Kat didn’t reply.
“Will you disobey him?” her boss pressed.
“No offense, Vanessa, but I’ll face a court-martial rather than go against my code of honor. I know you’ll think I’m a fool, and you can tell me how I’m throwing away my career, but it’s who I am. I can’t go against my prom-” she broke off, horrified at what she’d just revealed.
“I don’t think you’re a fool, Kat. And I’d never ask you to go against the vows you made to your grandfather.”
Kat practically dropped her phone. “How do you know about him?”
Vanessa had the good grace to sound apologetic. “I talked to Captain Steiger a few minutes ago.”
Kat’s stomach burst into butterflies. Not the excited, happy kind. The nervous, unpleasant ones. When Vanessa didn’t continue, she asked reluctantly, “What did he say?”
“He loves you, Kat.”
“He said that?”
Vanessa laughed. “Are you kidding? Of course he didn’t say it. He probably doesn’t even know it himself yet. But he’s a wreck. He’s tearing himself in two over what he believes to be his duty and his feelings for you. He could hardly form a coherent sentence when he was talking to me. He’s a mess.”
“Then how do you know how he feels?” Kat challenged.
“Because I watched Jack go through the exact same thing.”
Jack Scatalone. Their training officer and supervisor, and Vanessa’s husband. The man who’d been assigned to train the Medusas-and to break them. He’d been ordered to make sure they never became Special Forces operators. Except no matter what he’d thrown at them, they’d survived and succeeded. He’d reluctantly come to the conclusion that they deserved to take their place in the Spec Ops community, yet he’d been ordered to dismantle the team regardless of his pleas to let the Medusas have a shot. And to top it off, he’d been falling in love with Vanessa at the same time he was forced to sabotage her team.
Of all people, he probably was the one who could best understand the dilemma Jeff found himself in. Vanessa probably got it, too. Heck, even Kat could understand why Jeff was doing what he was doing. But that didn’t mean she could meekly go along with it.
“Look, Vanessa. The Ghost appealed to my honor. He gave me his word that he meant no harm and that this meeting was vital. If I show up, I’m tacitly giving him my word in return that I won’t pull any stunts on him. I can’t take the guy down.”
“Any idea why this thief wants to talk to you so much?”
“We’ve been chewing on that all day. No one has any idea. We all agree it’s insane, and something compelling must be driving him to it.”
“Does he know who you are?”
Kat mulled that one over. “He probably has a good idea. He ripped off my throat mike during the fight. When I hit the ground, it was gone, so he must’ve taken it with him.”
“And after examining it, he’d probably have a pretty good idea that he’s dealing with at least a U.S. government agent, if not a military member. Not too many civilians have access to the caliber of equipment we use. Let’s assume he does know roughly who you are.”
Kat frowned. Okay. So that only made his request to meet her all the more puzzling. Vanessa was quiet on the other end of the phone, and Kat didn’t fill in the silence. Viper’s intellect was formidable, and her instincts were pretty much without exception spot-on.
Finally, Vanessa sighed. “Jeff said this guy was old school. Carried no gun and made no effort to do serious injury to the two of you. Is that your impression of this guy as well?”
“It is.”
“Something extraordinary has happened. Something he wants the American government to know about-badly enough to risk his life to tell it to you. You’re the logical person for him to approach. Particularly since you could’ve killed him and didn’t. You’ve earned a measure of trust from him.”
Kat burst out, “And Jeff’s asking me to betray that trust!”
“I’ll talk to Jeff. You go to that meeting. Do what you have to do.”
“Are you telling me to follow Jeff’s order?” Kat asked in disbelief.
“I’m telling you to follow your heart. You’ve got more courage and decency in your pinkie finger than most people muster in a lifetime. I’m telling you to do what you think is right. Then, no matter what consequences follow, I’ll back you up and you’ll be at peace with yourself.”
It was as if a wash of cool water flowed over her, flushing away all the bad energy, all the anger and disquiet making her sick at heart. Kat took a deep breath. Released it slowly.
“Thank you, Vanessa.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. I told you to do what you were already going to do anyway.”
“I haven’t made up my mind-”
“Sure you have.”
“Huh?”
“You’re the heart and soul of my team. The arrow on the Medusas’ compass that always points us in the right direction. You never waver; you always know the right thing to do. Whenever I’m not sure of what I’m doing, I can always look into your eyes and see exactly what I’m supposed to do. Tonight, I hear in your voice that you know the right thing to do. And I’m telling you to go with it. You’ve never steered me wrong before. I’ve no reason to believe you’ve read this one wrong, either.”
Kat was speechless. Such a ringing vote of confidence from Vanessa, whom she arguably admired more than any other person alive, was overwhelming.
“You still there, Cobra?”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks. Wow.”
Vanessa laughed. “So does this mean Junior and I get to stay home to look after my swollen ankles and eat chocolate tonight?”
Kat chuckled. “You do realize you’ve probably just signed the death warrant on my career, don’t you?”
“You know, about half the folks in the Spec Ops community said Jack would never make colonel because he broke every rule in the book to bring the Medusas into existence. The other half said he was a shoo-in for colonel precisely because he broke every rule in the book and brought the Medusas into existence. And here he is, sporting a shiny new set of eagles on his shoulders. Risk takers are rewarded more often than not, Cobra. You’ll come out of this okay.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“I’ll stand beside you no matter what happens.”
Too bad Jeff couldn’t say the same thing. “Thanks, boss.”
“Any time.”
In a much calmer frame of mind, Kat performed an ancient tai chi routine as the sun slid away into the west. She had a job to do, Jeff or no Jeff. And she would not fail Vanessa or the Ghost. She would live up to both of their best opinions of her.
No matter what Jeff did to her for it.
Chapter 14
Thankfully, the last-minute preparations for the meeting kept Kat-and Jeff-occupied enough that she didn’t have to speak to him alone before they left for the rendezvous.
As soon as they arrived at the park, Jeff and her teammates melted away into the sultry stillness at the bottom of the sheltered valley. She was left to cool her jets in the car and listen to the others murmur over the radio as they covertly searched the park and moved into position to observe the meeting. The Medusas found no sign of the black-clad men from last night’s robbery.
And then the waiting began.
Typically, when Kat waited before a kill, she dropped into a state of relaxation where time flowed over her and around her without touching her. But tonight she was unable to achieve that fugue state of waking sleep. She fought back jitters over and over. Under normal circumstances, if she were this agitated, she’d step away from the shot and let someone else take it. But tonight there was no one else. The Ghost would speak to her and her alone.
Finally, eleven-forty-five flashed on her watch. She got out of the car gratefully and made her way into the deserted park. Jeff had decided she’d move into place early to give the team of assailants from the last robbery plenty of time to reveal themselves.