Monster Serial Continues

I watched 'Royal Pains' on USA Network last night and they had just the right mix of big pay job and help a poor schmuck with a dog bite. Hank's associate is terrific. She will be the glue to bind this show together if the brother stops taking Jinx and Brandi lessons in repulsiveness. :) Here's Monster.

Chapter 20

Recuperation

It was late afternoon when the three agents returned to their office. All of the materials seized in the raid were being catalogued and photographed. Muhyee had been transferred for the time being to a safe house with all of his family under twenty-four hour guard. The C.A.I.R. office employees had all been detained for questioning pursuant to the team’s investigation of what had been gathered in the raid. Barrington carried a box with C.A.I.R.’s already catalogued computer hard drives. Muhyee had given the team all the passwords to retrieve the system data.

“That was very exciting,” Rasheed commented as the three walked toward their office.

“The best part will be breaking down the info we snatched,” Barrington replied. “We’ll let Diane know how big a part you played, Kay.”

“You were kick-ass in there.” Rutledge chuckled. She swiped her card to enter the office. “I think Muhyee needed a change of pants after your attitude adjustment.”

“In Iraq we would have retrieved the information and then sent the traitor to hell,” Rasheed grumbled, following Rutledge and Barrington into the office.

Barrington set the box down near Rutledge’s workstation. The three continued on to Reskova’s office. They could hear Reskova talking to someone so Rutledge knocked on her door. Reskova’s voice called out for them to enter. Inside, a young Marine they recognized from Anderson Air Base stood up courteously while the agents entered.

“You all remember Gunnery Sergeant Dominguez, don’t you,” Reskova asked.

Barrington, Rutledge, and Rasheed all shook hands with the young Marine.

“How’s the leg, Gunny,” Barrington asked.

“The Doc at Bethesda said I’ll be a hundred percent in a few weeks,” Dominguez answered with a grin.

“Sergeant Dominguez came by at Cold’s request,” Reskova explained, unable to suppress her irritated tone. “They operated on him today. The shrapnel they were tracing was in a position where they could get at it safely. Abe here only came when Cold was out of surgery.”

“He ordered me not to tell anyone until he was out of surgery, Ma’am,” Dominguez said apologetically. “I tried to get the Colonel to let me call you. He said no, and if the Colonel says no, then no it is.”

“I’d go see him, but Cold left orders at Walter Reed for no visitors.”

“That sounds like him,” Rutledge said. “We’re going to be pretty busy, Diane. I think we hit the jackpot. Did you pump the Sergeant here for details about the Colonel’s exploits?”

“I just brought him up here ten minutes before you three walked in. Cold probably issued orders silencing the Sergeant anyway.”

“Actually, he didn’t get a chance to cover that detail, Ma’am.”

“Sit down Sergeant.” Rutledge gestured toward his chair. “We have a little time to hear the details. I think I detected a hidden glee in the Sergeant’s tone. Could it be the Colonel was engaged in unauthorized sneaking up on Marines, Sergeant?”

Dominguez looked surprised at first. “How… oh… he did you guys too, huh?”

“Big time,” Barrington laughed. He explained the Hughes’ mission to Dominguez’ delight.

“Oh yeah!” Dominguez nodded in commiseration. “The Colonel’s a freak. He’d show up in the middle of us as if he was beamed there. We threatened to frag him. Most of us were vets from the beginning of the war. We thought we knew it all. He taught us a lot. He saved my life. That’s how he got wounded.”

“Details, Sergeant, details,” Rutledge urged.

“It’s a little embarrassing.” Dominguez sighed, sitting down again. The others joined him around Reskova’s desk. “We’d been building up for the attack way too long. When word finally came, we were really pumped. The Colonel knew the area we were going into real well so they attached him to our recon unit. The…”

“It’s pretty unusual to get an army guy assigned to a Marine unit,” Barrington observed with interest.

“The Colonel was a mystery to us. We all tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, most of us had already seen heavy combat and urban warfare. He’s so big we joked about the best way for him to help us out would be by taking the first hit.”

The agents all laughed, with Rasheed laughing the hardest, and nodding his head in agreement.

“Yes, yes,” Rasheed confirmed. “In my unit too we thought the same thing. Always he would be in the lead. Yet mysteriously he would not get hit. He managed to keep us alive too.”

“We could tell right away the Colonel knew where he was going. It all started out by the book and then all hell broke loose. By the end of the first day we were way ahead of schedule. Our Lieutenant was a hard charger. We had tank and air support. We figured things would keep going well. That’s when we hit our first holy Mosque,” Dominguez said ruefully. “Holy place… that’s a joke.”

“These vermin are using our holiest places against your forces,” Rasheed said with bitterness. “They have been desecrated. It would be better to blow them all up into dust, along with the rats inside.”

“Ah… yes, Sir, that is how we figured it too,” Dominguez replied with surprise at hearing Rasheed say it.

“Call me Kay, Sergeant. I do not want anymore of you young men killed or wounded protecting what is no longer sacred.”

“We should put you in charge, Kay. Anyhow, the Colonel was less than thrilled when our Lieutenant told him we were to push on. It was getting dark. With all the smoke and noise he said the Mosque was a bridge too far. The Lieutenant agreed. He relayed the Colonel’s doubts, but our commander overruled him. When the Lieutenant told us we’d have to take it, I volunteered for point but the Colonel told us to hold back until he did a recon.”

“He said he’d signal us from the front of the Mosque if he thought it was safe to cross over. It was spooky quiet. We figured the enemy had bugged out. The Colonel ghosted away down this avenue in a circling pattern. When he didn’t come back after half an hour or show up to signal us near the Mosque, I urged the Lieutenant to let me take my squad and secure the front of the Mosque. He let me do it. We made it across to the Mosque without drawing any fire. Instead of securing the front of the Mosque like I said I’d do, I was so pumped, I just headed inside. A…”

“The Colonel still wasn’t in sight?” Barrington broke in to ask.

Dominguez chuckled. “That’s what we thought. I headed into the entrance. The Colonel like materialized from nowhere. I felt a hand grab the back of my pack and pull me backwards. At the same time I heard the Colonel scream for my squad to hit the deck. It was a trap. They triggered explosives inside the entrance. If not for the Colonel we would have all been dead or maimed. As it was I heard the Colonel grunt in pain from on top of me. He rolled free, shedding his stuff which was smoking. The Colonel retrieved his weapon and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. He says, ‘get back across the street Abe and wait there like I told you the first time. Hurry up before the smoke clears’.”

“I did like I was told. The shit hit the fan just about the time we made it back. When I looked toward the Mosque, all I could see was the Colonel’s smoldering gear. They started blanketing the area with everything you could think of. When they started walking in mortar rounds toward our position the Colonel calls out the password so as not to get shot and then leads us away from the hotspot. I could see all he had left on top was pieces of his tee-shirt. Blood was trickling down into the waistband of his pants.”

“When we were out of the kill zone, the Colonel gets our radioman and calls in some coordinates. The Lieutenant signaled our medic forward and Doc patched the Colonel up while he called in targets. Air Cav blew the shit out of the places called into them. The heavy stuff was silenced. We were all sort of taking a moment. I told the Colonel I was sorry but he just shook his head. He said, ‘forget it, Abe, combat’s an inexact science, sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you. He only got a taste this time’.”

“So, Cold was hit the first day,” Reskova commented. “Why…”

“I know, Ma’am,” Dominguez interrupted gently. “His neck and upper back were burned and he was carrying metal. He told Doc to layer on the burn salve he had. One of our guys, nearly as big as the Colonel, stripped off his tee-shirt and gave it to him.”

“A sniper firing from one of those minarets in the Mosque hit two of our guys, one in the shoulder, and one round almost took the Lieutenant’s head off. We tried to get an Abram’s up for support but they were cut off with rocket fire. It was dark. We were on our own. The sniper must have had night vision equipment. There ain’t no way he could have tracked us to where the Colonel led us after we took casualties. We weren’t going anywhere until morning. We were becoming a magnet for increasing fire. It was impossible to zero in on where it was coming from. The Colonel made sure we had our perimeter covered. Then he says real matter of fact, ‘Abe, keep your heads down, eat and drink, and I’ll go get that bastard who’s makin’ our lives miserable’. I started to argue with him but he was gone in that friggin’ annoying way he has of disappearing.”

