At Any Cost (19 page)

The flight attendant appeared with another Jack on the rocks. She should have asked for Vodka. Oh well. JT accepted the drink and took a long sip. Yuck. But it worked.

She leaned her head back on the leather seat and closed her eyes. They still had several hours left on the plane. It was a ten and a half hour flight, after all. Might as well get in some sleep now while she could.

"First class is nice," she commented lazily and took another long pull on the straw in her drink.

"I take it this is your first time in first class?"

"Yep. And that reminds me, just how did you get a first class ticket and I get stuck in the back of the plane?" She opened her eyes and looked at him. To her chagrin, he was staring right back at her.

"I bought a first class ticket."

"Why didn't you buy me one?"

"I did. You're sitting in it. It wasn't cheap. And you're welcome."

She wasn't about to thank him. For anything. "Why didn't you just upgrade? Isn't that cheaper?"

"I canceled my ticket this morning before we left HQ. Mercado has control over everything. If we were booked on the same flight, he'd find out. I rebooked under a different name."

Made sense. "Why didn't you just rebook mine under a different name, too?"

"Because Mercado needs to see you come in. He doesn't need to see me."

Again, made sense. "You could have at least upgraded my seat."

"Quit whining. You won't flee from a jealous boyfriend in an act of desperation and book a first class ticket. Mercado would know. As soon as you step foot in his compound, he'll be running a background on you. I've pulled in a few favors from some of the boys back home. Your background check will funnel through them. They have instructions as to what to return."

"How did you do that?"

"I still have a few connections."

"Obviously." Rather than being impressed, JT didn't really care about his connections. The drinks went right to her head. All she wanted to do now was sleep, having only had a few hours at most in the last forty-eight hours.

She closed her eyes and didn't open them again until Dan nudged her. Blinking, she looked around.

"Put your seat up. We're about to land."

"Land?" How long had she been asleep? The tires of the aircraft screeched as they landed, and a chill washed up JT's spine. The sound reminded her of the screeching tires on the car that almost ran them over back at the rendezvous last night. She shook the feeling as a pleasant voice came over the speaker, thanking them for flying their friendly airline and reminding them to pick up their baggage at baggage claim three. They then repeated the message in Spanish.

"Do we have baggage?" JT stretched and produced a jaw-popping yawn.

Dan looked at her.

She threw him a glare.

"The minute we step off this airplane, you will do exactly what I say when I say to do it."

"Yes,
mi Capitan
."

"I'm serious."

"When aren't you?"

"Jessica," Dan growled out his warning. "This isn't some joke. Do you even understand the danger we're about to get into ass deep?"

JT groaned. She knew perfectly well of the dangers. But at this point, it didn't do either of them a bit of good to dwell on them. She knew what she needed to do. Get Mercado before he got her. Easy. Dan would be there to back her up.

What could possibly go wrong?

Dan hurried them through the airport, pushing JT in front of him with his hand on the small of her back. He spotted a rusted out taxi and sent them on a beeline for it. JT slowed as they approached the vehicle, her head whipping around.

"Don't stop until you get in the car," Dan ordered in a low voice, his lips barely moving.

Yet, JT slowed further. "What's going on? Where's the limo?"

"I arranged for alternate transportation. Now move it."

She stopped altogether, turned and faced him. "Tell me what's going on, Dan."

"Stop whining, Jessica, and get the lead out."

The damn stubborn woman held her ground. She wasn't going to move without an explanation. Instead of giving her one, he planted a kiss on her so swift, so unexpected, that she widened her eyes, stunned. He took the opportunity to open the door behind her and push her into the vehicle.

He leaned in. "Get to the hotel. Don't leave the room until I get there." He turned to the driver. "
Decameran Cartagena. Agregue cincuenta dólares si usted la puede obtener allí sin parar.
"

"
Sí.
" The driver revved his motor. Dan pulled out a group of US bills and handed them to the driver.

"Wait, where—"

He closed the door, cutting her off. Slapping the roof of the vehicle, it sped off with a very confused, and no doubt soon-to-be very pissed off JT Turner. But if they were seen together, that would be the end of their chance to take out Mercado. No doubt he would have men waiting at the hotel for them, and they would be toast.

Offering the driver an extra fifty in US dollars sure gave him incentive to get there without stopping. He could hear her demanding the driver to turn around, courtesy of the diamonds on her ears. When the driver ignored her, she turned on Dan. "Weber! Damn you! Driver, turn this cab around! Now! Weber, just wait until I get my hands on you!"

