Round Robin Story

I apologize, it's been a while since I posted. For those of you waiting, here's the next bit of the story:

About six months earlier, his parents had died in a car accident and he'd taken over the ranch at the young age of twenty-five. Emily expected he'd always wanted to ranch, but never had a chance to ask him back then. For the two weeks she'd stayed with Uncle Nate he worked from dawn to dusk and each evening they'd check in with him, a glass of water, and some small talk. From what her Uncle told her he made a pretty good go of that ranch. Luke hadn't taken his eyes off of the ranch six years ago and the way he looked right now, he still worked too hard at it. What time he could spare, he helped Uncle Nate out in his garden.

"Thanks," at the sound of her voice he momentarily froze and each muscle tensed. He then reflexively turned and grabbed for his clothes. As he tried desperately to cover himself he nearly fell over on that near-perfect posterior. She stifled a giggle, "Don't get dressed just for me," and nearly lost the battle, "Uncle Nate just made a pot of coffee, you want a cup?" He stopped and stared at her as he held the pile of wet clothes in front of his manhood. 

"Well I'll be," and he stood up a bit straighter taking his free hand to try and tame his wild main and shield his eyes, "Emmy, is that you?" The last time he'd seen her she'd looked different, way too young. Today she looked, well, all grown up. She wore a simple pair of dark leggings and a sky blue tank top with a hot pink sports bra on underneath. Her entire outfit spoke volumes about her level of fitness and left very little to his imagination making him thankful for the pile of cold, wet cloths. 

"Yes. Good to," she smiled, "see you," and she toasted him with her coffee cup, "again."

"Mind?" and he motioned with his finger for her to turn around. His half-smile and slight blush triggered something deep inside her.

Take a Minute...

It was all that she had seen for days. Ellie couldn't tell where she was or what was happening, she only wished for one thing, freedom. It was not the kind of freedom that would pop into most people's minds. She wasn't a captive of anyone but herself and her ... 

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Chapter 4 - Part 4

“I’ll be fine,” she knew that he was worried. Not about the job at hand, it was something else, “With any luck we will have some good leads in a week and we’ll finish early. Time is everything in this mission and getting in will be easier for me than it will be for you.” Jan watched as he turned away and looked out the window. He watched the lazy life-style that they had grown accustomed to and the people, carrying their small bags of groceries, going by. A few school kids in their uniforms were on their way home, and he watched them laugh and joke with each other. Jan was picking up on

Hidden Promises 45 his thoughts and was unsure of what she was reading. It seemed to her that he had no doubts that he could easily get into the underworld. For a moment, Jan wondered just how many times he had done this before. Ward interrupted her thoughts, “Don’t get too many ideas, okay. Eddy and I have a few friends,” the last word was emphasized.
Unsure of who thought of it first, they suddenly both looked at the ring on her hand. Even though they both wore the wedding bands on their right hands, not the left, they also knew that Jan couldn’t leave hers on. Jan looked back at Ward, and in an instant knew just what she wanted to do. Carefully she removed the bracelet from her arm and the necklace from around her neck. It was a matched set that Ward had picked out for her. The bracelet Ward had given her on their wedding day, and except for one really bad time in her life she had never had it off her wrist. The necklace, that was an anniversary present, but it had ended up as a late present because of her and the PED department. Ward watched her hook the two together with great care. She then carefully removed the wedding band from her finger and threaded the chain through the ring. Placing her arms and the chain around his neck, she hooked the chains together again at the back of his neck, and slid the ring inside his shirt gently pressing it to his chest. She felt the warmth of his chest under her hand, and the warmth of his breath on her cheek. The beating of his heart quickened. Ward felt her warmth from the ring against his skin and he moved closer to kiss her, softly at first, and then they let the kiss deepen and their minds mingled making the most out of the last minutes they would have together for awhile. It was only seconds before he pulled slightly away from her lips knowing their time had come to an end.
“Take care, Babs,” was all he could whisper in her ear before she slowly pulled away and got out of the car. Jan started to walk over to the bus depot, stopped and then started again.
She hated ‘Good-byes,’ so she had always chosen not to say any, ever. In all the time she had known Ward, she had never once said good-bye to him, not even on their first unofficial date. At first it had been just a bad habit of hers, and then after joining the PED she intentionally never said good-bye to anyone. She never even said good-bye to Rob, her old partner, when she knew it was most likely the last time she would ever see him. Jan thought that goodbye’s were for those who were trying to close doors, and hide behind them. She preferred to leave her doors open, just in case. Or was it that she just never had the nerve to say the word? The only time she had ever said goodbye to anyone was to another agent. On the next job he went out on, he was killed. Now was not the time for her to struggle with those issues. Right now, not saying the dreaded ‘good- bye’ word to Ward was more of a superstition, a habit she didn’t intend to break. If they never said it, they would have to be back together, and if not, then there would probably be only one of them left with regrets. With any luck it wouldn’t be her.

Even for Jan it was a silly superstition, but lots of silly things keep people going through life, and this was only one of hers. Don’t step on a crack, don’t walk under ladders, don’t break a mirror or it will be seven years bad luck, none of these she believed in. She smiled inside at the times she had broken a mirror and had never once associated it with bad luck. Most of the time luck was what you made it. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. She began to read the people around her, truly leaving herself behind now. This would be a necessity, throughout the entire job, to survive.
The engine of the Explorer started up. She heard the transmission engage, and didn’t stop. The sound was present for only a second. Jan turned, just so slightly, as Ward drove away. Jan watched Ward from the corner of her eye. Ward never once turned back to look at her. This was his superstition. He silently smiled at her in his thoughts. She held onto it as long as she could, and then slowly lost her connection with him. She stared at the road filled with cars, the smoke, the dirt, and the commotion, not seeing any of it. It was time to start the game, and to play for keeps. Jan turned back toward the benches made of old half painted wood, and she picked up on the thoughts of those around her. Slowly, she walked closer and closer to the benches leaving the persona of Jan behind her. With each step that she took, anyone that could see inside her head would know that she had become Isabel. 

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Chapter 4 - Part 3

She had taken the time to hide the other items in both the straps and in the lining of the bag that she was carrying. They would not be things easily detected, found, or if found, that anyone would care about. In one part she had put her favorite item, a small package of rat poison. It had gotten her out of quite a few fixes in the past, easy to hide, easy to use, and easily replaced. Inside the bag she had included her favorite lock pick that she had once loaned Ward. When Ward had returned it to her, she had placed it in her apartment and left it there. On her last assignment she was almost sure she had lost it forever, but somehow, Ward had gotten it for her. To anyone else it would look like an old pen, but it had been a lifesaver for her many times, and a keepsake given to her by an old, and dear friend. Jan had taken the time last night to haphazardly sew the bag with one package of dental floss, twenty-five feet long, which only added to the authentic look of the bag as well as adding to her supply of tools that she may need. She had been careful not to cut the floss, as she never knew just how long of a piece she might need. After glancing at the bag, Jan gave Ward a quick affirmative nod to let him know she was ready. Before he put the car back into drive, Ward leaned over and let his finger gently trace her face and then cup her chin with his hand. His hand rested there for only a few moments before his hand moved farther down her body and at the same time he kissed her with a passion that she could feel deep inside both her mind and her body. Then, pulling away from her, he put the Explorer back into gear and drove back onto the road without a word. The transformation between lovers into working partners was just getting started.

