Jason was barely in his seat when Jesse tossed a grenade into his lap. He looked at his brother.
'Well,' Jesse said, 'you do know how to use the damn thing, don't you?'
Jason waited until the gang that was following got a little closer, then popped the pin and counted off a few seconds. Leaning out the window, he threw the grenade, which landed directly beneath the pickup that was in pursuit. It detonated, tossing the truck into the air. It landed on its tailgate, spilling out the guards in a heap on the ground.
Jason laughed and sat back down as Tina's grandfather drove into the frozen wilderness.
A few miles later, Jason said, 'We've got to stop. I need to find where they're keeping my stuff. There are things I'm going to need.'
'It's not a problem, little brother,' Jesse said. 'I've got it all here.' He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the SUV's cargo area.
'What the hell is going on here?' Jason asked. 'I didn't see you being all helpful when the bald beauty was kicking my ass. Could have used a little support then,
'Look, Jason, I told you the first time we met that I wasn't looking for family, and I meant it. But I suddenly realized I have no choice in the matter. Like it or not, you're family and that's it.'
'Bullshit,' Jason said. He could tell from Jesse's body language that his brother wasn't exactly lying, but he wasn't saying everything, either. 'That's not what changed your mind. I want the truth.'
'What are you, some kind of fucking psychic?' Jesse asked. 'Fine, you're right. That's not what changed my mind. I didn't like what they were doing, but I needed to make a living and the pay was better than good. I didn't see a whole lot of other options.'
'There are always other choices,' Tina said.
'Yeah, well, I didn't see one. At least not until I got to Jason's cabin in town. Sheriff Giles was dead on the floor and Chris was there, getting ready to do a little inventory on your stuff. He told me to gather it all up and bring it to base and then he kicked Giles's body and told me to be sure and take out the trash before I left. That's when I realized it wouldn't be too long before he decided I wasn't worth any more than Giles had been.'
'So you're bailing out?' Jason asked.
Jesse offered him a hard stare. 'Listen to me. If I'd wanted to leave you in that cell to rot and taken off, maybe left the country, I would have. But sooner or later, they'd find me. Boris and his boss have a very long reach. I'd be a dead man walking.' He broke the eye contact and stared out the window. 'Guess I figured that if I'm going to die, it may as well be for doing something right for once in my life.'
'We're here,' Tina said as the SUV rolled to a stop.
'Where is here?' Jason asked. He looked around and couldn't see anything but the brown tundra grass and a few small birds in the distance.
'Things are not always what they seem,' Tina said.
She marched forward and walked around in an area that was covered with grass. Then she came to sudden stop and pulled on a chain that was attached to a sliding door in the ground.
Peering into the darkness inside, Jason momentarily hesitated, but Tina scampered down the ladder, and the others followed behind. They all stood in one corner while Jesse lit several oil lamps to give them light. He went to work getting the generator cranked up.
Jason looked around at the crates that were scattered throughout the room. The labels were in several different languages, most of which he knew. Munitions, guns and other items were being stored underground.
'This one of your warehouses?' Jason asked Jesse.
'Not mine,' he said. 'This one belongs to Tanuk.'
'Grandfather!' Tina gasped. 'How could you? You told me you were out of the smuggling years ago!'
'All due respect to your grandfather, but, Jesse, you're using a guy that is like nine hundred years old in your smuggling operation?' Jason asked. 'It can't be that tough to get good help out here.'
Tanuk chuckled quietly. 'No one looks twice at me. I am a very old man and I make a good cover for the operation.'
Jason looked at Tina and raised an eyebrow. 'Let me guess,' he said. 'You didn't know. Are you sure about that, Tina? Or is there some other name I should be calling you instead?'
She grabbed him firmly by the arm. 'Come with me,' she said. 'We need to talk.'
He allowed her to guide him farther back into the cavern. The crates made for crude hallways and seemed to go on almost endlessly until the space opened up into a much larger space the size of a basketball court.
'Okay,' she said. 'I know you have questions. And I'll answer them, but the important thing is that I know the man behind all this. Feng Li. I know who he is.'
'You're kidding!' Jason exclaimed. 'You mean that being here among your family and friends, who happen to be
'It's not the way it looks, Jason,' she said. 'And sarcasm isn't going to help us. It's not what we need right now.'
'I'm sorry, Tina,' he said, his tone mocking. 'I'm just a little cranky after having my entire mission blow up in my face, being captured and tortured, only to find out that the one person I've been trusting has been lying her cute little ass off to me.'
She lowered her head. 'You're right,' she admitted. 'I have…lied. But they were lies of omission, not lies of fact.'
'That will make a big difference when my boss has me killed,' he said.
'Denny?' she asked. 'I'll take care of it.'
'What do you mean you'll take…' Jason's voice faltered. 'Denny? How do you know that name?'
'Jason,' she said quietly, 'I know who you are.'
'You've known that since the day we met,' he said.
'Not your name,' she replied, 'but God only knows if that is your name. I mean I know who you work for. Room 59. Ring any bells for you?'
'How do you…' he began.
She shrugged. 'I know because I work for them, too.'
'What?' he asked, her words not registering as real. 'You're not a…you don't act like a field agent. I don't understand.'
'I'm not a field agent,' she said. 'I went through the basic training, but most of my work is doing intercepted- Russian-communication translations. When I worked in New York, I did some intelligence analysis, too. I used a different name, but when I came home, I started using my birth name again.' She looked up at him. 'I haven't kept any secrets from you that you haven't been keeping from me.'
Still stunned, Jason said, 'You work for Room 59?'
'Yeah,' she said. 'I came up here when I realized that city life just wasn't for me. They found a way to keep me on up here, and the work I do is valuable. We both had the same secret, the only difference being that I knew who you were working for and you didn't know that I work for them myself.'
'But if you knew who I was…' he said, then his voice trailed off. 'They told you I was coming, didn't they?'
She nodded. 'Yes. I was supposed to keep an eye on you, lend you a hand if you needed one. This is your first mission, after all.'
'Keep an eye on me?' he snarled. 'Is that what…what all of this was? You keeping an eye on me?'
'No!' she said. 'Yes.' She sighed heavily. 'At first, yes. You were just an assignment, but…I do care about you. I don't know what that really means yet or how you feel or even what I'll feel when all this is over. I was doing my job, damn it, the same as you.'
Running his hands through his hair, Jason tried to wrap his mind around the fact that she worked for Room 59, that she'd been playing him as well or better than he'd played her. 'I guess you'd make a hell of a field agent, if you ever set your mind to it,' he said. 'You sure had me fooled.'
'I wasn't trying to trick you, Jason. You've said it yourself — the mission comes first. I decided that it was time you knew the truth. We're coming down to the end here and you're going to need all the resources you've got — including me.'
'True enough,' he admitted.
