Deceptive Treasures: Slye Temp Book 5 Read online

  H.P. explained, “It appears someone betrayed the plan.”

  Who would have done that? If the DPRK knew about the defection, the men would have been shot on sight or captured and thrown in a prison camp at minimum.

  Had Wayan caught wind of this operation?

  Wayan was a high-ranking Chinese dignitary, but he was also a fanatic searching for five artifacts that he—and a squirrely group known as the Orion Hunters—believed prophesized a final conflict, aka World War III.

  The crap some people put their faith in was amazing.

  When one of The General’s associates, a CIA spook he’d activated for “special” jobs, stumbled on the Orion group two years ago, The General tapped resources with deep pockets to track down one of the five artifacts. Then he’d used that carrot to open a dialogue with Wayan and form their private, secret boy’s club—Czarion.

  Or it had been a boy’s club and secret before that damned Chatton came strutting in out of the blue.

  She possessed one of the five rare artifacts and used that to coerce her way inside Czarion, so they were now a trio. She was a British ghost who had destroyed any trail to her true identity, but he and Wayan knew she’d been MI6 at one time. Maybe still was.

  And he doubted that she believed the Orion Hunter prophecy mumbo jumbo any more than he did.

  Wayan was the true fanatic, a nutcase just dangerous enough to start a war based on a bunch of ancient writing.

  “Sir? What now?” H.P. didn’t know him as The General, because he wasn’t actually a general. That was just a moniker he used primarily with Wayan and Chatton.

  “Get your hands on those physicists as soon as they hit US soil. I don’t want anyone else talking to them until I’ve had them questioned.” Getting them to Len Rikker now would be tricky. Rikker was yet another spook—former CIA—and Wayan had paid to save him when he got captured in the UK two years back.

  H.P.’s smooth forehead folded into a frown. “But, sir, they believe they’re defecting.”

  “Of course they’re defecting,” The General reassured his pussy state guy. “But I need to know this isn’t a plan for North Korea to game us. Once my people have a chance to talk to them and are convinced they will provide significant information, we’ll give them asylum and put them in protective custody.”

  H.P. was writing notes on that little notepad he carried everywhere instead of an electronic device. He said, “I see. Very good. We do need to debrief them as soon as they arrive and once they understand protective custody they’ll feel safe.”

  The General gave an abrupt head nod that dismissed H.P.

  Debrief? Yeah, those two would be debriefed in the bowels of Quantico. He wanted to make sure the Norks had the information they claimed and had no chance of accusing the US of kidnapping them.

  That would start an international conflict that would bring China and Russia into the picture.

  Anything was possible when dealing with someone from the DPRK.

  The physicists had no worries about being safe. They’d never walk free again to be a target since this entire operation was off the books.

  There would be no one to complain to since those two were not entering this country through diplomatic channels.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jin focused on the airport runway in the distance as she came closer to Los Angeles, California where it was half past one in the morning. Soon she would be handed off without another thought.

  Cast aside once again.

  She forced her lungs to work past the panic and breathe. Clutching her hands together, she twisted her fingers in and out of her grip, but the shaking would not cease. The handcuffs were not tight enough to cut into her skin. Bo had checked carefully when he’d put them back on after she’d awakened.

  The drug Bo’s medic had given her was wearing off, allowing fear to crawl through her mind, but she would hide her weakness this time. When he’d taken her into his arms on the way here, she’d hated allowing him to see her that way, but anxiety had given over quickly to exhaustion once she allowed herself to be comforted.

  In that moment, her heart had taken a step out of darkness and into the sunshine.

  Between the safety of his arms and the drug he’d convinced her to take a while later, she’d spent the flight asleep and awakened ready to make a decision that weighed on her.