Ward and Jan pulled into the small town of Hermosillo early in the afternoon. Hermosillo was where they had decided that Jan should catch the bus up to Nogales, the border town in which she would try and hire the right coyote to take her across. Being dropped off in Hermosillo would cause less suspicion than if he dropped her off in the border town itself. This way she looked as if she was on her own, and alone. It made her a much better target. It had been a long ride from the cool Pacific coast of the Baja to the warm dry mainland of Mexico, but a necessary trip that they both hoped would prove profitable.

As they pulled up to the small, old and dirty building that served as the bus stop, ticket booth, and information desk, she turned to look at Ward. His thoughts were open to her. She could tell that there was a plurality in his thoughts. This was not a new feeling. The one problem all mind readers faced was that people could, and often did, think of many things at once. It wasn’t something that was planned, but weeding through it was the skill, not reading the thoughts as some people presumed. He was beginning to prepare himself for his transformation into his legend, character, as well. Ward was both exhilarated and worried about what was going to transpire and it wasn’t something that Jan was surprised to read from him, she had the same feelings. The idea of working again was intoxicating to her in one way, but on the other hand it would mean that the person she most loved and trusted would be in danger. She had the same plurality going on in her head. His thoughts were also busy going through his plans for the rest of the day, wondering if he would make the small, informal border crossing he used before the officer he had become the most friendly with went off duty. They sat stopped for a few minutes watching the people around them before Jan got out of the Explorer. Leaving the personality of Jan behind, and adopting the role of Isabel completely, she walked the ten feet up to what was left of the old iron bars of the ticket window. Ward watched as she talked to the man on the other side of the barred and glassless window. Ward listened in to both Jan’s and the attendants thoughts, and quickly knew that all was going well. The guy on the other side of the window had already decided that she was in a business type relationship with Ward, the oldest business most likely by his thoughts, and now she needed to get back to where she worked out of most of the time.

Jan’s thoughts were predictable, focused on duty. She was amused by the attendant’s thoughts, but careful not to let on. She was also glad that they had decided on this as the drop off place rather than the border town where they would have drawn even more attention, and suspicion. After she completed the transactions for the ticket, she then placed it all in her bag.

Jan turned and returned to the Explorer. Getting into the passenger side of the vehicle she wore the little smile on her face that Ward knew so well. It was the smile of satisfaction of being on a job. What was on her thoughts she didn’t say out loud, but she did share them with Ward and found out that he had picked up on the entire conversation she had had at the ticket window. She could feel the eyes of the man who had sold her the tickets on her, so she leaned over to Ward and French kissed him. Not wanting to waste the moment Ward returned the kiss, and after a couple of minutes they pulled away. They stared at each other lost in the moment. It only took a couple of minutes before Jan broke the silence, her voice sounding just a bit out of breath.

“The bus will be here in twenty minutes,” she didn’t finish the thought out loud, she didn’t need too. Jan leaned back on the seat, mentally preparing to step out of the Explorer and into the world of Isabel until the job was complete. Ward turned to look at her and what he saw never ceased to amaze him. They had learned how to blend into any situation, or any environment, when they had been trained, but Jan had always had a special knack for it, and he loved to watch her prepare for her role in the moments before she left. He didn’t know if it was her college studies that had made her so good at this, or if it was just a talent she had. What he saw before him was not the Jan he knew. She was there, but buried deep inside, keeping her feelings safe from others, and only barely accessible to him. Of all those people that could and would see her, all would truly believe she was a native of Mexico. She looked the part, her clothes, her hair tied back into a ponytail, and although she would be considered a light skin Mexican of mostly Spanish decent, he knew that when she got out of the car, she would put on the rest of the act for all to see. There would be no question if she was authentic or not by anyone outside of this vehicle. By reading the minds of those around her, she could change her actions, mannerisms, and expressions all in a split second to fit with the area or to adjust the character as needed. She could tweak her role to fit anything she would need. That was one of the many reasons why mind readers were so valued, and a top-secret commodity within the government. The government had put a lot of training into each of them and wanted to reap the benefits of it. With the training each reader had received and continued to get, they could work with any military or clandestine service that had access and knowledge of their department, maybe not the skills, but the department. That’s one reason they were not happy to have two leave the fold. The numbers of readers weren’t that great to begin with, and the years of training a costly investment.

“You know my number if you need me. My phone number is the same as always and I’ll keep it on. Don’t hesitate to use it,” he knew she wouldn’t need it. She was as good as he was at this, if not better, “If you need to contact any of the departments or local authorities, remember to go through my friend, it will keep your identity safe. If you aren’t in Phoenix, give me a buzz and I’ll see if we have anyone friendly near,” with that said, he took a good look at her. He looked through her facade and reached back into who she really was. Their minds touched and what was expressed could never have been said with words. 

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Chapter 4 - Part 2

“I don’t plan on getting caught, and with any luck, the name I’m using will give me just enough cover if I do. Most of the time the border patrol just sends you back without getting your prints completely processed first, or at all. Not a good policy, but with the amount of traffic that crosses the border here, and is caught, it is understandable,” the conversation was over as quick as it had begun, and they drove on in silence. Jan’s mind wandered back to the arrangements they had made if she were to get caught. She was going to use the name Isabel Garcia Lopez. If there were any problems, the phone number she would give them would be Manuel’s cell phone, in Mexico, or a phony address in Hermosillo. Ward arranged this when Manuel had dropped off the clothes, and then later shared it with Jan. He was to pose as her brother if she called. Most importantly, he was not to let Mama Garcia know what was happening, they didn’t want to worry her anymore than necessary. Manuel would be good cover, and would come to meet the bus if necessary. Ward left a vehicle available for him to use for just such an event. Ward and Jan tried hard not to involve the Garcias at all if possible, but sometimes they would use Manuel as back up.
The drive through what could only be described as a dusty, sandy, low scrub desert was fairly boring if one was not in love with the desert. They didn’t talk for hours and barely shared their thoughts. Jan watched the scenery as they traveled down the nearly empty roads through the countryside. As they passed through the small towns she would watch the locals walk along the streets and glance unnoticeably at the Explorer. She drifted in and out of a restless sleep, and when it was about noon they stopped to grab a couple of sodas and a taco with everything, from a vendor on the corner. The place looked as if it was well kept even though the wood that held the stand together was well worn from the years of weathering, and the paint was almost nonexistent from sun and wind. There seemed to be a lot of people enjoying the food and just as many waiting to be served. They finished eating quickly and got back into the Explorer. As they got back in, Jan and Ward started a small conversation that had nothing to do with the job they were about to embark on. It was just simply small talk. The small talk seemed to loosen up their minds as well as their muscles. As they talked about nothing of importance, the tension seemed to drift off on the wind that passed through the vehicle. Most of the drive was done, but they needed to get to Hermosillo before the last bus left for Nogales. Jan had printed out the schedule yesterday to make sure they didn’t miss it. One more day could mean that they would lose a lead. It could also mean that there would be more people preyed upon and lost. On this job, time was everything. They also knew that the full moon was tonight, and for the next couple of days crossings would be favorable, and frequent.

