Spy High (37 page)

“Here,” he said gruffly. “Use mine.” As
I secured it in my ear he gave us a look that could only be envy.
“Damn emphysema. There was a time when I could take out a little
weasel like Ratboy with one hand tied behind my back.”

To my surprise, Moonbeam stooped and
dropped a kiss on what I assumed were his lips behind the tangle of
facial hair. “You still could, dear,” she said gently.

He wheezed his usual laughter, but his
eyes were soft as he touched Moonbeam’s cheek with his callused
fingertips. “If the fight only lasted fifteen seconds and I had
oxygen after.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you took
a man down in less than fifteen seconds,” Karma said. “But we need
you here.”

Skidmark tilted his head in resigned
acquiescence and turned back to the console to press buttons.
“Radio check.”

His voice sounded clearly in my ear and
I said, “Mine’s fine.”

Moonbeam and Karma added their
confirmations, and Skidmark nodded, his gaze already locked on the
tactical displays. “Good and readable. Go.”

Just before I ran for the door, I
glanced again at the commune map. Almost all the dots were moving
toward the main building.

Nichele’s was terrifyingly still.

As we jogged down the hill, Karma
asked, “Where are Helmand and Kane?”

“John is at the main building,” I
panted. “I don’t know exactly where Arnie is, but he’s in position
with a full view of the main building.”

“In position,” Moonbeam repeated. “Does
that mean he has his rifle set up?”

She wasn’t breathing any harder than I
was. I hoped I’d be in as good shape when I was her age.

If I lived long enough to be her
age.

“I assume so,” I replied.

“Tell your team to use firearms only as
a last resort,” Karma said. “We don’t want to alert the terrorists
that we’re armed. We’ll go directly to Nichele’s last known
position. Moonbeam and I will stay out of visual range of the main
building so Kane and Helmand don’t see us. You can get Nichele into
the main building and join the meditation. Leave Helmand in place.
If you and Kane can leave the meditation without arousing
suspicion, do. We can use the support.”

He delivered the entire speech in short
sentences with deep breaths in between, but he didn’t sound winded.
Now I knew why the gym was the most up-to-date part of the
commune.

I fumbled the phones out of my pocket
and hit the speed dials. Hellhound and Kane picked up
simultaneously, and I panted, “Is Nichele there yet?”

“No,” Kane replied.

“Shit, shit…” I bit off the waste of
breath. “I’m still a few minutes away. It took me a while to get
away from Moonbeam and Karma. They’re pretty shaken up.”

Jogging beside me, they both grinned,
looking thoroughly invigorated.

“Don’t fire any shots unless you have
to,” I added. “We don’t want to tip off the terrorists.”

“Acknowledged. Almost all the members
are here,” Kane said. “Should I start searching for Nichele?”

“Yes…” I hesitated, wondering where to
direct him. If I sent him in the direction of Nichele’s dot, he
might run into Moonbeam and Karma…

“I’ll begin a search grid at the main
building,” Kane said. “When you get here we can divide up the
area.”

“Okay, thanks,” I agreed with relief,
and hung up.

We were nearing the main building when
Skidmark’s voice spoke in my ear. “Nichele’s on the move. Heading
for the main building.”

“Oh thank God!” Relief turned my knees
to water and I stumbled to a halt.

Moonbeam and Karma stopped on either
side of me and we hunched over panting.

Moonbeam straightened first. “Well,
Storm Cloud Dancer, we’ll leave you to go on to the building. Karma
Wolf Song and I have a commune to protect.”

I eyed her curiously, realizing for the
first time that I hadn’t seen them arm themselves. “How exactly are
you going to do that?” I asked.

“Oh, we both carry pistols at all
times,” Moonbeam replied cheerfully. “Loose garments are
convenient. You wouldn’t believe what Karma Wolf Song has under his
sarong.”

A devilish grin spread over his face
and I protested, “Too much information!” and hurriedly changed the
subject. “But I thought you said you didn’t want gunfire.”

“We’re both experts in hand-to-hand
combat,” Moonbeam assured me with a smile. “Well, Karma Wolf Song
is. I used to be. The arthritis in my hands bothers me quite a bit
now, so the garrotte is my weapon of choice these days.” She
produced a lethal-looking length of wire with wooden handles from
another recess of her caftan.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me,” I said
with considerably more truth than I cared to admit.