He turned off his earpiece. If he planned on focusing, he'd need JT's voice out of his head. Hell, he needed all of her out of his head. However, as much as he'd tried to clear her from all thought, it never worked. At least turning off her voice helped. A little.

He needed a contingency plan. The bullshit plan HQ came up with would surely get them both killed. Instead of relying on intel to come up with something, Dan pulled in those favors from some of his more trustworthy NASSD buddies. Some were still in the agency, some weren't. All were more than willing to help Dan, like he had done so many times for them.

He went back inside the terminal and followed the signs to the public lockers. Once he made sure no one else decided to take interest in the contents, Dan dropped the money in and opened the locker.

"Thank you, Snyder." He pulled out the duffel and opened the zipper. The schematics of the Mercado compound lay covering the rest of the contents. He moved them aside. Satellite phones, earpieces,
GPS
Trackers, maps and compasses. And a few other devices not requested, but definitely could be put to good use. Dan frowned. No guns.

He closed the duffel and started back toward the ground transportation. After walking outside and finding the beat up compact off in the corner, another gift courtesy of his contact down here, Dan looked around to make sure he didn't have a shadow. He sank into the small car and sped off.

Following the map supplied in his care package, he made his first stop outside a small pawnshop with bars on the windows and doors.
Pedro's Empeñe la Tienda
was a hotspot for the satellite communication uplink? It was a pawnshop, and a cheap one at that.

He'd set up the hotel for a satcom uplink as well, but there were a few things Dan wanted to have in place before he got there. And out of JT's earshot.

The bells clanged against the glass of the door as Dan entered the dirty shop. He looked around. The shop was small, smelled liked BO. The items for sale wouldn't even go for a quarter on the streets. Definitely a front.

The man behind the counter stood. About five feet, one hundred and fifty pounds at most. Bald as a cue ball. He had a patch over his right eye, a gold cap over his left front tooth. Filthy clothes. He eyed Dan carefully. "This way."

Dan didn't question the man as he followed him behind the counter. The man opened a small closet, revealing a set of narrow stairs leading down into what looked like a black abyss. Dan nodded at him. "After you."

The man smiled. He started down the stairs, pausing at the bottom for Dan to catch up. Once they were both inside, he flipped a switch. The lights came on, and Dan smiled.

Now this was more like it. The room looked like an underground bunker. The walls were rock, the floor dirt. There were tables along the walls, all lined with some of the best electronic equipment Dan had ever seen. A table off to his left hosted what seemed to be millions of electronic pieces. This guy must make his own stuff. Nice.

"I know who you are. Dan Weber." The guy's accent wasn't as thick as Dan assumed it would be had this man lived in
Colombia
all his life. Another agent transplant? "I have waited many years for this." He brought his hand up and Dan tensed.

He then grabbed Dan's hand and shook it furiously. "I have followed your career,
señor
. My name is Pedro."

"Pedro what? You got a last name?"

"No. Just Pedro. Every good artist goes by only one name. The satellite communication link is over here. It is a secured link, scrambled as it sends and as it receives. I use a low-end frequency so trackers can't pick it up. You will think you are in the next room and not across the world." He walked over to the far table and motioned at the massive amounts of electronic equipment.

"And over here," he said and hurried over to another table. Dan recognized the spray bottle, having used it on a few occasions. "This I call
Obtuvole
. Odorless. Weightless. Evaporates on contact, yet leaves a nice little trail for you to follow with this." He held up a tracker.

"I've used it," Dan commented. "Loosely translated it means 'Gotcha'. You made it?"

"
Sí, señor
. Along with everything else you see."

Dan smiled wryly. Perfect. "Can you make the opposite?"

"A spray that makes you invisible? I do not think so."

"No. Just something that makes you invisible to a tracker."

"What kind of tracker?"

"
Any
kind."

Pedro pondered the question by raising his one good eye and clicking his bottom teeth against his top. No wonder he had gold fillings. "A spray opposite of
Obtuvole
. I never thought about that. Maybe if I reverse... Hmm. When do you need it?"

"As soon as you can, if not sooner."

Pedro nodded. "For you,
señor
. I will work night and day."

"Sounds good. What else have you got?" He picked up a gadget he didn't recognize. "What's this?"

Pedro pulled it out of Dan's hands and shook it as he held it up. "A broken piece,
señor
. I was attempting to create a relay for Agent Snyder. I failed." He tossed it over onto the other table.

Dan nodded. He seemed cool. Too cool. He decided to play it down, to see how much he could pull out of the little man. "What got you into this line of work?"

"My brother and I are partners," he replied.

Another player? Interesting. "Who's your brother?"