Ward drove for another hour and a half. He then pulled over to the side of the road on a dusty and sandy turnaround that barely existed. Off to the side there were the remains of a table and what might have been a trash container at one time or another. The Explorer jostled to a stop and he turned to look at Jan. They were just outside of Hermosillo. Ward wanted to ask Jan if she had everything she needed, but he already knew she did. Words would not serve his purpose right now. Instead he just stared at her and she returned his strong gaze with one that was equally as strong. Knowing what he was thinking without even reading his thoughts, she allowed her thoughts mix with his to let him know that she was feeling the same. To ease the tension and create a diversion, in her thoughts she went over what she had in her bag, and going over the premise of the legend, or persona she was about to adopt.

Jan had placed two thousand dollars in the bottom of the bag, and had a bit of extra cash sewn carefully into the straps of the bag where it would be hard for anyone to know it was there but her. It was a less likely place for someone to look, and even if they did, she had it well disguised within the folds of the fabric. She had carefully packed the bag to look like it contained nothing important. A couple changes of clothes, a few bread rolls bought from the local bakery, a bottle of water, a ragged old pad of paper, a pen, and an old rosary that Manuel had tucked in the bag before he gave it to her. The bag looked old, shabby, and lacking in the many items she may be in need of to protect herself, but in all reality it contained all she would possibly need or want. Ward had always been baffled by her choice of items. It wasn’t standard equipment, but it always seemed to get her out of trouble when she needed it.

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Hidden Promises - Chapter 3 - Part 4

Jan knew that she didn’t have any contacts, which she knew of, in the department right now. She had burned a few too many bridges herself for any of them to willingly stick out their necks for her. She also didn’t have enough time to contact any old friends who may be willing to work with her, given time. Over the years they both had a network of names on which they could rely. She could have always contacted Rob to have him arrange for an arrest, but not if he wasn’t in the Phoenix office. There was also the problem of him associating with her. She knew that Rob would be no help, if she needed someone to stay with, it just wouldn’t work. When she was still with the department, Ward had never once asked her to do anything on his jobs. She knew that it kept her reputation clean. She couldn’t risk getting involved with the department again. Neither of them had left on a favorable basis. Maybe this was because one really was never allowed to leave. If the department found either one of them, they would be kept, jailed within the department of course, for an undetermined amount of time. No trial, no lawyers, and no one they could count on. She was told on the last job with the department, it could be a lifetime. If she were jailed with them this time, she would not find it easy to get out, and she didn’t want to have to try.

“Interesting contact. Is he still on active duty?” Jan placed her feet back on the ground and picked up the empty bottles. Getting up, she began to walk to the kitchen.

“Not really, but I wouldn’t put it past anyone that retires to still have connections within any department. As you know, no one really ever leaves,” Ward smiled as he said this for they both knew they had left, and were now being hunted by the department that they once had worked for. Ward sat and watched her pick up the soda bottles and walk away. There was a knock on the door, and as Jan went into the kitchen Ward went to the door. Jan could barely hear the voices, but could tell the conversation was in Spanish, and knew who had to be standing there. She walked back into the room in time to see the door close and Ward holding a small, old, tattered bag filled with what she could only assume would be her clothes for the next week or more.

The bag was nothing more than an old cloth backpack that had seen many other good uses. As she looked it over she saw that it would suit her needs quite well. She could clearly hear Ward’s thoughts in her own head, ‘Want to try them on now or later?’ Jan only smiled, trying to erase some of his fears, and took the bag.

“Let’s see how I’ll look,” she took the bag, and went off to change into who she was going to become.

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Hidden Promises - Chapter 2 - Part 3

Ward had been watching Jan meditate. He often did this from the balcony as she sat on the rocks deep in thought. He found it relaxing just to watch her, and today was no different. He saw her laugh, felt her laugh, and knew that she had made the final leap into the present. She was whole. As he walked back into the apartment and over to the computer he knew that the last thing he ever wanted was to have her in danger. It truly scared him, but that wasn’t the woman he had married two years ago.

He sat down at the computer and started up the links to the departmental computers. He wanted to see if there was any information on coyote activity. He knew that Jan had already done some of this work, but he also knew that double checking information was a necessity for safety. As he sat and waited for the links to connect, he remembered the first time he had seen her.

He was about six years younger. He had just finished an unscheduled overseas assignment and was coming back to the United States. Both Ward and his partner had reentered the country in L.A. on separate planes, and as Phoenix was the closest office decided to go there for a while until all the reports were completed. Over the years he had spent with the PED, he had two partners. His current partner, Gregg, thought that Phoenix would be a good stop. That way they would be able to catch up with some old friends. Gregg would never have guessed what came next.

Walking into the office and over to claim an uncluttered desk was when he caught his first glimpse of her. She was hunched over a desk. It wasn’t as if he was a novice, but something about her was different and he hadn’t even seen her face. He could only see the back of her head and the brown hair loosely tied in a ponytail. It wasn’t reading her mind, he wasn’t even about to try that here, but there was a connection, an attraction, even without reading her.

Ward didn’t know if he had stared too long, or if his thoughts had slipped somehow into hers. He didn’t even know if she could read minds, but she turned to look at him and smiled. It was a smile that spoke volumes. Their eyes locked, his breath caught in his throat, and that was all the encouragement he needed.

From that moment on they had taken every chance they could to get to know each other, in all senses of the word. It started with coffee and lunches, and as the relationship progressed it led to late night desserts and more. It hadn’t been easy, they were usually on assignments in opposite directions, but there was something between them, something that neither one of them could escape from.

Later he had transferred to Phoenix to be closer to her, although that’s not what the official request said. His move had been a good fit. It meant a change of partners for Ward, and that had been a positive. Ward and his partner had not been getting along. It hadn’t been a good fit in the beginning and it was getting worse. Gregg and Ward had not been seeing eye to eye for a quite a while and the jobs had been not been going well. The department had approved Ward’s transfer papers and moved him, silently thankful that Gregg stayed in Virginia.

He had been reassigned a partner in Phoenix, and it seemed to have worked for a while. It also gave him a chance to work with another friend that he had gone through training with. He had been stationed in Phoenix as well. The most important thing to Ward was Jan. It was when he had been reassigned that he got to know her more intimately as well. They even worked a few jobs together.

The more they were together the more they wanted to be. It was not only the fact that they had achieved the ability to freely roam through each other’s minds, communicating without words; they had connected even deeper. They became inseparable any day or night that they could afford to be together, but they didn’t allow anyone to know about it. Later, when the department learned of their growing involvement, they had surprisingly encouraged it, for a while. But it wasn’t long before they began to frown as they saw their control slowly slipping away. They were forbidden to see each other, and they complied, at least until the department thought that it was over.

