Conspiracy Game

“We have no choice,” Jack explained. “We’re in a canyon, baby. We can’t call a dog, let alone our team.”

“If there’s a way for Ken to climb the cliff and get high enough to call out, why can’t we scale the cliffs and get out of here? We’re all strong,” Briony ventured.

Again there was a small silence, the men exchanging a long look.

“Maybe,” Jack said thoughtfully. “With you pregnant, that’s probably the last thing he’d expect.”

Ken rubbed a scar on his left cheek as he frowned. “We tried the northern face that time, Jack. It has fingers and toeholds, some crevices we could maybe use, but most are a good fifteen feet apart. It would be tricky, especially in the dark.”

Jack glanced up at the sky. “How much of a moon do we have?”

“Fairly decent. More than half. The night’s clear.” Ken turned his head to study the sheer, rising cliff. She’ll never make it, Jack. She’s strong, but she’s pregnant.

Briony knew they were talking about her in private. She pulled her hand away from Jack. “I’m a flyer, a high- wire performer and a darned good one at that. There isn’t much I can’t do.”

“You don’t like heights,” Jack reminded her. “It’s all right, Bri, we can hold out here.”

“I don’t like a lot of things, Jack, but it’s never stopped me before. If I wasn’t with you, what would you do?” she challenged.

“You are with us, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me. I don’t want to sit here and wait for them if we have a chance to get out. I can handle heights as well or better than either one of you. Don’t sell me short because I’m pregnant-or worse, because I’m a woman.”

“We can’t climb in the conventional manner, Briony,” Jack explained. “We have to become a human ladder, one anchors while the other swings him like a pendulum and throws him up to the next hold. It’s difficult and dangerous.”

“So is staying here. Would you do it if I wasn’t here? Tell the truth.”

“We’d already be gone,” Jack said.

“That’s it then.” Briony kicked aside the blanket and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Ken shook his head. “This is how it all starts, bro. She’s getting bossy. I’ve heard women do that. They start out all soft and kittenish, leading a man on, and then the claws come out and they dig in and take over.” He stood up, the rifle looking a natural part of him. “You’re in for trouble, Jack.”

“Probably,” Jack agreed, pride and respect for her in his voice. “Let’s get moving.” He flashed her a small, approving grin.

Jack reached down to roll the sleeping bag, and an explosion rocked the night, shaking the ground, a huge red and orange ball churning with black smoke blasting upward and outward like a violent mushroom cloud. Birds screeched, taking to the skies, and the world seemed to be in chaos.

“They’re coming for us,” Jack said.

Both men calmly shouldered their gear and indicated to Briony to walk between them in single file, Ken leading the way. As the smoke and flash faded, the night once again turned eerily silent.

Jack handed Briony a gun and a knife, which she slipped into her belt as she walked behind Ken. The men made little noise, and she tried to do the same. There was enough moonlight to see their surroundings. There was no trail, not even a deer trail, but Ken seemed to know exactly where he was going.

Briony walked with them, trying to analyze why, when she was in the middle of an extremely dangerous situation, she wasn’t nearly as afraid as normal. Oh, the adrenaline was running and her pulse was racing, but it wasn’t debilitating like fear almost always was on the onset. She didn’t have to force herself under control; she just walked between the brothers, trying to emulate their heightened awareness. It wasn’t even the fact that the two men kept her from feeling the effects of the violence surrounding them, or from the battles they’d already fought.

Confidence. They exuded complete confidence. It was in the set of their shoulders, the way they moved with fluid, easy strides, the easy camaraderie between them, and the fact that they simply worked so well together. She glanced at Jack over her shoulder as she walked. He wasn’t watching the ground, but all around them, up in the trees, the rising walls of the canyon, and their back trail. She tried to follow his actions, tried to see with her enhanced vision and hear what the night had to tell.

“Remember, baby,” Jack whispered softly against her ear as they stopped just under an outcropping that grew a good twenty feet above their heads out of the steeply rising wall. “Sound carries in the night. We’ll communicate with telepathy, and when we climb, try to make as little noise as possible. If this is going to work, we have to be ghosts just fading away.”

She nodded to let him know she understood. How do we do this?

We jump up to the outcropping and go from there. I’ll take the lead and we’ll have to use a swinging motion to get the person below up to the next hold. You’ll see. It’s much like you do on the trapeze. Jeb catches you-here, it will be either Ken or me. He bent down to look in her eyes. Are you okay with this? There can’t be any hesitation once we start up.

She took a breath. You’ve climbed this before? Successfully?

Jack pulled her into his arms. Yes. I wouldn’t risk this if we weren’t in such a bind, baby, but I wouldn’t try it if I didn’t think you could handle it.

That gave her more assurance than anything else he could have said. He had faith in her ability and respected her enough to try a hazardous gamble. She was more than a good flyer-she was a gifted one. She wouldn’t let Jack down. Briony stroked her hand over her stomach in a small caress, her knuckles rubbing against Jack. He instantly placed his palm over hers and held her for a moment, his breath warm against her neck.

This is going to work, Briony.

I hate leaving our home.

We’ll be back someday. We’ll have a cleanup crew out here by tomorrow night if Whitney doesn’t pack his dead off with him, as I suspect he will. They did some damage to the house, but nothing we can’t fix fairly quickly.

Another explosion shook the earth, sending small rocks rolling down the slope of the ravine to bounce over branches and brush. Light flashed, and someone in the distance screamed hoarsely.

Ken cleared his throat softly to get their attention. We have to move now, before they make it through all the trip wires. We’ve only slowed them down, not stopped them.

I’m ready, Briony assured them, and tipped her head back to look at the outcropping.

Jack went first, crouching right below it and leaping. It was an extraordinary distance from a standing jump.

You need help? Ken asked.

Briony shook her head, but backed up a few feet to get a running start. She’d never been good at just standing and jumping like Jack had done. She cleared the distance easily and landed beside Jack, who instantly caught her by the arms and hauled her against the rock face. Ken followed them up.

Get as close to the wall as you can to give me, room, baby. Jack tied his pack firmly and strapped his rifle down. Ken, use the radio as soon as we get high enough to make the call. Every minute will count. Make them aware of that. Call in both teams if you have to, but tell them we need an extraction like yesterday. Full combat conditions, tell them to come in hot.

Will do. I’ll need to be up another thirty or forty feet before trying it.

Briony watched with her heart in her throat as Jack looked up the sheer cliff face. Before he could react, she caught his hand and tugged, lifting her face to his. This was a life-and-death gamble-a struggle they might not survive-and she wanted him to know how important he was to her.

Jack framed her face and kissed her gently. We’ll get through this.

I know. She poured her trust into her mind. If anyone could keep her safe-it was Jack. She felt his concern for her and smiled. I can do this, Jack. I know I can.

He nodded, kissed her a second time, and looked up at the sheer face rising above him, frowning a little. The crevice was to his right, and he had to leap up and jam his arm into the narrow opening. He’d done it once before successfully, but it had been full daylight. He crouched low and sprang, arm outstretched, fist closed tightly.

Beneath him, Ken waited to spot him. If Jack missed and came crashing down, he would only have a sliver of