“Dan, we don’t have any other choice! We have our orders,” Tasha tried again.

“Fuck your orders. I’m not killing them. Not while there’s a chance,” Dan snarled in reply.

They’d already been over this a half-dozen times. While he’d been gone, Tasha had received orders to kill the Griffins and blow up the lab. She wanted to do it right then, but he’d refused.

They’d retreated from the camp, then argued. No, not argued. They’d fought. She’d offered to do if he couldn’t, but he couldn’t believe she was willing to walk into the tent and shoot the two doctors in cold blood.

They’d gone to sleep mad, sitting propped against two different trees, and woken up the same way.

“What chance? You think they can walk out? Hell, I’m not sure I can walk out!” she challenged.

“I don’t care if I have to carry them. I’m not killing them in cold blood.”

“We have our orders!”

“And I told you, fuck your orders!”

They glared at each other. “You’re being a fucking asshole.”

“And you’re being a fucking bitch.”

“Fine. I’ll fucking do it myself.” She turned and stomped toward the camp.

“Don’t be stupid. It’s daylight. You’ll be gunned down before you can get away.”

“It doesn’t matter. My life for millions, maybe billions of others. I have to do it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“We can’t let Kangka get their research!”

“We won’t. But we’re not killing the Griffins.”

“I’m done arguing with you.”

She started toward the camp again. He ran forward and caught her arm, hauling her around to face him. “I can’t let you do that.”

“I won’t let you stop me.”

“Then you’ll have to kill me.”

She glared at him and tried to step around. He grabbed her arm and hauled her roughly back. Her face hardened and she tried to step around him again. He reached to take her arm, but she turned, blocked the grab, and fired a left into his face.

The punch caught him by surprise, and it hurt like a bastard, causing him to take a step back before recovering. He grabbed her again, blocked the blow he knew was coming, blocked the second punch, grabbing the arm as it passed, and hauled it around behind her back. He could break her arm from this position, but he shoved her hard to the ground.

She bound to her feet, her weapon out and pointed at his head. His blood ran cold. “Go ahead,” he said calmly. “If I let you do this, I’m dead anyway.”

He stared down the muzzle of her 9mm, hoping, praying she wouldn’t pull the trigger. She held the weapon on him, the pistol rock steady, her face hard. He made no move to stop her. He simply stood there, afraid any twitch would cause her fire, holding her gaze. The firearm never wavered, but her face softened, then she lowered the weapon as she began to cry.

“I can’t.”

He moved to her and pulled her into his arm, her gun falling to the ground with a thump as she sobbed against his chest.

“I can’t do it.”

He held her, stroking her head softly. “Shhh…” he murmured. “It’s over.”

“I pulled my weapon on you.”

He couldn’t say he was thrilled about that, but she hadn’t pulled the trigger. “You were trying to follow orders.”

She shook her head and tried to push away, but he held her, refusing to let her go. She struggled, but the more she fought him, the tighter his hold, until she relaxed. Her arms went around him as she began to sob again.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s behind us.”

“I was going to kill you.”

“But you didn’t.”

She wept hard for many moments before her sobs quietened and she fell silent. “I’m sorry. When we get back to the U.S., you’ll never hear from me again,” she said as she snuffled in his chest.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to Fort Meade, I guess. Why?”

“I want to know where to find you.”

She pushed back from his chest and looked at him. “Why?”

“Because I’m not going to let something as trivial as you pulling a gun on me keep me from seeing you.”

She stared at him a moment. “Dan, that’s not funny. I almost shot you.”

“No, you didn’t. If you wanted me dead, I’d be dead.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t forgive myself for that,” she said as she began to tear up again. “Never.”

“I’ve already forgiven you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

He tipped her head up and smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, if you’d actually shot me, it might take me a little longer.”

She looked down a moment then back up. “How? How can you forgive me for that?”

“Because you were trying to follow orders, and I was getting in the way.”