After that, Jan and Ward met in secret. They never again worked together. He finally left the department under unfavorable conditions and officially charged with criminal activity. Even that didn’t stop them. At first Jan thought that maybe the charges were true; but as they continued to meet in secret she learned without a doubt that he was not guilty. She never really knew just what had happened until a couple of months ago when it had been necessary for her to learn about it. They had married in secret and now lived together in secret away from the department that they had been entrapped in. Deep in his thoughts, he never heard her come in. He never heard her move soundlessly across the room behind him.

She was skilled and he was distracted by his thoughts. She had seen his thoughts, carefully picking at them so that he would not detect her. Slowly she came up behind him and when her hands touched him, tracing the muscles in his back, he turned off the computer and stood up in one fluid movement unalarmed and totally aware of her now. His arm reached out to grab her. She ducked just as quickly, slipping away into the bedroom knowing that he would follow. With the information he wanted from the computer pushed aside; he walked toward the bedroom, removing his shirt in the process.

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Hidden Promises - Chapter 2 - Part 2

Jan contemplated this question. When working with the PED department, they were given jobs and there was never a question of if they would do the job or not. Safety was a concern, but not a choice, at least not theirs. It was calculated and weighed in some office, in some place far away from the agents themselves and once all the pros and cons were settled, the assignments were handed out. Now on her own Jan had to decide if the job was really worth all the risks? Could they get the results they wanted? Could they stay away from the people they needed to?

Maybe Ward was used to this but Jan realized she wasn’t. The question took her off guard and she took her paper and walked away from the desk and over to the window. Looking back out to the ocean, she watched the waves play on the top of the water as she thought. This was what Ward was trying to get her to see, all this time. She hadn’t come around to it herself; and he finally had to place it in front of her. The pelicans and the seagulls seemed to be dancing on the wind. Ward sat down on the couch behind her, not trying to disturb her thoughts, but waiting for the question he knew would come.

“How do you decide?” Jan didn’t turn around.

“Babs, it’s different every time for every job and it’s never easy,” Ward didn’t continue. Jan didn’t turn around, but simply stared out into the ocean. Time stood still for a while as the sounds of the ocean seeped in.

“Can you get Eddy to try and find answers to these questions?”

“Maybe, the illegals tend to keep a lot of the information to themselves because of immigration. They shy away from most people; afraid anyone could and would turn them in. Since they seemed to have opened up this much to him, I’m sure he’ll get at least part of it as long as he can convince them they will get help with no strings. I’ll send out an e-mail to see what he can get, or already has,” Ward walked over and took hold of the paper.

“Good. As for the last question, I think I’ll take a little time and think about it. Don’t make any promises to Eddy,” Jan still hadn’t moved. She was not so worried about the dangers of the job, but the dangers from the agencies after them.

“Not as easy as you thought it would be?” Ward watched her move toward the door. He enjoyed watching her, but he didn’t enjoy seeing the struggle she was going through. He had been through it, the transition from agent to free agent; she just needed to take the last step and he couldn’t rush it. Until she made that decision he wouldn’t contact Eddy though.

“Maybe the choice is not as hard as I thought it would be,” and Jan walked out the door and up the small flight of stairs to the patio that was covered with red clay tile and adorned with all types of plant life to give it a cozy tropical feel.

On the way to the beach, Jan avoided thought. As she began to climb down the rocks, thoughts crept back into her head. Each step she took down the rock face seemed to add on another set of questions; all the questions seemed to have the same answer. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t faced death before; on some jobs that seemed to be the norm. It was more the fact that she now had the choice.

Taking the job Eddy had offered was not the question. Jan had to find an answer for the last question given to her. Her answer for Eddy had to be yes, and the dangers from the agencies would just have to be. Once they had the information then they could proceed how they saw fit. Jan was feeling something else and Ward was giving her room to experience it. It wasn’t a totally new feeling.

She had felt it before, just once, as she had looked at people on the street after she had escaped from the department for the last time. It was a feeling of total and utter freedom to do and say what she wanted. The idea that she could run away and be free of all the things and memories that held her to what her life had been. The easy way would be to continue on as normal, helping others, taking on assignments and solving everyone else’s problems. But no, Ward wouldn’t allow her to mindlessly follow that path unless she truly wanted it.

Feeling the warmth of the sun on her face she realized that this was truly the question that needed answering. Was this what she really wanted? The wind brushed her long brown hair off to the side as she sat down and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths she fell into a profound meditative state, one that she hadn’t been able to achieve for what seemed like forever, and she let herself go.

When Ward felt her meditation begin he walked over to the phone and started to dial a familiar number. He couldn’t wait much longer to contact him, it wouldn’t be right. He listened to the ringing on the other end and then the familiar voice answered, “I’m here.”

“I need more info,” the conversation right now had to be direct; they would have time for small talk later.

“It doesn’t look pretty. Called a friend, says that the market for women has reopened big time, both here in Phoenix and in a few other cities in the Southwest,” Eddy took a breath. “Looks like these people may be involved.”

“That’s what I thought,” Ward walked toward the balcony again. He could see Jan out on the rock. He could feel her; knew how relaxed she was.

“Going to take it?” Eddy didn’t mince words, but Ward could tell that he wanted an answer.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” and with that he concentrated fully on Jan, “Jan wants it, but she has something to figure out yet. Same things we had to figure out. I’ll be in touch soon.”



The first thoughts that seeped in during meditation were centered on a time before she became involved with the PED. A faint smile brushed her lips as she remembered how excited she had been to get into college. She was going to study psychology. It had been hard to complete the first year, let alone four years. Money had been tight, but she had entered her fourth year at the university with a renewed feeling of success. She was sure she was going to make it. Her family had never been supportive of her choice and therefore they had never been a part of her college life. By the end of her third year, they had barely spoken to her.

At the end of her fourth year, when she was about to graduate with her bachelors, she was approached by a group of psychologists to join them in a study. At the time they had appeared to be psychologists. She had never heard of the group they worked for, but they offered her a job to do what she loved and had worked so hard to achieve. Assuring her that this work would become part of her masters, and later her doctorate, she signed on. The promise of conducting groundbreaking research, continuing her education, and make enough money to make this all happen had been too much to pass up.

It was with this group that all her experiences in her public and private life had started to change. Slowly, instead of being a college student on the edge, she had unknowingly started on a journey in which there was little hope of her returning to a normal life. Slowly her choices had been taken from her. In fact, it had been so slowly that she hadn’t even noticed at first. All contact with her family had ended over a two-year process and in that time she did earn her psychology masters, as promised, but it had cost her.

When they told her she had no social life, no family life, no life to speak of except with the group of scientists that had once so long ago recruited her. She had watched her ability to assess people’s feelings grow, but they promised more. With the carrot dangling in front of her, she took it, moved to Phoenix, and from that moment on, lived without a choice of her own. Completing over three different covert training camps she was well past trained and ready to move on. Over the next year Jan had learned the finer points of reading minds and working for the government as an operative. The more departmental work she did, the more she became the department. She thought it had been perfect, until she had met Ward.