  She had planned to tell Bo about the people who had controlled her life since the age of seven. The same evil organization that intended to execute a deadly plan in America. She’d made a mistake and started to believe in Bo. Until meeting him, Jin had expected to fight the organization on her own and destroy their plan by finding and freeing her sister. But after that harrowing escape from North Korea, Jin had started to believe she’d found one man she could trust. One man who absolutely was not connected to the organization she ran from. It was a gut-wrenching leap of faith, since they infiltrated North Korea and other countries, including America.

  She’d even forgiven Bo for handcuffing her when they’d first boarded the airplane.

  That forgiveness had come too soon.

  Her mother’s words of warning whispered in her mind. You must not trust men or forgive a man of any misdeed, Soo Jin. Your heart is too soft.

  But Jin had argued that every man could not be bad.

  Her mother had grudgingly agreed, yet still told Jin she would not be able to judge a man’s true character until she was much older.

  She’d realized her mother had the right of it when Jin had awakened to find her hands bound once more. Bo had handcuffed her again, while she was in the deep, drug-induced sleep.

  Was it so wrong to want someone to turn to, someone to lean on for once in her life?

  Jin had been fighting to survive for so long, she didn’t know how to live any other way. For a moment, she’d weakened, wanted to stop fighting, but that was not wise.

  Jin had argued with their adoptive parents when her sister had been forced to give up her birth name for the more American-sounding Patty. Patty needed an American name because she had been groomed for a different job than Jin’s.

  That argument had cost Jin a beating.

  Patty had pretended she was fine with the name, and with her life, but Jin knew the truth. Patty harbored a deep hurt over their mother’s decision to trade them to the Chinese couple for money to pay for medical care, even though breast cancer was killing their pretty mother.

  But Patty still believed they were sold.

  Jin suffered a guilty moment, because she’d had moments of doubt herself. They were never allowed to contact their mother again, but two years ago while attending a special class for her research, Jin had learned the truth. She met a woman she’d known as a child. That woman said Jin’s mother had died eight months after Jin last saw her. But this woman had shared news that Jin could not wait to tell her sister. Their mother, when she realized she would not live, had given the money she’d received from the Chinese couple to a destitute family.

  Patty would finally be able to forgive her mother.

  Then she and Jin would hold their own funeral to say goodbye.

  Jin’s eyes burned with the threat of tears she would not let fall. The two white ribbons made of hemp to wear in their hair and two hanboks, traditional black dresses for a funeral, had been left behind. She’d scavenged them before and would find a way to obtain appropriate mourning clothes again, once she rescued Patty.

  “How are you doing?”

  Jin jerked up at the woman’s voice and gave a knee jerk answer. “I am fine.”

  This woman had been the one to take her into a hotel room back in Seoul. A part of Jin, her undependable over-trusting heart, prodded her to be friendly. She needed a different ally since Bo was not consistent in his actions. He could not be trusted.

  “Mind if I sit here while we land?” the woman asked. She was tall and had dark auburn hair cut in a loose style that fell around her neck and ears.

  “Sit if you want.” Jin�
�s gaze slipped past the woman and landed on Bo, who was talking to one of his men.

  Why did looking at him make her heart hurt?

  Because she still wanted to tell him what she knew, but now that he’d handcuffed her it was clear that she’d have to wait to share anything. She would need that information to negotiate for her sister’s life.

  The minute she told his government what she knew, which she would do because she would not allow innocent people to die, the US government would lock Jin up.

  And then she would die, because an assassin would be sent to kill the traitor and this government could not prevent it.

  When the woman fell quiet after sitting down, Jin glanced at her and asked, “What will happen here?”

  “We land, fuel and take off again for Atlanta.”

  Clammy chills covered Jin’s skin at the idea of flying another few hours. She stared out the window again, trying to make the airplane land faster, and muttered, “Death would be easier.”

  “Our medic can give you another sedative for the next leg,” the woman suggested.

  “No.” Jin cut her eyes at the woman and softened her tone. “Thank you, but no. I do not like drugs.”