“Go to your friend,” she said kindly.
“We’ll start the fireworks as soon as the terrorists begin to
move.”

“Okay, good luck.” I hugged them both
and ran for the main building.

Nobody was there when I panted up, and
I punched my speed dials. “John? Arnie? Any sign of Nichele?”

Two negative replies accelerated my
already-pounding heart.

In my ear, Skidmark said, “She’s still
moving toward the building, but slowly. Couple hundred yards
out.”

My earlier relief evaporated without a
trace. “Oh, God, maybe she’s hurt,” I blurted, before remembering
Kane and Hellhound didn’t know I had inside information.

Fortunately it wasn’t too much of a non
sequitur and Kane replied, “Stay positive, Aydan. I’m searching a
grid to the southeast, so why don’t you take the northeast?
Hellhound, do you have eyes on us from up there?”

“Got a visual on Aydan near the
buildin’. Lost ya in the trees, but I still got your thermal… hang
on! Just picked up a thermal north-northeast of Aydan.”

At the same time Skidmark corroborated,
“Go north-northeast from your position, you should run right into
her.”

Sucking in a breath that caught in my
throat, I hurried forward.

“Take off your night vision so ya don’t
blow your cover, darlin’,” Hellhound reminded me. “I’ll tell ya
which way to go.”

I gulped and juggled the phones while I
pulled off my headset and stuffed it in my pocket before placing a
phone to each ear again. “Thanks. I completely forgot.”

“That thermal’s straight ahead,” he
reassured me. “Headin’ right for ya… shit!”

Without my night vision I didn’t
immediately see what had caused his consternation.

Then Ratboy stepped out of the forest
into the moonlight with Nichele’s limp body slung over his
shoulders.

My chest constricted on a sob of
terror. Only a tiny whimper choked from my lips.

He let Nichele slither down, holding
her against him with an arm under her armpit and across her
breasts. Her head lolled against his chest, her arms dangling, but
her feet moved feebly as though she was trying to stand.

His vicious grin glinted in the
moonlight, almost as brightly as the bayonet he held against her
throat.

“I found your little whore friend,” he
sneered. His fingers dug savagely into her breast and Nichele
twitched and whimpered. “What is her life worth to you?”

“Anything you want.” My voice came out
high and tremulous. “Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.
Anything. Just don’t hurt her.”

“What’s happening? Storm, report!” I
barely heard Skidmark’s demand, every cell of my being focused on
Ratboy.

“Target acquired.” If I hadn’t known it
was Hellhound speaking I wouldn’t have recognized his voice in the
flat distant tone of a killing machine.

“Hold your fire!” Kane’s command issued
from the other phone. “Wait and see if we can take him without
alerting the others.”

“Hang up the phones and drop them,
whore,” Ratboy said.

I clicked them off and let them
fall.

“Storm, report!”

Just shut up, Skidmark.

“Tell me what you want,” I begged
Ratboy. “I’ll do anything.”

A sudden touch on my pant leg made me
yelp and snap a glance downward. Peaches chirruped her little song
of purrs as she wound around my ankles, and I nudged her gently
back toward the building with one foot, my heart hammering.

She tried again, clearly annoyed by my
lack of response. Then she abandoned me and waddled toward Ratboy
and Nichele.

“Peaches, no!” I hissed. “Here, kitty,
kitty! Come on, Peaches…”

Tail in the air, she stalked away from
me without a backward glance. Sick horror seized me at the sight of
Ratboy’s expression.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” he mimicked in a
squeaky voice. He bared his teeth at me. “The kitty likes me.” The
bayonet stroked Nichele’s throat, obscenely shiny against her skin.
“The kitty likes me better than your little whore friend likes me.
But which one do you like better? The kitty?” His voice hardened.
“Or the pussy?” He jerked Nichele higher against him.

Her head was on his shoulder now.
Hellhound wouldn’t have a clear shot.

My entire body felt encased in ice, my
lungs unable to expand despite the fierce battering of my heart
against my ribcage.

“Just tell me what you want,” I
whispered.

“Here, kitty, kitty.”

“
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
” The shriek
tore my throat and I dimly heard Skidmark swear.