Silence came over her mind as her mind returned her to the present. She sat just listening to herself breath for a while. The ocean lapping at memories that Jan had thought were long gone and buried. Slowly her thoughts drifted back to the first assignment and her first and only partner, Rob. They had developed an easy friendship, a father-daughter relationship, over the years. But the first assignment together wasn’t that way.

Rob was new to the department, but not to the world of espionage. He had been with another agency, and for reasons that later became clear to her, transferred to the PED. On their first assignment, or test, together all they had to do was gather information from an organized crime group in Phoenix. Pick up some easy information and return to the office to report in. It sounded less complicated than it became. In essence, what it had been was a test to see how well they worked together. After the introductions, power struggles and the planning session they began.

They had chosen to go to the casinos and just listen in, both with Rob’s ears and experience and her mind. Rob being a veteran of other departments was doubtful, to say the least, of listening to this ‘young girl who thought she could read minds’ as he had put it to their superiors. He had never said it to her, but she had heard it all the time from his thoughts. She had never shared that with him.

When they entered the casino they separated and began to work the room. Walking around the back of the casino and the near the private rooms, she got a lead. She went up to Rob and tried to encourage him to follow it with her. Without any other indicators, Rob refused to follow her lead in the casino. They argued, but they stayed together as a team even if it meant losing that lead. What they didn’t know until the debriefing back in the department was that it had been a set up, to test what would happen. They had passed. Once the information was confirmed, Rob began to change his mind about her abilities and their partnership began.

They were good memories, maybe not the ones she had planned as a child, but good memories. Jan slowly opened her eyes and understood why Ward had turned down the other jobs. Her future had to be her choice; it belonged to her and only her now. It was freedom, and even Ward wouldn’t take that away from her if she wanted to choose another path for her life. Choice was something she had not been allowed much of. It was something she needed to have and understand before she could continue with her life, the way she wanted it to be. ‘Shit,’ she thought. She hated it when he was right. Opening her eyes she turned and looked back up to the balcony. She saw him standing there again; and this time, there was a knowing smile on his face as he leaned, head tilted at a cocky angle looking down at her. He then turned and walked back into the apartment.

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Hidden Promises - Chapter 2 - Part 1

2

Once they were back in the two-bedroom apartment, Jan went toward the computer and Ward went toward the bedroom door. She needed to see the message; he needed to give her space. The apartment was small, but contained all they would ever need. In one corner of the room was a computer set up that rivaled the best seen in any governmental department and could be illegally connected to most. A small, but efficient kitchen led off from there. The windows of the living room opened like doors onto a balcony that overlooked the ocean and all the furniture in the room focused on the view out the windows and balcony door. Two bedrooms and a bathroom led off the other side of the living room. In the master bedroom, which was where Ward headed, the windows had a spectacular view of the ocean and beach. The on-suite bathroom was modern, the bedroom comfortable and large. The other bedroom and bath were just that, another bedroom and bath, not that they ever expected guests. Ward stopped just short of the master bedroom door, pausing to take a breath first, he then continued.

“I’m going to shower. I suggest that you read the e-mail from Eddy and then do your research. No one here is going to hand you a file that contains all the information you need to know,” he turned to look at her. “Do your research. Then decide if it is a job you want to take on. Remember there are things to consider.”

Jan watched as he went into the room and contemplated joining him in the shower for only a second. Glancing back toward the computer, she knew he was right; there was a lot to consider. Sitting down she started up the machine and waited. Pulling out paper and a pen from the drawer, Jan noted the date at the top of the first page. After the computer started she opened the e-mail that Eddy had sent. He seemed about as close to Ward as one could be without knowing who they really were, or as she now had to remember, had been. Only one other person, besides her, was as close to Ward as Eddy, only Eddy had no clue that they were mind readers.

After leaving the department one might think it would have seemed easier to let the secret slip. That was far from what the reality of it was. More than before the truth would need to be hidden in order to allow them any type of normalcy. Of all the people who had left the department, of which she now knew of only one other, each guarded their secret carefully.

Hey, it started out friendly enough, Have you fallen off the edge of the world? Haven’t heard from you for a while. Know you two might not be up for a problem yet, but I have one if you are interested. Seems like a few colleagues of mine are missing relatives (females) they sent money to, to have them brought to the states. Not all of it is on the up and up so they are afraid to go to the authorities to ask for help. Most likely wouldn’t get any help from anyone else anyway, only a free trip home to visit the family if you get what I mean. This doesn’t seem like the normal request. They have used chicken farmers before, so it isn’t like they don’t know what to expect, but something has gone really wrong. They say they aren’t even getting ransom requests and they haven’t been contacted by any of them at all. If you are inclined to help, send me a line, and it was signed Eddy.

Jan knew the slang that Eddy had used in his e-mail. Coyotes were the people who transported illegal aliens across the Mexican-American border. Often the people they transported were referred to as pollos, chickens, no more than a meal ticket for the coyotes. It was an underworld ignored by most of the world and nearly impossible to stop. Coyotes provided a way for desperate Mexicans, as well as other nationalities, to cross the border into a world that they thought would bring them endless opportunities. Often, the situations they encountered were in actuality no better than what they left. Most are able to make some extra cash and send it back to their families in Mexico, but the human price they pay is high.

Treated as substandard humans, with pay and living conditions that usually matched, only a few were really better off. Over the last few years the patrols had gotten better on the borders of California and Texas. Arizona was the only place to get across with any certainty. The fee to cross was high, being somewhere between a thousand and two thousand dollars to take a long treacherous walk across a very unforgiving desert. A higher fee would almost guarantee being transported across the desert in some kind of vehicle that had been modified to hide people, but not always.

Jan jotted down a couple of items on the paper and closed the e-mail. Two things she would need to know would be where and how they contacted the coyotes. Had they contacted a coyote in the same town or had it been many different places? She would need a full description of each missing family member, a picture if possible, and the names of those missing. She then began to access the files available to her from the Bureau of Immigration.

Ward’s computer set up was something to marvel. She had never had better access to files and information at the department. It seemed that no program locks or encryption codes could keep him out of the main frames of any computer. After Ward had unceremoniously, and without permission, left the Paranormal Enforcement Department, or ‘PED’ for short, he had managed to gain access to the data bases that the government had to offer. The ones that Ward had not gained immediate access to, he had worked on breaking the access codes; after all that was one of his talents the department had trained him for. Now Ward had a network of information that would rival the top officials in any US department; security clearances were not a problem for him, nor did he have to wait for permission anymore.

Jan looked at her notes and something made her skin crawl. If these people and others had disappeared, where did they go? Who did these coyotes meet up with after they crossed the border? These were not run of the mill coyotes. Jan wrote down a couple more questions. What types of things could these people be used for besides earning a few dollars for getting them across? Could it be drug related? Or was it worse? Was it slave labor they were selling these women for? Jan knew what else these women could possibly be sold for, none of which would be good dinner conversation. She wanted to know if any other governmental agencies were working on cases related to this. The last thing she wanted was to cross anybody else’s path. Jotting down information she read and might need, she continued to read the computer scene. She now had two groups of people she would need to keep track of during this investigation.

