Double Vision (16 page)

She had no way of knowing without running labs on the contents, and field tests usually netted spotty results. To be sure, she’d have to take the systems to a lab, and that just wasn’t going to happen.

Shoving files onto the shelf, she continued to take a mental inventory of all she saw. By the time she got to the end of the file row, she had a decent grip on what the arsenal contained.

It gave her the creeps. It turned her stomach. Kunz had to plan to take out a few countries—or to sell enough weapons to a few countries to make them capable of taking out each other.

He’d probably like that better. Détente, and he got paid huge sums of money for it.

One thing she didn’t see was any type of replica of the C-273 communications device. Maybe Gaston hadn’t
turned the black box over to GRID. Maybe he hadn’t actually turned traitor. If he had, she felt certain those communications devices would be on the shelf. With a model in hand, duplicating them wouldn’t be a complex process and Kunz, the sick son of a bitch, would feast on knowing he had a system to market that the U.S. developed but hadn’t yet made available to its military and field operatives.

She had to get out of here. At any moment someone was going to notice something was wrong. A silent alarm would be triggered, a guard not reporting in on time would be noticed.

Pushing the cart, she headed back to the door, turned to return to the minioperations center where she’d found the cart. Her heart felt stuck somewhere between her rib cage and backbone. Any second, she fully expected one of the guards to put a bullet in her back.

She kept moving, pressing on down the hallway, warning herself to slow down and not run, to just stay calm.

Finally she turned into the computer room, and fear spiked through her like rocket fuel.

A man stood at the desk, watching the screen. The wheels on the cart squeaked and he looked up at her. “Who the hell is running a virus check on this?”

Kate shrugged. Virus check? God, could she be so lucky? Was it possible the man didn’t know what he was looking at?

No, the world didn’t hold that kind of luck. Darcy! Kate’s heart lightened. Darcy was doing this, making it appear on this end as though the computer was scanning for a virus. God bless that woman!

“Who’s been in here?”

“I don’t know.” She mumbled to disguise her voice, then turned for the door.

“Where the hell are you going?” He braced an arm on the desk and looked at her hard enough to crack his leathered face.

He had to be Marcus Sandross. He had that killer look about him. “The doc just told me to bring the cart down.”

“Then get the hell out of here.” He turned his back on her.

Kate walked to the door, but hit the hall in a full run. She was at the bend nearest the receiving dock where Nathan was to be waiting for her when she heard Sandross’s voice boom over a loudspeaker.

“Captain Katherine Kane is alive and inside the compound. Repeat. Captain Katherine Kane is alive and inside the compound. Dead or alive, I want her taken down—now!”

Footsteps poured out into the hallway behind her and Kate pushed for speed, her legs pumping hard, her muscles screaming.

Then a foghorn that rivaled the one on the Golden Gate Bridge blasted the air, piercing her ears. Red lights flashed in every direction.

“Security breach.” A man’s voice sounded. “Maximum response. Repeat. Security breach. Maximum response. Shoot to kill. Katherine Kane. Female…”

He went on, giving her physical description. Kate made the last turn and saw Nathan through the red flashes, standing at the steps waiting. She ran blindly to him.

And then she saw Douglas, Andrews, Mathis and the two JAG women. They were as battered as the men. Fury rose inside Kate. “Damn it, Douglas, get them out of here.”

“Kate.” Nathan grabbed her arms. “Calm down, Kate. We can’t get out,” he said. “Look.” He nodded toward the water.

Kate swerved her gaze and despair threatened to knock her off her feet.

Between them and freedom, blocking any possibility of passage above or below the water, was a steel grate.

“Kate,” Nathan said. “We’re dead.”

“Not yet, Nathan.” She stepped into the water.

A thunderous rumbling sounded in the distance, far beyond the doorway.

“What the hell?” Douglas swirled around.

“Get in the water!” Kate shouted. “Go to that ledge, get down on the bottom and stay there. Use one tank. Do not come up.” The roar grew louder. She shoved at their shoulders. “Hurry! Give me your other tanks! Nathan, grab some in front of the rack. Move it!”

They scrambled into the water, passing the tanks to her. She grabbed them by the straps, then swam for the grate. Nathan followed with four more. She positioned them between the bars in the grate, concentrating them in a small area. Certain they were secure, she motioned to Nathan to rush to the ledge. The alcove where the others gathered would give them the most protection.

A horrendous explosion split through the cave, jarring her teeth, rattling her bones. Her ears popped from the pressure, and Kate groaned from the pain, but kept pushing to get into the alcove.

Nathan surfaced, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to him. Looking past her shoulder, his eyes stretched wide. “Oh, God!”

Stumbling into him, Kate looked back and gasped.

A giant fireball burst through the wall and rushed toward them.

K
ate’s stomach brushed the sandy bottom under the water.

Nathan lay beside her and she prayed what she expected to happen would happen. Otherwise they were all going to be burned alive or buried in rock when the tunnel collapsed.