When Dominguez paused, Reskova could see his face was flushed and his hands were clenched into fists. Reskova stood up from behind the desk.

“Let me get you something to drink, Sergeant.”

“That’d be great, Ma’am - anything carbonated would be fine,” Dominguez said gratefully, spreading his hands out on his legs. “Sorry, I was getting a little into it.”

“You don’t have to tell us anymore,” Rutledge told him, with Barrington and Rasheed echoing her sentiments. Reskova came back in with a Pepsi.

“That’s for sure, Abe.” Reskova handed the Pepsi to Dominguez, who popped the top and took a long swallow.

“It ain’t like people think, you know,” Dominguez said, almost apologetically. “Kay here probably knows what I’m talking about. I’m a Marine because I want to be. God knows what I’d be without the Corps. I grew up in East LA. The first thing I did right was enlist in the Marines. Now I have my own family. My folks are proud of me. It’s what I do and I wouldn’t do anything else even if I could. This is the first time I’ve been able to tell anyone. If I said anything to my family I’d just freak them out.”

“You’re the man, Abe,” Barrington said. “Go on with your story.”

“Thanks,” Dominguez replied, taking another swallow of Pepsi. “Anyway, after the Colonel leaves, the sniper’s still working our position over every time he gets even a glimpse of movement. Then we start hearing these screams from the darkness. Right away we know it’s got to be the Colonel. He has this great big knife he carries. He was wounding them so they’d howl. Earlier in the day when he was on scout we’d come along after he had been through, and there would be dead guys in his wake with slit throats. He’s nasty with that knife. We could tell the Colonel was givin’ those clowns out there something to think about.”

“About an hour after he left us we’re hearing a chorus of these groans, moans, and screams of pain out of the darkness. We start getting into the spirit. When one of them screams or groans, we start yellin’ ‘rah! Then comes the finale. The friggin’ sniper starts screaming. We know it’s him because the sniping stops and the screams are coming from above. Thinking of the Lieutenant, we’re really enjoying the show. Suddenly this guy’s body smacks down like a ripe tomato right into the street.”

“Dead silence, and then the Colonel yells out in Arabic from up there. One of our guys is of Syrian ancestry and he starts laughing. In between howling in laughter at every new thing the Colonel’s yellin’, Moe’s interpreting for us. See, the Colonel’s up there insulting these smucks’ manhood, mothers, and sexual preferences. The idiots start screaming back at him. Before you know it, they’re attacking the Mosque. Big mistake - not only can the Colonel shoot, us Recon Marines ain’t there as observers. After we start wiping them out like big tunas, I get the idea now would be a good time to follow up with an attack. This time I’m right. We wiped them out and spent the rest of the night in the Mosque. The Colonel recommended me for the Silver Star.”

“Good Lord,” Rutledge said in a hushed voice.

“Yeah!” Barrington added with excitement as Dominguez took a big gulp of his Pepsi. “We never hear any of this from the retards in the media. The only reason those jerk-offs are embedded with you guys is to spy for the enemy.”

“You are indeed the man,” Rasheed reiterated, shaking the smiling Marine’s hand again. “I am wishing almost to be with you and the Cold Mountain there.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Kay.” Rutledge pushed Rasheed’s shoulder playfully. “We fight the way we can. We need you here.”

“I take it the Colonel’s nickname is Cold Mountain,” Dominguez observed as Rasheed shrugged his reluctant acceptance of what Rutledge had said. “Does that have something to do with the Hughes’ case you told me about?”

“He never told you about his nickname?” Reskova asked, payback forming in a wave inside her head for being excluded from Walter Reed.

“Nope. Bocelli and I couldn’t figure out at first who you all were talking about the other night at Andrew’s. I forgot to ask the Colonel.”

“I copied the bit from Fox News on the internet.” Rutledge gestured for Dominguez to follow her into the outer office.

A few minutes later, Dominguez was standing over Rutledge peering at her computer screen as the clip of the news conference where McDaniels’ reference to the movie Cold Mountain had been aired. Dominguez was soon laughing in appreciation and having Rutledge replay it for him.

“Oh man, can I get you to burn that onto a DVD for me to take back to my unit?”

“Hell yeah, Abe, I’ll make a few copies of it for you.” Rutledge inserted a blank disc from her desk drawer.

“The guys are going to come unglued when I tell them about the Colonel,” Dominguez said excitedly.

“I bet he never told you he was raised on a Mescalero Apache Reservation.” Reskova saw surprise register on all of their faces. “I see I forgot to mention that information to my cohorts here too.”

“That explains a lot of things,” Rutledge said.

“Copy that,” Barrington agreed with a laugh.

“Yes,” Rasheed added. “I asked once about the name your helicopters carry: Apache. Cold explained in detail about the history of this warrior race from your Southwest United States. He never mentioned his having lived as one.”

“Man, that’s good stuff.” Dominguez took the three discs Rutledge handed him. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go. My wife’s probably getting ready to call the cops on me.”

“Take this with you, Abe.” Reskova handed him a business card after she jotted down some information on the back of it. “That’s my E-mail address on the back and my cell phone number. If you guys need anything over there, all you have to do is ask. We’re adopting you guys.”

Dominguez took the card. “The Operation Gratitude and Operation Air Conditioner Moms have really helped us over there. Now, the Mom’s groups are springing up all over to support us. It helps. I’ll inform on ah… Cold Mountain whenever I can, Ma’am.”

“I’d really appreciate that, Sergeant.” Reskova shook his hand. “Take care of yourself.”

“Will do.”

“Come, my friend.” Rasheed gestured toward the door. “I will show you the way out of here.”

* * *

“I understand now why Cold wants to go back,” Reskova remarked, as she sat with Barrington and Rutledge in her office, reviewing the C.A.I.R. bust.

“If the Colonel can save even one more of those young men like Abe, he won’t pass up the chance under any circumstances,” Barrington agreed.

“I’m glad you gave him the card with your contact on it, Diane. I bet we could get something going right out of this building as far as troop wish lists. Besides, as an added bonus, Abe will rat out the Colonel for us. Funny, Cold was over there screwing around with the Marines like he did us.”

“It probably helped them a lot, just like Abe told us, Jen,” Reskova observed. “We actually managed to see a mission through without mass killings here too.”

“Yeah, but we have Cold Mountain light in Kay,” Barrington replied. “I wish you could have seen how well he pulled off our good cop, bad cop act.”

“I doubt it was an act,” Rutledge said. “Kay is a dangerous man to mess with. We’ll need to make sure we keep him within the guidelines. He doesn’t have the legend Cold has.”

“It’s up to us to make sure nothing happens to Kay,” Reskova reminded them. “If Cold ever hears they have Kay in prison, we’ll have a war on our hands.”

“Damn! I didn’t even consider that angle,” Barrington replied. “Kay would just vanish out of prison one day like he’d never been there. The only problem would be the body count.”

“Okay, so Muhyee is cooperating.” Reskova brought them back to the business at hand. “Let’s get to work on his computer hard drives and find enough so we don’t need to depend too heavily on him.”

“How about that sniper story, Diane? I bet that put your panties in a bunch, huh?”

“Your time will come, Rutledge,” Reskova said as Rutledge laughed and Barrington attempted not to. “I know how to get you. I’ll have Dreyer switch our places on the team, smart ass.”

“If we’re switching places, do I get the Cold Mountain too?” Rutledge quipped on the way out of the office with Barrington trailing her at a distance shaking his head.

Reskova gritted her teeth and unclenched her hands, vowing silently never to comment on Rutledge’s digs ever again.

* * *

Two days later, after numerous attempts at asking for permission to visit Walter Reed to see McDaniels, Reskova was readying her work load so she could visit in person. McDaniels had left the no visitors order with Walter Reed administration too and did not rescind it. Sergeant Dominguez had visited McDaniels. He called her to let them all know McDaniels was up and moving around.