“That’s no excuse.”

He took her face in his hands. “I’m in the wrong here. I’m disobeying orders. You’re trying to do what you think is right. Hell, it is what’s right, but I have to try, Tasha. I have to at least try to get them out.”

“But how?” she cried, her voice telegraphing the strain she felt clearly.

“I don’t know. But instead of standing here arguing about it, help me figure something out.”

“There are six hostiles and only two of us.”

“I never said it would be easy.”

She stared at him, then bent and picked up her weapon, dropped the magazine, and worked the slide to eject the shell. She handed the weapon and magazine to him. He took it with a nod, slammed the magazine home, charged the Glock with quick jerk of the slide, and handed it back to her. She could add the ejected shell her own damned self.

“I don’t want it.”

“Too fucking bad,” he said, grabbing her hand and forcing her to take the pistol. “Three months ago, you dragged me into this shit. Now you’re going to have to help me get out of it.”

“You trust me with this after what I did?”

“There is absolutely no one I’d rather have at my back.”

She stared at him a moment, then ejected the magazine, picked up the bullet from the ground, and pressed it home before slamming the magazine back into the gun. The weapon disappeared behind her.

“What’s the plan?”

“To rescue the Griffins, get the fuck out of his place, take you somewhere beautiful, and make love to you until I can’t get it up anymore.”

“As simple as all that, huh?” she asked as a ghost of a smile played at her lips.

He smiled as bobbed his head. “As simple as that. We merely have a few of the details to work out.”

They crouched in the edge of the jungle where they could see the lit window in the larger of the two RDSes, watching through the glass as Doctors Edward and Kelli Griffin went about getting ready for bed. They had a plan, and the chances were good they could make it work. They had to make it work. They had only once chance, and if they failed, he knew it was likely Tasha would be killed. He couldn’t allow that, like he couldn’t allow the Griffins to be killed.

They’d run through all their options, but there really was only one. After she’d holstered her weapon, they’d spent several hours working out their plan, then they’d tried to grab a nap. It would be a long night. Tasha wouldn’t sit beside him, so he’d gone and sat beside her. He tried to wrap her in his arms, but she’d struggled out of them. Each time she did, he let her go, then after waiting a moment, tried again. It took three attempts before she allowed him to hold her. She was stiff for what felt like hours, but she finally relaxed into his side.

“I’m so sorry,” she’d said softly. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“I forgive you,” he’d replied.

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“Even after what I did?”

“Because of what you did.” She sat up and looked at him. “I’ll admit, I’d rather not stare down the barrel of your weapon again, but one of the things I love about you is your toughness. You find a way to do what you must. You won’t let anything, or anyone, stop you.”

“But—”

“No buts,” he interrupted. “Part of what happened was my fault. Instead of getting in your face and telling you what I won’t do, I should have been telling you what I would. Maybe we can find something we both can agree with. Going forward, I promise that’s what I’ll do. Promise me before you pull your weapon on me again, we can talk about whatever it is. Will you promise me that?”

“I promise,” she said softly.

“Seal it with a kiss?” he asked, looking down at her.

She’d looked up and he’d kissed her gently. He kept at it until she returned it, then he’d pulled back. He’d taken her head and cradled it into his shoulder.

It was another hot and miserable day in Orkut. He’d tried to sleep, but it was light and fitful. He’d woken to her sobbing almost silently, but had pretended to still be asleep.

Now that they were about to execute their plan, she was focused and all business, but he knew she had the ability to compartmentalize. The real test would come later, after the danger of the next few minutes had passed.

The light clicked out. It wasn’t raining, but it was overcast with very little light from the moon reaching the ground. He motioned to his right. Tasha would take out the four men sleeping in the smaller RDS that functioned as bunkhouse and mess, while he tracked down and took care of the two roving guards.