Douglas and the others lay stretched out like corpses, hugging the cave floor, holding their breaths. She looked up. Fire licked at the surface above them, shattered slivers of debris punched through the flames, plunking into the water, and then floated and sank. Some of the slivers were actually fist-size chunks of debris.

The salt water stung her eyes, but she kept them open and fixed them on the oxygen tanks she’d shoved into the weakest section of the grate, straining to see the explosive charge she’d attached to it. It should give the tanks an
extra kick she prayed would be enough to blast a hole they could get through.

It should be enough.

She hadn’t gotten back to the computer in the mini-command center to tell Home Base what she’d learned about the weapons. The extra kick
had
to be enough.

She hadn’t even told Nathan. Nathan, who held her hand and though in crisis at this critical moment, still seemed strong and comforting. He believed they were going to die.

And he wanted to die touching her.

Deeply moved by the gesture, she felt the emotional burn, in its way as wild and unfettered as the fire raging over their heads above the water. It started in her chest, spread out and crawled up the back of her throat, seeped through her nose and stung her eyes. It was the most loving gesture she had ever experienced. And that it came from a man who had earned her respect and admiration, a man she craved to make love with, to be loved by, made the sensations all the sweeter, made the man only more endearing.

Above, the fire rolled over them, crackling and hissing so loudly the sound carried through the water. It blazed on toward the grate. Nathan squeezed her hand, pulled her closer, trying to shield her with his body. She looked over at him and stroked his face. He blinked once, slowly, deliberately, letting her know her unspoken message had been received and her feelings were returned.

Something heavy crashed. The ground beneath them shook. Andrews panicked and started to stand. Four sets of hands grabbed at him and pulled him back down.

The fire swept through to the grate, and Kate prayed harder than she’d ever prayed for anything in her life, call
ing for intercession by God, angels, guides—even Nathan’s former wife.
Emily, if you can help us, please. Please!

The oxygen canisters blew.

The charge fired.

And the bellow nearly shattered their eardrums. Debris flew, the gushing water turned to froth and the pressure lifted them all up off the cave floor. Grabbing and snagging, they helped each other, pushing and pulling one another back down to the bottom.

When things calmed to a roar, Kate motioned to Nathan that she was going to check. He reluctantly let go of her hand and she crept along the cave floor to the grate.

There was a hole in it below the waterline. A hole large enough for any of them to get through!

Hope soared in Kate’s chest and she rushed back to get the others. They surfaced, gasping to fill starving lungs. But the air churned with smoke and smut, offering little relief.

“Hold hands,” she said, moving to the front of the line. “Stay low to the bottom. It’s safest from falling rock and whatever else has been cut loose in here…Mathis, you doing all right?” In the worst shape of all, he looked ready to collapse.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m fine.” That will in his voice still sounded strong.

She nodded, and they sank in the water, then she led them through the grate.

On the other side, where the cave broadened and the water level dropped, they surfaced. Bits of rock were still falling from the cave walls. She took a breath of polluted air and choked. It was still thick and heavy with smoke, and likely would be for hours. She just hoped Kunz and
Sandross hadn’t released anything laced with bio or chemical weapons. Dealing with weapons of mass destruction right now was just more than she could take.

Kate looked back. “Is everyone still okay?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The two women answered simultaneously. Kate looked at Douglas. “We’re all okay, Captain.”

“Fine.” Nathan looked up at the rocks. Pebbles and baseball-size rocks peppered the water, signaling stress from the explosion had led to a serious amount of crumbling overhead. “Let’s move, Kate. This place isn’t stable.”

“Kunz is obliterating it,” she said, certain it was just a matter of time before it collapsed. Unfortunately, his obliterating also meant he wasn’t inside. Was Sandross?

“He doesn’t want S.A.S.S. to know what weapons he had here.”

Kate thought of the files, stomped through the water, and whispered to Nathan, “He had more than weapons stashed in this compound.”

Nathan looked over at her, silently asking.

“Files.” She stepped around a large rock that had fallen right in the middle of the passage. “Lots of them.”

“The doubles?” Nathan asked. When she nodded, he let his head loll back on his shoulders. “Damn it.”

“Maybe not,” Kate whispered cryptically.

He snapped up, looked at her. “Tell me.”

“Later,” she promised. She needed all of her attention and skills to tell him she’d sacrificed his life to transmit the files to Home Base. That wasn’t something you told someone in passing.

“Maybe the explosion didn’t blow up the weapons. Maybe it just got us. Kunz isn’t likely to blow himself up.”

Douglas answered Nathan. “The blast was too powerful, Commander. He took out the compound and half the damn hill.”

“Or more,” one of the women said.

“At least,” the second JAG agreed, scrambling around a ragged boulder. “But I’m with the major on this. Thomas Kunz isn’t going to blow himself up. The brutal bastard thinks he’s invincible and too damn smart to die.”

History would side with that woman, Kate thought.