The C.A.I.R. bust had resulted in complete tumult within the lobbying group as their lawyers tried desperately to undo the damage. Dreyer had approved the leakage of some data involving the case to the Washington Times, which ran with it in headlines, vilifying the Council on American Islamic Relations. The team worked nearly around the clock with Rasheed doing translation duty, quickly trying to nail down tendrils snaking out from the Washington C.A.I.R. office to the rest of the country. Their findings had birthed five new teams investigating the leads and a no holds barred budget to get anything and everything they wanted.

“Just leave, Diane,” Rutledge peaked into Reskova’s office to say. “We can’t go any further with the courier tie yet anyway. Tom, Kay, and I…”

Reskova’s phone rang and she answered it formally. “Yes, he’s with our office. Please issue him a shield and send him up.”

Reskova hung up, running her hands through her hair nervously. Rutledge picked up on her actions immediately.

“Want to slip into a teddy before Cold gets up here, Diane?” Rutledge asked, bringing Reskova to a complete halt.

“How… never mind,” Reskova said, moving quickly around her desk and by Rutledge, who briefly made an effort to block her way. Reskova gripped Rutledge’s nose in a lightning fast grab. “You don’t want to do that, Jen. Unarmed combat is not your specialty.”

“Okayyyyyyyyyyy…,” Rutledge whined nasally, dancing a little in distress.

Reskova released her and Rutledge stepped aside holding her nose.

“That hurt!”

“Good,” Reskova called over her shoulder with some satisfaction. Barrington and Rasheed had already gathered at her door.

“You gentlemen want some?” Reskova halted at her doorway, raising her hands in a beckoning gesture. “Any witticisms you want to lay on me before Cold gets up here?”

Both men jumped out of her way. Barrington pointed at Rutledge comically with an ‘I told you so look’ as Rutledge still patted her nose hesitantly. Reskova opened the door into the hallway in time to surprise McDaniels. He was in dress uniform, but leaned on a cane slightly as he walked up. Reskova looked around the hall. When she saw they were alone for a moment, she simply hugged him.

Chapter 21

New Mission

“Hi, babe,” McDaniels stroked her hair with his free hand. “You ratted me out to Abe. He brought over his portable DVD player just so he could rag me with the Cold Mountain news broadcast.”

Reskova looked up at him, her eyes moist. “That’ll learn you to give out no visitor decrees. Besides, you’re a Colonel for God’s sake. Show some backbone.”

McDaniels kissed Reskova lightly on the lips. “I missed you too. I just didn’t want you all screwin’ around when you should be working. Now, can we go inside and get some coffee? I have some business to discuss with you straight from Dreyer.”

“Sure, come on in.” Reskova pulled him into the office. “Is it serious?”

“Just something Dreyer came up with concerning your Russian courier,” McDaniels answered, greeting Rasheed, Barrington, and Rutledge, as they waited in a greeting line inside the doorway. “Hey, nice to see you all. Thanks for the great info you provided Abe with. He and his unit are having a very entertaining time with it.”

“He gave us some great info on your time in Fallujah too, Cold.” Rutledge grinned. “We had to return the favor.”

“That ain’t like Abe,” McDaniels said, his face decidedly more grim. “I…”

“Take it easy, Colonel,” Barrington cautioned. “I think he just needed to share it with someone.”

“Yes, my friend,” Rasheed commented. “The young Marine seemed relieved to talk with us.”

“Yeah, I get that,” McDaniels replied thoughtfully.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Reskova asked with some apprehension.

“No, not at all - I should have noticed the Gunny wasn’t feeling right,” McDaniels explained. “Abe and Bocelli are the kind of sergeant an officer dreams of having in a rough situation. Anyway, I have something to talk over with Diane so who made the coffee?”

“I did.” Rasheed hurried over to pour McDaniels a mug.

McDaniels took it from him gratefully and sipped it with pleasure. “Yeah, Kay, now that’s how it’s done. You should have tasted that cow urine they served me at Walter Reed. Let Diane and I go over this thing Dreyer has for us. We’ll clue you all in if she thinks it appropriate, okay?”

* * *

There was a chorus of acknowledgements. McDaniels and Reskova walked over to her office. No one commented on the cane but Rasheed watched McDaniels speculatively. He waited until the door to Reskova’s office closed before looking at his companions. They were already watching him. Rasheed shrugged.

“It is not a good thing to see the Cold Mountain with a cane, even after surgery,” Rasheed explained.

Barrington and Rutledge nodded in agreement before turning quietly to their respective desks.

* * *

Inside Reskova’s office, McDaniels sat done in the chair fronting Reskova’s desk. Reskova noticed the relief he could not keep from his features.

“You’re hurting,” Reskova sat down behind her desk.

“It’s just soreness. That damn piece of metal I’ve been carrying around came nearer the surface rather than deeper in so they took it out. I already feel better just knowing it’s gone. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“So what’s the cane for?”

“Just to keep from making the wrong movement. Some of the muscle in my back’s pretty tender.”

“Did you see Dreyer before you came up here?”

“He came to Walter Reed to see me. It seems he outranked my no visitation orders. Dreyer just wanted to see if I was up to a little work.”

“How little, and what do I have to do with it?”

“Dreyer wants you and I to team up again with the Russian courier. He thought we could pull off a meeting since that Muhyee guy turned and gave us all the contact info. Dreyer believes the Russian’s keeping a low profile, but if we’re convincing enough, we may be able to find out if he’s a Chechen contact or a Russian one.”

“No one will be happy if he’s playing on the Russian side. We investigated him pretty well. He most definitely has Chechen ties. We were surprised the Russians haven’t found him out. After the school bombing, I thought they were going to get serious. Now I’m starting to wonder.”

“They may not know he has Chechen ties. Where’d you pick up on them?”

“Through the Mercado bust which we confirmed on Muhyee’s hard drives. What does Dreyer have in mind?”

“He wants us to approach him through the Internet at the online drop that C.A.I.R guy was using. We’re supposedly eager to set up a meet with him and organize another cell here in Washington.”

“No way he’s going to buy you as a terrorist, Cold. You’re famous. Hell, they had pictures all over the papers of you after the Mercado deal.”

“Yeah, but did they have pictures of me in a suit with a beard?”

“You’re kidding, right? So that’s why you didn’t shave. Come on. We can trap this guy some other way. All that will happen if we even get a meeting is he’ll recognize you and go underground or get the hell out of the country altogether.”

“Dreyer thinks we can deal with him the same way Kay helped you do with Muhyee.”

“What’s our bargaining chip once we know he’s valuable?”

“We’ll tell him if he doesn’t cooperate we’ll turn him over to the Russians. If he does cooperate, we’ll treat him like a prisoner of war after he disappears. The Russians won’t take kindly to it if they know we have him.”

“And if the Russians have a hand in it?”

“Then he can deal with us or die. Those clowns over in Iraq stirring all the shit up in Ramadi and the rest of the Sunni Triangle ratholes are getting financial assistance from more places than Syria and Iran. A lot’s being funneled from here in the states to Iran and Syria from these damn charity fronts and lobbying groups like the one Muhyee ran. They’re not only looking to surprise us like the Mercado cell planned, they want a continuing money source.”

“If you think it’ll work, I’m in. Can I play the drunken Russian housewife again?”

“Sure, we can practice a little tonight.”

“Oh, don’t talk like that,” Reskova whispered, leaning forward. “I may have to start practice early.”

“Later - we still have to bring your crew in on Dreyer’s plan if you think it’s okay. I appreciate the offer though.”

“You don’t know what a ragging I’ve been taking from Jen. This place is more like a high school hallway than a terrorist hit squad.”

“Yet look at all the team’s accomplished,” McDaniels replied. “Dreyer told me about how much progress you made just in the short time I was gone. You guys are giving me an inferiority complex.”

“That’ll be the day. We’ve worked all the angles on the rest of our Mercado leads. Whatever you do don’t mention undercover or Jen will bring out the needle for the next three weeks.”

“It’s good for team morale.”

“At least I’ll get to spend time with you.”

“That was my thinking when Dreyer approached me about his idea. He didn’t seem all that enthused. He probably had some help with the plan from Aginson. Anyway, like you said, we get to spend some time together.”

