Killing Time

35

The silence that fell over their prison after Brewster and his entourage left could have filled a football stadium. It lasted all of five seconds before Taggart cut it off at the knees.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. Steak dinner to the first one out of the cuffs.”

“You are so buying.” Cooper flashed a grin full of arrogance and attitude. “Sixteen ounces minimum. Not one of those baby cuts.”

Like old times, Mike thought, going to work on the plastic straps binding his wrists. They’d felt invincible once, and found out the hard way that they were far from it. But their lives weren’t going to end here. Not like this. No way. Not like rats in a cage.

Jesus. Brewster. He still couldn’t believe it. The man had been a verifiable hero in the Spec Ops community. He’d had the chops, done the deeds, and he’d made good, all the way to a three star—and then he’d gone bad. So fucking bad.

But there was no time for that now. He had to get Eva out of this rat hole, and to do that he had to get out.

Thwup, thwup, thwup. They all heard it at the same time and everybody looked toward the vaulted ceiling. Chopper. A big one.

“The nice men from Mexico must have arrived.” Cooper looked grim. “Sounds like a Shithook.”

Eva scowled. “A what?”

“A civilian version of the CH-47 Chinook,” Mike explained. “Big bird. Can carry a lot of cargo.” Like guns, they all thought, but didn’t voice.

“We’ve gotta boogie.”

It had to be over a hundred degrees in the small, airless room. Sweat ran down Mike’s forehead, burning like fire when it trickled into the cuts on his face, as he went back to work on the flex cuffs.

“Winner and new champeen,” Cooper crowed in a whisper as he lifted his hands, free of the restraints.

“I’ll make sure you get a medal,” Mike grumbled. “If my friend Simmons hadn’t tried to beat my face into hamburger, you’d still be second best.”

“Nice try, but your face has nothing to do with ditching the cuffs.” Cooper went to work on Mike’s cuffs. “Did sort of improve the way you look, though. Too bad you’ve lost your edge.”

As soon as Mike was free, Cooper helped Taggart finish up. Mike helped Eva.

“You up for this?” she asked as she worked the circulation back into her hands.

He got why she was concerned about him. One eye was swollen shut, he could barely see out of the other, his lips were busted up, and he couldn’t draw a deep breath without gasping. Probably had a couple of bruised ribs, maybe broken.

“Chica.” His tone was tender yet chiding as he touched a hand to her cheek. “You have to ask?”

“Macho to the end,” she whispered.

“Anyone have any brilliant ideas?” Cooper glanced around the room, brows raised hopefully.

Taggart grunted. “Asked the man with the highest IQ. We rely on you for brilliance.”

“Ambush?” Mike suggested, staring up at the rafters.

Taggart looked up, too; checked out the electrical wire running from the switch by the door to the overhead light tacked to the center rafter. “I like it.”

“What do you want to bet there’s a big pomp and circumstance meet and greet going on right now?” Taggart wandered around the room looking for anything they might be able to use as a screwdriver.

“First deal with the cartel?” Mike grunted. “Hell, yeah. Brewster’s going to want to show them all around the facility, show ’em the guns, let them test them out. Make sure they know this is an operation that delivers. That there will be more deals in the future.”

“The kitchen staff has been working on something for days,” Eva said. “I didn’t put it together at the time, but they must have been getting a feast ready for this meeting.”

“So we probably have until after the shindig before Brewster sends the ice bitch for us,” Cooper speculated.

“That woman was flat-out spooky.”

Mike agreed with Taggart. “Wiki wiki, people. No time to waste.”

They spent the next few hours working out the details of their escape plan, gathering weapons, and waiting for dark, when they would have their greatest advantage.

Eva had found a rusty nail in the corner on the floor, and as night began to fall they got to work, with Taggart using the nail to quietly unscrew the switch plate from the light switch.

On Taggart’s nod, Mike let out a bellow—“Simmons! I need to pee, man”—to cover the sound of Taggart ripping the wires loose from the box.

“Go piss up a rope,” Simmons shouted back.

“If you really cared about me, you’d bring me a beer,” Mike wheedled, which netted him a “fuck you.”

“He loves me,” Mike mouthed around a grin that made him wince in pain.

With the electrical wire loose from the switch plate and the room effectively without a light source, Taggart gave Cooper a boost up. He grabbed onto the rafters, pulled himself up, then, agile as a monkey and quiet as a shadow, swung up until he was straddling the middle rafter. He scooted toward the center and unscrewed the lightbulb from the porcelain base. Then he tossed the bulb down to Taggart, who whipped off his T-shirt and wrapped it around the bulb to muffle the sound of the glass he was about to break. After another nod to Mike, who started badgering Simmons again, he cracked the bulb against the floor.

They now had a knife. The jagged glass was thin and could never land a killing blow, but it could still cause a lot of pain if twisted directly into an eye socket, an ear, or a hand.

Using the same rusty nail Taggart had used on the light switch, Cooper went to work loosening the individual staples that secured the electrical wire to the rafters.