She moved off. He crept to the large RDS and peeked around the corner. A man stood at the entrance to the tent-like structure. It was a hell of a sprint, but if he could take the man down without shooting him, that would give him a better chance of sneaking up on the other guard. He was getting ready to make his charge when he saw the red glow of a cigarette. The other guard was coming. He ducked back.

“I hate this place,” one of the men said.

“Yeah, but the money is good.”

Dan pulled his pistol and prepared to step around the corner. The moment he heard Tasha fire the first shot, these two men were dead.

“I’m not sure it’s worth it. No booze, no television, and no pussy other than that shriveled up old bitch. I’m missing the World Cup qualifying matches.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I think we might make the World Cup.”

One of the men laughed. “You wanker. We’ve never made the World Cup, and we’re not likely to do it this year, either.”

Dan heard a shot from his right, a flash in the window of the smaller RDS accompanying the crack. There was a brief pause, followed by two more shots, then two more quickly thereafter. Dan stepped around the corner and fired five times, his Glock 9mm roaring as the men twitched and jerked, the bullets striking home with deadly accuracy. They crumpled to the ground in a heap. He crept toward them, his weapon still at the ready. One of men was still moving, reaching for his fallen rifle with a bloody hand, but another squeeze of the trigger ended the threat.

“Tucson!” Tasha’s voice called.

“Phoenix!” Dan replied, acknowledging her call.

He waited until she joined him. “Any problems?”

She shook her head. “No. They were all in bed.”

They opened the door to the RDS and entered. The door was an airlock system, and they opened the inner door, pulling hard against the vacuum, air whistling and rushing around the edge of the door as he hauled it open. Inside was a large lab. It was so cool and dry Dan could have stood there the rest of the night, but they had work to do. He turned left to where another room was located, the light on again. He opened the door. Inside, a man and a woman of between sixty and sixty-five cowered in a corner, the man standing in front of the woman to protect her.

“Doctors Edward and Kelli Griffin?” Dan asked.

“Who are you?” the elderly man demanded. “What do you want with us?”

Dan smiled. “I’m Daniel Thames, this is Natasha Sampson, and we’re your ride home.”

“You’re Americans?”

“Auburn, Alabama, at your service. Now, let’s get you out of here,” Dan said, opening the door.

“The guards?”

“Taken care of.”

“Wait!” Natasha said as the couple hurried out of the room. “Do you have any water? Food?”

Dan glared at her, then realized she was right. They were certainly dehydrated, and would probably need the energy later.

“The other tent.”

“Take them. Gather everything you can. Is there anything that burns in here?”

“Why?”

“This place has to be destroyed.”

“No—wait. I need my research.”

“Can’t do it, Doc.”

“Just five minutes. Please.”

Dan glanced at Tasha. “Take her and get the food and water. We’ll get this place ready to go. Get your research. You have five minutes. Now, do you have anything that burns?”

Ed looked around. “Ethanol. We use it to sterilize—”

“Perfect. Where?”

Ed pointed and Dan picked up the large plastic jug and began to pour the contents over everything, splashing it onto walls, until it was empty.

“Any more?”

“Under the cabinet there, but that’s all of it,” Ed said, pointing again.

Dan tossed boxes and containers aside until he found what he was looking for. He ripped the lid open and poured all of it around as well, throwing the jug aside when it was empty.

“Done,” Ed said, holding up a thumb drive.

“Give it to me,” Dan said, holding his hand out.

Ed hesitated then placed the device in Dan’s hand. “That’s my life’s work.”

Dan slipped it into his pocket. “You’ll get it back. Now, have anything to start a fire?”

“No.”

“Shit. Okay. Outside.”

Dan parked Ed by the truck then spent several minutes muscling fifty-five-gallon drums of diesel up next to the wall of the RDS. They were too heavy to move far, so one wall would have to do. He drew his weapon and shot a hole in each drum, the fuel slowly glugging out.

“We’re ready,” Tasha said, handing him a granola bar and a bottle of water.

He devoured the bar and washed it down with water. “Jesus, that was good.”