“Before I get sidetracked too far I wanted to ask you something. I know about your knowledge of Fallujah, but how does a full Colonel in Army Special Forces manage to play scout for the Marines?”

“I wouldn’t have done anyone any good sitting in a bunker somewhere staring at a map. You’re forgetting my CIA status. I’m a wildcard officially. The Marines were happy with the arrangement as soon as I explained their chain of command would not be going through me.”

“That’s probably the only way you could have pulled it off. Let’s bring in the rest of the gang so they can tell you how goofy this plan sounds.”

Half an hour later, the agents were still hashing out the pros and cons of Dreyer’s idea. No one thought McDaniels could pull it off because of his previous publicity. Rasheed made the more sober observation the Russian courier could arrive at the meet with some of the Russian mob, guns blazing.

“All Diane and I need is enough dialogue to find out if we can turn this guy like you did Muhyee, or better yet, get him to take our idea of another cell to whoever he’s fronting for,” McDaniels argued. “If we’re as short of time as Dreyer thinks, we need to touch base with this guy quick.”

“Well, Tom and I can do the Internet hacking you’ll need to make initial contact,” Rutledge offered. “After that, I guess we’ll just follow your lead if the Russian bites on the bait. Are you sure you’re even up to this, Colonel?”

“We’ll have you three as backup if things go astray. I’m fine. Lying around won’t get me rehabbed any faster than doing what Dreyer wants.”

“It’s getting late,” Reskova said. “If there’s nothing else, let’s call it a day. We’ll start on this fresh tomorrow morning. Maybe the Russian will want to set up a meet right away. He can’t be all that comfortable with the Mercado cell gone. With his Detroit contact hit, he’s a very lonely guy.”

“Dreyer didn’t mention anything about Detroit,” McDaniels said with some surprise. “Man, you four really did a number on the bad guys. No wonder Dreyer thinks we can turn this guy. I guess all his outgoing stuff since has been intercepted.”

“The Russian can’t even blow his nose without us knowing about it, Colonel,” Barrington replied. “He hasn’t been attempting anything other than his regular job with the Russian office.”

“That makes sense. He knows if the Russians get wind of what he’s up to, they’ll ship him back to the Motherland for a little information gathering.”

“If the Russians are actually in the dark about his activities,” Rutledge said caustically.

“It makes little sense with the problems Russia has with the Chechens for this man to be representing them. The Boss is right. Ansa will skin me alive if I do not get home tonight at a decent hour. She is going shopping with Suraya.”

They left within minutes of each other. In Reskova’s car while underway to her apartment, McDaniels spoke after a few moments of riding in silence.

“How’s Dino?”

“He’s terrific. God, I am so glad you coerced me into taking him. Even the walks twice a day are a pleasure and he’s so funny. You have to watch what you say because his vocabulary gets bigger every day. If someone’s over you have to spell walk or car. Otherwise, Dino will break down the closet door to get his leash.”

McDaniels laughed appreciatively. “I missed him. Dogs grow on you as fast as kids. Have they messed with you about his being pretty much inactive?”

“The guy from where we got him called the office to see if everything was okay. He was glad we were keeping Dino. It seems Dino was not very popular over there. I guess some dogs need a real home. Those K-9 units with the police stay together. Maybe they should rethink how they’re handling the special dogs.”

“They have too much money tied up in the program. You have to admit, ol’ Dino really knew his stuff. Just with what he did at the Mercado place he should get special treatment forever.”

“He’s good company too.”

“Whenever you have a dog, and the dog greets you at the door, you know things are good inside your place. If the dog ain’t there to greet you, you’re in trouble.”

“We’ll take him for a walk together when we get to the apartment. He won’t settle down for a second until we do. Will a walk be too much for you?”

“Nope - I need to stretch my legs and back out as much as possible. When we get through with our walk though, I might need a little medicine.”

“You mean like Vicodin or like Jack Daniels?” Reskova asked, half seriously.

“Just Jack if you have any left.”

“I haven’t touched that jug you left behind after your last stay. I’ll have one with you, and then we’ll really get you stretched out.”

“I have a headache, Dear,” McDaniels whined.

“Get over it, Mr. Mountain.”

Two hours later, Reskova and McDaniels were sitting on her couch, sipping their drinks with Dino lying contentedly at their feet. They had returned only moments before after a long walk with the dog. Dino had danced around them excitedly nearly the whole way through their walk together. Reskova leaned into McDaniels as he reclined on the sofa. Reskova had a CD playing a classical sounding strain.

“This is Andrea Bocelli, isn’t it? I’d recognize his voice anywhere.”

“Very good,” Reskova replied, slightly surprised. “I meant to ask you the other day if that young Marine staff sergeant was related to him but I figured you wouldn’t know who I was talking about. You don’t know Italian too, do you?”

“I’m thinking of taking it up. I know Spanish. I’d have a head-start becoming fluent in Italian. In answer to your question, I did ask him. He gave me this look like I just dropped in from another planet. I assumed the answer would have been no.”

Reskova chuckled and sipped the last of her drink. “Bocelli makes me horny.”

“I’m not done taking my medicine,” McDaniels informed her, holding up his glass. “Barkeep, pour me another.”

“Okay.” Reskova stood up and walked away with McDaniels’ glass. “If you flake out on me, I’m going to be more than mildly irritated.”

“I’m not tired, I’m sore.”

“Good,” Reskova said from her little bar as she poured McDaniels another drink.

“Just for that tomorrow morning I won’t be the only one who’s sore.”

“Oooooooohhhhhh… I’m so scared.” Reskova handed him the drink.

“Not yet you’re not,” McDaniels sipped his fresh drink with a smile of satisfaction. “Later on my dear you may not be so fearless.”

“Dino will protect me if you get too rough.”

“Let me know tomorrow how that works out for you.”

* * *

Rutledge walked into Reskova’s office with a freshly printed sheet in her hand. “We have contact! I… hey, earth to Reskova.”

Reskova looked up blankly for a moment and blushed when she realized she had not heard or seen Rutledge enter her office.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

Rutledge laughed. “I get it. These mundane matters of national security stings pale in comparison to a night with the Cold Mountain, huh?”

Reskova sat up stiffly. “Jesus, when he goes away, I’m going to kill myself.”

Rutledge looked back into the main office for a moment and then sat down in front of Reskova’s desk, handing her the paper. “Looking at you, I don’t know whether to be jealous or grateful. We all thought you were here early getting a head start on what we gave you yesterday. We didn’t want to disturb you until we had a chance to try contacting the Russian. I put a message into his special drop box on the Internet last night. You’re holding the reply that just came in. He’s biting like a big guppy.”

“Sorry, Jen,” Rekova said absently as she scanned through the message.

“Forget it, where is Cold anyway?”

“Abe picked him up early this morning to work out together with some of the other Marines.” Reskova looked up from the paper. “This looks serious. How do you think we should play it?”

“We’re going to feed him little bits and pieces from the C.A.I.R. stuff we’ve already deciphered, just to get the hook in deep. I’ll get together with you again when we have him flopping on the surface. Colonels and grunts working out together in the gym - must be something’s changed in today’s military.”

“Cold claims he’s a CIA wildcard or something - not that being told not to do something would do any good. He’ll be in the office this afternoon.”

“He must be feeling better.”

“Mr. Mountain is insufferable.”

“Meaning he ate your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“And then some. Worst of all, he knows it.”

“Or best of all.”

“That too - pipe everything you’re doing in here and let me follow along. Maybe we can get a meet set up by the end of the day or sooner.”

“Will do,” Rutledge acknowledged, standing up. “Tom and Kay are going over to touch base with Muhyee. They’ll show him the correspondence and see if he thinks it looks legitimate.”

“Good idea. Have Tom record the interview. Everything he’s given us has checked out. Tell Kay not to cut him any slack. I want Muhyee thinking he’s one step away from a dungeon with Kay unpacking his torture implements.”

“I’ll tell him.”

