Sitting down felt too much like giving up, but her boss was stubborn enough not to talk to her if she didn’t at least pretend to go along with him. Grudgingly she perched on the edge of her seat.
He reached for his coffee and took a sip. “I wasn’t aware you and Zach were so close.”
Jamie grimaced. “You know we aren’t. Zach took me through training and my first assignment. He made me the best. I owe him for that.”
There was more, of course, but Winston didn’t need to hear about it. Their boss prided himself on knowing every detail of his operatives’ lives. This was one detail he hadn’t been able to claim. Not that it mattered. Seven years was a long time for anyone to remember. She was reasonably sure Zach had been able to forget, even if she hadn’t.
“According to my records, you’ve never worked with him since. That’s a long time to carry a debt,” Winston said.
She shrugged.
“Interesting.” He leaned back in his chair. “And touching. But the answer has to be no.”
She was on her feet in an instant, her hands braced on his desk. “Listen to me, Winston. Short of arresting me, you can’t keep me from going after Zach. You can make it easy or you can make it hard, but I’m doing this.” She glared at him, ignoring the frosty look in his icy blue eyes.
“You’ll end up just as dead as he is.”
“I’m willing to take the chance.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
“Maybe, but I’m a determined fool. Besides, if you’re right and I do get killed, how are you going to explain my body?”
“Terrorists don’t send bodies home.”
“What if they do this time?”
His thin lips twisted in disapproval. “I’ll handle it the way I’ve handled other problems.”
“I’ll leave a letter with my lawyer explaining everything and exposing the agency.”
“Don’t threaten me, Sanders.”
She knew she was playing with fire, but she didn’t have a choice in the matter. She had to convince him. “I have a better chance of surviving with your help than without it,” she told him. “But it doesn’t matter what you say or do. I’m going in after Zach and I’m going to bring him home.”
“I suppose you’re just going to walk in there and take him from under their noses,” Winston said. He reached for his mug and cradled it in both hands.
Jamie sank into her seat. “Exactly.”
He stared at her for a long minute. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she refused to let the silence make her squirm. She was an expert at waiting. She had to convince him. Winston was her only hope. She would go in without agency assistance, but without the backup, the odds for success were almost zero.
Finally he nodded briefly. “Explain.”
Relief crashed through her. She had him. He was going to agree. Once he heard her plan, he would be convinced-she knew it!
She pushed aside the momentary flush of victory and concentrated on the task at hand. She grabbed a pen and the blank legal pad poking out of the pile of papers on his desk. Working quickly, she made a sketch of the compound, based on the aerial photographs she’d seen and what she knew about the area.
She drew the low, one-story building where Zach was probably being kept. A quarter mile away was their munitions storage.
When she finished, she slid the paper toward Winston. “Zach is here,” she said, trying to sound as if she really knew where he was being held instead of just guessing. “It’s not a main training facility, which is in our favor. Also, Zach’s men were there less than a month ago. The debriefing information should still be accurate. The plane will drop us off about thirty miles away, and we’ll drive until we get within sight of the perimeter.”
“We?”
She nodded, trying to act casual. “Rick Estes is coming with me.”
Winston was a pro. He might wear expensive suits and silk ties, but there had been a time when he’d been the best field agent in the agency. Not by a flicker of his pale lashes did he give away what he was thinking.
“Why Estes?”
“He owes Zach, too.”
“I wasn’t aware Agent Jones inspired such loyalty.”
She didn’t bother commenting on that one.
After a few moments of silence, Winston shook his head. “It won’t work.”
“But we-”
“No, Jamie. I’m not the heartless bastard you think I am. I didn’t abandon Zach to those animals. He’s a good man and a friend. I’ve already sent in a team. Half the group couldn’t get close, the other half suffered fifty percent casualties. Enough people have died. I’m not risking any more just to bring home a corpse.”
She hadn’t known. She could feel the blood draining from her head. The room tilted, but she didn’t give in to the weakness.
She swore under her breath. “We have a better plan.”
“Backed by that famous intuition of yours?”
She ignored the sarcasm. “You sent in a team. This time there’s just going to be the two of us. Rick will create a diversion, and I’ll get Zach out. We’ll rendezvous at the jeep, then meet the plane.”
“Sounds simple. Why didn’t we think of that?” He glared at her. “Jamie, you’re not stupid. What do you think you can do that hasn’t already been tried?”
“We’re going to blow up the munitions.”
That got Winston’s attention. He leaned forward in his executive leather chair. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m aware of the potential problem.”
“Problem? Problem? We don’t know what’s there, Sanders. That’s a hell of a lot more than just a problem.”
For the first time since entering Winston’s office, she was the one to look away. She and Rick had discussed this in detail. Blowing up the terrorists’ ammunition and weapons would be a terrific diversion. There was only one catch. No one knew exactly what was stored there. If their intelligence was correct, then Rick could safely blow it up. If the intelligence was wrong-if the terrorists had more-powerful bombs and explosives-then the blast would not only take out the stash, but Rick, Jamie and everyone else in the vicinity, including Zach.
“It’s a calculated risk,” she said softly. “One Rick and I are prepared to take.”
Winston glared at her. He punched a button on his phone. “Get Estes in here.” He broke the connection without waiting for a reply. “I assume he’s lurking around waiting to hear the outcome of this meeting.”
“Yes.”
Winston swore. “You’re putting me in a difficult position.”
She drew in a deep breath. The relief was as tangible as the chair she sat in. “I’m sorry for that,” she said.
Winston glanced at her. “No, you’re not.”
“I know.”
“You’ll need a transport plane, a jeep. I assume Estes already has his supply list ready.”
She nodded.
“You really think Zach is still alive?”
“I know he is.”
“You could be risking your life for a dead man.”
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come!” Winston called.
Rick Estes entered. Jamie looked up at him and smiled. “We’re in.”
The cell was twelve-by-twelve, but Zach Jones couldn’t appreciate his spacious accommodations. The chain that ran from the floor to the metal collar around his neck was so short, he couldn’t stand without choking. Not that he had the strength to stand anymore.
He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. At least he could lie down if he wanted to. When he lost the will to do anything else, he collapsed onto the dirty straw in his cell and listened to the rustling of unseen creatures.
By his figuring, he’d been a prisoner for about three weeks. He could be off by as much as four days. Some of the “sessions” with his captors left him unconscious, and then the rising and setting of the sun went unnoticed and unmarked. The days they left him alone slipped by easily, aided by the feverish sleep that claimed him. The days they came for him were endless hours of pain and suffering as he struggled to maintain a slim hold on sanity. He’d surrendered his humanity the first time they’d beaten him with the chains. Now he just wanted to live long enough to get out.