Brianna's Navy SEAL (26 page)

"Okay, give me that stuff.” The kid took the plastique and wires from Brie, who immediately started unbuttoning her sweater. She was, luckily, wearing a T-shirt underneath. Classroom activities varied so much she always layered.

"It's hot in here,” she said, though neither man was looking at her. Insurance she may be, but they weren't working that hard to keep her that way. She pulled off the sweater and dropped it on the floor behind her, hopefully covering the phone. It might make them too hard to hear, but she didn't know if the line was still open or not, and if 9-1-1 hadn't hung up on her, they should have heard enough by now. So all she had to do was wait.

And not get blown up.

Cable heard Brianna loudly stating what had happened and how many men there were. He thought she must be doing it for his benefit, but she should know if he was close enough to hear her, he was close enough to have figured that all out by now.

He gritted his teeth and tried to settle into combat mode. He kept slipping out of it, growing more agitated the more they had Brianna. And the closer she was to whatever they were going to blow up.

Fuck this. He couldn't sit here and do nothing, not when she was doing her best to help. The invaders didn't know what they had. They didn't know about him, about what Brianna meant to him, and therefore she couldn't be ammunition against him. So he had to pretend she wasn't.

There still wasn't much he could do, but he couldn't let them blow up the place or be alerted by the cops. He needed to distract and disable the two at the door so he could get outside, assuming the cops were coming. He headed for the toy department.

A few minutes later, everything was in place. He hid behind the tomatoes, watching the two at the door. One faced inward, the other outward, watching cars go by on the street beyond the parking lot. Or something. Cable wondered if they had more men outside, keeping new customers out, or if they'd found some other way to deter them.

There was a click and a clatter from a few feet to Cable's right. The guy facing out turned.

"Go check it out,” he said.

His counterpart obeyed. He wandered through the displays, moving slowly, head turning. Cable watched his pattern and shifted his position a little. When the guy stepped past his hiding place, his head was turned away. Cable yanked him down by the legs and rendered him unconscious before he had time to do more than grunt.

He'd hoped he'd never have to do that again, and wondered if it would be another deterrent to a relationship with Brianna. She knew he was capable of much worse, but kindergarten teachers didn't live violent lives. Usually.

He quickly disarmed the man, unloaded the gun, and took it apart. Then he used the guy's own belt to bind his feet, and string from a bag of potatoes for his hands. He hid his body behind another display and reset the human cannonball toy, moving it to a slightly different spot.

Damned if the second guy didn't do just as the first had. Cable had him trussed and hidden in even less time. Now he had to get out before any of these two's friends discovered they were gone.

He retreated to the main aisles, worked his way to the snack bar and between the silver rails separating it from the main store, then crawled between two rows of shopping carts to the sensor gates and out the door. No one followed, so he hoped he hadn't been seen.

He stayed behind a trash can until he could scan the parking lot. There were two men wearing orange vests and hard hats who'd blocked the two parking lot entrances and exits with tall orange cones and were waving traffic on. They had to be with the guys inside, and they'd see the cops approach and probably radio them, endangering everyone. The cops’ best chance was surprise, and he hoped they knew that. But even if they did, they wouldn't get it with these two on duty.

It didn't take him long to dispatch them. Both had their attention completely focused on the traffic in front of them, until he knocked them out and secured them behind a couple of cars.

He had very little time, so he raced back to the pay phone in front of the store, centered between the two entrances. It was out in the open, but he had to risk it. He kept low, hitting 9-1-1.

"Please state your emergency."

He described it concisely and in detail.

"We've had another call from that location, sir, and officers are on their way."

Great. She'd gotten through.

"Tell them no sirens. The men inside now have no contact outside, that I can tell. They should park away from the front of the store. I don't know where, I'm not familiar with the area. I can't wait for them, I have to go back inside."

"Sir, what—"

"Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. If they can come around the left side of the building—that's left when they're facing it from the front—I can let them in. But regular officers will be no match for these guys. They'll need a SWAT team."

