The Perfect Clone (27 page)

Mr. Avery’s voice sounded calm considering what she’d just told him. “Stake it out and gather what details you can. I want a face to face with you as soon as you’ve acquired more information.”

“I’ll gather what I can out here and report back to you, but it’s going to take some internal digging as well.” Cara hated doing stake outs. They were part of the job, but the boredom of just sitting grated on her nerves.

“We’ll discuss the details when you get in. For now, take advantage of the situation and do some digging.”

Cara’s deeply altered voice replied. “Roger that.”

Mr. Avery ended the call. Jessie slid the computer over and shut down the connection.

Talking to Jessie but directing the words to no one, Cara stated the obvious. “It seems the dam has sprung a leak. We need to plug it.”

Jessie offered up his own thoughts. “Let’s hope it’s just a single leak and not indicative of more to follow.”

Cara stared at the man sitting next to her. “Yeah, let’s hope.”

*********

Pebbles crushed under the weight of the black sedan as it coasted down the old abandoned logging road.

“There’s a cattle guard on the left, drive over it and we can ditch the car in that field behind the tree line.” Cara recalled having done the same thing last time she’d been here.

Luke parked the car then stepped out onto the frost covered grass. The trees had shed most of their greenery already, but the brown wisteria vines that had twisted and wrapped around the trees during the summer still provided a decent amount of cover. The smell of snow filled his lungs. Luke thought about the last time he’d seen snow.

He remembered a glistening white blanket covering the Earth’s surface and thinking that the snow crystals sparkled like diamonds under the reflection of the stars. It was nature’s perfect portrait, a portrait of new beginnings. That image was forever branded in his mind. It was the last thing he recalled seeing before he’d shot his first deer at the age of nine, the last pure thought he’d ever had. When he’d reached the wounded deer, his young life had changed. The red liquid had seeped into the white powdery ground as the deer had labored to breathe. Hot breath had steamed against the cold night air. He’d found the deer’s acceptance of its role as prey, bitter sweet and had felt no remorse for what he’d done. Looking down at the creature, he’d thanked it for providing him with food, and then delivered a kill shot, putting the creature out of its pain.

That had been his first above ground training mission, to live off the land. He’d learned that necessity took precedence above everything else. He’d let five deer get away that week while he’d fought against the elements, his hunger, and the idea of killing an innocent creature. When he became physically and mentally exhausted due to the lack of sustenance, he’d finally made the choice to do what it took to survive. He had never struggled with the choice again. The sound of a zipper invaded the silent night, interrupting his thoughts and bringing him back to the present.

Cara led the way as Luke and Jessie followed closely behind. When they came to another wood line, Cara sank to the frozen ground. “Let’s spread out. This is a recon mission only. If the place is vacant, I want entrance and a quick work up on any digital equipment. Since this is reported to be the local HQ, there may be guards posted around the perimeter. Let’s move.”

The three of them carefully and purposefully made their way to the little wood frame house. There hadn’t been any guards posted in the woods, which seemed strange. The driveway was empty and the lights were out. There was a man sitting on the front porch and one kicked back in a chair next to the rear entrance.

Several hours passed without a guard change. Cara whispered into her watch, “I need to see inside without drawing attention, so this won’t work. I’m going in the front alone. Jessie, cover me in case it goes bad. Luke, I want you to stay in the rear.”

Jessie shot back, “You’re one crazy bitch; you know that?”

“Crazy is as crazy does and it seems to me we’re in this together.” Cara loved playing the odds.

Luke chimed in. “Crazy my ass. She’s insane.”

Cara offered up one last comment before ditching her earpiece. “Insanity beats the hell out of a frozen ass any day— later boys.”

Cara worked her way back to the road, putting her earpiece and Colt where she could easily locate them after she finished. She just hoped her acting skills were still as good as they used to be.

Jessie held up his night vision binoculars and watched Cara walk down the drive way. The man on the front porch stood up.

Cara’s voice came to them via her watch. “Sorry to bother you, but my car broke down. Could I use your phone?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of a using a cell phone lady?” The man was obviously annoyed that his nap had been disturbed.

“Yeah, well, that’d be great if I could afford one.”

“Well, I don’t have a phone.” The man sat back down and leaned his chair against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cara stopped at the bottom step and kicked against it as she tucked her hands in her coat pockets. “Damn, it’s cold out.  It’s probably going to snow soon.”

She looked back toward the way she came. “I jumped a few deer on my way up, hope I didn’t screw up your hunting plans for the night.” She turned to leave.

“What do you know about hunting?” The man eyed the woman harder.

Pivoting back around she continued to play the part. “Not much other than the meat’s good. My cousin likes it though. He scored a twelve point last week. He says he’s having it mounted.”

The man leaned forward. “Does he hunt around here?”

Cara continued to look back and forth between her feet and the man. “Yeah, that’s why I’m out here. I was taking him and his buddies some beer. They’re camping out a few miles down the road. Dang car died on me though. Guess I’d best get to the next house and see if I can find a phone.”

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

Cara’s internal alarms started to go off, but she remained in character. “No. My old man’s not a real nice guy, so I’m kind of hiding from him. I’ve been staying with my cousin the last few months while I look for work and get myself settled. You know—closest living relative and all that.”

The man sat the chair legs back on the porch and walked over to the door, opening it up. “Come on in. Sorry for the brush off but we don’t take kindly to strangers around here.”

“I can understand that. Thanks.” Cara said as she entered the house.

The man reached down to an end table that was stuck between two recliners and turned a yellow corded push button phone in her direction. “Here you go.”

Cara sat down at the edge of the recliner closest to the door and dialed the only topside number she knew, Chang’s Chinese restaurant. The man walked into the kitchen while she carried on a desperate plea for road side assistance with a confused non-English speaking girl.

