Danger Close (Shadow Warriors) (28 page)

Arnley brought Cathy to his side and walked her over to the glaring Ranger. A huge crowd gathered around the three of them as they stood facing one another. Arnley smugly stepped up to Powell.

“You owe her and the United States Marine Corpsan apology, Sergeant Powell. Let’s hear the Army apologize loud and clear.”

Powell winced as if he had been physically struck. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking down at his boots.

“What did you say, Sergeant? I can’t hear you,” Arnley roared in his D.I. voice.

The Ranger recoiled. He cursed, jerking his attention to Cathy. “I said I’m sorry!” he bellowed.

Cathy grinned. “Apology accepted, Sergeant.” She turned to the team, a smile breaking out on her tense features. A roar went up and Cathy found herself hoisted up on the shoulders of Strike and Chesty. Tears glittered in her eyes as she acknowledged the shouts, applause and cries of congratulations as the Marines swarmed around her. Cathy’s heart nearly burst with joy as Arnley cracked the first full-blown smile she’d ever seen as they led her toward the rest of the company. She belonged. Finally, she belonged….

CATHY TOOK OFF her cap as soon as she entered the regimental headquarters. Why would Colonel Mackey want to see her? Her heart was beating heavily in her chest and she tried to ignore it. Everywhere she looked, she was being stared at by the clerks at their respective desks. Many of them smiled and offered her congratulations on winning the rifle competition. The late-afternoon heat made her utilities cling to her, the darker rings of sweat beneath her armpits and down the center of her back evident. After getting directions from a Marine sergeant, Cathy finally found Mackey’s office.

She waited outside while the gunny sergeant announced her. What could Mackey want of her? Had she done something wrong? Why hadn’t Jim been told? Or did he know about this order for her to see Mackey? Swallowing hard, Cathy kept her eyes downcast as she turned the crumpled utility cap around and around in between her hands.

“Corporal Fremont?” The gunny sergeant came to a halt in front of her.

Cathy immediately rose. “Yes, Gunny?” He was grizzled looking, with silver sidewalls. His eyes were hooded and thoughtful looking upon her.

“The colonel will see you now.”

Nodding jerkily, Cathy crushed the cap in her left hand and walked woodenly into the office. The first thing that struck her was that Mackey’s office looked exactly like Lane’s, with all the statistics hung on every bit of available wall space. She came to rigid attention in front of the desk, saluting.

“Corporal Fremont reporting as ordered, sir.” She kept her eyes straight ahead, not daring to risk a look down at the hard-faced officer.

“At ease, Corporal.” Mackey rose and walked around the desk and shut the door quietly behind her. “Sit down, please.”

Surprised, Cathy came out of her at-ease position, hands behind her back, and walked to the chair that he motioned to. She followed the Marine’s progress until he sat down. Only the desk separated them from each other.

Mackey smiled distantly. “I want you to know that it’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you.” He saw her eyes widen and read the confusion in them.

Cathy met his blue gaze. Mackey reminded her of a piece of rough-hewn granite, his face rugged and unpolished. It was the intelligence in his eyes that told her he wasn’t a man to trifle with. Every nerve in her body screamed out in warning and adrenaline coursed through her. Why was she frightened? Her body was reacting as if she were in a firefight, which was ridiculous. She cleared her throat.

“Thank you, sir.”

Mackey nodded, thinking that if Fremont were in decent feminine dress, she’d be one hell of a looker. Maybe it was the vulnerability apparent in her slightly parted lips. Or those big, soulful green eyes that could be read like an opened book. Yes, he could see why Jim would fall for her. He liked her husky voice, too. Despite the fear he saw in her eyes, her voice was steady and he applauded that about her. A good Marine could get scared but not panicky. And, so far, she was being a good soldier. He smiled warmly.

For the next ten minutes, he kept the conversation light, probing here and there. She was tense, alert and on guard. Mackey lit a cigar and leaned back in his chair. He deliberately took a relaxed pose, a nonverbal signal for her to do the same. She remained frozen like a deer sighted between a rifle’s crosshairs.

“There has been nothing but praise and respect for your abilities out in the field, Cathy.” He saw her blanche when he used her first name. Obviously, she wasn’t used to such friendliness on the part of a senior officer. If he was going to persuade her to carry a wire, he had to try and gain her trust. And, right now, that looked impossible. He mentally cursed Jim Boland and his refusal to help draw her into the plan. Mackey broke out in a light sweat. If he couldn’t get her to wear the wire, Frederick’s entire plan was at an impasse and his ass was in a sling. He wanted that general’s star. “And it hasn’t escaped my attention that Major Lane hasn’t exactly handled you as well as she might.”