Jan knew that finding a coyote and getting across would not be a problem. The problem that existed was to find the right coyote and try and follow the path the missing people had taken. The more information Eddy could get to her, the better. Jan suddenly remembered that she was not the only one that could work the case. Depending on the information they received, how they proceeded in the job would have to wait.

Jan looked at her questions again and tried to think of any other information that she would need to know before starting the case. First, exactly who, and how old, were the people they were missing? Next, did they know which coyote the missing people were going to use to cross the border? And, at what place were they going to cross? How much was the fee and was it paid up front? For now, that was what she needed from Eddy. Hopefully, he would be able to get some of this information for them, without it there may not be a case.

Now the next set of questions was more for Ward. Was there anyone buying people from coyotes for unknown or known reasons, or is this a new and dangerous trend? Some of the other information would have to be collected as the case went on. Jan decided that she may need to make a list of agents and agencies that could be working any related cases as she read through the list. This may be important; it wouldn’t be good to run into anyone they didn’t want to see while they were looking for the missing people. After all, they wanted to be missing people themselves. As she scrolled down the computer screen over and over again, she noticed that there weren’t any names she recognized in any department working on any cases that would be related to coyotes, or illegal entry from Mexico. That would be a bonus for the both of them. That’s when she understood what Ward had been waiting on from her.

Ward looked over her shoulder and nodded his head as he read the questions on the paper that she had written. A small drop of water from his wet hair dropped onto her shoulder. There was still one question she was missing, and it was the one he needed her to contemplate. He picked up the pencil and added that one question, ‘Is it worth dying for?’

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Book Trailer! - No Easy Way Out

After the brutal murder of his first wife, he thought all he had left was his job in an alphabet agency as a spy. Then Jack got lucky when he found the courage to live again. He met Maria, a talented agent that he worked with and eventually he married her. But what he didn’t know could have killed him. Maria had made her way out of a troubled past. Together, they discovered what they had lost, but it wasn’t long before Jack recovered to find history repeating itself. He did the only thing that made sense; he sacrificed himself to save Maria. Jack is now a captive of a very dangerous man, and he doesn’t expect to see many more tomorrows. His only hope is that Maria can find their friends, friends that have their own set of problems. Jan and Ward nearly escaped death on their last assignment, and after years of being out of their government’s control, they have landed back in the middle of a mission no one was supposed to know. To get what he wanted they had to sign up to work with the only man they could trust, but could Turner come to grips with his demons and work along side the only woman he ever loved? Even Turner has his secrets, secrets that may compromise this mission and cost someone a life.

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Hidden Promises - Chapter 1 - Part 2

‘How did Eddy get the information?’ Jan thought she knew. Eddy worked construction as a sideline and would easily meet up with lots of illegal aliens that were hired to work there as well. ‘Works with some of the relatives. Overheard their worries while on the job. He started talking to a few of them. Not an easy task since he doesn’t quite fit the mold of someone they would trust. He slowly got the information over the last week or so. Seems as if he might have some good information,’ Ward knew that Eddy would never contact him unless he had enough information.

‘The leads could be pretty cold by now,’ there was no doubt in Jan’s mind about that; ‘It could make the job a bit more difficult. Not impossible, just difficult.’ She looked at the passing seagull and then spoke, “Are we going to do the job?”

“No,” and just as quickly as he said the word, his hand came up, effectively blocking the next words coming out of her mouth, as well as her thoughts. He had to play his cards right at this point. “To do the job properly your life would be put in too much danger. I can’t choose to do that to you. Plus you’re right, the leads are too cold,” now he put up the blocks in his mind to keep her out as well.

“Isn’t the first part for me to decide?” Jan turned onto her side balancing on her arm and looked at Ward, studying the line of his jaw. Jan already knew that Ward had closed off areas of his mind to her and she wanted to know why.

“Another time when there are no right answers, huh?” Ward closed his eyes. This was the hard part for Ward, but he kept his focus. He knew what he needed to do and he needed her to be sure of the path she was about to take.

‘What do you mean?’ She forced her thoughts back into his mind, ‘The only right answer is to find these people and put a couple of coyotes out of business for good. It may not stop what’s happening completely, but it just may slow it down for a while. It’s bad enough people are forced to cross the border in this way, but to make the journey even more dangerous, that’s why we need to stop it. And stop it now. Haven’t we always said we wanted to make a difference? Isn’t that one of the reasons why I’m here?’ Jan looked into Ward’s eyes as his head turned toward her, and made sure he was looking back into hers, neither one was new to the underground world and the risks. Without breaking her gaze, she needed to make sure he understood what she was about to say.

“If I had wanted to retire, I could have stayed at the department,” Jan knew those words had hit the soft spot she wanted, it wasn’t fair play, but then again he wasn’t playing fair either. There was another agenda here she hadn’t seen to begin with. She could feel Ward’s mind tighten around that thought and then she felt how he let it go along with his anger. She just stared at him. He needed to know that by not letting her work, he just might lose her.

The problem was that Ward did know it, and didn’t like it. He closed his eyes, he knew what was coming next, “And if you think I am going to spend my time raising a herd of children like Mama Garcia suggests, you need to think again. That’s not us. We were meant to change lives for the better. We were given the skills to help and you’re just going to throw that all away?” Jan sat up and crossed her legs, looking at Ward’s closed eyes.

Mama Garcia, as they both affectionately called her, was the wife of the beach property’s caretaker. Ward had once helped his family with a problem they had had with their son and a nasty group of people. Now, they took care of the house and apartment that Ward and Jan owned. Jan and Ward lived in the apartment, and the Garcias lived in the house and kept the secret.

Jan wasn’t sure what bothered her most. Was it the fact that Ward might think he was in control of her life, or that someone needed to control it? Was it that he just lay there hoping the whole conversation would be washed out to sea? Or was it that there was still something else, something he wasn’t letting her in on.

“Let’s go,” Ward’s voice was flat, lifeless. He swiftly got to his feet and started down the beach again at a quick pace. He knew she wasn’t there yet. His mind was filled with thoughts and emotions, all of which Jan was picking up on until she got a message, ‘Stay out,’ plain and simple, and that was the only hint she needed. He was focusing on a thought that she was not welcome to see. She followed Ward back to the hideaway at the steady pace he set and she let him keep his thoughts to himself for now. Jan worried that this may signal a change in the relationship between them, a change that she had been warned about by an old and dear friend.

Rob, her former partner in the department once told her that Ward would never be happy with any one thing, especially a relationship, for long term. As the years passed, Rob had become more of a father figure, wanting what was best for her. At first it had been her happiness, later, he got protective about the events and sincerity in her relationship. He had known about them, but he hadn’t known about the marriage.