Cara ended the one sided conversation by returning the receiver to its cradle, unplugging the phone cord in case the restaurant called back.

She stood up and walked toward the kitchen, tripping on her way in. Cara grabbed for the kitchen counter closest to the entry way and planted a bug. “I still haven’t gotten used to these boots. My cousin insists that I wear them when I’m out. He says my canvas tennis shoes don’t go with my overall vampire look.” That got a deep throated agreement from the man.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. One of his buddies just got off work and is headed this way. Says he’ll meet me at the car. Mind if I use your bathroom while I’m here?”

“Sure, it’s down the hall to the right.” The man eye balled her as he chugged down a can of cheap beer.

Cara opened up the door on the left and peaked inside. She’d hit pay dirt. Computer set up at a desk, guns and ammo were strung out across the bed. She eased the door closed and snuck inside the bathroom. She waited a minute before flushing the toilet, then turned on the water faucet and unlocked the bathroom window. If they did get a chance to get past the rear guard, they’d have a quiet way inside. Before she walked out, she double flashed the lights to signal their access point.

Cara stepped out of the bathroom. The man from the front porch stood at the end of the hall, blocking her exit. “Thanks again for letting me use the phone and your bathroom.”  

The man stepped aside. “It’s no problem. You tell that cousin of yours to make his own beer runs from now on. It doesn’t sit well for a little woman like you to be knocking on strange doors at night.”

Cara put on her ‘I’m so grateful smile’. “I’ll tell him. Hey, thanks again.”

“It was a pleasure talking to you.” The man held the door open for her as she left.

Cara bounced down the front steps, stuck her hands in her pockets and started down the drive. The man resumed his position on the front porch.

The man hollered out. “Good luck with the car.”

Cara turned and waved goodbye. The act wasn’t over until she was out of sight. She made her way down the road until she was out of view and then walked into the woods. Positive that she hadn’t been followed, she retrieved her gun and earpiece and headed toward the car. “Hey guys, let’s wrap it up. I’ll meet you at the car.”

Since Luke had the keys, Cara leaned against the sedan and waited, thinking about the guns she’d seen. It’d been a quick look, but she hadn’t seen anything fancy or out of the norm. It was hard to believe that someone with such shoddy gear was trying to go up against the Community.

Something was out of place but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. She had this nagging feeling that she was being played, but by whom? There was no way that this raggedy group of gorillas could have taken Frank alive. Not from what she’d witnessed so far, and who in their right mind would put an inexperienced girl in the line of fire? Why did Vicky and Jack have real identification on them? If their ID was real, then it was safe to assume that the other ID’s they’d found were also real. What was she missing?

Luke and Jessie made it back to the meeting point and stood over Cara’s legs which were protruding from underneath the car. Luke kicked the bottom of her boot. “What the hell are you doing?”

Cara squirmed her way out from under the sedan. “I’m checking for bombs.”

Luke didn’t like the serious look on her face, she wasn’t kidding. “Something we need to know?”

“Let’s get back to the safe house. I’ve got a few things to figure out.” Cara was the first one in the car. Once the sedan was safely started and they were making their way down the road, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief. The car wasn’t rigged.

Knowing that there had to be a missing piece to the puzzle, Cara bounced her thoughts off the two men sitting next to her. “It’s been a hell of a few days. Listen, I was thinking about our training sessions.”

Jessie was curious. “What about them?”

“Do you feel like they’re rigorous enough? That we cover everything that we might have to deal with in the field?”

Luke replied, “And then some. What’s on your mind, Cara?”

“With field exercises in mind, would you agree that each of you have your individual strengths and weaknesses?”

Jessie answered, “I’d agree with that. Luke here is the master of ghosting out and surprising his opponent.”

Luke added his own take on things. “Jessie can break into any digital equipment on the planet and Tank can scare the wits off a grown man without ever raising a hand.”

Cara kept the topic going. “What about Ethan, what would you consider to be his specialty?”

“Ethan’s knowledge of first aid techniques and thinking on the fly would be his strong suit. He’s the MacGyver of the group.” Luke wasn’t sure he liked where this was headed.

“What about Frank? What’s his skill set?” Cara moved around in the passenger seat to gain a better look at the two men.

“You can’t sneak up on Frank. The man’s got eyes in the back of his head. Oh shit. Wait. What are you getting at?” Jessie leaned back and looked out the window. “You think this was a set up and that Frank’s in on it. What about Tank? The two of them are tight.”

Luke stopped the car in the middle of the road and turned to look at Cara. “If what you’re thinking is true Cara, if Frank’s helping Vicky’s cousin like Jack says, then our problem runs a lot deeper than we thought. If Tank is in on it, both the safe house and the facility have been compromised. We are out chasing decoys while Frank’s preparing to expose the Community.”

Jessie could barely get out the words. “The little leak in our dam has turned into a full-fledged geyser.”

Cara slammed her back against the seat. She was pissed off at herself for being so short sighted. She should have figured this out sooner.

The tires on the sedan threw rocks and dirt as Luke spun onto the main road. Shit had hit the fan in a big way. They could only pray that they had figured out the deception before it was too late.

Chapter 24

“Stop the car!” Cara demanded.

“What?” Luke visually scanned the area outside the sedan to see what had grabbed her attention.

“Turn around. We have to go back.”

“What is it with you tonight Cara?” Jessie had never seen her so out of sorts.

“We have to get inside that room. I want the list of contacts off that computer. I need to know the truth before I go blazing guns against my men. Tank and Frank are thick as thieves. I will not assume, based on their friendship that Tank is a part of this. There is no way that two of my men turned coat on me. As closely as we work with Tank, one of us would have noticed something suspicious.”