Chapter 22

The Basics

Reskova sat quietly, staring unseeing at the message paper Rutledge had given her, thinking again of the night spent with McDaniels. Reskova had never considered a life outside the FBI. She had dedicated every moment since she was recruited out of college to her career as an FBI agent. Nothing until now had come close to the excitement and challenges she had experienced in the FBI. Some of her work was mundane, repetitious, and boring - but the thought of her team’s long hours and tedious investigative work leading to the arrest of dangerous killers made the job a constant tantalizing roller coaster ride.

Since becoming intimate with McDaniels, what had been unthinkable was now a daily contemplation. The possibilities of a family and life beyond the FBI competed with her job for the first time. Seeing children now excited her. She believed seeing him with the child kidnapped by Hughes had touched something deep within her. The sight of McDaniels carrying the little girl into their camp had brought on a momentary longing so deep Reskova had lashed out at him to cover for it. Reskova glanced up as she heard someone cough politely. It was McDaniels. He waved at her with a big smile on his face.

“You look so deep in thought maybe I better go talk to the team for a while.”

“Get in here and close the door, Mr. Mountain,” Reskova ordered, walking around her desk toward him. “I see you don’t have your cane. Are you getting cocky or are you really feeling that much better?”

“You actually have to ask that after my version of a wake up call this morning?”

“Good God, don’t go there.”

McDaniels put his arms around Reskova and kissed the top of her head comfortingly. “Maybe this would be too early in the day for those thought pictures. On the bright side, the guys downstairs had my ID ready. I guess you didn’t hear me out there saying hello to the troops when I came in, huh?”

“I was too busy thinking about what it would be like to have your baby,” Reskova admitted in a whisper.

“Wow,” McDaniels replied, holding Reskova at arms length. “I thought we were in the middle of a trial relationship period.”

“The trial’s over for me.”

“Well, when you put it that way, the trial’s been over for me since the morning you attacked me across the street from the Mercado place. What do you want to do about it?”

“Nothing we can do right now. You look good in that uniform. Want to play soldier and ravished FBI agent when we get to the apartment?”

“In a heartbeat,” McDaniels replied, enfolding Reskova in his arms once more. “We’ll walk Dino around and then get down to business.”

“Dino can wait,” Reskova whispered huskily as McDaniels stroked her back. “How’d the workout go? I didn’t expect you for another couple hours.”

“It felt better than I expected and Abe’s almost as good as new. He told me he just has the soreness now rather than the knifing pains. I love you.”

Reskova looked up. “Do you mean that?”

“Do you know me at all?” McDaniels asked with some exasperation in his voice. “Of course I mean it, Red.”

“I’m sorry. I…I just wanted to hear you say it so badly, when you did it surprised me. I love you too. Hey, you called me Red.”

“I did indeed. I think I’ll call you Red from now on, except of course in front of your subordinates.”

“And if I object?”

“Bummer,” McDaniels replied. “Want to get married?”

“Just like that?”

“I won’t be around for more than a month. I’m not real sure when I’ll be back. Your folks would probably rather have a big wedding though, huh?”

“Not if I don’t ask them. How about we see how fast we can actually get married. Then I’ll call them with the time and place as a done deal.”

“I like it if you like it. This is probably a little late, but what religion are you, if any?”

“I’m a Christian. How about you?”

“I believe in God. When I do go to church, I enjoy it as long as there’s no real rough stuff. I don’t go in for snake handlers or people going into convulsions. Although I was raised a Catholic, I don’t adhere to confessionals. I do like their services the best. Were you raised Russian Orthodox?”

Reskova nodded. “My parents were old country religion from before Lenin and Trotsky. I guess we don’t have too much at odds with religion. I would want to attend church with my children if I had any.”

“I have no objection. You already said you wanted a baby. I guess we’ve covered all the bases. In this day and age we could do worse. I won’t cheat on you or leave you. You’ll have to kick me out and I’ll make damn sure you don’t have a reason.”

“That’s as much as any woman could ask for, Mr. Mountain. I accept. Where’s my ring?”

McDaniels pulled her close again. “We’ll shop for rings this week. Will that be soon enough?”

“I’ll take you with a pop top off a soda can.” Reskova hugged him tightly. “I only asked because my Mom will be looking for one when I introduce you as my fiancé.”

“When will I get to meet your folks? Does it seem like we’re real people yet?”

Reskova smiled. “I guess we are. I’ll need to break it to my parents slowly. Give me a few days to hint I’ve been getting serious.”

“Where do your folks live?”

“That’s right. I spent so much time grilling you I didn’t give you a chance to ask me anything personal. “They live in Pittsburgh. My sister Carrie lives there too. She’s married with two kids, a boy and girl ages six and four.”

“Then they really aren’t too far away. Do you go and visit them often?”

“Not as much as I should. I do call them once a week.”

“This was sure a romantic proposal, huh?”

“Works for me,” Reskova replied, opening the door. “Let’s get this afternoon over with so we can start playing soldier and horny FBI agent.”

“I thought it was ravished FBI agent.”

“Whatever.”

* * *

“Wow, I only thought you looked dangerous before,” Reskova marveled, as McDaniels modeled the suit and hat he would be wearing to meet the Russian. “The beard really does the trick. I doubt anyone would recognize you unless they knew you real well, and then came close enough to see the scars.”

“Gee thanks, Red. You look great.”

Reskova wore a black skirt with matching black top cut low off the shoulder. Her high heels were also black. She had tied her hair back in a ponytail. She held the long black leather coat she planned on wearing under her arm. Reskova turned so McDaniels could see her from behind, smiling at him over her shoulder.

They were at Reskova’s apartment with Dino pacing around them expectantly. McDaniels dressed only after taking the dog for a run. Barrington called earlier to let Reskova know he and Rutledge were in a negotiating phase for meeting with the Russian courier. McDaniels heard Reskova on the phone again as he finished dressing.

“You don’t just look great,” McDaniels rescinded his prior comment. “You look unbelievable. Was that Jen you were just on the phone with?”

Reskova nodded. “We may not get to wear these outfits on the meet.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“The Russian picked the meeting spot. You’re not going to believe the meeting place he picked, Cold. He wants to meet with us in Fort Marcy Park.”

“No friggin’ way!” McDaniels exclaimed uncharacteristically. “You are joking, right?”

“Nope.”

“You do know what that means, right?”

“He’s a Clinton conspiracy buff?”

“I wish,” McDaniels replied, taking off his hat and suit coat. “I have to get changed.”

“What’s wrong,” Reskova asked in confusion as she followed McDaniels into her bedroom.

“He’s onto us, Red,” McDaniels stated, undressing rapidly. “What time’s the meet on for?”

“Three hours.” Reskova sat down on the end of her bed and petted the ever present Dino absently. “I trust you but how is he onto us?”

“He wants to do two things.” McDaniels pulled up a pair of khaki pants from his service bag. “First, he wants to see who’s on to him. Secondly, he’s going to send a message before he drops out of sight - that is if he even comes to the meet in person. The Russian ain’t as alone as you thought.”

“What kind of message?”

“I’m betting he has a sniper backup who will ace us the moment the Russian gives him a cue. He would let us talk for as long as we held his interest. Then he’d scratch his head, pull on his nose or something like that and we’d get hit. Been there, done that.”

“Shit! What are you going to do?”

“We’ll triangulate the meeting point. How familiar are you with the park?”

“I jog there occasionally. I’ll call Jen and have her network with us. She’ll pull up some first class topographical maps with satellite shots of the exact meeting place. She was still in the process of locating exactly where the Russian wanted to meet. He gave her the coordinates and directions but she’s not familiar with the park at all.”

McDaniels glanced at his watch. “We’re running short on time. Let’s take Dino with us and a change of clothes for you. I want you to be able to move fast if you have to. Call Jen. At least get us a location. I’ll check out the info on your portable notebook on the way. Fort Marcy’s only a stone’s throw from Langley. Let’s meet up at the office. Tell Tom I want two sets of the most powerful digital field glasses he can lay his hands on. I also want a portable thermal imager. I won’t have time to play cowboys and Indians in the brush.”

Reskova walked out of the bedroom without a word to get her portable phone while McDaniels threw a few items from his service bag into one of Reskova’s carrying bags. Dino sat next to McDaniels after hearing his name mentioned. McDaniels looked up from his bag at the dog and grinned.

