Enemy Mine (19 page)

The oval meadow was two miles long, with jungle on all sides. Kathy noted many animal paths branching off the main trail that ran down the center of the field. Were they paths to freedom? Maybe one would lead her and Sophie out of here.

Hector finally settled down, and Mac pulled him to a walk next to General. “Nice area, isn’t it?” He saw how light Kathy’s eyes had become. She looked utterly relaxed for the first time.

“It’s beautiful! I’m so glad we have this meadow to ride in.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen it all yet,” Mac said, gesturing to the far end. “There’s more beyond this.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, come on, I’ll show you.”

The clouds were lifting higher and higher as the sun burned them off. When the riders approached the end of the meadow, Mac took the lead.

“Follow us,” he called over his shoulder as he urged Hector down a narrow path through the thick jungle.

Frowning, Kathy positioned Tiki and her pony behind General. The little girl was having the time of her life and, lucky for her, the pony knew to follow nose-to-tail on the narrow trail.

They walked down a steep embankment, after which the trail curved sharply. The horses dug in their hooves and shifted their weight to their rear legs to keep from falling on their noses. Alarmed at the steepness, Kathy twisted around in the saddle to make sure that Tiki was all right. The little girl was a natural rider and seemed overjoyed at the challenge.

Suddenly, the trail reached another meadow. As Kathy emerged from the tree line, her attention was fixed on Tiki and her pony. She didn’t see what was parked there until she lifted her head, and then she gasped. A dark green, U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopter sat on a concrete pad right in front of them. Obviously, this meadow had been hacked out of the jungle with a lot of machete work, to make room for this bird. A Blackhawk! Her heart pounded. She knew how to fly it!

“You recognize it?” Mac asked, staring so deep into her soul that she had to glance away.

“It’s a Blackhawk, isn’t it?”

“Bingo.”

“What’s it doing here? It’s not a commercial helicopter, is it?” Kathy couldn’t believe her eyes. Her heart pounded with excitement. This was her escape vehicle!

Chuckling, Mac said, “It’s the
patrón
’s secret escape helicopter. He bought it from a foreign country, uh, sort of on the sly, so to speak.”

There were no markings on the helo, and Kathy saw it had weapons on board. “Wow,” she muttered. “This is a real surprise.” And it was. The best kind of surprise. She stilled her desire to kick General forward, dismount and check out the bird more closely. No one could know that she was trained to fly a Blackhawk. No one. Yet her hands itched to climb in and refamiliarize herself with the controls. How she missed flying.

“Yeah, it’s impressive, isn’t it?” Mac had witnessed the look on Kathy’s face when she’d first seen the helo.
Shock
would be the word he’d use to describe it. And then her face had flushed, her cheeks becoming a bright pink. There was a new, intense interest in her eyes as she examined the chopper, and she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away.

“More than impressive.” Kathy gulped. “Do you fly it?”

“Yeah, I can and do. It doesn’t lift off often for a lot of reasons, but I do maintenance flights to keep everything on-line and up to speed.”

“Does anyone else at the villa know how to fly it?”

Mac shook his head.

“You must have gotten your training in the military to know how to pilot it?” Kathy tried to keep her tone light, but she was dying to know. She saw Mac give her a slight smile.

“I was in the U.S. Army for a while.” Well, that was a lie, but that was his cover story.

“And you flew Blackhawks….” Kathy said, awed. Oh, this was too good to be true. She had a way to escape now! If Mac was the only one who could fly the bird, then she only had him to worry about when she
made her escape attempt with Sophie. And the helo was armed. That was even better, for the Bell helicopter was a standard commercial type and had no armaments. It couldn’t be used to shoot the Blackhawk down.

“Yes, well, you know why the
patrón
bought one with rockets, missiles and a cannon on it?”

“No,” Kathy said. “I don’t.” She stopped and let Tiki ride around her. The little girl smiled and guided the pony with ease.

“Remember you asked me about that black, unmarked Apache helicopter you saw on the trail during your test?”

“Yes?”

Mac decided to level with her. “There’s a U.S. Army black ops group that flies around this area.” He halted Hector and Sophie seemed content to sit quietly behind him and watch Tiki ride her pony.

She frowned. “Oh?” A U.S. black ops? Here? She hadn’t known about it. So many operations were compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis. Kathy figured that was why Patrick hadn’t known about it before she initiated this mission.

“Yeah,” Mac said, “they’re stationed about fifty miles from here. They use a cave inside a mountain as their base. Everyone knows about them, but no one challenges them. The Peruvian government knows they’re here, too.”

“But why are they here?”

“They interdict drug flights that originate in Peru, and stop them from flying out of the country.” He saw the surprise in her eyes.