Ratboy smiled, his teeth silver in the
moonlight, his eyes black empty holes. “I want you to pay. And
here’s what will happen to your little whore friend if you don’t do
exactly as I say.”

He released Nichele to swoop down and
seize Peaches by the tail, his bayonet flashing toward her.

Peaches twisted in his grip, screaming
agony and defiance.

Ratboy’s head exploded.

An instant later the echoing whipcrack
of Hellhound’s rifle split the night, the sound arriving after the
bullet had done its work. Peaches hit the ground on all fours and
fled like a streak of furry lightning into the forest.

I dashed toward Nichele as Skidmark
swore again in my ear, a short curse bitten off before he snapped,
“Shots fired. Starting fireworks now.”

The first explosion of the fireworks
slammed more adrenaline into my veins even though I’d known it was
coming.

“Storm, report!” Skidmark demanded.

“Ratboy kidnapped Nichele and Hellhound
shot him,” I gasped as I slid to my knees beside the two still
forms. I wrenched Ratboy’s body off Nichele, barely noticing the
protests of my muscles in my haze of fear.

Nichele was drenched in blood.

My heart stopped.

My world stopped.

A high-pitched keening filled my
ears.

My hands wouldn’t work. Quivering
bunches of useless fingers at the end of wooden arms.

I pawed helplessly at the blood.

Make it stop.

Oh God, make it stop.

Then Kane was there. Making a rapid
examination before he laid her gently on the grass and turned to
take my face between his palms.

I tried to push him aside. How could he
leave her?

He gripped my wrists. Wouldn’t let me
go to her.

My best friend since childhood. The
sister I’d never had.

I jerked and struggled in his
grasp.

“Aydan, stop! It’s not her blood! She’s
fine!” Kane’s words finally penetrated.

My shrill keening faded to silence, my
throat feeling like with broken glass. Unable to speak, afraid to
believe, I stared at him.

“Come and see.” His baritone was warm
and soft, a blanket of comfort wrapping around me. Gentle hands on
my shoulders guided me over. “See?” Kane used his sleeve to wipe
the blood from her face. “She’s not hurt. It’s not her blood,
Aydan. She’s all right. Just drugged or something.”

I slowly became aware of my
surroundings again. Fireworks exploding in the night.

I should be feeling fireworks of
joy.

Nothing.

“Aydan. Come on, Aydan.” Kane patted my
cheeks, smart little slaps that jarred me back to myself.

I sucked in a breath and collapsed in
his arms. “Oh thank God! Thank God!” I trembled in his embrace for
a long moment, hugging him fiercely before I pulled away.

“Okay,” I said. I sucked in another
breath and let it out slowly, forcing my mind and muscles back
under control. “Okay. We need to get her inside and cleaned up. If
she’s drugged, she might not remember this.”

Kane nodded and scooped Nichele up as
though she was weightless. “Get your phones,” he said as we hurried
toward the building, and I detoured to where I’d dropped them.

One was vibrating. I fumbled it into my
shaking hands and punched the talk button.

“Everythin’ okay?” Hellhound’s anxious
rasp was nothing like the cold implacable voice that had dealt
death only moments before. “Is Nichele okay?”

“I think so.” I pocketed the other
phone and forced my quivering legs into a jog toward the main
building. “She was covered in Ratboy’s blood and I panicked, but
John thinks she’s just drugged. Nice shot, by the way.”

He didn’t acknowledge the compliment.
“How about Peaches? Did that asshole…” His question faded and the
sound of his swallow came clearly over the line before he tried
again, “Is she…?”

“She’s okay, Arnie. She took off like a
bat out of hell.”

I ducked into the building, glimpsing
Kane’s back as he disappeared into the kitchen. By the time I
arrived he had already laid Nichele on a blanket and was heading
for the nearest boiler with a bucket.

“Are ya sure?” Hellhound demanded.
“Cats crawl away an’ hide when they’re hurt bad. When I found
Hooker he was hidin’ in a garbage can, just about dead.”

I dropped to my knees beside Nichele as
Kane returned with the bucket and a couple of cloths. He handed me
one and I tucked the phone between my chin and shoulder and went to
work. Trying not to think about what I was wringing out of the
cloth, I returned my attention to Hellhound.

“I really think Peaches is fine, Arnie.
She sure as hell wasn’t crawling. I think she broke the sound
barrier heading for the forest.”