  More than that, she had to be alert in case this was where she would escape.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Gulfstream settled into its landing pattern for Los Angeles International Airport, runways a pattern of bright lights beneath black skies at two in the morning.

  Tanner fought off fatigue. He should have slept, but he kept worrying about Jin. Even now, he cut a glance down the cabin at Margaux.

  She’d taken the seat across from Jin to help their prisoner through the descent. Halfway here, Blade had given Jin something for anxiety after she woke in terror, flailing at the covers where her feet were entangled.

  Tanner had gotten to her first and gently shaken her awake, then talked her into taking the pill Blade offered.

  And it seemed everyone had noticed his quick attention to their tunnel-guide-turned-prisoner.

  While she’d slept, he’d cuffed her again. He’d known the minute she’d been alert and had suffered a blast of guilt when—glutton for punishment that he was—he’d met her gaze that had accused him of betrayal.

  Then her pale skin had turned green with her fear of flying, but one look had told him not to make the mistake of touching her.

  When Margaux offered to sit out the last thirty minutes of the flight across from Jin to help her make the transition through landing, Tanner had waved her off with, “Suit yourself.”

  She’d muttered, “Not fooling me, cowboy,” as she passed him on her way to the back.

  Jin was in trouble up to her delicate neck. He wouldn’t apologize or take any flack for comforting her when she’d panicked any more than he would for soothing a frightened animal.

  A mild mechanical groan announced the landing gear dropping into place.

  Blade came walking up from the rear compartment where he’d been for the last half hour with Har and Pang.

  Blade had asked Tanner to bring Pang back to help him communicate with Har, who’d gotten airsick half way through the flight. The three had remained in Har’s area since then.

  Blade grabbed the corners of armchairs and sofas to keep his balance until he dropped down beside Tanner. “We got a problem.”

  Four words that unleashed Tanner’s adrenaline, but he kept his gut-clench reaction locked down. “What?”

  “Har’s still throwing up and I have no idea if he has food poisoning or what, because he isn’t making any sense and doesn’t have a fever. He ate the same food as Pang when we were in Seoul and during the flight.”

  “Maybe he’s got an allergy no one put in the documents.”

  Blade stared off and continued talking, thinking out loud. “I went over their basic medical history as soon as we took off, and Har claimed no allergies. Pang doesn’t know any personal details on Har. I can hydrate him, but his symptoms are getting worse even though I gave him a shot for his nausea. I’m not going to have enough IV to make another flight if he gets worse, and I need to stabilize him before he goes airborne again.”

  “You think it’s real?” Sure, that sounded cold, but Tanner had learned the hard way years ago to not trust any surprise.

  Sweat ran down Blade’s forehead. He swiped at it. “From all I can tell, it’s real or, at least, the symptoms are real. Pang translated. Har said he has an irregular heartbeat. Hell, he might be having a heart attack, but I’d need an EKG to confirm it. He’d have to be a hell of an actor to pull this off.”

  Tanner had to agree with Blade.

  They were talking about Har after all.

  And though they all called him “medic” on these ops, Blade got his nickname because he was actually a crazy-gifted surgeon.

  Nick and Dingo walked up as the Gulfstream touched down. Tanner caught them up on the newest crisis since this mission couldn’t seem to continue without one. He started issuing instructions.

  “Nick, we need three vehicles and the closest Slye safe house.”

  Lifting a phone to his ear, Nick backed away, going to work.

  Dingo was already tapping on his tablet as Blade dictated a list of medical supplies. He’d send the order ahead with Blade’s credentials so it would be ready for pickup. As soon as they finished the pharmaceutical shopping list, complete with all the required authorization for the supplies, Tanner continued mapping out their new game plan.

  “Dingo picks up what Blade needs and food. Nick will go ahead and clear the safe house. Blade and I’ll transport our Koreans.”

  Nick walked up. “SUVs will be here by the time the pilot shuts down the engines. Closest safe house to LAX is about three miles away near a quiet industrial area. Not much to look at, but I’ve used it before. It’s sound.”