Her fingers tightened on the cap in her hands and Cathy avoided his hawkish stare. “I wouldn’t know about that, sir,” she muttered.

“Be at ease with me,” he coaxed softly, sitting up. “You’ve got people who care for you over here, Cathy. I’ve brought you in here to talk today on that basis. Whatever is said between us stays here.” He placed the cigar in the thick glass ashtray, settled both elbows on the desk and looked directly at her through the haze of smoke. “It has come to my attention through various channels that Major Lane’s way of dealing with her troops is less than militarily acceptable.”

Cathy risked a glance at Mackey, her throat aching with fear. What had Jim told this man? My God, he was the head of the regiment. A sick feeling jagged through her as she realized Jim had probably told Mackey everything.
Oh, my God
. What other source could he be referring to? Why had Jim broken her confidence? Why?

Her voice quavered. “Sir?”

“I want you to listen carefully to me, Cathy. Mackey kept his voice low and allowed his feelings to surface. “More than anything, I’m charged with the welfare of all my soldiers. Men and women alike. Oh, it’s true, Major Lane runs Delta, but in the end, I’m responsible because I’m the regimental commander.” He cocked his head, holding her wary gaze. “You see, I’m aware of the circumstances over in Delta. It’s obvious the problem doesn’t lie with you. It’s the way Major Lane insists on managing Delta. And, like you, I don’t agree with her methods.” He picked up a pen, toying with it, allowing what he was saying to sink into her. “Such as the Cellar?”

Cathy gasped, nearly coming out of the chair and then quickly sitting back down. “Captain Boland told you about that?”

Mackey hedged, not wanting Boland to be implicated in any way. “I have my sources, Cathy.” He pointed to a stack of reports on his desk. “These are verified reports from wounded Delta women who were shipped Stateside. Each went through a debriefing.” He tapped them gently while holding her widening gaze. “The atrocities committed by the officers of Delta against all of you are in there. In black-and-white, graphic details.”

She swallowed hard, the implications sending a shock wave through her.

Mackey moved the set of reports aside. He continued on in a gruff tone laced with concern, “Your obvious abilities in the field impressed me. And I was shocked by the unjust acts committed against you and the other enlisted women. I want to do something positive about it.” He smiled gently. “You and the enlisted women of Delta need help in resolving these issues.”

Cathy hung her head, fighting back the nausea. “Sir? Did Captain Boland deliberately plan to take me from Delta?”

Damn!
Mackey could see how shaken she was. “Captain Boland has very little to do with what we’re talking about.” He tapped the reports more solidly. “This is the real evidence, Cathy. Friends of yours have testified that Major Lane has been gunning for you because of your guts to stand up against her and her kind. I can help you stand up to her. I can help you put a stop to this once and for all.”

No! Oh, God, no!
Cathy bit hard on her lower lip, a deluge of pain ripping her apart. Jim had set her up and gotten her confidence. He had used her! She eyed the reports warily, wondering if Mackey was telling the truth. She had told Jim enough in the past three weeks to incriminate herself and Lane fully without any so-called debrief reports. With blinding clarity, Cathy added everything up in those annihilating seconds: Jim Boland meeting her down by the river when there was a standing order for no fraternization between Delta and any Marine company, his visiting her at the rear when she was recovering from the sunstroke and finally, taking R & R with her. They were all cold-bloodedly planned and designed to do one thing: get her trust.

“I can see you’re upset, Cathy. But let’s look at the situation, shall we?” Slowly, Mackey outlined his plan to her, including her carrying a wire. He saw her growing paler by the minute. Her eyes were wide and dark. God, but she was a sensitive creature. He pressed on, his voice filled with unaccustomed emotion, realizing that would be the key to opening her up and getting her cooperation. After nearly forty minutes of hammering her with the facts, figures, his care for his people, he stood up. She was waxen.

“Look, I know this is a lot to place on your shoulders, Cathy, but it’s very important that you help us resolve the situation. You’ll be helping all the other girls. You want to do that, don’t you?”

Cathy ran her damp, shaky fingers through her hair. A very real need to escape clawed up through her. She had been conned by Jim. Set up by him. All that warmth and care he’d showered her with was counterfeit. And Mackey wanted her to be an informant against Lane. She grew violently cold, her stomach knotting until she thought she might throw up.

“Well?” Mackey prodded, his voice hardening slightly.

“I—I don’t know, sir…”

He quelled his irritation. “Look, Corporal, I’m afraid there isn’t a lot of time to think about this.” He picked up a radio message, handing it to her. “Read this.”

