As time went on, the parallels between our doomed mission in Mexico and Project Heartbreaker had made me increasingly uncomfortable.
“No, nothing like that,” I said honestly. “I met Ling in Mexico last year when the situation had already gone to shit for Vanguard. We’d been contracted by the Mexican Nationalist Government to help secure some trouble areas in the southern part of the country. Some drug lords turned warlords had cut out little empires, so the government hired Vanguard to do a lot of high-risk operations.”
“High-risk operations?” Sarah asked suspiciously.
“VIP protection, search-and-destroy missions, things like that. It was our biggest contract ever. Decker, my old boss, hired a ton of extra guys and brought in every team in the company.”
“Including yours,” Sarah said.
“Switchblade Four. We got the most critical assignments, raids on the bad guys, ambushing militia convoys, stuff like that. We were making progress until the UN moved in. Thirty thousand peacekeepers came in and unilaterally cut a cease-fire with the warlord in Cancun.”
“Where does Ling come in?”
“We’d been sitting on our asses for days when she approached Decker with a business proposal. She said that there was a Cuban-flagged freighter docked in Cancun that was full of weapons going to the warlords, but she doesn’t give a crap about the weapons. She says there’s something else on the freighter, something her group, real secretive bunch, really wants. A girl.”
“A girl?”
“Fourteen years old. A prisoner. Ling told Decker, that her organization was willing to pay a crazy sum of money if we’d provide airlift and help get this girl back.”
“Why did they bring you guys in?”
“I’m not sure. I never really asked her, and she didn’t volunteer a lot of information. Anyway, Decker asks for volunteers, says there’ll be a huge operational bonus to the team that goes. We volunteered.”
“What happened?”
“Well, we got the girl,” I said, my voice softening just a bit. “Stirred up a hornet’s nest. Our chopper got hit on the way out. We went down at this abandoned resort hotel, landed right in an empty pool. Then the UN showed up and started shooting at us. Once the government collapsed, Vanguard was declared war criminals.”
Sarah was suspicious. “This group that Ling works for, who are they?”
“Exodus.” The look on Sarah’s face told me she’d heard of them.
“Are you sure?” Sarah asked.
“That’s what she told me.”
“I thought they were a myth. Wow.”
“I know, right? The whole thing was crazy. But it was
“Mike, tell me what happened,” Sarah said, looking into my eyes.
I took a deep breath, glanced away for a second, then met Sarah’s gaze again. I hadn’t told anyone aside from Hawk the full story of what happened in Mexico. “Exodus thinks I’m some kind of hero.”
VALENTINE
Umm Shamal District
May 5
0200
It took us over two hours to get to Ling’s designated meeting spot. As was the usual case now, we had to go way out of our way to avoid downtown areas, major intersections, and other places where there were likely to be military or police checkpoints. The tiny Emirate of Zubara was holding its breath, waiting for the civil war to start.
It had taken some doing, but Tailor had managed to talk the motorpool into letting him sign out a Land Cruiser without it going in the books. I don’t know who he begged, threatened, or bribed, but whatever he did, it worked. He, Sarah, Hudson, and I rolled out of the gate at Fort Zubara without so much as a second look from the guys standing watch.
The location Ling had given me was a construction site. The project, a shopping complex funded by a European firm, had been suspended indefinitely due to “security concerns,” so we’d probably have the place to ourselves.
Hudson was driving as we pulled off of the street and into the site. The whole project was just a big hole in the ground surrounded by stacks of supplies and materials, much of which appeared to have been vandalized and looted. The gate at the front truck entrance had been left open, just as Ling said it would be.
No one said anything as we followed the road deep into the hole that was to be the foundation of the shopping center’s underground parking lot. I was nervous. The last time I’d worked with Exodus it had cost several of my teammates their lives. They were a bunch of trigger-happy fanatics. If anything went wrong, the four of us would probably end up dead.
We stopped about fifty feet from an abandoned crane in the very center of the site. At least we wouldn’t be visible from the road. It was about as secluded as you could get in the middle of a city. As per Ling’s instructions, Hudson blinked the headlights three times, then turned them off.
Several floodlights snapped on. Startled, I squinted into the blinding light. I looked over at Hudson, nodded, and opened my door.
“Be careful,” Sarah said from the backseat.
I tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Stepping onto the ground, I closed the door behind me and moved slowly to the front of the Land Cruiser. I took off my overshirt, revealing both my holstered revolver and my body armor. Holding my right hand up in the air, I slowly drew my gun with my left hand and laid it on the hood of the truck. I then stepped forward, both hands in the air over my head.
For a few tense moments, I walked toward the crane, almost holding my breath. I was following Ling’s very specific instructions to the letter, and they hadn’t shot me yet, but I couldn’t shake the sense of unease. I was vulnerable, helpless, and hated it. A bead of sweat trickled down my head, and it wasn’t just from the warm night air.
Ling appeared from behind the crane, alone. She confidently strode toward me, closing the distance in a matter of seconds.
“You can put your hands down now, Mr. Valentine. It’s fine,” she said, not quite smiling.
Feeling silly, I slowly lowered my hands. “You’re alone?” I asked, looking around.
“Of course not,” she said. “My men are observing you and your friends. Just a precaution. Please do not take offense.”
“None taken,” I said, looking down into her dark eyes. “Thank you for coming. I need your help.”
“So you insist.” She looked past me at the Land Cruiser. “You can tell your friends to come out. I won’t have them shot.” The corner of her mouth turned up in half a wry smile.
I nodded and squeezed my throat mic. “It’s clear. C’mon up.” I looked back at Ling. “You want them to leave their weapons?”
“No, it’s fine,” she said dismissively. “I’m not worried.”
“You don’t have to drop your weapons,” I said into my microphone. “Bring my gun up.” I heard doors slamming behind me as my friends climbed out of the truck.
“So, Mr. Valentine, to business,” Ling said, not wasting any time. “I apologize for dragging you out here like this, but I always prefer to deal face to face.”
“I remember,” I said flatly.
She didn’t bat an eye. “And frankly, I’m curious to just who it is you wish me to help smuggle out of this country.” Tailor tapped me on the shoulder and handed me my gun. I quickly holstered it. “Ah, Mr. Tailor,” Ling said, “it’s good to see you again.”
Tailor nodded but didn’t say anything. I then introduced Ling to Hudson and Sarah. Sarah seemed to pique
