The Asian driver turned the blue RAV down the long tree-lined road towards the VIP house. Samantha drove a reasonable distance behind and saw him take his usual turn-off. She waited a while, deciding what to do.
He hasn’t stopped to pick anything up, did he change his mind? So much for that! What is stage two of the plan? Well I’m here now; I’ll just go as far as the first turn-off.
Once the driver was out of sight, Samantha drove down the road and turned her vehicle off the road into Maple Lane. She checked her phone, and saw no call back message from Mitch. She made sure it was still on silent and vibrate. Samantha alighted and walked the rest of the way. Dressed in black from head to toe, she moved quickly and quietly through the underbrush. As she neared the house from the rear, she saw the parked car.
Samantha moved out into the open, and staying along the tree line, ran in close to the house. She sidled up to a window and glanced in. No one was in sight. She saw a shadow and dropped below the windowsill, waiting. After a while, she moved to the other side of the house and, ducking below a windowsill, glanced through the few centimeters between blind and window frame. She could make out two people in the room. Samantha dropped out of sight.
Two in the room, three on the beach, if only I could get a photo. Better get out of here. Maybe the bugs will pick up more about stage two.
Mitch and Ellen returned to their hotel room; Nick was waiting.
“Anything?” Mitch asked.
“No, but I’m not surprised,” Nick said. “Once the test was done, it wouldn’t take much for that midget sub to drop below out of sight. Pretty amazing.”
“Unbelievable,” Mitch agreed, his eyes wide with excitement.
“You should have seen it from below the surface,” Ellen told Nick. “Surreal.”
“Where’s Sam?” Mitch asked. “Ellie and I are heading back to D.C., we’ve got a few leads to follow,” he continued, not waiting for an answer.
Nick rose, checked their room and returned. “She’s not there.”
Mitch grabbed his phone to call and noticed the message. He listened and shook his head.
“For chrissake,” Mitch muttered, “why does she always have to be a maverick? She’s followed them. They’re going to see her for sure. It’s seven in the morning; how many cars are going to be heading up that road besides them and Sam at this hour?”
He rang her phone and it went to message bank.
“Want me to follow her?” Nick asked.
“No, we need to get a brief through. Can you call John with an update and the coordinates you took? Can you get in the air earlier?”
“I’ll try it on… I’ve got it for nine a.m. worse case scenario.”
“Good thanks. Ellie, I need you listening in with the translator while they debrief, which Sam should be doing. We need that intel now, not later. Call in on Marcus’s line and find out who is scheduled and operating on that line.”
“I’m onto it.” Ellen rose, grabbed her phone and rang the office.
“Nick, tell me how to get to the VIP house,” Mitch said.
Mitch was there within ten minutes. He drove off the main road and up the dirt path until he saw the first turn off. Not it, he thought, following Nick’s instructions. He found the next lane—Maple Lane—and turned in. He drove to the end and found Samantha’s hire car.
Mitch left his car beside the hire car and ran fast through the bush until he saw the house in the woods. The two cars were in the garage—the blue RAV4 and the white Camry and then a movement caught his eye; Samantha was ducking below the windowsill. She began to move away. Behind her, from the side of the house, a man emerged.
The man Mitch knew as Hai moved towards Samantha who was completely unaware of his presence. Mitch slowly pulled the gun from under his sweatshirt. His finger automatically flicked off the safety switch, the gun molding into his hand as though it was a natural extension. He stood silently, hardly breathing, as his eyes roamed around the area taking everything in, his concentration almost palpable.
Only the one, which means three or four inside … but at least one of them knew someone or something was on the perimeter. This could blow the mission.
Samantha caught sight of a movement, and spun around.
The Asian man’s fist connected with her jaw and she hit the ground. Samantha fought back and defended herself using her training in martial arts. He matched her move for move. She wrapped her feet around his legs, and tripped him, but as she rose, he kicked out, his foot knocking her backwards. She gasped in pain.
Rolling over, she saw Mitch sprint from across the yard, his steely gaze fixed on the Asian. Then everything went black.