Page 31 of Shadow Redemption
“Their SEAL team and mine completed a couple of missions together. I’ve worked with them more since we joined Fortress. Shadow worked several operations in conjunction with Wolfe and Smith. They’re dangerous, driven, and the perfect duo to give us an edge on our missions.”
“Do they have a team?”
He thought about how much to reveal and, in the end, decided to go with part of the truth. “They’ve worked with the Zoo Crew since Fortress began. I’ve been hearing rumors that Maddox is forming another team with Wolfe and Smith and a few other operatives.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“We need them. Fortress is short-handed. Our rest rotations are becoming shorter and that’s not safe for any of the operatives.” Especially Shadow. They tracked down and freed victims of human trafficking in between hostage retrievals and tracking terrorists. The almost constant missions were taking a toll on all of them. His own coping skills were fraying at the edges. In the battle for his sanity, the nightmares were winning.
Ben cut across three lanes of traffic without signaling a change and exited the interstate. He took a quick right and raced down the two-lane road, heading for a subdivision with many houses and roads, an easier place to lose the Explorer.
He randomly made turns, sped up to corners, took them at speeds most drivers would never be able to negotiate, and raced down another street. Winding his way through the subdivision, he noted that there were now more children and caregivers enjoying the warm sunshine on this June day. He couldn’t keep driving at these speeds in an area where a kid might dart out into the road after a ball or a pet.
On a straight stretch, he checked the mirrors and spotted the chasing vehicle. The gap between them was slowly closing. Scowling, he turned left onto a road out of the subdivision that led to a winding road with many places where his SUV would be out of sight for a few precious seconds. One of those places would be the perfect location to turn off the road onto a side road and disappear. Maybe.
He hadn’t had time to check his vehicle for a tracking device. His goal had been to get Ruth to safety and out of the line of fire. Ben drew in a slow breath. All he had to do was keep the goons off them until Wolfe joined the party. The two of them should be able to handle the thugs if things went bad.
He coaxed a little more speed from the SUV as he struggled to put more distance between them and the Explorer.
“Do you know where we are?” Ruth asked. “I don’t have breadcrumbs to toss out the window to find our way back.” Her knuckles were white where she gripped the seat with one hand and the door’s arm rest with the other.
“No need for breadcrumbs. I’ve been in this area many times over the past few years.” This was one of his favorite places to drive at night when he couldn’t sleep. Wide, open spaces kept Ben from feeling trapped.
Memories from his time in the hands of a sadist tried to crowd to the forefront of his mind. He ruthlessly shoved them back into the mental box where he kept the disturbing images of his childhood. This wasn’t the time to wrestle those demons. Driving at these speeds required all his concentration.
“Thank goodness because I lost track of where we were several minutes ago. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Keep an eye on our friends back there while I call Wolfe and find out where he is. Let me know if the Explorer starts gaining ground on us again.”
Ruth twisted in her seat and peered through the back window.
Ben placed the call to his fellow operative.
“Sit rep,” Wolfe said instead of a greeting.
“We’re driving north on Forest View. Just passed Willow Pond. The Explorer is about 100 yards back. The goons seem pretty determined to stick with us, but they aren’t aggressive yet.”
“That will change soon enough. I’ll intersect with Forest View at Blackberry Lane and get these guys off your six.”
“Be careful, Eli. These guys are trigger happy.”
“No worries, Shadow Man. I have my own trigger-happy friend two minutes behind me, and I’d bet on my friend to defeat your goons any day of the week. Jon and I stopped in to check on Sophie Winter since Micah’s out of town, so we were in the area. We’re happy to lend a hand. Jon’s been bored of late.”
Huh. Guess that was a good thing if he planned to join the regular mission rotation. “Once we’re clear, I need you to stay with us to run interference until we’re at headquarters. I didn’t have the chance to scan my ride for a tracking device before bullets started to fly and my gut says I have unwanted electronics on board. I was more interested in getting Ruth to safety.”
“I hear you. See you in two.” Eli ended the call.
“The Explorer is staying with us. I don’t think they’ve moved any closer.”
A glance in the mirror confirmed Ruth’s assessment. Although the road snaked through the countryside in a series of tight twists and turns, Ben pressed the accelerator closer to the floor. Eli needed room to work. If Ben’s SUV had a tracker on it like he suspected, he’d need help to keep these guys his back long enough to reach headquarters without them shooting out the tires or forcing Ben off the road.
“The Explorer is gaining ground,” Ruth said.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and scowled. Hopefully, Wolfe and Smith were closer than their estimate.
Zane’s voice filled the cabin. “Sit rep, Ben.”
“The goons shifted to aggressive pursuit. Wolfe and Smith aren’t close enough to help.” Ben checked that Ruth wore her seatbelt. “The ride will be rough, Ruth.”