“You know what, big D?” McDaniels cupped the dog’s head in his hands playfully. “I think I have just the role for you to play in addition to your expertise at smelling explosive residue. C’mon, let’s go get Red and see what kind of trouble we can get into.”

Ten minutes later, Reskova drove toward the office with McDaniels next to her concentrating on pictures Rutledge had sent of where the Russian wanted to meet. Dino sat up on the back seat with his head poked out the window in spite of near freezing temperatures.

“We’re lucky it warmed up and rained a little this week,” McDaniels commented. “This is a first class set up. He wants us to go into the park by the back way using Chain Bridge Road. He even sent a picture of the picnic table all by its lonesome just inside the park. Guess what else, Red? The hill where they found Vince Foster’s body is to the left and up the slope from the picnic table. The sniper has probably been set up since last night. I would have.”

“I know you have some plan for Dino here. Do you think Tomashevsky will be carrying a bomb too?”

“Is that his name?”

“Yes, Stephen Tomashevsky, why?”

“I knew a Tomashevsky in the service. It’s one of those names you never forget. Anyway, I do have a plan for old Dino. Our boy Stephen will have a wand to make sure you’re not wired. Make book on that fact. We’ll wire Dino up instead. You know how much Dino likes strangers. Just let Stevie try and get close to our four legged partner.”

Reskova chuckled. “I like it. What was that goofy word we’re supposed to use for Dino to attack?”

“You still didn’t read the manual yet?” McDaniels threw up his hands comically. He reached back and held onto Dino, stroking him with one hand while gripping his collar with the other. “Nunca means attack. Matar means kill. Heel calls him off, just like with everything else. I bet you had blinking twelve o’clock numbers on every VCR and digital clock you owned before they went to automatic time setting.”

Dino tensed each time McDaniels spoke his command words, relaxing when he heard the word heel. McDaniels petted him and released Dino’s collar, allowing him to again stick his head out into the chilly wind. Reskova turned to rebut McDaniels’ accusation but changed her mind when she saw he was waiting for her to do it.

“You think you know everything, don’t you?” Reskova concentrated again on the road ahead.

“So deny it,” McDaniels countered. When Reskova didn’t respond McDaniels laughed.

“What do you plan to do at the park, annoying one?”

“I’m going to find out where the sniper is and then take him off line. I’ll have to do it after Stevie appears for the meet though because they’ll probably have a pre-arranged signal so the Russian knows his backup is ready.”

“Can you take the sniper alive?” Reskova turned as McDaniels sighed in a plaintive way at the suggestion. “What?”

“Red, the guy will have a sniper rifle pointed toward the meeting spot. To make this not appear as some kind of setup you’ll have to be close to the Russian. I have no fool proof way to do this safely other than take him down hard. I ought to use an air to surface missile. I’m not thrilled about you walking in on this meet alone.”

Reskova reached over to squeeze his hand. “That’s so sweet. We’re in the wrong business to get all mushy every time one of us takes a chance. Besides, I’ll have Dino with me.”

“Maybe we are in the wrong business,” McDaniels muttered thoughtfully, bringing her hand up to his lips. “Since finding you, I’m not so sure about anything, especially my line of work.”

“We’re too good at what we do to give it up, Mr. Mountain. Listen, I know what will make you feel better. Take the sniper’s head.”

McDaniels burst into laughter. It took more than a few minutes before he could speak. He wiped away tears from his eyes, looking over at Reskova appreciatively. “I’ll save him if I can, Red, but don’t make any long range plans for him yet. If he even twitches during my approach, I will open up on him. You have Dino take Stevie down at the first commotion.”

“Agreed. What do you want for a weapon?”

“I have a Colt 45 in my locker at the office. I’m taking it with me. Just the sound will make the prick miss if I can’t get close.”

* * *

“My friend, I do not like this terrain,” Rasheed whispered as both men searched the wooded hill with their field glasses McDaniels suspected the sniper would use to stake out the meeting point.

“Let me worry about the terrain, Kay,” McDaniels replied in the same hushed tone, although they were nearly a quarter mile away. “Are you having trouble with the heat scanner?”

“No, Tom checked me out on it thoroughly.” Rasheed moved the collector slightly. He adjusted his position following the coordinates McDaniels gave him. They had been scanning the steep slope for nearly forty-five minutes. “Perhaps if…”

“I got him,” McDaniels cut him off, giving Rasheed the coordinates to help his friend pinpoint the spot with his own set of digital field glasses. “See the line where the ground has been disturbed? It’s rectangular…”

“Yes… yes, you are right,” Rasheed broke in. “I am not picking up a heat signature though.”

“He’s probably wrapped in something like a space blanket. I’m heading out. If you spot him shifting let me know. Tom and Jen have the other side of the meet zeroed in but you keep an eye on the action. Update me during each step, okay?”

“I do not like this terrain,” Rasheed repeated. “How can you approach quietly? There is not even a breeze to mask your steps. This is not desert sand, Mr. Mountain.”

McDaniels chuckled at Rasheed’s use of Reskova’s favorite reference. “You will not be able to teach the little Cold anything with a negative attitude like that, Kay.”

“Life is indeed good when we can speak of the most precious while contemplating the most horrendous.”

“Yep,” McDaniels agreed in a whisper, squeezing Rasheed’s shoulder. “Just make sure you watch our little sniping buddy and not me. I will take my cue from what you tell me.”

“I will not let you down, my friend,” Rasheed said, not taking his eyes off the image in his field glasses. “Do not make the Boss a widow before she is a wife.”

“If you don’t pay attention, Kay, I won’t have a live woman to make a wife of,” McDaniels hissed as he moved away. “Audio on.”

“Loud and clear,” Rasheed replied. “Do not blame me for the short comings of your plan. I will keep her as safe as it is possible to do from here. Mr. Mountain, do not take the head.”

Rasheed saw McDaniels tense for a moment and then look back at him. Rasheed waved. McDaniels moved rapidly, veering to the extreme left of their position and his intended destination. Rasheed kept his glasses on the slight rectangular outline McDaniels had pointed out. McDaniels moved rapidly to a point nearly two hundred yards from his intended target, slightly above and to the right. He stopped with his eyes closed and remained dead still as he listened to the sounds around him. After contemplating the noise level, McDaniels moved on.

Chapter 23

Feel The Force

Rasheed used both the heat scanner and his field glasses, keeping them locked on the intended target. He shifted his attention momentarily to the picnic table the Russian had picked out as a meeting place. No one was in view. Rasheed looked quickly back toward where he knew McDaniels should be but McDaniels had seemingly disappeared. Rasheed scanned the grounds between the sniper’s lair and where McDaniels had started his approach in earnest. He could detect nothing. The hairs raised on the back of the Iraqi’s neck. He shifted his focus again to the picnic table.

“I fear for your soul, my friend,” Kay whispered, transmitting directly to McDaniels. “You are an abomination. I will insist on you wearing an electronic ankle bracelet as my comrades have urged.”

“Shut up, Kay. Keep an eye on what you’re supposed to be doing.”

“As you wish but… Cold, the Russian is coming.” Rasheed watched a man dressed in hat and parka approach the picnic table. “He glanced around slightly and then directly at the spot you already pinpointed. You have done well, young Jedi.”

McDaniels stopped and clapped both hands to his mouth, rocking silently in amusement at Rasheed’s words. Minutes later, McDaniels moved forward again toward his objective.

“I spotted you, Mr. Mountain,” Rasheed lied, hearing the suppressed sounds of laughter from McDaniels.

“Bullshit! Shut the chatter. This is a secured line, you clown.” After a moment, McDaniels ignored his own order “I didn’t know you were into Star Wars, Kay.”

“Feel the force, Luke.” Rasheed watched Tomashevsky sit at the picnic table. “Tomashevsky is seated.”

McDaniels struggled silently to prevent letting go with laughter, clasping his hands into fists, the incongruity of what he sought to do and the words of his long time comrade clashing in intense competition.

“The Boss is approaching with the dog. Five minutes until they get down to business. Sorry, Cold.”

