me at last, and moved aside so he could kneel beside his friend.
When he didn’t, I spared him an urgent glance. “Come on, hurry
up.”

“Aydan, we’ve got
another problem.” His tone sent a chill down my spine.

“What?” I demanded, on
the verge of snapping completely.

“The house is on
fire.”

“
What?
” My voice
rose in a panicked shriek.

“Come on, we have to
get out, now!” As Connor grabbed my arm, I smelled the first whiff
of smoke.

“Help me.” I grabbed
Spider’s arms. “Get his legs.”

“No, we have to go.
Now!” He yanked my arm. Already the smoke smell was getting
stronger.

I jerked my arm away.
“No! Come on, we have to get him out!”

“Leave him. There’s no
time!”

I shot him a single
incredulous glare and seized Spider’s arms. I was dragging him
toward the door when something in Connor’s voice stopped me.

“Aydan. Leave him.”

I turned to face Connor
and my mouth dropped open at the sight of the gun in his hand.

“Mike?” My voice felt
lost in my throat. Dark smoke was beginning to collect on the
ceiling. My eyes started to sting again.

“Move.” He jerked the
gun.

Horrified comprehension
flooded me. Three shots. Three bodies falling. And Connor hadn’t
been affected by the tear gas.

“Mike, no!” I couldn’t
believe it. I had to be wrong. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think?
You’re going for a ride. Webb’s going to take the fall. And I’m
going back to work at Sirius tomorrow morning as a dedicated
employee. Move it, or I’ll shoot.”

I gaped at him for
another second before desperate defiance took over.

“No. You won’t shoot
me. You need me alive.”

The smoke was getting
thicker. Panting with terror, I couldn’t seem to suck enough air
into my lungs. My throat prickled and burned.

“True. I’ll shoot him
instead.” He pointed the gun at Spider’s head.

“No!” I fell to my
knees beside Spider, trying to block the shot.

“Then come on.
Now!”

I doubled over,
rocking. Tears slid from my stinging eyes again. “Just let me say
goodbye.”

I turned my back on
Connor and bent over Spider as if in the throes of grief.

And carefully freed my
baby Glock from its holster. The one thing Connor didn’t know
about.

“Hurry up.” Connor
coughed. The room was beginning to fill with smoke. “That attached
garage is full of accelerant. The whole place’ll go up in a few
minutes.”

Okay, I could hurry up.
I spun on my knees and took two smooth shots. I knew I wouldn’t
miss.

Connor’s body began to
topple, two dark holes in his forehead, but I was already turning
back to Spider.

I grabbed his wrists
and dragged him toward the door. Thank God for slippery hardwood. A
lungful of smoke made me double over coughing. My eyes teared up
and my nose ran.

I almost threw up again
as I shoved Connor’s flaccid body aside to make a way for me to
drag Spider past. The smoke was so thick I had to bend double to
breathe and see where I was going. In the living room, my knees
gave out and I sprawled beside Spider on the floor, gasping.

Stay low. I crept
forward on my belly. A few inches. Pull Spider behind me. A few
more inches. Thank God for hardwood. A few more inches.

In the heat and
darkness of the smoke, panic engulfed me. I was lost. Completely
disoriented. Even lying prone, I couldn’t see more than a few feet
in front of me. I pushed my face to the floor in a desperate search
for clean air while my breath wheezed in my constricted throat. The
distant crackle of flames spurred me on. I dug my toes into the
hardwood and pushed forward another inch.

A bolt of agony shot
through my outflung arm. With difficulty, I focused on the large
boot that had crushed it. Strong hands pulled at my grip on
Spider’s wrist. A muffled voice bellowed in my ear.

“Let go! Let go!”

“NO!”

Smoke seared my lungs
and coughing threatened to rip me in half. Hard hands gripped my
bruised arms and legs.

Coolness on my face.
Warm lips on mine.

“Come on, Aydan,
breathe!” I caught a glimpse of Tom’s tense face before I jerked
into a ball, coughing helplessly.

“Spider,” I gasped
between paroxysms.

“The man who was with
you?”

I nodded, still
choking. An oxygen mask materialized out of nowhere and covered my
nose and mouth.

“We got him. Is there
anybody else in there?”