One Minute to Midnight (Black Ops: Automatik) (8 page)

Mary didn’t let up. She sped along the highway and to the edge of town. The car thundered over train tracks and bounced along rutted alleys. She flicked the headlights off and wove through backstreets, moving farther from the highway.

Red and blue police lights strobed against the buildings closer to the center of town. Ben watched three cars blast along the empty roads. One car stayed on the highway toward the immobilized officers. The other cars split at the edge of the highway. One searched one side of town, the other came toward their area.

But he and Mary were already gone.

The black car slipped ghostlike through the fringe of Morris Flats. Mary slowed further when they reached the north-south four-lane highway.

“Here’s where we bail.” She undid her seat belt and drove with one hand on the door handle. “Make it look like friends picked them up and busted out of town.”

Ben readied himself. “I like partying with you.”

She drove them toward a weedy crescent in the hollow of an on-ramp. They both opened their doors and dove out while the car was still rolling. Ben was already up to speed, running, when he hit the pavement. Mary tracked right with him. Neither looked back as the car churned through dirt and crunched into the thick greenery.

A full-out sprint narrowed the field of action. If problems came on, they came on fast, so Ben downshifted into a jog. The quiet of the early hours and the shadows next to the highway enveloped him and Mary. As they ran, they knocked off any remaining dirt or pine needles from their stalk in the state park.

To an enemy, she’d be terrifying. Her expressionless face showed no effort from the run. All her gear remained completely silent, not a single tap from any of the straps on her rig. As a teammate, he couldn’t ask for anything more. But he had. He still didn’t know the consequence of exposing the truth to her. And himself.

Police cars continued to zip through town, in all the wrong places. Ben spoke under his breath, “By the time they find the car, we’ll be the ghosts of fuck-you past.”

She cracked a small smile. “Then we’ll be coming back to haunt them.”

They made it past the rendezvous point where Mary had picked Ben up earlier in the morning. Two blocks later, they approached the hotel. They circled around the lit parking lot and found a path of shadows to the backside of the building. A service ladder led to a second-story patio, but a locked metal plate blocked the rungs. Ben straddled the ladder and shimmied up, holding only the sides.

He half expected Mary to be waiting for him on the patio, as if she’d just slithered up the wall. But he saw her using the same technique on the ladder behind him. Usually her movements were so contained, but now he got to see her body stretching out and revealing lean strength. His own limbs ached to match hers, find the push and pull between them.

But not on the run.

They still weren’t secured for the night and continued into the hotel. A locked service door at the side of the patio blocked them. Ben took a knee and pulled out a set of lock picks. Mary hovered close, watching their backs.

She barely whispered, “SEALs teach lock picking?”

“I can be subtle.” The lock conceded to him, and he opened the door for her.

She slipped in. He scanned behind them one last time before joining her and closing the door as quietly as possible. They’d made it to the hotel clean. Now they just had to get to their rooms.

The metal service stairs threatened to clang like church bells, waking the whole hotel. Ben and Mary’s pace slowed. They stopped at the first landing and untucked their pants cuffs from their boots. At the second landing, they pulled off their tactical vests. She undid her black field shirt, revealing a vivid blue silk top.

He marveled at her transformation. Something so soft beneath such a deadly exterior. Anything he wanted to say about how amazing she looked—warrior and woman—was lost in his suddenly dry throat. She wrapped her vest in the black shirt, making the whole thing look like she was carrying a coat. Under his tactical clothes was a simple maroon polo. He bundled his rig the same way she did and they stood at the door to the floor.

She cracked it open and peered out. After her nod, they exited the service stairs and proceeded into the long, door-lined corridor. Her posture immediately changed. She strode with a wider swing in her hips and shoulders. He walked more casually at her side and draped his hand on her waist.

Recon of the hotel had already revealed no cameras on the floors, but there could be no loose ends. The service door had let them out near the elevator, which dinged as they started to pass it on the way to Mary’s room. She immediately punched the up button and slinked on the wall. He leaned next to her, bringing their faces close together.

She spoke playfully as the elevator doors opened. “Whatever you’ve got to show me in your room had better be good.” Her ability to turn her game on and off so quickly threw him off balance. It took a moment to get his head in the op and not just think about what he and Mary might get to doing when alone.

A uniformed hotel security officer he hadn’t seen before stepped out of the elevator.