  Tanner needed somewhere secure only for today. “I’ll call Sabrina as soon as everyone is set. Wouldn’t want to interrupt her bitching about this to deal with logistics.”

  Dingo cast a critical look back in Jin’s direction. “Speaking of problem females, what are you going to do with that one?”

  Like there was anything but questions on her destiny? Tanner only had one answer. “Hand her over to the State Department. Why? You got another idea?”

  “I think something’s not right about her and how she showed up.”

  Tanner agreed, but wanted to hear the rest of Dingo’s thoughts. “What’re you thinking?”

  Dingo’s body wove slightly, adjusting as the jet slowed and turned. “That woman should be asking a ton of questions and trying to find out what happens next. She’s hardly spoken to anyone, except you and a few words to Margaux.”

  And she was no longer talking to Tanner at all, based on the frigid looks she’d sent his way.

  Dingo had just voiced the very issues banging around inside Tanner’s skull, but that brought up the same concern about the other two. “I’m not so sure about Har or Pang either.”

  Dingo raked a hand over the wild, half-inch-long hair that stuck out all over his head. His mouth twisted up on one side. “Blade and Nick both said Har has asked questions the whole time. Pang doesn’t, but he’s probably getting his answers via Har’s questions. You’re right, though. Blade went through the usual debrief with Pang and said he didn’t appear overly excited to be out of North Korea. Things are off with this bunch.”

  A lot of things weren’t right, especially about Jin, but Margaux had made sure Jin was clean of any electronics before she gave her the warm-ups to put on. Blade had searched the two physicists.

  Tanner didn’t have answers and still had a job to do.

  He gave his head a quick shake. “Not our problem. We deliver these three and someone else figures out the puzzle.”

  From the back compartment, Pang called, “He is sick again. Hurry!”

  Blade took off fast as the jet rolled across the runway and paused, waiting to be told by the tower when to cross a busy section.

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sp; Nick and Dingo huddled off to the side, deciding on food and whatever else they needed. Knowing Nick, additional ammo would be on that list.

  Tanner strode back to where Margaux was leaning forward over Jin, blocking his view of Jin’s face.

  “You two set?” Tanner was ready to be done with the headache of these three. Keep telling yourself that, buddy. Okay, so he wasn’t ready to hand over Jin, but sometimes his job sucked. That didn’t change the fact that he still had to do it.

  Margaux stood and stepped to the side to face him.

  Jin tilted her head back, gazing at Tanner. Why did she have to look so damned vulnerable sitting there?

  “What’s up, cowboy?” Margaux asked.

  Glad to shift his thoughts to something that didn’t eat up his insides, he gave her a head nod to follow him forward. They met Logan midship.

  Tanner explained, “We’ve got to move to a safe house and let Blade stabilize Har.”

  Margaux said, “I heard him coughing up his cookies. At least Jin didn’t get toilet-hugging sick. You’d have been cleaning that up. I’m no Florence Nightingale.”

  No truer words had been spoken. The Duke’s bedside manner would start with, “Don’t be a pussy,” and end with, “Do I look like a fucking nursemaid?”

  She did ask, “Think Har needs a hospital?”

  “I hope not, but that would cap off this goatfuck of a trip.”

  Margaux had never met an F-bomb she wouldn’t drop. She smiled with understanding. “That much fun, huh?”

  The team had been running hard for two days. Between jet lag from flying in both directions and hours of adrenaline overload, Tanner felt as if he’d been shoved in a cement mixer turned on high. “Yep, more fun than any one person deserves.”

  Logan’s mouth twisted with grim concern. “How long will you need before we can fly to Atlanta?”

  “I couldn’t even guess at this point. You can refuel and go on. With any luck, we can fly out by the time Sabrina sends us a ride from headquarters. I’m going to see if there’s any chance we can hand those two off to the State Department here, but this is that IOU deal Slye made with the government so who knows?”