Mac didn’t want to say much more. “Anyway, the
reason I’m telling you this is that it’s also known that, to counter their presence, some drug lords have bought Russian made Ka-50 Black Shark combat helicopters, and hired mercenary pilots who know how to use them. They even the odds against the Apache gunships.”

All this was news to her. Gulping, Kathy said, “I’ve never seen any of them around here except on that trail.”

“You probably never will.” Mac pointed behind them, in the direction of Agua Caliente. “No one plays out their stealth and dagger games around a global tourist spot like Machu Picchu. All the war games go on down below, about thirty miles from here. No one wants tourists going home and telling the newspapers they saw armed helicopters from the U.S. or unmarked Russian ones flying near the temple complex.” He grinned wryly. “Wouldn’t be good press for either side, you know?”

Swallowing her surprise, Kathy couldn’t tear her gaze from the Blackhawk. “That makes sense, I guess. But I had no idea…” She waved helplessly toward the bird.

In truth, she wanted to yell, to jump up and down for joy, but she didn’t dare. Mac Coulter was her enemy, whether she wanted to remember that or not. If she tried to make a break and escape, he would be the only person who could stop her.

I
T WAS TIME
. Dressed all in black, Kathy tiptoed along the hallway toward Therese’s office. It was 0200, deep in the night. The villa and its inhabitants, save for the guards on the perimeter walls, were asleep. The guards that hung around during the day didn’t stay in the building at night. That made it easier for Kathy to sneak into Therese’s office.

Heart thumping hard, adrenaline pouring into her veins, she slowed as she came to the closed door at the end of the hall. Yesterday, Therese had left a small notebook open on her desk. Kathy had seen the words
Computer Codes
written at the top of the page. In the woman’s absence, Kathy had memorized the five passwords scrawled inside. One of them had to open that file she wanted. It had to!

Two weeks had flown by since her stay in Cuzco. Life was settling down into a happy routine for everyone. Buying the horses had been a stroke of genius, Kathy thought as she flattened her back against the wall and waited. Garcia was spending more time with his daughter as she practiced on her pony. Even more surprising, he was riding General from time to time, with
Tiki in front of him on the saddle. Father and daughter had never laughed so much or been so happy. It further eroded Kathy’s determination to get even. Looking into that child’s happy eyes, how could she want to hurt her? She didn’t. And she couldn’t.

Kathy had resolved to avenge her family another way: by getting that file with the drug dealers’ names and handing it over to the DEA or the CIA. Maybe it wasn’t the revenge she’d envisioned originally, but it was a way to take Garcia down.

Keying her hearing, she heard no sounds out of place. She pulled the key out of her pocket and hesitated. Was she hearing things? A muffled sound, nothing sharp or noisy. Just…Frowning, she continued to listen. Had the noise come from within Therese’s office? It was windy outside and thunderstorms were marching across the jungle tonight.

Wiping her mouth, Kathy glanced back down the hall. No sign of movement. No guards…
Good.
She eased the key into the lock and gently twisted it. Holding her breath, she reached out with her other hand and grasped the cool brass doorknob. Very slowly she turned it. Releasing a slow breath, Kathy slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.

“Hold it….”

Kathy gasped and whirled around. Her eyes widened.

“Mac!” she whispered. “What are
you
doing here?” He was dressed in a black, form-fitting suit. Though he wore a balaclava over his head, she recognized him from his eyes, the only part of his face that was visible. He was holding a pistol—pointed at her. Pulse pound
ing, she pressed herself against the door. Kathy had no weapon. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. Mouth dry, she repeated, “What are you doing here?”

Mac eyed her. She was frightened, no doubt. He saw no weapons on her. Pushing back the balaclava so that it fell behind his neck, he kept the pistol trained on her. “I should ask you the same thing.”

Kathy saw that the laptop on the desk was open and running. Her gaze flicked to it and then to his grim features. There was a night-light that barely broke the darkness. The light from the laptop made his glistening features look hard and ghostlike. “You’re breaking into Therese’s laptop.” Why? Who
was
he? She saw his eyes narrow, and the gun didn’t waver. Would he shoot her? She saw a silencer on the weapon. He could shoot her and no one would hear the bullet being fired.
Oh, God…

“And you were coming here to do what? Some late-night typing for Therese? At 2:00 a.m.?”

She didn’t like the lopsided grin on his face or the innuendo in his voice. Frowning, she growled in a hushed tone, “I’m not saying anything until I know who you really are!”

Mac nodded. “Okay, you first.”

Her breathing shallow and hard, Kathy glared at him. “No way! You’re working for a drug lord and I know you know that! You’re in cahoots with him!” His smile didn’t change. Right now, Mac Coulter was a hellish adversary.

