Cliff Ryder - The Ties That Bind

"So, that's a no," he said, holstering the Glock.

"So you're not going to kill me?"

"Not yet," he replied. "But the night is young. I'm either a trusting fool or a very lucky guy. I guess only time will tell."

"You've worked for the government for too long. It's made you too suspicious," she said.

"In my line of work, there's no such thing," he said quietly. "And it's what has kept me alive."

Tina moved to his side and rubbed his cheek, kissing the handprint that she left. Jason turned and kissed her deeply. "I wish you'd had a better life," she said when they came up for air. "Being alive isn't the same thing as living."

This was no time for emotional entanglements. "Maybe someday I'll get the chance to try it out, but right now, you need to get back to town and I need to get back to work," he said.

"When should I expect you?"

"Probably not until later tomorrow," he replied.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't make me come looking for you."

Tina got on her quad and left. Jason watched her drive off into the distance, then turned his attention back to the submersible. He watched the radar, making sure that her signature was well and truly headed back to town. Suddenly, he saw another one pop up on-screen. And another. They were approaching fast.

Acting on instinct, he ducked his head down just as a bullet whizzed through the air where his head had been a moment before, sounding like an angry bee. He dived out of the submersible and somersaulted on the ground, his gun ready as he came up. During the roll, he heard an odd cracking sound from inside his coat, but ignored it for the moment, knowing that the quad speeding down the hill toward him took precedence. He took aim at the driver, but had to move again as a second ATV crested the hill, the passenger firing repeated bursts with a MAC-10 submachine gun.

Jason fired as he rolled, taking out the driver of the first ATV. It spun out of control, throwing the driver and the shooter to the ground in a crumpled heap. Taking cover behind a cluster of rocks, Jason turned his attention to the second quad. Like the first, there were two people on board, one driving and one shooting.

The shooter opened up with the MAC-10 again as they sped toward him. Sharp shards of rock chips flew through the air, but he kept his profile low, waiting for an opening.

Just as they turned to get a better angle, Jason moved again, rolling to one side and yanking the gunman off the quad and to the ground. The momentum of the movement had both of them tumbling toward the beach.

Jason found his feet first and pounced on him, but the man was motionless. His neck had been broken in the fall. He spun around to take on the next threat, but realized that both the quads were gone. The survivors had left their dead companions and disappeared into the night.

He quickly checked the bodies, confirming what he already suspected. The men were from town. He hopped into the submersible and checked his radar. The two quads had made it into town, and there were also boats nearby in the water. They must have been planning another weapons drop and his timing had just been bad. He quickly programmed the Scorpion to retreat back into the water, then checked his coat. Damn, he thought, pulling the shattered remains of his shooting glasses free from the pocket. So much for that toy.

If possible, he needed to keep his cover if he could. Jumping on his quad, he raced back into town, cut down an alley and went straight to Tina's. This time he didn't bother knocking as he ran into the house. He slammed the door shut as she came out of her room.

"Jason, what…"

"No time." He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the bedroom, stripping off his shirt and tearing hers off over her head.

"Jason…"

"They're coming," he whispered. "Move fast."

She complied, pulling at his clothes, throwing them on the far side of the bed. Jason pulled her on top of him on the bed.

They could hear someone pounding on the outer door, but neither moved to answer it. Jason heard it slam open and the rush of footsteps, but tried to focus on keeping calm, knowing that he still held his Glock beneath the blankets in his other hand if the situation went south on them.

"Tina!" someone shouted from the living room.

"What the hell!" she yelled as three men burst into her bedroom.

The cop stopped short and fumbled for words, stammering and stuttering.

She didn't bother to cover up as she turned, exposing her breasts even more as she faced them. She climbed off Jason and yanked a robe down from the closet door. "Get out! Get out of here right now!" she shouted.

The three men retreated to the living room as Tina slammed the bedroom door, then turned to Jason and winked at him. She put on her robe while Jason slipped on his jeans and a shirt, tucking his Glock into his waistband and covering it with the long shirt. Together, they walked out into the living room.

"Which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Tina snarled. "Sheriff Giles? Do you have an explanation?"

Giles, Chris Marley and a man Jason hadn't met before all stood in the living room, staring at the floor and looking pretty sheepish. On a bet, he would guess that the third man was one of the drivers from the quads.

"Two men were killed tonight," Giles said. "These guys think that your friend there might have done it."

"Oh, my God," Tina said, her voice filled with alarm. "Who was killed?"

"Rod Omiak and Joseph Kuzruk."

"What happened?" she asked.

She gestured for the men to sit down on the sofa, and took her own seat in an overstuffed chair. Jason sat on the arm of her chair. If things turned ugly, he wanted to be close to her.

"I'm not sure yet," Giles said. "I haven't even seen the bodies. Chris and Troy here came over to the house and said there was a murderer in town and they thought you might be next." He shrugged, blushing furiously. "Then when we got here, we heard noises and…Well, you know we thought…and so we…Sorry, Tina," he finished.

"Did it look like I was being murdered to you?" she asked.

"No," Giles admitted, "but there are the bodies."

"Didn't you say you haven't even seen them yet?" she asked.

"Troy here thought he saw…"

Tina turned her attention to the other man. "I'm curious to know, Troy. What did you see?"

They all gave Troy their full attention. "Well, I'm not really sure. I was just out riding my new quad, getting a little fresh air, and I thought I heard gunshots and I saw people down on the beach."

"How scary for you," Tina said. Jason could detect the mocking tone in her voice, but he wasn't sure that the other men did. "And how very brave of you to drive straight into the middle of a gun battle. You must have seen the whole thing, then."

"No, no…" he stuttered.

Jason had to stifle a smile. She was good. She had him trapped and everyone in the room knew it.

"Sheriff," Tina suggested quietly, "maybe you should investigate a little more and then come back if you have any questions for us. Jason and I have…a lot yet to do."

She stood up and walked to the door, opening it as the men followed behind her without another word. "Sheriff Giles, I know that you have so much to do, but please let me know if there is anything I can do for the families," she said.

The men walked out and Tina shut the door. She leaned against it, doing her best to hold back her laughter, while Jason watched the men retreat through the window.

"That was close," she said. "We…"

Tina turned to see Jason pulling the gun from the waistband of his jeans and sitting back on the arm of the chair with the pistol in his hand.

"You're not starting to suspect me again, are you?" she asked.