"It's on its way, sir, but it will be a bit longer. They're regional."

It figured. Cable answered a few more questions, then asked, “Are you still connected to the other caller? Did she give a name?"

The woman hesitated. “I don't know who you—"

He swore. “If I were one of them, I wouldn't have given you all that information. I'd sound scared and wouldn't know much, so you'd let me know all your plans. Now, do I sound like a guy who'd attack a Wal-Mart, or do I sound like a former Navy SEAL?"

When she responded, she sounded slightly amused. “We are still connected, sir. I don't know the status of the caller, and our ability to hear has become limited, but it doesn't sound like anyone has been hurt."

Her assertion was punctuated by a loud
boom
. Cable felt the wall shudder under his shoulder, and he dropped the phone, his heart stopping.

Brianna.

"You.”
Cough. Cough
. “
Idiots!
"

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say to men holding guns, especially when they weren't exactly gleeful.

"I don't get it.” The kid actually scratched his head, looking at the intact safe. It was pretty much the only intact thing on that side of the office.

"Don't you know how to use your equipment?” Brianna couldn't help herself. She'd just pulled her body out of a pile of plywood, and couldn't stop breathing drywall dust because the file cabinet had tipped over, blocking the door. Probably crushing the phone, too, not that it mattered anymore.

The kid ignored her. “It's not that hard. You stick the stuff on the door, and it blows it off."

"You have to
direct
the blast! As you can now see."

She was no expert, herself, but her statement was obvious. The plywood housing the safe had blown off, and a hole the size of a desk had been torn into the flimsy drywall next to it. Brianna had tried to tell them they shouldn't be in the room when they blew it, but the kid had said there wasn't enough material to blow that far. Good thing he'd directed it left, instead of right, the way they were standing. She had some cuts and bruises, and maybe, like, Legionnaire's disease or something with the dust, but otherwise, they were all okay.

Small blessings.

"What the hell is in there, anyway, that justifies all this stupidity?"

The big guy turned on her. “God, you just can't shut the fuck up, can you? It's four days’ take, sweetheart. The armored car comes at midnight, so it's the biggest accumulation of money."

She shook her head. “And how much is that? To be split ten ways?"

"Twelve,” the kid said absentmindedly, still studying the safe. He was yanking on the handle now, as if maybe the lock or hinges had been loosened.

"You shut up, too!” The tall one pulled the strap of his rifle up to his shoulder from where it had fallen in the blast and tightened his hand around the gun. “Let's go. I've had enough out of you.” He grabbed Brianna, spotted the file cabinet, and let go of her to yank it, hard, across the floor. With a loud screech, it moved a couple of feet.

Exposing the remains of the phone Brianna had left under her sweater.

He stared at the phone, then looked up at her, malevolence plain. He was beyond control, now, and she realized this was it for her.

"You bitch.” He opened the door as far as it would go and pushed her through, the edge of it scraping painfully on her shoulder and chest. Her head banged the jamb. She took it silently, knowing complaining would just hasten his task.

"I told you all,” he shouted, dragging her through the swinging door and across the floor toward the gaming area, where most of his friends now gathered, guarding the people. “Do anything stupid, and she gets it! Well, she was stupid. So now—"

That was when chaos exploded, or so it seemed. More black-clad people were suddenly surging from everywhere, coming up the aisles, leaping over cashier stations, bursting in the front doors in a shower of glass.

Brianna's guy reacted faster than she did, bringing his gun around and aiming it at her head. She knew he knew he'd die, but he was angry enough, desperate enough, to take her with him.

And she couldn't rely on Cable or anyone else for rescue.

As the gun swung toward her, she grabbed the barrel, shoving upward but trying to fall back at the same time, as falling forward would point the gun at the other people. The SWAT team had vests and protective armor. She hoped.

As they fell, a shape flew from her right, tackling her would-be killer. The gun slid through her hand. She tightened her grip, not wanting the man to retain it, but the thing on the end of the barrel cut into her palm, forcing her to let go.

