Chapter Sixteen
"I don't like it."
Walter sat in a jeep outside a tailor's shop in Djibouti City where Tim and
Paige were being outfitted with clothing so they could pose as a wealthy
couple seeking to purchase a stolen antiquity.
"Doesn't matter if you like it or not," said Toby from the back seat where
he and the mechanic were sitting. "This is Tim's mission. And we need Paige
to pose as his wife."
"Happy could. . ."
"Happy could insult Copley and blow the whole operation." The shrink turned
to the woman sitting beside him. "No offense, honey bear kitten pie."
"None taken," she said before giving him a look even Walter was afraid of.
"Call me that again, though, stupid dummy moron jerk. . ."
"Sorry, sorry." Toby raised his hands, pretending to ward her off.
His hands curled in fists, Walter stared out the window at the shop. "He
lied to us, brought us here on false pretenses, Cabe is being tortured because
of him. . .and now I'm just supposed to trust him with another member of
my team?"
The psychiatrist narrowed his eyes. "Are you worried because she's a member
of the team or because she's a little more important to you than that?"
Dammit. He should have known Toby would bring up the relationship between
him and Paige. At least the other man had no idea of how fragile it had become
over the past few days.
"You don't like the idea of her pretending to be his wife, do you?" Again,
the shrink hit the nail on the head. "It's just make-believe, 197, no one
is really getting married."
"I know that," Walter snapped. "It-It's not about that. I don't trust him."
"And you especially don't trust him with Paige."
"Just shut up, Doc," Happy intervened. "None of us trust Tim. Except for
you. You got some kind of man crush or something?"
Walter tuned out as the two of them started to bicker. Several minutes later,
the vehicle doors opened, and he opened his eyes to see Paige climbing inside
to sit next to him. "That's supposed to keep you safe?" he asked, scanning
the thin white jacket she was wearing.
"Well, not completely," she conceded as the jeep pulled out into traffic.
"It's just a precaution."
"I don't like this." He stared at the back of Tim's head as the trainee drove
through the city. "I still think I should pretend to be Mr Sampson. He's
too emotionally involved," he said, nodding toward the intern. "He's seeking
revenge for his partner's death, that should exclude. . ."
"Walter. . ." Paige grabbed his hand, cutting him off. "It's his mission."
"But you always tell me to back off when I can't deal with emotional situations.
Why should he be any different?"
"You do know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Tim threw a glance
over his shoulder. "You haven't been trained like I have. My feelings about
Jennings being killed are secondary to completing this mission. Paige and
I are posing as the Sampsons and if the rest of you are half the geniuses
I've heard you are, we'll be able to put a bad guy out of business and rescue
Cabe. Copy that?"
"Copy that," Walter muttered as he turned to stare out the window.
"Okay, everyone, this is our stop." The jeep came to a halt about a half
mile from Copley's compound. Tim jumped out of the driver's seat as Happy,
Toby, and Sly piled out of the vehicle. Paige looked at Walter when he squeezed
her hand.
"You'll. . .You be careful, okay?" She could see the worry etched on his
face, and the absolute terror lurking in his dark brown eyes. Maybe he'd
been right, that taking their relationship beyond being professional colleagues
would change the dynamic of the team. She'd never seen him this anxious about
her taking part in a case before.
"I'll be fine," she said as she tried to smile reassuringly at him. "I just
have to pretend to be a rich wife who's interested in antiquities . You're
the one who is going to be hanging from the bottom of a jeep. You need to
be careful."
"I will." He hopped out of the vehicle, then helped her climb down.
"I don't like this either." Sylvester came to stand beside her as she watched
as Walter and Toby were strapped to the bottom of the jeep by Tim and Happy.
"It's wildly upsetting."
"It's the only way we can sneak them into the compound," she explained. "They'll
be okay."
"I don't mean that," said Sly, waving his hand toward the vehicle. "Although
I think they're crazy." He glanced around anxiously. "I'm talking about the
m-o-n-k-e-y-s."
"Sly, they're just monkeys," she laughed, patting his arm. "Cute adorable
little monkeys."
"Filthy disease ridden little monkeys." She felt him shudder in revulsion.
"You and Happy will be in and out so fast, you won't even have time to see
one."
"I hope you're right." The human calculator wiped the sweat from his forehead
with his handkerchief.
"I am. You'll see."
"Okay, Smart and Smart Ass have been secured," announced Happy as she and
Tim crawled out from under the jeep. She dusted off her hands. "Come on,
Sly."
Paige gave him a side hug, then watched as he and the mechanic took off on
foot toward the compound. She got in the front passenger seat while Tim slid
in behind the wheel.
"So, how do you stay sane working with these guys," he asked as they drove
along the bumpy dirt road.
"They're not so bad," she said defensively. "It's not that much different
than dealing with my son."
"Oh, yeah, Cabe was telling me about him. Sounds like a great kid."
"He is." Her mind drifted to nearly fifteen hours earlier, and how she hadn't
even known she'd be leaving for Africa when she kissed Ralph goodbye before
sending him off to school. She hated being so far away from him. And because
of the time difference, she hadn't had a chance to call him before they left
the base.
"Seems like you have to do a lot of hand holding," Tim remarked, interrupting
her concern over her son.
"Um, yeah. They might be geniuses, but they're just as insecure as the rest
of us."
"Even Walter? He's one of the smartest people alive." The trainee sounded
incredulous.
"Especially Walter. He may have a high IQ but his EQ. . . Well, it's improved
a lot since I've met him, but it still needs a lot of work."
