Blue Forever (Men in Uniform) (21 page)

33

“STORM romeo, alpha team. Stand by.”

The com had been mute for so long the sound of Jaeger’s voice almost startled Kip. He’d been sitting on his heels leaning his back against the flip side of a stone wall that overlooked the interchange on the main road where they’d planned their action.

Finally
. It was the prearranged signal letting the team know Jaeger had spotted Romanov and the transport, and it was on its way.

“STORM alpha six. Standing by,” came Quinn’s acknowledgement.

Kip checked his watch.
Oh-eight-twenty
. Right on time. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried about that.

Moments later, Jaeger said, “STORM romeo. I’ve got one charlie and four fat juliets.”

Jesus. The car was to be expected. That’s where Romanov was sure to be, along with his guards. But four jeeps filled with soldiers . . .

Kip did not like those odds.

He spent the next fifteen minutes going over in his head every possible scenario that might come about, and how to handle each. The more he thought about it, the crazier he thought they were for ever believing this insane plan could work.

But he wasn’t about to back down now.

His earpiece crackled, and Jaeger said, “Two minutes.”

“Sending in the pastry,” said Quinn.

They all acknowledged, and Kip took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

This was it
.

Lifting up so he could see over the stone wall, he focused his binoculars on the spot below where two roads intersected in an elongated traffic circle. The roads weren’t too busy, but there was a steady stream of morning traffic going in both directions.

A tourist bus approached the interchange, then bumped off onto the dirt shoulder just before it got to the roundabout. There was movement inside. The bus was full of people.

So far, so good.

He swung the binoculars and checked out the opposite side of the traffic circle. There, an ancient tractor was putt-putt-putting up the road toward the interchange, pulling a rickety trailer piled high with a huge, towering load of hay.

If the situation weren’t so damn serious, Kip would have laughed. Clearly, Quinn had been watching too many Three Stooges movies. This idea was so fucking preposterous . . . hell, it just might work.

He could hear the commander speaking on the cell phone to the driver. “Almost, just a little—”

Jaeger interrupted. “Fifteen seconds.”

“Okay, go,” Quinn told the bus driver.

Its engine revved, and the bus lurched, barreling onto the road, scattering cars right and left as they swerved to avoid a collision. Horns beeped, and motorists shouted insults through open car windows.

The hay tractor was already in the roundabout, nearly to the crossroad.

Behind the bus, the convoy came into view through the trees.
Perfect timing
. The lead jeep was just a few cars away.

The bus sped into the traffic circle.

Too fast.

It saw the tractor too late, and couldn’t stop.

It swerved violently and clipped the back of the overloaded trailer. Hay flew up into the wind, scattering in every direction, obscuring windshields, covering the road in great drifts of straw.

Good God
. That bus driver had to be kidding.

An accident was not part of the—

Shit
.

Blinded, the bus skidded to a halt across both lanes. More horns blared. The hay farmer leaped off the tractor, shouting at the bus driver, waving his fist. Traffic ground to a halt.

The convoy was trapped, penned in by cars piling up behind it.

Good.
That
was the plan.

Aggravated drivers jumped out of their cars yelling, adding to the noise and the chaos.

Now would be the time to—

“Go!” Quinn barked.

Kip slipped over the stone wall and darted toward the road, sidling in behind a tree. He hung back, waiting for an opening.

The soldiers in the jeeps hopped out uncertainly, alert and brandishing weapons, gazes darting all around, seeking the source of an attack they were clearly expecting.

Even more drivers popped from their vehicles, wondering what was going on.

Just then, passengers began pouring off the bus. Ten, fifteen, twenty of them. Drawing even more attention than the accident.

They giggled and waved, beckoning to the startled soldiers.

Who lowered their weapons in surprise and delight. And strolled toward them, chests puffed, momentarily forgetting their guard duties.

After all, what red-blooded young soldier could resist? Especially in a country with a thirty-five million surplus of men.

The passengers from the bus . . . were all hookers.

It didn’t take long for all four jeeps to completely empty of men. Most of the soldiers were distracted by the women, but Kip saw that a few were staying alert at their posts, guarding the car with the prisoner, weapons up and at the ready.

However, they all stood facing forward, warily watching the confusion of the accident—and the tempting sight of the women.

Which made it an easy task for Alex to scramble underneath the last three jeeps and pull out some essential part to disable them. The lead jeep was impossible for him to get to, but it was penned in by cars on every side and wasn’t going anywhere until this mess got cleaned up.

Kip noticed one of the soldiers on his radio, undoubtedly speaking to either the prison personnel or his superiors at Yulin. Either way, any minute now they’d simply walk Romanov to the other side of the traffic circle where a prison vehicle would soon be there to complete the transfer.

He hit his com. “Ticking clock,” he reported, slipping from the cover of the tree trunk and moving casually over to a car that had been abandoned by its looky-lou owner. He made himself small leaning casually against the front fender. He saw Alex do the same a couple of cars over.

Kip estimated they had maybe four minutes, tops, to get the Russian out of there, or he’d disappear into the Chinese prison system and be nearly impossible to extract.

Time for stage two
.

Right on schedule, Quinn said over the com, “Lighting the candles in three, two, one—”

Suddenly, there was a ka-
boom
, and a burst of fireworks lit up the orchard next to the roundabout. Seconds later, the rapid
pop-pop-po
p of firecrackers crackled through the air on the opposite side of the road.

Everyone froze. Then, almost to a man, the soldiers snapped up their guns and ran in every direction, searching for the source of the explosions. All except for two of the men guarding the car with Romanov in it. They stayed firmly put.