The man fell face first onto the ground, his chin striking tile. The man on top of him—Cable, her heart yelled in relief—immediately yanked his arms up behind him and kicked the gun away.

Brianna became aware of screams and gunshots and flattened herself on the ground, pushing backward between cashier stations until someone grabbed her by the waistband and slid her several feet. A SWAT team member stepped past her, and she scrambled to get behind the dubious cover of the register station. Next to the candy. In a second of irrationality, she reached for a Milky Way Midnight before she realized the screams and shouts had subsided and the gunshots had stopped. Radios crackled, and deep male voices gave orders she couldn't hear well enough to understand.

She peeked over the row of cash registers to see cops pouring in both sets of doors. They helped cuff the bad guys. She couldn't call them terrorists anymore, now that she knew they were just stupid thieves, no matter how successfully they'd taken over the store to start with.

Where was Cable? She looked back to where he'd been last, and didn't see him. Then she saw his blue shirt against a sea of black, and realized he was being arrested.

"Wait!” She jumped up and ran toward them. “He's a good guy! He's with me!"

As soon as she said that several handguns were aimed at her, accompanied by various forms of “freeze!” and “stop!” She skidded to a halt, her hands in the air.

"It's okay, Brie,” Cable said, his voice calm. “They have to do this. It'll get straightened out."

"Okay,” she said, trying not to laugh hysterically as they handcuffed her, too. “I guess I'll see you at the county jail or something.” A woman cop started to lead her away. She looked back over her shoulder. Cable was still watching her. “Thank you!” she called. Cable's mouth quirked, but he looked dejected. “I'm okay,” she added, but his expression didn't change.

It didn't matter, Brie thought as she went outside into the dark.

She had.

Brianna didn't see Cable after that. She was briefly detained by the cops while she gave her statement. They checked her credentials, and apparently the kid had admitted she was a hostage, not one of them, and they let her go. Kind of. They insisted on transporting her to the hospital since she'd been in the blast and displayed injuries. She called her mother from there, since her transportation was back at the store.

"Unbelievable.” Elyse eyed her from the doorway of the exam room. “The things you get yourself into."

"I know.” She gingerly slid off the exam table, flexing her bandaged left hand. “This one kind of tops the rest, huh?"

"I think so. Are you okay?"

Brianna nodded. “I'm stiff, and little aches are starting to make themselves known. I guess from the blast, and the muscle torture when I tried to get the guy's gun. I pulled a few.” She limped toward the doorway. “The rest is superficial. I'll be fine once the painkillers kick in, and after a good night's sleep. We have Night Tree tomorrow ... oh, crap.” She rested her head against the wall.

"What?” Her mother looked alarmed.

"We didn't get the peanut butter and birdseed and hot cocoa.” Tears welled and started to seep out the corners of her eyes. Of course, after all she'd just been through, the food was the thing that put her over the edge.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it in the morning."

"Night Tree is in the morning.” She sniffled and let her mother guide her through the maze of hallways to the exit.

"I think a few adjustments can be made. Don't worry,” she repeated. “Everything will be fine."

Surprisingly, it was. Except for Brianna not being able to talk to Cable. She endured the bath her mother insisted on giving her, and ate a light dinner and drank a cup of tea. But every time she checked out her window, his truck was not in his driveway, and his house was dark.

It was driving her crazy.

She would have insisted on going back, but her mother turned Dragon Lady and wouldn't let her. Brianna was too tired to fight her. When she got up in the morning, Elyse said Cable had stopped by on his way to school.

"And you didn't wake me?” She was feeling frantic to talk to him.

"I wanted you to sleep as late as possible. Here, I made breakfast. If you eat quickly, we can still get to school on time."

"On time” was much later than Brianna usually got there. She and her mother arrived after the busses, and the aches and stiffness had her moving slowly. She barely made her classroom before the kids were dismissed from the cafeteria.