Kathy rapidly considered her options. He was too far away for a karate punch. He had a gun and she didn’t. Dammit, why hadn’t she thought of that? She had two in her bedroom. Why didn’t she wear one? The guards
would think nothing of it. After all, she was Tiki’s bodyguard, and it would be expected. She’d screwed up, royally. She’d gotten too complacent over time.

“Who are you working for?” Mac demanded. He didn’t like aiming the pistol at her, but there was nothing else he could do. Seeing the rage and then the frustration in her deeply shadowed face, he wondered if she was his enemy. If so, he was going to have to get rid of her—permanently—or his cover was blown. This was messy. Mac hadn’t expected anyone to be in the office. From time to time, he’d sneak in, jimmy the lock and try to find out where Therese kept the information on the drug lords and shipping routes. He knew it was in her laptop. Finding the password had been a slow process over the last year, because Mac obviously couldn’t be caught in here. Tonight he’d located the file—finally—and then Kathy had come into the office. He still didn’t have the password, however. Grimly, he held her belligerent stare.

“I don’t have to tell you a damn thing, Coulter. If that’s who you really are,” she spat out. Again, she saw that one-cornered smile. It didn’t quite reach his glittering gray eyes. That pistol didn’t waver, a fierce reminder that she was in way over her head. What had made her think she could ever pull off this mission? And look who had stopped her! The man she’d least suspected.

“You’d better tell me or you aren’t going to live to see the dawn,” he drawled. Her eyes widened, and he saw her tremble.

“You’re the enemy!”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Dammit, you work for
him!
” Kathy stabbed her finger toward the villa, where Garcia was sleeping.

“Keep your voice down,” Mac ordered her harshly. She was shaking now. From fear? He wasn’t sure. Standing tensely, her fists at her side, he clearly saw the rage and frustration in Kathy’s expression. Even hatred. Toward him? Garcia?

“Why the hell should I trust you, Coulter? You fly for that son of a bitch!”

Lifting his chin, he asked, “Is that why you’re here? To get even with him?”

Stunned by his insight, Kathy gulped. She wiped the perspiration from her face. “I’m saying nothing.”

“You’re an American spy.”

His accusation felt like a slap in the face. And he’d said it like a statement of fact. Should she trust him? Heart racing, feeling shaky with the surge of adrenaline, Kathy stood there, uncertain. She wanted to trust him. Her mind raced over all the times Mac had been kind and thoughtful to her and the children. Especially the children. Tilting her head, she looked deep into his hardened gray eyes. “I can’t believe
you’re
not an American agent.”

“What would make you think that?” Mac saw every fleeting expression on her pale face.

“You’re good with the kids.”

The corners of his mouth lifted. “That’s a helluva way to decide if someone is your friend or not.”

“Women’s intuition, dammit!” she flared. “Who are you?”

“Like I said—you go first. Are you an American
agent or not?” Her life depended upon her answer. Mac listened for other sounds. They were in a highly delicate position here in this office—two spies tripping over one another unexpectedly. “How do I know you’re not a mole Garcia planted?” he demanded darkly.

“Oh, give me a break, Coulter! I wouldn’t work with that bastard if my life depended on it!”

“Well, your life
does
depend on it.”

Glaring at him, Kathy snarled, “Okay, I’m here on a mission. I’m here to bring the bastard down.”

Relief sheeted through Mac. He was damn glad this room was not bugged. “What agency are you working with?”

“None,” Kathy barked. “I did this on my own.”

Surprised, Mac kept the pistol trained on her. Her eyes were round with righteous anger. “That’s impossible. No one gets this far up into this drug ring without outside help.”

“Okay, so I had a little help from a SEAL buddy of mine. They had the intel I needed to break into Garcia’s little world.”

Stymied, Mac stared at her. “You’re military?”

“Yeah, I’m a U.S. Marine, mister.”

“I’ll be damned.” Mac grinned tightly and lowered the pistol. He saw her visibly sag against the door. “A Marine, of all things. Well, you certainly tripped me up on that one. I thought you might be a spy, but I never suspected the angle you were coming from.”

“Now tell me who you are.”

“I’m on your side,” Mac said briskly.

“You aren’t telling me?” Kathy demanded, stunned.

“No. Need-to-know basis only.” He slid the pistol back into the shoulder holster beneath his left rib cage. “We’re friendlies. That’s all I’ll give you. If Garcia tortures you, you can’t tell him a thing about me.”

That made sense. Easing away from the door, Kathy walked toward the desk he stood behind. “Okay, I’ll buy it for now.” She pointed to the laptop. “What were you doing?”