Cathy’s hands trembled as she read the brief message. Closing her eyes, she fought against a deluge of hopelessness. “Major Lane wants me back.”

“Yes. Within hours. I’m sorry to have to throw this unexpectedly on you, Cathy. I thought we had more time to show you that we truly care for you as a Marine. We wanted to let the difference between Alpha and Delta speak for itself and show you that Lane is wrong. Now, that timetable has been destroyed.”

“Captain Boland got me that month here at Alpha for this reason?”

“Captain Boland did not. That was my decision.” Why wouldn’t she leave him out of this?

She placed the message back on the desk and stared hard at the statistics board in front of her. Her voice grew husky with emotion. “I think Captain Boland told you everything I said to him in confidence.”

“As I said before, these reports tell me everything I need to know.”

“I trusted him.”

He pursed his lips, looking at her steadily. “Boland said nothing. He knew nothing of these reports. This is on a need-to-know basis only, Cathy.”

Cathy clenched her teeth.
The bastard
. The cowardly bastard couldn’t be here and take his own medicine. Blinding anger sheared through her. Standing, she slowly turned toward the colonel. There were too many details Mackey had mentioned that could only have come from Jim. Very few of the women knew anything of her personally and Mackey knew too much. No, Jim had somehow leaked all that information to the colonel and he was trying to get her to believe it came from a lousy set of Stateside debriefing reports. If Mackey was willing to lie and protect Boland, how much could she trust his intentions on her wearing a wire? Didn’t he realize the danger of her becoming an informant? Did he care? No, neither of them did.

Mackey brightened, noticing color had flooded back into her cheeks. “Then you’ll wear the wire?”

Cathy stood tensely, hands balled into fists at her sides. “No, sir, I won’t. If Major Lane ever discovered I was wearing one, I’m as good as dead. No one can get to her. Especially me. I won’t do it.”

He stared at her. “But think of the other girls, Cathy—”

“They’re women, sir, not girls. And we’ve survived this long under Lane without relief or help. We can last two more months alone.” She headed toward the door, grasping the knob, anguish clearly etched in every line of her face. “Permission to leave, sir? I’ve got to get back over to Delta.”

“Stand where you are, Fremont.”

She froze. Mackey approached her, bristling, his blue eyes icy as he stopped inches from her.

“Now you listen to me. Think for a moment! You’ll be more of a traitor to all those women over there if you don’t do this!”

Cathy turned, her eyes blazing. “And I’ll be dead if I do! If any of you really cared, where were you when we needed you?” she cried. “Why weren’t you at our boot camp? Why did you allow Lane to sequester us? She should never have been assigned to run the WLF!”

He was breathing hard. “I can’t undo what’s been done, dammit. I can only help now that we’re aware of it, Cathy. Please, think hard about this.”

Gulping back a sob, she jerked the door opened. Hesitating, she shot a look at Mackey. “Permission to leave, sir?”

Damn her!
He wanted to throttle her. Why was she behaving like this? “Permission denied. Now shut that door and
think
, Fremont. Think about your decision,” he gritted out. “Don’t leave your friends in a dangerous position with Major Lane. I can help you.”

Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the doorknob, reluctantly closing the door. “I won’t do it…sir.”

Mackey stood over her for what seemed hours, ferreting her out, trying to intimidate her into changing her mind. None of it worked. He saw her fight back the tears, her lower lip trembling, refusing to cry, standing like a ramrod in front of him. And then he saw that stubborn dark jade in her eyes, and sensed that no matter what he did, whether he cajoled her or threatened her, she wouldn’t give in. Bitterly, he knew Jim Boland might have made the crucial difference. At that moment, he didn’t know who he hated more—Boland, Lane or Fremont. What a clusterfuck. He wheeled around, muttering, “Dismissed!”

TEARS BLURRED Cathy’s vision as she climbed out of the helicopter after it had landed back at the Alpha LZ. The dusk, a bloodred ribbon, mirrored how she felt as she jogged purposefully toward the dull olive-green tent that sat down in a saddle between the two hills. Fury outweighed her tears and Cathy swallowed them. Her anger rose higher and higher as she approached Alpha CP. She elbowed her way between a group of Recons at the entrance, intent upon only one thing—finding Jim Boland.

She jerked opened the door to his office and found him sitting, head buried in his hands while he pondered over a map spread across his desk. Her chest rose and fell sharply as she slammed the door, resting against it and glaring down at him.

Jim looked up, an immediate frown gathering on his brow. “Cathy? What’s wrong?” God, she looked distraught as hell, her nostrils flared wide, eyes almost black with anguish and the corners of her mouth pulled in with pain.