“If he was here, he’s toast,” Mathis said. “And he was here. I talked to him.” He rubbed a cautious finger around his broken nose. It was bleeding again.

“Are you sure the man you talked to was Kunz?” Kate asked.

Mathis hesitated and then grumbled. “No. It could have been one of his clones. I talked to Douglas—or a guy I thought was Douglas who wasn’t. Maybe Kunz has a clone for himself, too. Hell, he probably has more than one.”

Oh, boy, did he. Kate kept her mouth shut, but felt strongly that odds favored the real Kunz never setting foot in this place. Yet, just as strongly, she believed only he could authorize blowing up such a significant arsenal. So he had communications with the cave compound. And she could’ve sworn he came after her while she was buried in the shallow grave. Kate was more confused than ever.

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. “Kate.” He swung around to face her. “The weapons. The bio and chemical.”

“Were fake,” she said. “I saw launchers with capability to carry them, but there were only three warheads. None were marked with his initials.”

“But they had bands,” Nathan countered. “I saw them myself.”

“They have to be empty or fake, Nathan. We’re still
here,” she clarified and then shrugged. “I guess he wants GRID to think he has more firepower for sale than he actually does. They feed on greed, remember? More money inspires more loyalty. The weapons with WMD capability had T.K. engraved on the casing. None of the warheads did.”

“Thank God.”

“Nathan, we’d have been dead within minutes of the blast.” If not within seconds.

“Yes.” He looked relieved to have realized it, shoved a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I just hadn’t gotten that far in my thinking yet.”

Tenderness swept through her. Maybe she had always known better than to hope for love. But whatever this was, this bond with Forester, it felt an awful lot like how she imagined love would feel. She gave him a gentle smile and caressed his arm. “You know GRID will be waiting for us when we leave the cave.”

His eyes grew solemn and he nodded. “We need a miracle.”

“Yes.” A miracle, a touch of luck, and damn good aim, Kate thought, and then spoke to the group. “Okay, everyone. Rest a minute and breathe deep. We’ve got a long haul out of here with no oxygen.”

“Kate, no,” Douglas objected. “We can’t do it.”

Several others mumbled their agreement. When they quieted, she went on. “Yes, we can. It won’t be easy, but it can be done, Douglas. And we’re going to do it.”

Douglas turned to Nathan. “Commander, do something.”

He looked from Douglas to Kate, held her gaze a long, unwavering moment. “She’s gotten you this far, Douglas. If you want to live, I suggest you shut up and continue to follow her.”

Douglas sighed deeply. “Yes, sir.”

Mathis turned to Kate. “In case I can’t make it, thanks, Captain.”

“You’ll make it, Mathis.” She shook his outstretched hand. “Even if I have to breathe for you.”

“There are more of us, you know.” This, from one of the women, the little redhead in her mid-thirties with two black eyes and choke marks ringing her neck.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know. But they can’t be far. They took them out yesterday afternoon. Sandross did. He was back within an hour, so it can’t be far.”

Douglas had an arm around Mathis’s waist, helping him move. “What do we do at the mouth of the cave?” he asked.

“Focus on getting everyone to air,” Nathan said. “Kate and I will take care of the rest.”

Kate nodded, and again they were all under water, swimming.

Just before the last bend to the cave’s mouth, Andrews stopped stroking. Kate swam back, grabbed his arm. Douglas had his hands full with Mathis, who couldn’t kick with his bum leg. And Nathan was scouting ahead, trying to clear the way of GRID assassins.

Kate held on tightly, moved to position Andrews so she could haul him, but he put his hand atop hers and shook his head, a grateful look filled with resignation.

Weak and worn, he couldn’t go on.

Kate emphatically nodded, refusing to accept that. He would go on, and they would make it out of here. She covered her mouth with his, pushed her breath into him, then dragged him with her through the remainder of the cave.

Her lungs burned, her muscles cramped, craving oxy
gen. Finally, they arrived at the mouth. She passed off Andrews to Nathan, swam out, and saw three divers waiting in ambush. Firing in rapid succession, Kate shot all three.

They’d never seen her coming.

Damn grateful for that, she motioned for the others to hurry. They swam out of the cave and kept swimming, passing her and Nathan.

They verified that the GRID operatives were dead—more men she didn’t recognize—and then started up to the surface together.

About fifteen feet down, Kate knew she was in trouble. Sharing her breath had been too much. She could see the surface, see the spangles of the sun playing on the water, could see…

Oh, hell. She was sinking.

Not now, please not now.
She tried to kick, but had no strength. Struggling, she commanded the meager threads of everything she had left to bind together and fight. She wanted to live. Her muscles gave out. She wanted to stretch and reach the surface. It was so close. So very close.

But there was nothing left in her. No energy. No threads. Nothing.

Her muscles shut down; she couldn’t kick or make her arms move. She couldn’t do anything but float. The light dimmed and her mind seemed to film with gauze she couldn’t tear through. Yet her last thought formed crystal-clear and held.

She was drowning.