Неизвестный - 06. Honor Under Siege

“That’s got to be tough after all the time they’ve worked together,” Paula said.

“She’s ice.” Renée said it respectfully. “She’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

“I know. We all will.” Paula kissed Renée and squeezed her hand. “Try not to mess your leg up again tonight.”

“I won’t.” Renée smiled, tightening her grip on Paula’s hand. “By the way, I love you like crazy.”

“Same here,” Paula whispered. “Same here.”

“All set?” Cam asked as Valerie joined her and Savard in the kitchen.

“Yes. Where are the others?”

Cam tilted her head toward the closed doors of the adjoining room. “Operations center. Do you want to look at the setup?”

“No,” Valerie said. “I’m sure Mac has everything under control.” Valerie stood next to the table where Savard was drawing a clear solution from a 50cc glass vial into a 1cc syringe and unzipped her jeans.

“How does your neck feel?” Savard asked as she opened a foil wrapper and extracted an alcohol swab.

“A tiny bit sore,” Valerie said, rubbing a fingertip lightly over the spot just below her ear where the transdermal microphone had been inserted that morning. “How do you read it?”

“Loud and clear,” Savard said, pointing to the wireless receiver that was barely visible in her ear. “Right leg or left?”

“Left.”

Savard pulled on gloves, swabbed Valerie’s upper thigh with the alcohol, and palpated for the femoral pulse. When she found it, she inserted the needle half an inch away, drew back until she saw venous blood, and injected the Neosynephrine. “You’re going to feel your heart race in a few minutes, but the peripheral vasoconstriction won’t be maximal for an hour and a half to two hours.” She met Valerie’s eyes. “Once this starts working, your skin is going to be damn cold and if he touches you, he’ll know.”

“If he touches me it will only be for a second and I don’t think he’ll notice,” Valerie said as she zipped her jeans.

Savard gathered her equipment. “Wear as little as you can on the boat on the way out to drop your core temperature even more. I don’t know how well this is going to work. I’m just guessing on the dosage.”

“I dressed light and I’ll take my jacket off. I’d go in the water, but he’ll notice if I’m wet.”

“We can’t risk you getting that cold,” Cam said, shaking her head. “If you have to go into the water for any reason later on, and you start out with a core temperature that low, you won’t last thirty seconds.”

Valerie smiled. “You’ll be there before that.”

Cam said nothing.

“See you later,” Savard said, touching Valerie lightly on the arm before leaving.

“There’s a car outside to take you down to the marina,” Cam said as she and Valerie walked toward the front door. “I’ll ride with you.”

Valerie stopped. “No. Stay here. I know how many last-minute details there are to check. I’m all right, Cameron.”

The hallway was dimly lit, and Cam thought Valerie looked almost ghostlike in the shadows, as if she were already gone. It made her uneasy, and she unconsciously reached out and touched her cheek. “You’re not going to be alone out there.”

“I know. I’m not worried.” Valerie covered Cam’s hand for a brief second. Then she drew it away from her face, but kept Cam’s fingers in her grasp. “There are many things unsaid between us. You should know that there were times that your presence in my life was the only thing that mattered to me. There was never a single moment when I felt anything but cared for by you.”

“Valerie,” Cam murmured. “You’re—”

“Let me finish, because we’ve got work to do,” Valerie said gently. “I’ve been happier these last few weeks, despite everything, than I’ve ever been in my life. Diane means everything to me, and if it weren’t for having met you and realizing that I could love someone, I don’t think I would have been able to love her the way I do. Take care of her for me, if anything happens to me tonight.”

“All right,” Cam said roughly. “I’ll make you that promise because I don’t want you thinking about anything tonight except the operation.

Do your job, and I’ll do mine, and you’ll be back here before sunrise.”

“Thank you, Cameron.” Valerie leaned close and kissed Cam lightly on the mouth. “Happy hunting, Commander.” Then she turned and walked out the front door.

Cam listened to the engine start and the vehicle pull away before heading back to the operations center. The ache in her chest eased as soon as she walked in and saw Mac and Stark sitting before computer consoles. Felicia stood just behind Mac, her hand on his shoulder. These were her people, the best at what they did of anyone in the world. She trusted them to keep Blair safe. To keep Valerie safe.

“How’s the feed?” Cam asked.

Without turning around, Mac said, “Excellent. Our friends in the Pentagon have great toys.”

Cam leaned down to look at the satellite image of the sector of ocean where Valerie would rendezvous with Henry. It was so clear, she could feel the spray. “Amazing. Why didn’t we have this before we hit Matheson’s compound? We might not have dropped into a hot zone.”

“Because it wasn’t their action.” Mac looked over his shoulder at Cam and grinned. “And, you weren’t a deputy director of Homeland Security. If you had been, who knows what kind of cool equipment they would have pulled out for you.”

“Hopefully Henry doesn’t have the same toys.” Cam glanced at Stark. “Exit strategy in place?”

“Yes. We’ve got choppers standing by at Bradley.”

“Do they know why?”

Stark shook her head. “No, only that it’s priority one.”

Stark’s phone rang and she pulled it off her belt. “Stark. Send him in.” She closed the connection. “Tanner’s man is here.”

A moment later, Wozinski entered with a thin, sandy haired young man dressed in black BDUs.

“This is Jeff Donaldson,” Wozinski said.

Cam held out her hand. “Donaldson.”

“Ma’am.”

“Tanner tells me you’re a good shot.”

“Sniper duty in Somalia, ma’am.”

“Good.” Cam watched his eyes as she spoke. They were clear and calm and steady. “Comfortable with infrared targets?”

“Yes ma’am. If it’s hot, I can hit it.”

“That’s what we’re counting on.” Cam thought of the injection she’d just given Valerie. “And we’re hoping that one hot target is all you’ll have.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

“They’re leaving.” Blair rose from the living room sofa where she had been waiting with Diane.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stay here,” Diane replied, her voice subdued.

“I’ll be right back.”

Blair caught up to Cam just as the team reached the front door. She smiled briefly at Savard and Felicia, then turned to her lover. She ran the edges of Cam’s windbreaker through her fingers as she leaned close and kissed her softly, far more quickly than she wanted. “See you soon.”

“I’ll call you,” Cam murmured. “I love you.”

Blair stepped away and in the next instant, Cam and the others were gone. When she turned, she saw Diane halfway down the hall, standing in the doorway of the living room. She forced a smile and went to join her.

“What now?” Diane asked.

“It’s going to be quite a while before we hear anything,” Blair said. “I’m too restless to sit, and if you’ll be all right, I’d like to check in with Mac and Paula. I’ll feel better if I know what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.” Diane made an angry sound. “But I don’t need to tell you, sitting around and waiting is not my style. Can I come with you?”