“Forget it. Besides, you’re not sorry a bit, you pirate. I needed it. From here on out, don’t expect a reply.”

“Acknowledged,” Rasheed focused intently on any fluctuation in the heat signature he was targeting. “The sniper is still playing dead. Wait one. I have movement along the edges of his cover. Yes, he is popping up ever so slowly. I have a very slight heat signature now.”

“The Boss is approaching,” Rasheed announced, glancing over at the picnic table. “The Russian has spotted her and has taken a book out of his briefcase. He’s pretending to read it. The Boss has Dino up tight to her side while she sits next to the Russian. Shifting to the sniper again - he’s holding position.”

“Kay?” Rutledge’s voice came on in his ear.

“I am here, Jen. You are loud and clear. Cold and I have radio silence now at least from him. He will hear whatever you have to update.”

“Does he have the sniper spotted?”

“He is already on approach. Have the negotiations begun?”

“The Russian already checked Diane for a wire and Dino gave Tomashevsky an attitude adjustment warning growl just for looking at him. The Russian was none too pleased with Diane having the dog. He thinks he’s setting her up so he doesn’t care that much. They’re just dancing around right now.”

Rutledge heard a gasp of disbelief from Rasheed.

“What’s wrong, Kay?”

“The sniper rose slightly to position his weapon. Cold just slit his throat,” Rasheed explained, excitement in his voice. “I did not even see him get into position. Give Dino the word, Jen.”

“Acknowledged.” Rutledge looked over at Barrington, who was monitoring Reskova and Tomashevsky. “Cold slit the sniper’s throat, Tom. Give Dino the call.”

“Christ, the Colonel is freaky,” Barrington mumbled, switching to Dino’s collar mike. “Nunca, Dino, Nunca!”

At the picnic table, Dino sprang up from where he had been lying at Reskova’s feet, a low growl like hum emanating from his throat. Reskova released the leash. Tomashevsky jerked back from the dog, waving his hand up in the air, obviously signaling for the sniper fire that would never come. By the time he reached for his shoulder-harnessed automatic, Dino tore into him just above the elbow of Tomashevsky’s right arm, yanking the Russian to the ground. Tomashevsky screamed in pain as Reskova moved to disarm him before calling Dino off.

Moments later, the team converged on the picnic table, weapons at the ready. Reskova plastic tied the Russian’s hands behind his back. She helped him up into a sitting position, letting him lean on the picnic table. Dino lay next to the Russian, eyeing him with malice. Reskova looked up from her charge as Barrington and Rutledge ran up. She lowered the 9mm Barreta the Russian had carried.

“That was fast. We hardly said hello.”

“The sniper broke cover and… well… you know.” Barrington pulled Tomashevsky to his feet.

“No prisoners?”

Rutledge shook her head. “Sorry, Diane, Kay says no.”

“What is the meaning of this outrage?” Tomashevsky blustered, looking fearfully at Dino. “Do you know who I am?”

“We sure do, Stevie,” Rutledge answered. “We’re going somewhere nice and warm for a long talk.”

Rasheed and McDaniels walked down the path toward the group. McDaniels held what looked to be a camouflaged scoped rifle. When the two men came into Tomashevsky’s view he saw what McDaniels carried. Tomashevsky glanced up at the spot where his sniper backup had been positioned in disbelief.

“Your friend will not be joining you,” McDaniels told the man in Russian.

“I demand to be taken to the Russian consulate.” Tomashevsky tried to maintain some aspect of anger and outrage in his voice.

“Give it up Stevie,” Barrington said. “If we took you to the Russians, we’d have to take along some of the evidence as to what you’ve been doing. What kind of treatment do you think you would get from them?”

Tomashevsky continued glancing up at the spot where he had expected his backup to be firing from. He looked over at McDaniels, who was examining the rifle taken from the sniper, pointing out areas of it to Rasheed while commenting on the probable modification. The Russian returned his gaze to Barrington.

“I want to see what you have for proof. I will say nothing until I see it.”

Barrington looked over at Reskova who nodded her okay. “Fine, my partner and I will show you why it would be in your best interest to cooperate fully.”

Barrington helped the Russian along with Rutledge walking slightly back from the Russian on the other side. They guided him toward where they had parked. McDaniels put up a hand gesturing them to a stop.

“Boss, I think we better have Dino check this guy’s car over and do a perimeter search of the area around where he parked. Until Dino checks it out, I don’t think we should go near the parking area,” McDaniels suggested.

“My friend is right,” Rasheed added in support.” This man may have a backup plan in case something happened. He could have someone watching the parking lot.”

“We checked out the surrounding area pretty thoroughly,” Rutledge said, but she saw McDaniels looking at Tomashevsky intently. “What’s wrong, Colonel?”

“Something’s up. Want to make this easy on all of us, Stevie? I saw the look in your eyes when my friend was talking about the parking lot. You are not very good at this game.”

“I know nothing of what you are talking about,” the Russian replied, looking at the ground in front of him.

Reskova glanced at McDaniels and then at Dino. “Cold, did you ever see that movie with Jim Belushi, called K-9?”

McDaniels smiled in appreciation. “Oh yeah, and I see Stevie boy has seen it too.”

Tomashevsky looked at Dino with dread. It was obvious he knew of the movie. “You cannot do this in America. You…”

“What is he talking about?” Rasheed interrupted as he saw Barrington and Rutledge trying to keep from laughing aloud. “I am missing something?”

McDaniels put an arm around Rasheed’s shoulders, watching Tomashevsky every moment. “There’s this movie where a cop goes into a bar and is in the process of getting his butt kicked. His canine partner, a huge German Shepard, comes in the entrance and growls. The bar’s full of bad guys. This dog tears into them like they’re dog treats. The dog stops the attack when he has the leader up against the wall with the guy’s balls in his mouth. That’s when the cop begins interrogating the bad guy who tells the cop everything he wants to know. It just so happens there must have been a K9 movie buff in the training program Dino came from. The commands are in the manual.”

By this time Rasheed is laughing and nodding his head in enjoyment while glancing knowingly at the Russian. “I see why you are upset. I want to see this movie very much, my friends.”

“Why settle for the movie, Kay,” Reskova said, surprising her team. “Let’s make our own movie, without the camera of course.”

“You do not scare me.” Tomashevsky turned away from the agents.

Barrington stepped back from the Russian.

McDaniels barked out a command. Dino bore a screaming Tomashevsky to the ground, pinning him helplessly. The Russian tried to curl away from the dog’s snapping jaws but Dino simply shifted position and continued his assault. McDaniels then shouted something else. The Russian yelped in pain as Dino nipped at his legs until Tomashevsky moved, exposing his groin area. Tomashevsky cried out as Dino gripped the whole middle of the Russian’s pants in his jaws, shaking his catch minutely.

“Did you want to tell us something, Stevie?” McDaniels asked.

“Yes…yes…I…I… please….please get him off me.”

“Not until I hear something very informative about the parking lot. The next command I give Dino will make you a eunuch. Speak quickly.”

“There…there are explosives in my car trunk.” His voice shaking, Tomashevsky stared into Dino’s eyes with dread.

“And?” McDaniels prompted.

Dino shook the Russian’s groin area slightly, eliciting another yelp of misery.

“Dino’s getting impatient, Stevie.”

“The…the parking lot is under surveillance. They will trigger the explosives if they see me in restraints.”

“How many and where? Don’t make me ask you all this like I’m pulling teeth.”

“Two…two across the main road.”

“You covered all your bases, Stevie, I’ll give you that.”

Reskova called Dino to her. The dog reluctantly released the Russian who rocked back and forth on the ground gripping his groin area. “Can I call in our Special Ops team?”

“Not if you want Stevie to remain incommunicado,” McDaniels answered. “Those boys will have to file reports.”

Reskova gestured for McDaniels to walk away from the others. When they were out of earshot she slipped her hand into his as he turned. “What did you plan to do with the sniper?”

“Bury him a little deeper. We can have him picked up in the spring.”

“Oh boy,” Reskova whispered.

“Look Red, I kind of have my orders,” McDaniels said, squeezing her hand. “We are to take no one into custody other than the Russian. How else did you think we could pull this off and make Stevie disappear?”