Ben ignored him and murmured to her, “Baby, it’s better than good.” He placed his hands on her hips and drew her close. His body immediately responded with a rush faster than the car chase. She swiveled under his grip. He bit back a growl as his cock thickened.

The two of them turned like tango dancers into the elevator. The guard watched them a moment, shaking his head at the display of awkward seduction, then continued down the hallway.

The doors closed, Mary pushed the button for his floor, then pulled away to burn him with a look. “Baby?”

He tried to calm the building need in him and winked at her, slow and sleazy. “Beans knows how to treat a lady.”

She remained unmoved. “Nickname from the Teams?”

The doors opened, and the two of them ambled toward his room.

“My mom,” he explained, putting his hand back on her hip. When they were apart, it was too far. When he touched her, it wasn’t close enough. “Listened to this old song, ‘Beans and Cornbread,’ and I’d dance along.”

“You must’ve been a cute kid.” Was the warmth in her voice part of the act? God, he wanted it to be. It reached right into him as if she could see everything he was describing and asked more.

“This was in high school.”

Her laugh was surprised and genuine. “Seriously?”

“Nah, baby, I was five.” He slipped his key card in and out of the lock, and the two of them tumbled into his room.

As soon as he closed and locked the door, she put her wrapped-up gear down and sorted through her pockets. They were operators again, and he was rocked by her distance. Her movements were all business, but her voice was light. “You keep calling me ‘baby’ and I’m gonna put a hurt on you.”

He ditched his vest on the bed and checked under the mattress and frame. Then he felt the HVAC vent covers for any scratched paint or replaced screws. “Maybe that’s what I go for.”

She attached a small antenna device to her phone and brought up an app. The display showed several scans, from Wi-Fi to radio bugs. All came up clean.

They both finally let out a long breath. He took his phone to the window and peeked through the slit between the closed curtains. Police lights flashed in several areas, searching. It looked like they still hadn’t found the stolen car. The tracker on his phone indicated Chief Pulaski was beyond the edge of town.

Ben held up his phone for Mary to see. “The chief is out where you grounded his officers.”

“We kicked the hive. They’ll buzz hard for a while.” She switched apps on her phone. “The mock real estate website took hits from a Daily Engine Yard server this afternoon. Kit Daily’s looking in.”

“We can’t make too many waves. They’re gearing up and on the trigger.” He stepped away from the window and into the shadows of the room. “Who knew this hotel even had security?”

Dim yellow light from the town below edged in around the curtains.

“It’s not to keep the guests safe.” She was only a silhouette against the light walls. “Everything’s built to protect their business.” When she turned, her silk top gleamed like a night sea.

Quiet thickened around them. Tonight’s mission was over. A success, with good intelligence gathered while evading detection. He was out of the field and still his heart pounded. His muscles urged him to move. Not because there was danger, but because Mary was so close. The lingering question that loomed between them had nothing to do with the operation.

He remained still. They were alone. They were relatively safe. They had connected and could again. The kiss. The truths. He’d revealed what he’d discovered. He wanted her but couldn’t press. She’d disappear into smoke if she was cornered.

She didn’t move. Only a few feet separated them. The bed was close. He’d known what to say with other women. He could be playful or seductive. Or a meaningful look, and the woman would understand his intent and let him know hers. He was lost with Mary. His truest words had been blunt. Could she see his face now? See how he needed to follow the connection they’d started?

“I’m a sniper,” she explained with the shade of emotion shaking her voice. The light caught her eyes and revealed a deeper shimmer than he’d ever seen. “I prefer a long-distance relationship.”

He wanted to reach out to her. For himself, and to let her know that she wasn’t alone. But maybe they were. A thick pain stabbed through his chest. Maybe they’d seen too much and had done too much to find their humanity again.

“You know where to find me.” And he was still trying to find himself.

“I do.” Her voice was barely louder than the rustle of her clothes as she turned away. She collected her gear and headed toward the door. He followed, and she paused. “I can handle myself.”

“I know it. I’ve seen it.” He maintained a distance but didn’t back away. “Ben Louis wouldn’t just leave you to walk down there alone. And neither would I.”

She nodded and opened the door. Hall light revealed her neutral face, unreadable. The two of them took their time getting to the elevator and leaned against opposite walls once inside. A thousand yards apart. She was dressed casually except for the combat boots, and her gear was hidden in the roll. But she was still alert and deadly.