Another round of fireworks went off in a third location. More chaos ensued.

Kip pulled the stun gun from his waistband and hit the “charge” button.

“Lima and me,” Quinn said a moment later. “On three, two, one.” They fired simultaneously.

Both guards sank to the ground.

Kip ejected the cartridge, stowed the gun, and pulled a dirt brown sheet from his rucksack.

He held his breath.

But no one reacted.

“Go,” said Quinn.

The team moved in swiftly. Kip was to grab Romanov and run. Quinn would plant a blow-up doll in the back seat in his place, and Alex was to cover them.

As another volley of fireworks went off, Kip kicked the guard’s gun away, then swiftly searched his pockets and took his keys. He reached in the transport vehicle, popped the back door locks, and swung open the door.

Romanov was right there, ready to jump out. He was wearing a red jumpsuit and his hands were cuffed behind him.

Unfortunately, his legs were also shackled.

“Fuck,” Kip swore, wrapping him in the sheet to cover the red prison suit.

“Sorry,” Romanov said, looking grim. And bloodied.
Jesus
, they’d beaten the crap out of him.

“Don’t be,” Kip said, and picked him up, threw him over his shoulder, and headed for the alley.
Jesus
. The man weighed a ton.

Quinn was right behind him.

That’s when they both noticed Alex wasn’t.

Quinn halted and turned to see what was keeping him, and at the corner of the alley, Kip couldn’t stop but glanced over his free shoulder.

His blood froze. The kid was crouched down, hanging on to the back bumper of the transport vehicle, hyperventilating.

Ah, hell
.

34

Skidding around the mouth of the alley, Kip dumped Romanov onto his feet and scooped the driver’s keys from his pocket, leafing quickly through the ring to find the handcuff key.

There were three possibles. He spun Romanov, tossing the sheet aside, and stabbed the first key into the lock. It didn’t turn.

Crap.

He put his head around the corner and saw Quinn sprinting back to Alex.

“
Shit
.” He tried the second key. “The car’s down this alley. The blue one. Guns, phone, and clothes in the trunk. Keys sitting on the back left tire. Julie’s number is programmed in the phone. She’ll guide you out of here.”

“You’re not coming?” Romanov asked in surprise.

Kip jetted out a breath. “I’ve gotta go back. Alex is in trouble.”

“Then I’m coming, too,” Romanov said, pulling his wrists in front and rubbing them when the cuff lock sprang free on the third try.

“
Hell
, no,” Kip said. “Not happening.” He shoved the keys into Romanov’s hands so he could open the leg shackles.

“You risked your lives to free me—”

“Exactly. So don’t squander that. Get out of here. Now.”

With that, Kip started after Quinn—he didn’t run, because he didn’t want to attract undue attention, but walked as fast as he dared, keeping his face down. He slid the Beretta into his hand, keeping it covered by the flap of his peasant jacket.

Quinn had already reached Alex, and was kneeling down beside him, glancing around, speaking quietly while urging him to his feet.

Alex had his arms crossed over his chest, eyes squeezed tightly shut, rocking slightly back and forth on his heels. He was trying to catch his breath and not paying any attention to Quinn.

Pulse pounding, Kip halted at the tree he’d hidden behind before, and did a thorough scan of the entire scene, looking for any sign of danger. Chaos still reigned everywhere. But it wouldn’t last much longer. Any second now the soldiers would find the fireworks and realize this was all a diversion. They had to be already starting to suspect.

God
damn
it. What had Quinn been thinking, bringing Alex along?

Quinn caught Kip’s gaze and shook his head, motioning forcefully for him to go back to Romanov. Kip gave his own head a shake and continued to scan the area. He could see Quinn’s lips press into a thin line, all the way from here.

Quinn grasped Alex’s arms and tried to pull him to his feet. Alex struggled against him.

Kip cursed under his breath. He was
really
starting to get nervous. The fireworks and firecrackers had gone silent. The prison vehicle would be here momentarily. The hookers’ novelty would soon wear off and the soldiers would remember what they were here for. The blow-up doll in the back seat was not going to pass any kind of closer inspection.

This had clusterfuck written all over it.

Come on, come on, come on
.

Abruptly, Alex looked up at Quinn, then around. It took him two seconds to realize what had happened. The next second he practically flew to his feet. Quinn grabbed his arm and they took off.

All right
.

They hustled quickly toward Kip.

They almost made it.

Suddenly, a strangled shout rose above the noise and chatter. One of the stunned guards had woken up.

Angry as hell.

Kip wanted to kick himself. He should have watched them more carefully!

The guard was still lying prone on the ground. But he’d managed to get to his pistol.

Kip whipped up his Beretta.

Too late
.

A shot exploded through the air.

Quinn faltered in mid-motion, then stumbled and started to fall. Blood blossomed on his upper thigh. A grimace ripped across his face.

Alex caught him before he went down, but struggled under his weight.

Kip catapulted out from his hiding place, rushing to their aid.

Another shot rang out.

Alex staggered and his shoulder bloomed crimson. Quinn slumped and started to slip from his grasp.

Kip reached them in three long strides, and slung an arm around Quinn, taking the burden from Alex.

“No. Leave me,” rasped Quinn. “Take Zane and—”

“Shut the fuck up, Commander,” Kip growled, all but dragging them toward the shelter of the alley. “We all make it, or no one does.”

“Then we’re all in deep shit . . .”

That was the last thing he heard before the next shot split the air, and the bullet found its mark dead center.

And everything in his world went black.