The Ward she had come to know and love, though, had never showed tendencies that would even lead her to believe he was anything but trustworthy and true. In days of old he would have been called a gentleman, but that was not a persona he had shown to anyone but her. Even after he left the department as a wanted man, he kept in contact with her, couldn’t leave her. Each time they had met, it had been dangerous for him. In fact, he had begged her many times to come and join him, to work with him, to make her own choices.

Jan knew they worked well together, played well together, loved well together and that was a bonus. Jan knew that leaving the department and working with Ward was a big step, for both of them. In the department they had been told what case they were to work on and who they worked with. Would they be able to transition into this equal partnership, and share the risk? Now, was the first time that he had ever given Jan cause to worry about whether he was ready for this change as well. Jan was deep in these thoughts when she felt his thought drift onto the edge of her mind.

‘If you want the job, we’ll do it, but,’ he couldn’t bring himself to say it, only through his thoughts could he tell her. Even with the ‘but’ it was enough for Jan. Ward had spent the time on the way home contemplating just how he thought the rest of their lives would be now that the future, a future, had finally presented itself to them. It was hard. She was right; he really did enjoy working as a free agent, and the time he had taken off from it had been hard. He had missed the work. He had also missed working with her, even though he had enjoyed the time off with her. He smiled as he thought about the days, and the nights. Ward also knew there were things he could have done, maybe even should have done. Now that she knew the jobs were coming in, he was also sure, really sure, she wanted to work on them with him. They could now become a team. He had wanted this so much and now it was right in front of him, just one last step.

There were lots of ways to lose someone. He knew that more than any one else. One sure way was to stifle them. If he stifled her, he would lose her and not just for a while, but forever. He had thought about some of the jobs he had done after leaving the department. How would she have felt all those times if she had known what he had been up to? He didn’t want to think about that. As he approached the steps she jumped in front of him, blocking his way.

“Do you mean it? I don’t want to do a job, any job, halfway,” Jan stood there and waited for his answer. Ward could see the spark of life in her eyes, the smile that just barely touched the corner of her lips, but what he really saw was the woman he had fallen in love with.

“Yes,” although he couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes after he said it. There was the last bit of realization she had to reach yet. He had gone through it, now it was her turn.

“Are you okay with this?” she could tell that something was bothering him. His eyes avoided hers, his muscles were taut and his face expressionless.

“About as okay as I will ever be with it. But you’re right,” he moved around her and went up the steps, “We’ve always thrived on this type of work, and it is what we do best, and we’ll do it together,” there, it was done. She still had one last step, and Ward would have to let her get there on her own. Soon.

Jan knew this was the partnership he had always promised and what she had given up everything for, but there was still something he wasn’t telling her. That was bothersome. When would they get to that open and honest communication? They couldn’t work together if he wasn’t willing to share. People got killed that way. She took a deep breath, and the sense of calm that had escaped her for days began to creep in as she carefully followed him up the damp stairs. Jan remembered the mantra that Ward had needed and repeated as she had recovered, patience, but just how much longer could they wait?

Even as Jan and Ward walked back up the steps into what they called their safe place they knew that Mexico was not a place everyone would call safe. For many, braving the dangerous and illegal crossing into the states and leaving Mexico was their only hope. It would give them a chance at life, for them and their family. Over the last few years the borders in each state had been reinforced, all except for one, Arizona. The desert was a harsh and brutal place, even in spring. Daytime temperatures could reach into the nineties and nighttime temperatures back into the fifties. Without protection it wasn’t the place to be, boiling and then freezing. Most knew this but with the stronger border enforcements on the neighboring states, it left them very little choice of where there were going to try and cross. Arizona was still the best place to make it across the border and not get caught.

Things were changing though and that meant using coyotes, or smugglers, to increase the chances of success to get across safely. Most coyotes were open about what they did here in Mexico and they knew the type of people to look for. Prowling the bus stations they could almost be assured of a couple of fares.

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Hidden Promises - Prologue

Oh dear Lord, let this be the right decision, Maria fidgeted with her rosary beads.  She prayed often and believed He heard, but right now she was terrified. She was totally out of her element.

As this young woman sat alone on the bench in a small border town in Mexico she had an old, small, multicolored bag and her long black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail.  Waiting on the bench at the bus station she contemplated what she was about to do.  She was going to Phoenix.  She had nothing left here for her.  While scrubbing floors, the woman she had worked with showed her a letter from her bother.  In his letter he had told her to go to Nogales and to wait at the bus station there, a coyote would find her.  She would need to bring about two thousand dollars.  Her brother had sent her the money, a little bit at a time.  His sister wasn’t interested in crossing to the US and had used the money for other things.  Her feeling about the trip was that it would be too dangerous.

She had never seen so many different types of people in her life before.  Maybe if she had made it into college, maybe if her family hadn’t been murdered.  Life was supposed to be much better, maybe she would find it in the States, according to that letter.  It had been a hard decision, one she might regret, but after the decision was made there was no looking back.  Now here she sat in the bus station with what could be thousands of people around her all looking for the same thing or plotting to take what they had left.  Letting the rosary beads slip through her fingers she kept looking over the area.

            From behind her a strange man threw his leg over the bench making her jump and then followed through with his other leg, stepping the rest of the way over.  Making himself more than comfortable by sidling up close beside her, made her a little more than uncomfortable.  Dressed in a fairly new leather jacket, dark glasses and a baseball cap turned backwards to hide all but a bit of his black hair did nothing to hide his slimy character.  He was only about five feet ten inches tall, and he weighed in at about one hundred eighty or ninety pounds.  She wasn’t physically scared of him, but she wasn’t positive about his intentions either.

            “Where’re you headed?” she sat eyes straight ahead, not sure whether or not to answer his question.  “Wherever you’re going, I can get you there.  What’s your name?”

            “Maria, and I want to go to the States,” he didn’t look like any official she had seen.

            “The States right,” he leaned close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek and smell the peppers he had eaten.

            “Yes,” she wanted to leave, run, he made her skin crawl.

            “Five hundred dollars will get you across the border safe and sound,” Maria fiddled with her bag.  She had been told it would cost her nearly two thousand dollars and here was someone that would take her for five hundred.  Doubt started to grow and show on her face, and she wasn’t gullible.  She looked at him again, “No catches, I just want you to get there.  I can find you a job and then I get the first two months pay.  Most of the time I make more money that way.” 

Even though she still had doubt niggling at the corners of her mind she couldn’t help but think that she may need the money she had for other things.  His offer of finding her a job could be useful since she would be an undocumented worker.

            “Okay,” she replied tentatively as he smiled and grabbed her bag.  He stood up and turned before she had a chance to change her mind.

            “Follow me,” and he walked off with her bag not even glancing back at her.  Maria got up and followed him, not sure of what was coming next, and she was too afraid to ask.




Available at: www.amazon.com/Hidden-Promises-Annay-Dawson-ebook/dp/B01M09HTR0

New! Serialization Coming Soon

Do nothing,

...or risk your life for what is right.


Available at: www.amazon.com/Hidden-Promises-Annay-Dawson-ebook/dp/B01M09HTR0

New Year - New Segments - Coming Soon!