They exited the elevator and walked down her hall, neither touching the other. The pretense of the cover wasn’t shattered. It was early in the morning; they were tired and could be completely spent. She unlocked her door and scanned the interior of her room quickly while he checked up and down the hall. They were safe.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“Anything for an extra minute.” He smiled. She returned it cautiously.

The night was over. She receded into her room. He waited until he heard all the locks click before walking back up the hall to the elevator. The mission charged forward. Tonight’s op had allowed him to flex his muscles. More action was coming. He couldn’t wait and could’ve scaled the exterior of the hotel just to burn off the energy that still crackled through him. But it wasn’t the operation that tore the balance out from under him and pitched him into the unknown of want and need. The mystery of Mary—what he was with her and to her—remained unanswered.

Chapter Eight

The free hotel breakfast had no flavor for Mary. She ate to fuel her day. The burned coffee was the first thing to register on her palette and make her realize she was already halfway through her meal. She was alone in a corner of the hotel lobby. Ben had messaged earlier in the morning to let her know he was out in the field. The mission continued.

Last night hadn’t needed to end. Ben had been close enough to touch in his room and it had taken all her effort to maintain her distance. Their contact throughout the operation had sparked her imagination. They’d already revealed so much with the kiss in the parking lot. Sharing themselves in the quiet of the car had brought more of her need to the surface. When he’d told her, flat out, that he wanted her, she’d been flooded with a rush of desire and fear. What would it be like to give herself so completely?

She’d found that the distraction of escape and evasion from the cops hadn’t taken away the excitement of being that close to Ben. So much potential. Where would she go if she had more from him like that kiss? The bed had been right next to them. He was ready. She could see it in the rise and fall of his chest. And that desire had charged through her as well. She didn’t doubt his honesty but also knew his reputation. Would he still be there after they’d detonated all the explosives that had been building up?

She finished the last of her food and pushed the tray away.

It had seemed like protection to leave last night, but how could being safe tear her apart like this?

Sleep had come and gone, then she’d woken to a message from Automatik. They’d tracked Kit Daily’s service with the Marines. Most of the men from his unit had retired, except for a major serving as senior staff at the Blount Island support base in Florida. They handled logistics for deploying troops and equipment. The perfect spot for someone to skim weapons for a profit. While other Automatik assets were working that angle, she and Ben needed to maintain their penetration of Morris Flats.

This morning, the operation came to her before she had to seek it out. Eddie Limert entered the lobby with a woman around his age. She wore a crisp pantsuit, sensible heels and a necklace that matched her earrings. Salon-blond hair and bright blue eyes. This must be the mayor. She waved at the woman behind the hotel counter like she was connecting with the working class while on the campaign trail. Mary almost expected an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the mayor.

Instead she just got an outstretched hand as the woman and Eddie approached. “Mayor Donna Limert, but you can call me Donna.”

Mary stood and shook her hand. “Mary Long. It’s been a pleasure discovering your town for the last couple of days.”

“Eddie explained what you’re looking into, and I’m very intrigued.” Donna cupped Mary’s elbow in her manicured fingers and turned her toward the front door. “I happen to have a free morning, and there are a couple of areas you’re going to want to see firsthand.”

The positive energy flowing from the mayor was not to be questioned. She called the shots, and it looked like the woman would maintain that same glossy smile if she was pouring you tea or dousing your living room with gasoline.

“Trust me,” Eddie interjected, “you’ll fall in love with these possibilities.”

“Sounds too good to pass up.” Mary gently removed herself from the mayor’s grip so she could collect her purse. “We’ll caravan.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Eddie already had his keys out. “I’ll drive.”

Before Mary could accept or refuse, Donna redirected. “Now, when you say mixed use—” she started walking mid-sentence as a way to force Mary to follow, “—do you mean to bring in new businesses, or relocate the locals?”

The three of them made their way across the lobby.

“Both,” Mary answered. “It’s always good to get established businesses into new facilities for the familiarity of the residents. The last thing we want to do is edge anyone out.”

“Good.” Donna pointed at the opening automatic doors, as if they were following her direction. “You’ll see that we’re very committed to local business. Very few chains in Morris Flats.”

Meaning less scrutiny from the outside and the ability of the power structure to control the population.