Tim opened his mouth as if he was going to ask another question when the
jeep hit a deep rut. Paige winced, thinking of the two men clinging to the
undercarriage. "Hang on," he said, slowing down. "We're here." He cut the
engine and they both got out of the vehicle.
Taking a deep breath, Paige forced herself not to glance at the bottom of
the jeep. Oh, God, let them be all right, she prayed as several of Copley's
men approached them.
A broken taser and a broken bowl later, Walter and Toby were crouched down
behind some barrels, staring at the lone man guarding the shed where Cabe
was being held.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Walter.
"The thorns are slathered in anesthetic, the berries will weight them down
so they'll travel faster, and the rolled up spec is gonna work like a perfect
blowgun." Toby grinned. "So, no, I have no idea if this is going to work."
Walter was about to test their makeshift weapon when Paige's voice came over
his com. "Oh, God. It's just. . .this piece is beautiful," she stated loudly,
obviously trying to buy more time for Happy and Sly to repair the bowl the
human calculator had dropped.
With a smile, he aimed and blew the thorn into the guard's neck. "He thinks
it's an insect," whispered Toby gleefully. "Hit him again."
As he was about to do just that, he heard Copley ask, "So, tell me, where
did you find this beautiful woman?"
Tim chuckled in his ear. "We met in Paris. At a café. She was drinking
a latte and she smiled at me, unaware that the foam remained right over her
lip. She was absolutely captivating. There's nothing more stunning than seeing
perfection with a slight imperfection. It makes the perfection stand out
even more."
"Well, this is interesting," Toby smirked, waggling his eyebrows.
"Quiet." Taking several deep breaths, Walter tried to calm the storm raging
inside him. He had to trust her. Had to believe she wouldn't fall for the
trainee's blatant flattery. Bringing the paper tube to his lips, he blew
out another thorn.
"Look, he's groggy." The shrink started to rise up out of his crouch. "Oh,
shit, Mongo's coming this way. Hit him again!"
Picturing in his mind the guard was Tim, three more thorns reached their
target in rapid succession. "Okay, he's definitely going down," said Toby
as the guard staggered around the small courtyard. However, several minutes
passed and the man was still on his unsteady feet.
"Plan B," Walter suggested. "We run past him and get to Cabe."
"Is there a Plan C?" asked Toby. "Because Plan B sucks."
"Do you have a better idea?" The shrink shook his head. "Then we'll go with
mine." Not waiting for a response, Walter ran out from behind the barrels,
making a beeline for the shed.
"Dammit, Walter." A bruised and battered Cabe put out his arm, stopping the
genius from running back to the compound.
"Copley's going to kill her!" Walter fought to free himself, but the Homeland
agent kept him in check.
"Tim will get her out of there. You just have to trust him."
"I don't trust him. He's the reason she's in danger." Walter quit struggling,
frustrated by the fact he couldn't escape the other man's grasp and that
the agent was right.
"Just get your ass in the jeep so we'll be ready to move out," said the older
man as he released his hold. Tim's voice came over their coms, urging Paige
to run. Less than a minute later, they emerged from the building, heading
straight toward the vehicle.
Walter tossed himself in the front seat as Toby and Sylvester clambered into
the back. A bullet struck the side of the jeep and they all ducked. Raising
his head, he saw Paige's protective jacket was gone.
"Paige!" Her name tore itself out of his throat as he watched helplessly
as Copley aimed his pistol at her. Tim tossed his jacket on her back seconds
before the bullet hit her right shoulder. It struck with enough force that
she pitched forward, nearly falling on her face. The Homeland trainee caught
her, then dragged her inside the waiting jeep.
Terror bubbled up inside him. "Paige!" He twisted in his seat as Cabe floored
the vehicle, peeling out in a cloud of dust as the antiquities smuggler and
his cohorts kept firing at them. "Paige, are you okay!"
Toby pressed his fingers against her throat as she gasped for air. "She's
going into shock, we need to get her back to the base, pronto."
"It's not gonna be that easy." Cabe pointed at the windshield. "Look, on
that ridge ahead!" Walter glanced over his shoulder to see a pickup filled
with men heading toward them. "They got automatic weapons."
Dammit. He turned his attention back to the woman lying across Sylvester's
and Tim's laps, reaching out to touch her shoulder. They only had one gun
and an indeterminate amount of ammunition against five men with AK-47s. Something
caught the corner of his eye as the jeep sped down the dirt road.
"Put it in reverse," he barked at Cabe.
"No," said the Homeland agent. "Then we'd be headed back to Copley!"
"I have an idea," Walter announced impatiently. "We just passed the compound's
gas tank." The pickup was heading straight toward them, spraying the road
ahead of them with gunfire.
Cabe slammed on the brakes, shoved the gear stick into reverse, and started
driving backwards. "Look, I know what you're thinking, O'Brien, but a bullet's
not gonna cause an explosion," he said, his head faced in the direction they
were traveling.
"That's why we need the flare gun. Toby."
The psychiatrist dove under the seat and Walter could hear him rummaging
around. "Here you go." He handed the gun to Sly, who grasped it with his
thumb and index finger before passing it on to Walter.
"Guys, Paige is in bad shape," said the human calculator, glancing down to
where the liaison was lying on his legs. "I think she fainted."
Walter took his eyes off his target for a second to glance at Paige's ashen
face. Taking a deep breath, he re-aimed the flare, knowing he had only one
chance to save her.