“When did you talk to Aginson?”

“He called me right after you updated him on what we decided to do about Stevie. They don’t want anyone talking to Tomashevsky but us.”

“What’s the bottom line, Cold?”

“They know nothing and they want no live complications.”

“You can’t keep sticking your head onto the chopping block. If not for the media in the Mercado affair…wait a minute…you…”

“They wanted no complications in the Mercado case,” McDaniels answered the unspoken question. “We have idiots in this country who want to give our legal rights to terrorists. Aginson didn’t want to make the Mercados into the Rosenbergs. They had a baby. If they had lived, it would have screwed up your entire investigation. The press would have made them into poor misunderstood dupes. Even Dreyer was out of the loop.”

“This was all need to know and I didn’t need to know. So why tell me now?”

“I love you, Red, and you need to know. I have to go take care of a couple other loose ends. Kay and I will stay behind to tuck everyone in.”

“These people could kill you. You don’t have backup.”

“I have Kay. The sniper was using a Dragonoff. Kay is very familiar with it. He and I will go locate Stevie’s boys. Kay will have a bead on them in case I need help. I know how this seems to you with all that I’ve done and then getting hidden out in Iraq for a while. This is a rough war and getting rougher. Your team is on the front line here at home now. That’s why I ended up with your group. Think of it from Aginson’s standpoint. I’m leaving again for Iraq shortly. I pull this off and then I disappear for a while just in case anybody digs around here at Fort Marcy.”

“You weren’t kidding about us all being used, were you?”

“This war won’t be won by the sisters of the traveling pants wringing their hands and beating their breasts while screaming we can’t descend to the enemy’s level,” McDaniels said quietly. “We ain’t teaching our children to blow themselves up in restaurants and the only heads being taken from our side are the right ones.”

“You’re to take the fall for all of us?”

“Only for a little while. If I end up in prison like after the Hughes’ thing, I just have to bide my time,” McDaniels explained. “I may have to change names and hit the road for a while somewhere else where I’m needed.”

“And if they just write you off?”

McDaniels shrugged. “I know what I’m doing is right, Red. I went into this with my eyes open.”

“Senator Hokanson wasn’t just a worried influential uncle, was he?”

“I’ve told you everything I can, Hon. I trust you. I wanted you to know everything I could tell you safely. Now, Kay and I have to get to work.”

“What should the rest of us do, Mr. Mountain?”

“You guys aren’t parked anywhere near Stevie. Walk him the hell out of here and take Kay’s SUV. Give me about half an hour to locate these other clowns. I’ll call it in to you. You’ll have Kay and I between you and the bad guys. After I make sure these guys get buried where they won’t surface until we want them to, Kay and I will take Stevie’s car. Did you park in the lot with the Russian?”

“No. I parked up on the road and walked Dino in.”

“Good thinking. Give me your keys and Stevie’s.”

“What about a shovel?” Reskova handed him the two sets of keys.

“I have a couple field pack shovels in my gear bag where Kay and I were.”

Reskova turned toward the rest of the group with Dino still at her heel.

“What, no kiss?”

“Later,” Reskova called back over her shoulder. McDaniels fell in behind her with a laugh.

* * *

“I love this rifle, my friend,” Kay whispered. He and McDaniels made their way slowly to a point overlooking both sides of Chain Bridge Road.

“Keep it,” McDaniels whispered back. “I wish there had been a way for you to take a couple practice shots just in case I needed your help.”

“We will be fine. What you did to the sniper today… how do you say… made my hair stand up. In Iraq you surprised me many times but never so much as today.”

“There was some wind. It covered me a little. The ground was moist.” McDaniels halted in the dense brush. “This is as good a place as any. We have direct sight down over the parking lot and the hill on the other side of the road.”

McDaniels pointed to an area with a large stand of trees bordered by thickets. “That’s where I’d be. Set up the heat scanner. I’m betting these two henchmen ain’t the backwoods type. We may even be able to see them with just the field glasses.”

The two men quietly set up their equipment, concentrating on the area where McDaniels indicated Tomashevsky’s men would be.

“I am picking up nothing.”

“Kay, I’m getting a bad feeling about this. What have I missed?”

Rasheed turned from his screen. “I feel it too, my friend. I… hell!”

“What!”

“What if these men spotted our vehicles on the road? If…”

“Shit!” McDaniels exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Follow me if you can!”

McDaniels, a cold aching dread lancing through him, pulled his cell-phone out as he ran rapidly through the thick underbrush. He hit Reskova’s number, rushing with all the expertise long years’ training and self-discipline could muster. His heart soared when he heard Reskova’s voice.

“Get to cover, Red! Don’t talk! Just do it!” McDaniels shouted into the phone. “I’m on my way.”

McDaniels heard Reskova relaying his orders to the others instantly.

“We’re down, Cold. Dino doesn’t like it.”

“Release him. He’ll rove around as he will and he’s a hard target. If the Russian moves put a bullet in his head. Do you understand?”

Reskova rolled toward Tomashevsky, drawing her handgun in one fluid motion. She placed the barrel hard against the Russian’s head. McDaniels heard her warn Tomashevsky.

“Move or make noise and I drill you.”

“Hold tight, Red,” McDaniels whispered. He pushed himself to move faster. “No matter what you hear, do not move.”

McDaniels heard gunshots.

“They’re close. We are down with cover. Should I blow off little pieces of this prick if the bullets get closer?”

“Let your conscience be your guide, Red.”

McDaniels glanced back, spotting Rasheed doggedly keeping pace with him. McDaniels slowed as the sounds of gunfire became louder. Stopping abruptly, McDaniels tried to pinpoint where he heard the shots coming from. Rasheed caught up to him, taking a position on McDaniels’ right, staying silent as he crouched at the ready near his friend. Rasheed tore out set up the heat signature gear he had, pointing in the general direction of where the shots came from. McDaniels calculated distances with his digital field binoculars from the muzzle flashes.

“I have them, Kay. Forget the equipment.” McDaniels rattled off coordinates so Rasheed could track to the spot with his own field glasses.

* * *

Rasheed picked up the sniper rifle and began sighting in as McDaniels acted as spotter, giving him digital readings. Rasheed squeezed off a round, wounding the man in the forefront. They watched the other men drag their comrade’s pain convulsed body back further into the brush cover. The firing toward Reskova’s group stopped.

“Nice shot, Kay.”

“I was aiming for his head.”

“Strange rifle, no practice, nice shot. Can you keep them where they are while I get down there?”

“If they move, you will not need to go down there,” Rasheed promised. “There are four of them, not two.”

“I know,” McDaniels acknowledged. He moved down the slope they were on. “I saw them. Call the Boss and tell her to keep still for a little while longer.”

“It will be done.” Rasheed pulled out his cell-phone while still watching the sniper’s roost. “You and I will carve the Russian up later, yes?”

“Maybe so, Kay, maybe so.”

Rasheed hit speed dial and listened as Reskova answered.

“Yeah, Kay.”

“Boss, I shot one of the scum. They have crawled into a hole. The Cold Mountain has left to dig them out of it.”

“Is there just the one left?”

“No, Boss, I saw three more besides the one I shot.”

“Three more!? The Russian… you son-of-a-bitch!”

Rasheed heard the sounds of a struggle and Tomashevsky cry out in pain. Then he heard Barrington and Rutledge trying to calm Reskova down. Rasheed continued his watch of the sniper’s position, squeezing off a round occasionally in a counterclockwise pattern around where he had seen them hide.

“I’m back, Kay. I hear your fire so you must be keeping them pinned down.”

“Absolutely, Boss. If one gets his head up too far, I will make the odds better.”

“How did you guys know something was wrong?”

“I wondered out loud about Tomashevsky’s men having found our cars. Cold took it from there, ordering you all down.”

“You saved our lives, Kay.”

“I will charge the debt to the Cold Mountain, Boss. I am about fifty or sixty life savings behind him from Iraq.”

“As you will, Kay, but thanks just the same. I guess we just wait then.”

“It will not be a long wait,” Rasheed said with confidence.