Mac sat down and pulled the computer toward him. “I’ve just located the file I’ve been looking for.”

Kathy came to the side of the desk. She wasn’t sure about Mac Coulter. She wanted to believe that he was the good guy he said he was. Yet she had no proof except that he’d put his pistol away. Was it a ruse? When she wasn’t looking, would he put the silencer to her head and pull the trigger? She didn’t want to get any closer to him. “I have five passwords you can try to open it with. That’s why I came here tonight. Therese has a little black book that she keeps in a safe. She was in a hurry and left it on her desk today after she asked me to do some filing.” Grinning, Kathy said, “I peeked into it.”

Mac smiled back. “Good thinking. Give them to me and I’ll try each one. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

He looked up at her. Her heartbeat was beginning to slow, the danger past. Strands of his dark hair lay across his perspiring brow. “Okay. But what will you do with the intel if you get it?”

Pulling a CD from his pocket, Mac put it into the laptop. “When I fly to Cuzco tomorrow around 1000, I’ll pass it to my handler. From there, the intel will be sent back to Washington, D.C., for reconstruction.”

It all sounded good. “What if you’re working for another drug lord?”

Mac barely smiled. “Not my style.”

Stubbornly, Kathy whispered, “You have shown me no identification, no proof that you really work for a U.S. agency. Why should I trust you?”

“Because I put the pistol away instead of shooting you.”

Staring down at him, at that crooked smile on his mouth, Kathy snorted in frustration. “All right, all right.” She gave him the first password.

As Mac typed it in, he held his breath. “The first one doesn’t work. What’s the second one?”

Kathy gave him the next password. She watched his rugged profile, the light making his face look harsh and strong. Her gaze fell to that pursed mouth of his as he intently typed in the word.

“Bingo!”

Heart leaping, Kathy eased around the desk and looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the file opened. Her eyes widened as the information popped up on the screen. “Wow. Look at that….” She pointed to the monitor.

Mac nodded and perused the information. “This is a gold mine,” he rasped. Once he quickly copied the file, he moved it to the CD to burn. The machine whirred to life. Sitting back, he angled a glance up at her. “Nice work.”

She was so beautiful. He had a thousand questions for her, but this wasn’t the time or place to ask any of them. They were both in grave danger, being here. If discovered, their lives would be over in seconds.

“Why don’t you go now?” Mac suggested. “We can’t leave together.”

Kathy straightened. Here came the next test. If Coulter was a foreign agent and not one from the U.S., he’d put a bullet into her. Wiping her brow, she stepped away from him. There was no way to get to his pistol, which was tucked beneath his left arm. “You just want me to go back to my villa?”

“That’s right. Go back and go to sleep. Tomorrow, act as if nothing happened here tonight. Talk to no one, Kathy.” And then he smiled again. “Is that your
real
name?”

“Need-to-know basis only, Mr. Coulter. Right now, I trust you about as far as I can throw you.”

Chuckling, Mac said, “That isn’t far.” He couldn’t blame her. He saw the suspicion and questions in her eyes.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Now that you have the file, does this mean you’re gone?” She gestured toward the laptop. Out of her life forever?

“No,” Mac said, shaking his head.

“So, you’ll be around after this?”

“Yeah.”

“My own mission is complete with that file going to the Pentagon.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“We need to get Sophie out of here. That’s the last thing I’ve got to do before I leave.” She searched his sweaty features. The tension between them was palpable. “Can you help me do that? Get Sophie back to her parents?”

“Maybe,” Mac said heavily. “Let me think on it. I’ll contact you in about a week with some possibilities. No promises, though.”

Relief flowed through her. She moved toward the door, listening for the snap of his shoulder harness. She walked lightly, waiting for him to pull out his pistol. As Kathy reached the door, she saw him stand, take the CD, slide it back into his thigh pocket, then shut off the laptop. He wore latex gloves so as not to leave prints. She hadn’t worn gloves, she realized. But then, her fingerprints were on that laptop daily, so no one would suspect her. If they found Mac’s prints on it, he’d be in trouble for sure.

Hand on the knob, Kathy gave him one last look. The expression on his face was one of pure satisfaction. “When will I see you?” she demanded in a whisper. “For Sophie’s sake?”

Mac lowered the lid of the laptop. Looking over at her in the shadows, he said, “As soon as I can make things happen. Now, get out of here….”

S
LEEP NEVER CAME
. Kathy lay in her bed, tossing and turning, her mind churning with thousands of questions. Mac Coulter was an American agent of some kind! Who did he work for? Could he really help her get Sophie out of here and back to her parents’ arms? At this point, Kathy wanted nothing else but that.