The cold, windy day swirled over the parking lot. Mary zipped her coat higher, smiling sheepishly at her intolerance of the weather. Donna and Eddie smiled knowingly. But they knew nothing of what Mary really was and who they were letting into their excessively large SUV. One non-standard feature in the vehicle was the police radio slung under the center of the dash. It was switched off for now, but it revealed how quickly information could move through Morris Flats. The two of them seemed too chipper to have been up all night with the police activity, but Mary was sure they’d been briefed that morning.

Once they were all inside, Mary made a show of shivering in the backseat. “Younger buyers are very interested in one-of-a-kind goods and services, so you’ll have a great selling point down here.”

Eddie drove. West, as Mary expected. Away from the train yard. Ben should be there by now, on the front line, while she was moving farther from it and him. And if anything happened in this car, or wherever they were taking her, his support would take a while to reach her.

“Lincoln High.” Eddie didn’t linger as he drove past the old buildings that needed new paint and windows.

Mary added limply, “Good central location.” She wanted to ask what the graduation rate was but knew Donna would’ve already boasted if it had been good.

Donna sang, “People love to be close to schools.”

“Infrastructure is a huge selling point.” Mary watched the homes blur past. Nothing older than the fifties. Working class, most with fenced yards. Maintained with pride. As they moved closer to the west edge of town, the houses slumped with neglect. Weedy lots stretched out and blended with the plains. Old industrial buildings sat, forgotten in the muddy fields.

Perfect place to end a life.

Neither Donna nor Eddie had any flinch about them that indicated death was close. Their hands and eyes were too soft for professional killers. If the hit was on, they’d be tight, even if they weren’t the ones pulling the trigger.

“Plenty of parking,” Mary mused. Her .38 remained close in her purse.

Donna tapped her fingernail on the window glass. “Development could mean state bond money for improved roads, too.”

Bullshit small talk. Donna and Eddie didn’t want any state attention on their town. They didn’t want any new money or residents. They wanted her as far from the train yard as possible while she was in Morris Flats, then they wanted her long gone so they didn’t have to return her phone calls or emails.

She smiled and nodded while her insides ground together. Time wasted. Ben was across town in Kit Daily’s territory. Anything could happen as they tore at the sutures that held this town’s festering secrets tight. She needed to be there. For the mission. For Ben.

* * *

Mary was right—the train yard reeked of military gun oil. To anyone who hadn’t been in the service, it would’ve blended in with the diesel fuel and axle grease, but Ben knew it well. He nearly rubbed his fingers together while remembering the slick of it. Would that have given him away? Maybe. The gesture was the kind of detail he’d notice.

And after last night’s police action, everyone would be on alert. He remained edgy. Too much time had passed since contact with Mary. It wasn’t outside the operational bounds, but it would’ve made him breathe a little easier if he knew her position and could relate his current action.

He approached the train yard administrative buildings as a salesman full of optimism. Bounding up the stairs, he reached the metal patio when a large, rectangular man stepped out of a door to confront him. Ben recognized the shape of the foreman from last night’s grainy view. Now he had the details, from the man’s shoulder holster under his coat to the tired eyes that were clearly not interested in buying what Ben was selling.

“You’re going to have to call first to make an appointment.” The foreman hadn’t shaved and looked to be propped up on several cups of coffee.

“My business isn’t that serious.” He pushed up his coat sleeve to reveal his bracelet. “We make these performance bands and thought your hard workers might benefit from them.”

The foreman shook his head. “We’re too busy down here.” The clanging of bells and heavy equipment proved his point. Men’s voices shouted from the tracks on the other side of the admin buildings.

“Fair enough.” Ben relaxed his pitch and saw the relief on the foreman’s face. “I can come back around the lunch hour. When’s that?”

The lines drew out again down the corners of the foreman’s face. “Depends on the shift.” His patience was being strained. He looked like he wanted to take a threatening step toward Ben, but only teetered at the edge of it. The door he came out of cracked, and he glanced back at it before hitting Ben with a stern, “I really don’t think this is the place for you.”

The door opened wider. If a shooter was coming, Ben could keep the foreman between him and the trouble end of a gun. He had his compact auto on his ankle. Or he could take the foreman’s piece before his clumsy hands could pull it.

“Now, he’s just trying to do his job.” A barrel of a man in his fifties stepped out of the door. Blue jeans and a wool blazer. A .45 1911 rested in a tooled leather holster on his hip. Clean cowboy boots. He smiled like he didn’t mean it, spreading a white mustache across his broad face. He still had the old-school jarhead haircut. This had to be Kit Daily.