"Jesús. He, like me, is fighting for peace in my country. Our father was murdered right before our very eyes. We made a promise to our mother. We will stand up and fight! And take back our country from the devil in white."

Dan spiked a brow. "Mercado?"

"
Sí, señor
. I have worked my whole life for my country. Our mother could only send one of us to school in
America
. Jesús has the muscle, but he is not so smart." Pedro smiled sheepishly.

Maybe he'd misjudged Pedro. Casually, so as not to raise suspicion, Dan glanced around at all the electronics. "It's obvious the path you chose. What about your brother? What is he doing to fight Mercado?"

If Pedro's brother was a freedom fighter, maybe Dan would be able to use him. It would be for the same cause, just more direct.

"My brother is a
guerrero
. A great warrior. He will fight the enemy face to face when the time arrives."

Good. Dan liked what he heard. "Can you contact him?"

"
Sí.
"

"Then do it. We may need to enlist him if I can't get me anymore agents down here."

"Oh
Sí, señor. ¡Así que feliz él será!
"

"I'm sure he'll be very happy, Pedro."

A light flashed, along with a buzzer. Pedro started back up the stairs. "
Por favor
, take what you need. It is an honor to work with you, Dan Weber. Come back in two days. I will have more for you." He then disappeared behind the door at the top of the stairs, leaving Dan to make his call.

He sat in front of the satcom and uplinked to HQ's frequency. It buzzed half a ring before Donovan picked up.

"Weber?"

"We're in."

Donovan sighed. "Good. Your contact at the bar is David Snyder. We planted him in preparation for this mission."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I've already been in contact with him."

Donovan paused. "Aren't we the ambitious one?"

"Can it. What have you been able to come up with?"

"Snyder has information for you, including a photo of Mercado from last week."

"I've worked with Snyder in the past. He's a good man." Dan felt better knowing David Snyder was his contact. He was a good agent and a damn fine marksman. Knowing he would be there to watch Dan's back calmed him a bit.

"You will...
Click
... From him. That will be the signal for...
Click click
..."

"What's that clicking sound?"

"I don't hear any clicking."

Dan eyed the satcom link device before bringing his gaze up the stairs to the door. His suspicious nature went into overdrive. "How well do you know Pedro?"

"Who?"

"Pedro. Snyder sent me. That's where I am right now."

"You've got to be kidding me," Donovan mumbled.

Dan's heartbeat slowed. Donovan didn't sound happy about him being at Pedro's place. Did he know something Dan didn't?

"Uh," Donovan started again after much too long of a pause. "He's been with the agency for years. Unofficially, of course. Half the gadgets we use to give us the slight advantage come from Pedro. Why?"

"He seems to know who I am."

"Christ Almighty. Everyone knows who you are, Weber. Agents talk about some of your missions like they're the gospel. We use your file at
Gahanna
for training. Hell, even my wife knows who you are."

"Swell." Dan clenched his teeth. He didn't like being the object of so much attention. He liked his privacy. "Talk to me about my backup. Are they on their way?"

"About that."

"Goddamn it, Donovan. You can't be serious. Now that Turner isn't right here listening in, tell me what the hell is going on."

"What do you mean?"

Evasive son-of-a-bitch. If he didn't want to talk about it, fine. He'd find out on his own. "What about JT?"

"Turner? What about her? Besides the fact you've got a hard on for her."

Dan felt his ears grow hot. But he didn't deny it. Hell, it was true. Who wouldn't? She was centerfold material, and had a great sense of humor. A warm heart. Incredible personality. Her dark hair seemed to shine, even at night. Those eyes were burned into his brain, and the minute he closed his eyes, she was there. Every time.

He had to plot out a contingency plan. He would take Mercado out before she had to leave the bar with his men. He just needed a few more hours prep time. He'd make it back to the hotel by morning. He'd pick up JT and drive right back to the airport and out of the line of fire.

"This all goes down Wednesday night. Are you even listening to me? Or does this national security stuff bore you?"

Dan snapped back to the present. "I got it." No, he didn't. But it didn't matter. Dan had no intention on following Donovan's plan. By Wednesday night, Dan and JT would be on a plane bound for Seattle.

"What time is it there?"

Dan checked his watch, then brought his eyes up to the clock on the wall when he realized he hadn’t set it to the local time. They were now three hours ahead of Seattle. "It's nine o'clock now."

"Then you'd better get going before Turner sends out a search party. Or worse, comes after you herself. You don't want a pissed off woman after you. They remember the littlest things and will hold it against you for the rest of your life."

"Marital problems so soon? Didn't you just get married?"