Come and join me in welcoming in the New Year. I am taking the first book in my series, in honor of the first month of the new year, and putting up segments of it on my blog. Start your new year with an Ward Lowe Suspense Series Adventure!

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Shadows of the Past

Mind the J's and W's - Part 7

“Enter your account number,” and Ward spun the machine toward him.  That was the signal.  Three men jumped out of booths that surrounded the eating area.  One went straight for the case and the other two went toward the bodyguards.  Ward jumped up and went down and over the table being careful not to block Jan’s sights.  His mission in all of this was to take Usman in.  What he knew would be useful and whether or not he wanted to tell them Ward would get it out of him. 

All was going as planned, that should have been the first warning as Streak stood up and move quickly toward Errol.  Ward had taken down Usman, and the two bodyguards had been disabled.  He wasn’t quite sure if they were alive or dead and he really didn’t care.  He was to take out Errol and he went for him like a lion.  Pistol whipping him across the forehead he watched as he fell to the ground holding his head.  He wasn’t down for the count though.  With his freehand he reached for his sidearm, but not before Streak could drop his knee onto that arm accompanied by the sound of breaking bone.

“I want it all,” was all he said in Russian to him.  It was Errol’s smile, blood covering his face and making him look all the more evil as the white teeth broke through the crimson red that unnerved him then.  He turned to see it then, another man, one he hadn’t known about; a suicide bomber and he knew he was out of time, they all were.

Jan had opened her thoughts and mind to the entire situation playing out before her eyes.  It was the only way to be prepared and it was then she felt it in amongst all the fear and panic that had started as soon as they had started to take the people down.  The noise was drifting up to the top of the building and mothers were hurrying their children away, but not fast enough.  She got the feeling of total emptiness and devastation.  Ward must have gotten it at the same time and faster he could communicate it to his group faster than words could be spoken he communicated it to Jan. 

Streak wanted to yell, to scream to clear the area before the man would kill them all.  A thousand things went through his mind all at once as if his brain was moving at light speed and his body at a sloth’s pace.  The uranium was safely out of there and that was the only good thought.  Collateral damage on this one was going to suck, but the bright side of it, if there was one, was that he wouldn’t live long enough catch the flack for it.  He wasn’t going down without a fight.  It seemed to take hours for his hand to pull the gun up just a fraction of an inch as he flipped it around in his palm.  The blood on the butt of the gun left it slippery and he felt more than he saw it slide from his grasp.  Then just as suddenly the bomber was down and Ward was on top of him.  Half of his head was missing and Ward had somehow prevented him from pushing the detonator.  There was a price.  He watched as Usman got up and started to run into the crowd.  He then heard the second shot as he watched Usman go down holding his hip.  That’s when it hit him that the sniper, or snipers, had fired.

Jan had punched out the two shots quickly and was now certain her vantage point had been discovered.  She could do no more to help them down there, a point that Ward had stressed inside her head.  He was wanting, no needing, her to get out of there and for once she agreed.  She had used gloves so that she wouldn’t have to wipe the rifle if she had to leave it, and it was obvious she was going to have to leave it.  It wouldn’t make much difference if they tested her clothes for traces of powder, but with any luck it wouldn’t come to that.  Running to the other side of the roof she hid herself behind the loud, archaic cooling units.  She just hoped that Rob was on his way.

The door to the roof banged open, but she could barely hear it over the units.  There were six men fanning out over the roof looking for the gunman.  They immediately went toward the gun that she had left lay on the roof.  They were quick, and they were efficient.  She could tell that from their minds.  The one in command told the others to fan out and search for the shooter.  Jan couldn’t help but think Rob could show up just about anytime.  She pushed out Ward’s worried thoughts as he had too many problems to deal with himself, and she let him know that.  Then she felt Rob’s mind close by.  Even though they couldn’t communicate with each other, he knew she would be looking for his thoughts.

On my way partner, and she smiled.  She started to rub her eyes and luckily she didn’t have to pretend to cry, as she was soaked clear through her burka.

“Out of my way,” the man at the top of the stairs was yelling at one of the officers.  His dialect was perfectly accented, “I know she’s up here hiding.”

“Sir, we are investigating a shooting,” the officer was blunt, “you have to leave.”

“Not until I find my cheating wife,” he pushed past the man, “She deserves the beating she is going to get and she can’t keep hiding from me.”

“Sir,” and before they could stop him again he went right for the cooling units.

“There you are you slut,” and he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out from under the units, “This time I promise to beat you within an inch of your life.”

“Sir we will have to question her before you leave.  Some one was shot in the market and we need to know if she has anything to do with it or saw anything,” just what they needed; a progressive Afghan man.

“Good luck,” Rob spat out, “She is deaf and dumb and is only good for one thing.”  It took her only seconds to convince the men that she couldn’t hear say anything as they tried to speak, and yell, at her.  She just shook her head in fear and keened when they pulled back the face cover of the burka.  After all, women in this country weren’t supposed to be educated and those who had a handicap were definitely not worth much of anything to their families except for what they could sell them for.  Rob pulled her off the roof and pushed her down the stairs roughly so as not to draw any suspicion.  Once down, they quickly made their way out of the area and headed for the major city of Kabul.

“We’re clear,” he said into his lip mike as he drove away.  This mission was done, all except for the clean up and debriefing.  Moving the lip mike off to the side he spoke again, “Nice shooting, sorry I wasn’t there sooner.  I needed to make our friend a bit more comfortable.”

It was hours later and dark before they had all been debriefed and were off to their rooms for some much needed rest.  Streak was safely back in place at Usman’s compound, they had received a coded transmission.  The uranium was now being safely transported back to the states, and Usman, Errol, and the one bodyguard that had survived were all in custody.  Ward had traveled back with them and he had been gleaning information that was now part of the files that he had already typed and turned in. 

“It’s midnight, go get some rest,” Rob looked at Jan as she reached for another cold cola.

“In a bit,” she smiled and went back to typing her report.

“You’re not meeting with him,” he sounded more like her father and less like her partner.

“You’re probably right,” she didn’t look at him.

“Jan,” his voice chastised her.  She just looked at her work.

“Okay,” she replied.

“Damn,” and he pushed up from his chair.  Starting to leave the make-shift offices they had been given on the base he stopped, “He’s going to hurt you.  He’s got to live by the same rules and worse yet he believes in them.  You’re already too connected.  Don’t get yourself hurt,” he hadn’t even turned to talk with her.  He couldn’t bear to look at her and think that she might actually want a forever with someone.  They had all agreed to the rules; they all knew the score on this one.  She could go have fun, but don’t connect.  Problem was, there was a connection.  The PED had discovered their mutual attraction, researched it, and then decided to have their handlers nix it.  He’d tried but not very hard.  What he didn’t know was if Ward felt the same way about Jan.  He should report it, what she was about to do, that was his job, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.  His head dropped a little as well as his shoulders.

         “I’ll be careful,” she said it so quietly he almost didn’t hear her.