Chief Pulaski walked out behind him onto the metal porch. “Careful, Kit, this kid’s a baller.” Exhaustion rimmed his eyes red but he still managed a look of disdain for Ben.

“Good to see you, Chief.” Ben played it like he didn’t see it and skirted around the foreman and shook Pulaski’s hand. The policeman still wore the bracelet. “Starting to feel the benefits?”

Pulaski rolled his wrist and it cracked loudly. “Been a little busy to notice.” Chasing ghosts. It would’ve been great to gloat, but there was more important business.

Ben extended his hand to Kit Daily. “Ben Louis.”

Daily shook it like he was indulging a precocious toddler. “Kit Daily. You’ve come down to my train yard for a reason?”

The pitch glided off Ben’s tongue once again. The foreman left midway through, going back in the door he’d come out. Pulaski yawned broadly and hooked his hands on his duty belt.

Ben wrapped it up with, “We’d love to give the bands to the men in your yard. Those are the kinds of guys who deserve them.”

Daily snorted. “If it makes them work harder.”

Ben bristled at the man’s contempt for his employees and countered, “It might make the work easier.”

Daily didn’t like being talked back to. The challenge was met with eyes as hard as bullets. “Then I can give them more work.”

Neither backed down right away. Pulaski glanced from one to the other, shocked that Ben would stand up to Daily. There was an excited, expectant look in the policeman’s eye when he stared at the boss of the town, waiting to see what he was going to do.

“Go on.” The pompous Daily dismissed Ben with a wave toward the entrance to the yard. “You won’t do any harm.”

Kit Daily was dead wrong. Ben and Mary were there to do a lot of harm to him.

“Thanks much.” Ben started in that direction, then paused. “Would you like one for yourself?”

Daily snorted again. “I don’t think so.”

Ben kept it genial. “Once you see the chief’s brand new jumper, you might change your mind.” He didn’t wait for a response and moved along the porch to the entrance. As he turned toward the yard, he saw Daily and Pulaski still watching him and talking under their breaths. Would the cops send another round of truckers after him, or would the next try be more overt?

Only a few steps past the admin building put Ben into the hard world of heavy industry. Black gravel, steel train tracks and iron machinery. Smoke spewed from exhaust pipes, and train cars locked together with clanging metal. Everything there seemed like it could easily crush flesh and bone to dust.

The men had to be extra hard. Kit Daily could swagger with his throwback pistol on his hip and immaculate boots, but he didn’t work the yard. The men Ben approached wore grease and diesel dust on their heavy canvas clothes. Blacks, whites and Hispanics all eyed him warily.

Mary had already probed this area, dressed for civilian business, no less. The woman could walk through a tiger cage wearing a flank steak suit and still come out on top. How far afield was she now? If she was in trouble, he’d hear the explosions. Then the whole town would go up.

“You guys have a second?” Ben approached nine workers and once they’d locked down what they were doing and came over to him, laid out the same old pitch. He made sure to extend his appreciation for the labor these guys sweat out. As he handed out several bracelets, he ventured, “Coach down at the high school spoke highly of Sean Harris. He got some game?”

“A little.” An African-American man a bit younger than Ben stepped forward. His tight beard was broken by a short scar along his jaw.

Ben gave him a green bracelet. “Maybe you can go down to the police rec league and show them how it’s done.”

Sean scoffed, along with the other guys. “We’re all better off if they think they’re the ones with the skills.”

Ben glanced over his shoulder; no sign of Daily and Pulaski in the yard. “Yeah, seems like this place is on lockdown.”

“Except for the truckers.” Sean smiled wryly. News had traveled.

Ben shrugged. “I’ve got game.”

“That’s the word.” The other men in the group stared at Ben along with Sean, waiting for the story.

“They came on strong, talking shit.” Ben shifted to his right and put up his guard loosely to show the moves. “Got one in the side of the knee. Went at it with the second one for a bit. The third guy was a fucked-up tweaker, so he got wild and I had to put him on the ground.”

Sean wasn’t satisfied. “I heard they pulled a knife on you.”

“I’m from Chicago,” was answer enough.

“But you can’t stop a bullet.” Sean also kept an eye on the admin buildings. “I’d get your business done quick and get out of town.”