“Taking too long,” he whispered. “Give me a distraction.”

Taggart walked over to the door and started pounding and swearing a blue streak. Cooper gave the wire several hard, swift tugs. Staples popped like popcorn as the wire broke free all along the rafter and down the wall studs.

“My friend has a temper,” Mike pointed out when Taggart wound down. “You really don’t want to see him mad.”

“You don’t zip it,” Simmons growled back, “I’m coming in there and shutting you up.”

Cooper still straddled the rafter, working the nail into the screws holding the porcelain light fixture. He finally got it loose and tossed it down to Eva. The fixture was heavy and round, and since it was still attached to one end of the twelve-plus feet of electrical cord, it would make a helluva projectile missile if swung with enough velocity.

“Okay,” Mike said, barely able to make out their silhouettes in the dark, hot room. “Let’s do this. No shots fired, if at all possible, or we’ll have the entire camp on our asses.”

“Places, everyone.” Cooper softly clapped his hands together.

Taggart gave him a look. “Who are you, Cecil B. DeMille?”

Grinning, Cooper shimmied forward so he was hanging directly over the door.

Eva and Taggart, each gripping one end of the electrical wire that they’d strung low just inside the threshold, squatted on either side of the door.

They all glanced at each other in the thickening dark, just barely able to see as four thumbs went up in the air.

This was it.

“Oh, Simmmooonnns,” Mike sing-songed, doing his damnedest to irritate the hotheaded guard. He’d planted himself on the floor, legs stretched out in front of him at the far wall, dead center with the door so he’d be the first thing Simmons saw when he burst inside. If he played this hand right, the knuckle-dragger would be blinded by rage. “I know you’re out there, big guy. Got a question for you.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Simmons grated through the door.

Mike grinned, regretted it when his split lip let him know it wasn’t happy.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be a Mr. Cranky Pants. Just got a couple questions. Lawson ever share any of his high-priced scotch with you? Man of your stature, seems he’d pony up some of that private stock. He shared with me, after all.”

Silence. Oh, yeah. Simmons was simmering in the stew Mike was dishing up. Mike loved baiting this guy.

“But, hell, there’re probably other perks. Gotta be to make up for tonight, right? I mean… important man like you, pulling a shit job like babysitting duty? Shame you’re missing the big shindig and all. Doesn’t that bug you? Seems like you should be out there rubbing elbows with the cartel. They should know what a key player you are.”

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m coming in there. I’ve had it with your smart-ass digs.”

“Never have figured out your official title,” Mike went on, ignoring him. “Bootlicker in chief? Supreme bootlicker? What’s he pay you to do that, anyway? And do you get bonuses for all that ass kissing?”

A chair scraped against raw wood.

A key rattled in the lock.

The door swung open, and there stood Simmons in all his pissed-off glory. “I told you to shut up,” he said, planted like a tree in the doorway.

“Ask me nice.” Mike made a kissing sound.

Predictable to the end, Simmons roared, storming into the room, and Taggart and Eva snapped the electrical wire tight.

Simmons tripped midstride, landing flat on his face. Taggart was on him like sweat on a hog. He jammed his knee between Simmons’s shoulder blades with all of his weight, grabbed his jaw in one hand, the back of his head in his other, and jerked hard right. Simmons was dead before Taggart jumped off of him and dragged his carcass to the side of the room.

It was over in less than seven seconds.

And they now had a pistol and a shotgun.

“One down,” Mike mouthed and Taggart and Eva assumed their positions on either side of the door again.

For several seconds, nothing happened. But when the silence stretched, it didn’t take long for Bryant and Wagoner to check on their comrade.

“Simmons? What the fuck you doing, man?”

“I think he might have hurt himself, guys,” Mike said cheerfully. “But that could just be wishful thinking on my part.”

Bryant appeared at the door in a shot. When he couldn’t see into the dark, he peeked inside, then tentatively walked in. Eva jammed the broken lightbulb into his hand. He dropped his gun and opened his mouth to howl like a coyote—but Taggart was right behind him. He looped the electrical cord over his head from behind, jerked it tight and down. Bryant fell to his knees clawing at the cord. Taggart slammed his knee between his shoulder blades with the force of a Mack truck and drove him face-first into the floor.

Wagoner charged in the door right behind Bryant. “What the—”

Cooper dropped out of the rafters, landed on his shoulders, and rode him all the way to the ground. Wagoner’s head hit the floor with a loud thud, and it was lights out.

“I’ve got to say, I’m impressed as hell.” Mike struggled to his feet. “But I probably could have done it better if I wasn’t on the DL.”

“Still got some work to do on that humility issue, I see.” Taggart made sure both Bryant and Wagoner were well out of commission, then tossed Wagoner’s AR-15 to Mike. He kept Simmons’s shotgun for himself while Cooper confiscated Bryant’s sawed-off.

