Page 123 of Silver Fire
“What’s the rush, darlin’,” he drawled. “You spilled my beer. You get me another one.”
The Australian reached out to grab her, but was immediately pushed aside.
“She’s with me.”
Sophie felt relieved, expecting to see one of the AGS/CIA commandos. Instead she stared straight into the piercing eyes of Stan Morgan.
* * *
Derek waited impatientlyby one of the street vendors selling grilled chicken livers on a stick. He took a long pull from his beer—his first and last one for the day. They still had hours before the mission, so he allowed himself this indulgence. The sorghum and maize-based beer in South Africa were actually quite good and went so well with the street food.
Their reconnaissance mission was productive, and they were able to nail down specifics like timings and a visual lay of the land. He and Quint got over their rocky start and realized they worked well together and understood the implications of their mission. Their model of incursion teams were not restricted by military protocols. They would do anything to get the job done and that included breaking the laws in a foreign land. The clincher was, with Black Ops, if they got caught, the US government would immediately disavow all knowledge of them. These were the risks they took every single time.
“See them yet?” Quint asked beside him. They were dressed in casual khakis and linen shirts. Their cover: history professors specializing in African culture. Derek had a little fun playing the part, slicking his hair back with gel and wearing spectacles.
“No,” Derek replied. “Wait. There’s Susan.” No sign of Sophie. What the hell? Derek peeled himself from the sidelines and made his way to the CIA team lead. She was not looking happy and Derek felt his temper rising.
“Where is she?” he growled.
“We got separated,” Marissa said in annoyance. “She was supposed to stick to me. Damn it!”
“What do you mean you got separated?” Derek roared.
“Yelling at me is not gonna help,” Marissa retorted. “She couldn’t be far. I didn’t want you guys to think something happened to us, so I came here first. I saw her not two minutes ago, she was right behind me!”
“What was she wearing?”
“White blouse, pink shorts.”
Derek was already pushing his way back in the direction Marissa had come from, shouldering past festival goers. Derek briefly noted the annoyed looks shot his way, but he must be wearing the ferocious scowl from hell because people started scrambling out of his way.
“Professor Banning!” Marissa called out, but Derek ignored her, pulling out his phone and hoping the tracking app worked. They promised to take care of Sophie and they lost her. Fuck them all.
* * *
Stan Morgan draggedher to an alley away from the festival. Sophie knew resisting was futile—the man could snap her like a toothpick if he wanted to. Far enough from the crowd, he backed her against a wall, planted his hands on either side of her head and leaned in.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he said angrily.
“I…I..,” Sophie stammered. What was she going to say?
“Who’s with you?”
Sophie figured silence was her best defense.
Morgan decided to try a different tactic. His right hand curled around her neck and squeezed, not too tight, but enough to put the fear of god in her.
“I did not let you go only for you to get yourself killed,” Morgan snarled. “Walk away from this, Sophie. You do not want to mess with Damian Stoltz.”
“How can you let him kill thousands?”
The hand around her neck loosened its grip, and the big man stepped back and crossed his arms. “Those are strong allegations, lady. Although I have problems with some of his methods, Damian Stoltz is a respectable businessman around here. It is my understanding the device is used for demolition—clearing sections of land in a clean sweep.”
“Wiping out some towns in the process.”
“Where did you hear this?”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “As if I’m going to tell you. You work for Stoltz.”