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Tom’s got one of those serious voices. Professional to a fault, the man doesn’t waste words.
“I’m circling back around. Traffic’s thick.”
“Copy that. I’m notifying your team to delay. Greatest threat point is exiting the building.”
“Agreed.”
As I wait for the cars in front of me to pull out of their parking places, and the cars behind me to find a place to stop, I slowly inch forward through the congestion of the airport, dodging cars and impatient passengers rushing here and there with arms full of luggage, not looking where they’re going. It takes a little longer than I’d like for a car to pull away from the curb. I pull into the empty spot to wait.
Tom talks to both my team and myself, synchronizing our arrivals with expert precision.
It’s fate that my teammates are dressed in nondescript clothing—jeans and T-shirts—which is a relief given that we have no idea who might be waiting for our new client. I don’t like that they’re unarmed. Other than muscle, they don’t have much to offer as far as protection goes. Well, nothing except for extensive training.
“They should be here any moment.” Tom alerts me that my teammates are close.
Sure enough, within seconds, a woman exits arrivals with Rafe and Hayes walking with her in protective formation. Their movements are choreographed precisely and their attention is perfectly divided.
Rafe scans left. Hayes scans right. Alec hangs in the back, scanning forward and back. If there’s someone looking for our mysterious client, they don’t stand a chance against three Guardians.
Meanwhile, I pay attention to the nonstop flow of traffic, looking to see if we have any interested parties on our tail. The likelihood of that is slim to none, considering nobody knows to look for us. However, there could be someone circling the airport, waiting to pounce on our mystery guest. We’re paid to be paranoid for good reason.
Tom continues on the line giving instructions. Some of what he says makes me roll my eyes. When he instructs me to “Keep an eye out for anyone tailing me; they may try to blend in with the crowd and follow.” It’s about all I can do not to lash out and rip him a new one.
I can do this in my sleep.
Tom continues babbling away, telling me how to do my job. If I could, I’d reach through the phone and strangle him. Instead, I keep up the steady drumbeat on the steering wheel.
“If someone looks suspicious or familiar, alert me immediately.” Tension vibrates in Tom’s voice, indicating strain. Where does that tension come from? Is this his first op? How high profile is the client? Maybe a bit of both?
“Copy that.” I keep my tone level while grinding my molars together.
The back door opens. Rafe slides in first and scoots all the way to the other side. The woman is second. Hayes is last. He slides in and closes the door. Alec wanders around the back of the vehicle, doing one last scan of the crowd around us. He opens the passenger door and gets in.
“We’re good to go.” Alec secures his seatbelt as I ease back into traffic.
“On our way.” My comment’s for Tom, who listens on the other end of our call.
“I’m sending the route.” Far less strain vibrates in his voice. It’s as if I hear him visibly relax. “You notice anything out of the ordinary…”
“Tom, this ain’t my first fucking rodeo.” Tom officially reached the end of my patience. “I know what to do. Your job is to take care of any kinks along the way. How far out are we from Chase?”
“He’s past the traffic accident and making good time. I’ve located a place for you to make the exchange.”
I turn to our guest, who’s as still as a statue turned to stone. Not to mention mute. I expect some form of communication, but not one word? Makes me wonder who she is and what she’s running from?
“Nice to meet you, Miss…” I wait for her to supply a name, but Miss Mystery keeps her lips closed and shrinks back in her seat. I continue on as if it’s what I intended all along.
The rest of the ride is silent, other than occasional instructions over the speakerphone from our friendly tech geek, Tom. The rush of traffic outside the car window—bores me.
Is it bad I hope for something a bit more exciting? What I wouldn’t give to shake off a tail? A bit of defensive driving sounds like fun, but no luck.
I transition from city streets to the freeway, and then I spot it. Someone following.
At first, I’m not sure, but after double-checking in the rearview mirror, there’s a car that follows.
“Check out the tan sedan.” I elbow Alec, getting his attention. “Five cars back. It’s made our last four turns.”
Neither Rafe, nor Hayes, react. We don’t want whoever’s following us to know we’re onto them. Alec uses the passenger side mirror to check out the suspicious car.