Taggart tossed Eva a pistol that he lifted from Bryant’s hip holster. “Figure a woman who can handle a lightbulb like that can sure as hell handle a pistol.”

“I’d rather it was a Glock,” she said, chambering a round, “but this’ll do.”

“And so will you,” Taggart said with a grin. “You’ll do just fine. Shall we boogie, boys and girl?”

“Remember,” Mike said. “No shots unless you absolutely have to.”

Cooper took the lead, with Mike and Eva sandwiched between him and Taggart, who was pulling up the rear. When Cooper reached the corner of the building he held up a hand, two fingers extended.

Two guards.

Taggart skirted Mike—who really was in no condition to be contemplating any full-body contact—and snuck a peek around the corner.

“They’re taking a smoke break,” he whispered. “One on the left is mine.”

Cooper nodded and grabbed one end of the electrical cord. Taggart started swinging the other end with the porcelain fixture attached. When he had a good head of steam worked up, he gave Cooper a nod. “Stand by.”

He swung the cord several more times, building up speed, then let it fly. The fixture connected with a thud just behind the guard’s left ear. He dropped like a rock.

Before the second guard could react, Cooper shot out of the shadows and used his end of the cord as a garrote. The man fought, twitched, then finally went still.

Cooper was letting him slide to the ground when the third guard rounded the corner, checking up on his two buddies.

“Hi.” Eva stepped out of the shadows, a big, flirty smile on her face. “I don’t suppose you could give a girl a light.”

In the split second it took him to get past flummoxed to “holy shit,” Mike rammed the butt end of the AR-15 into his stomach. The guy doubled over and got a second hit on the back of his head.

“Well, hell,” Cooper whispered with an approving grin. “Guess we’ll take you out of the dead weight column.”

“Damn straight.” Mike winced at the pain that grabbed him in his ribs. “The motor pool’s this way.”

“Wait.” Eva’s hand on his arm stopped him. “The motor pool?”

He laced his fingers through hers and took off running. “Unless you’ve got a better idea, but I have serious doubts about them giving us the keys to that chopper.”

“Stop.” She planted her feet, dragged him to a halt. “We’re leaving?”

“Yes. We’re leaving.”

“But I thought we’d decided…”

“I’m making an executive decision. Change of plans. I’m not sticking around to give them the chance to plan our execution. Did you see that woman’s eyes? She’s insane. Now come on. We’ve got to go.”

“But what about the guns?” She forced him to look at her. “I thought the plan was to stop the cartel from getting the guns.”

He looked poleaxed. “That was the plan… when we thought Gabe and the BOIs, and ATF and DEA, and the FBI would be charging in with enough firepower to blow this place to kingdom come. But they don’t have a clue what’s going down out here. And in case you’ve forgotten, there are over one hundred of them.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, where special lights had apparently been rigged for tonight’s festivities and glowed from the big outdoor rally that appeared to be staged somewhere in the vicinity of the shooting range. “I’m getting you out of here. We’ll get word to Gabe as soon as we can. He can figure out a way to deal with it later.”

“Later will be too late.”

He stared at her, flabbergasted. “No. I let you do this to me before. I let you shame me into going for the guns. Well, we tried that. And we ended up locked up and almost dead. I’m not falling for it again.”

When she stood her ground, he appealed to Cooper and Taggart. “Help me out here, damn it. Tell her there’s nothing we can do.”

Cooper glanced uncomfortably at Taggart. “He’s probably right.”

“Probably?” Mike swore under his breath. “What is wrong with you? If we don’t get her out of here right now, right this very now, we may not get her out of here alive.”

Taggart compressed his mouth, shrugged. “I don’t think Eva is as concerned about getting herself out as you are.”

Mike glared at him. “Seriously? You’re going to take her side in this?”

“This isn’t about sides,” Eva insisted. “It’s about doing the right thing. If La Linea gets those guns, a lot of innocent people are going to die.”

“For the love of—” Mike dragged a hand through his hair. She was making him crazy. He was not going to lose her. He was not going to—

“Mike… this is bigger than us,” she appealed softly. “Way bigger.”

“I told you not to play the duty and honor card again. All it got me was a less than honorable discharge, my career down the tubes, my life stolen. My friends dead or gone.” He glanced at Taggart and Cooper.

He finally had them back. He couldn’t lose them again. And for the first time in his life, he had a woman worth holding on to. He would not lose her.

Yet if he didn’t stand and fight, he would lose her anyway. As he stood there in the dark, with the PA system ramping up and Lawson’s zealot voice booming across the meadow, he knew he would lose them all again if he insisted on saving them.

Just like he would lose what he’d recovered of himself, if he walked away from this challenge.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Fine. But if she loses one freaking hair, I’m going to make you all wish you were never born. Especially you,” he told Eva, just before he dragged her against him and kissed her.

“Aw.” Taggart’s teeth glowed white in the dark. “Group hug?”

“I’m in.” Cooper opened his arms.

“Fuck you both,” Mike grumbled. “Let’s just get this done.”