“I have two cases of water and a bunch more of those bars in the truck.”

She hadn’t allowed him to kiss her but that one time since she’d pulled the gun on him, but he gave her a quick kiss in passing before she could pull back. “Did you want any of them? I need something to start the fire.”

They looked around until but found nothing. They were still looking when Dan snapped his fingers. He searched the smoking man’s pockets until he found his lighter. He ripped off a piece of the dead man’s shirt and soaked it in the small pools of diesel, then lit it with the lighter. He tossed it on the floor and the ethanol caught with a whoosh. He backpedaled quickly out of the lab, the fire spreading much faster than he expected. They need to get a lot farther away than they were before the drums of fuel went up.

“Into the truck. Into the truck!” he called as he hurried out of the lab. Both doctors climbed into the back and Dan and Tasha ran for the front. Dan crawled in behind the wheel and turned the key. The army surplus turned over slowly and ground to life. He jammed the truck into gear and floored it, the truck whistling and bellowing as it lumbered away.

He stopped when the lab was disappearing from sight. The canvas surrounding the RDS began to burn, the flames turning yellow and orange. He watched in the mirror as he ripped open another granola bar and stuffed half into his mouth, taking another water from Tasha as he chewed.

The RDS was burning nicely, but the fuel hadn’t gone up yet. He waited, watching. If the fuel didn’t light off, he would have to go back and—

The explosion of the fuel ripped the air with a roar that drove the air from his lungs and rocked the truck with a wind as hot and dry as any desert, flaming pieces of the RDS soaring through the air. He’d thought the almost quarter mile they’d traveled was far enough, but it wasn’t. As devastating as the explosion was, even at this distance, he was confident the lab had been leveled, and what hadn’t been destroyed by the blast would be consumed by the raging fireball.

“Jesus, I hope we don’t set the jungle on fire,” he murmured.

“Just go. Somebody will notice that.”

“No shit,” he said, shoving the truck into gear and pinning the throttle to the floor.

What took them two days to walk, they covered in less than an hour in the truck. He drove hard, but the road was so rough and narrow he never got out of second gear. As much as Tasha had to hold on in the cab, he could only imagine how rough it was in the back, but they didn’t have time to be careful.

He skidded to a stop at the dock and bailed out of the truck. “You two okay?” he asked as he rounded the rear of the truck.

“Rough ride, but we’re okay. That was some explosion,” Ed said as he and his wife climbed down out of the truck.

“Yeah. Almost over now. We have a boat right over here.”

The sun was just peeking over the horizon as they shoved the boat into the water. The small boat rode low in the water with four of them in it, but for the first time, Dan began to relax. They’d made it. There was no way the little boat would make it all the way to Talish with the fuel it had, but he’d worry about that when the time came. The first order was to get as many miles between them and the lab as possible.

Ed and Kelli sat on the front seat, wrapped in each other’s arms, with Tasha sitting on the rear seat with him. He ate six more granola bars and drank a full two-liters of water before his hunger and thirst were abated, Tasha doing the same though only eating five bars total.

“We made it,” she said loudly enough to be heard over the motor. “I should have trusted you.”

He gave her a quick kiss. “Are we going to make it?”

“What do you mean?”

“We. Us. You and me?”

“I need some time, Dan.”

“I’ve give you all the time you need. Just don’t do anything stupid without talking to me first.”

She nodded. “Okay,” she said softly. She looked at him with such sadness his heart nearly broke.

“Hey! We’re going to make it, okay? We’ll work it out.”

She nodded but said nothing.

They roared through the brightening day, making steady if not swift progress.

“Shit,” Dan cursed as he turned the boat for the bank. There was a large, inflatable, power boat coming toward them hard and fast. It was the same type of boat that had pushed the raft, and there appeared to be four men aboard.

Tasha pulled her weapon but kept it low. Dan knew exactly what she planned.

“No. I have another idea. I’m empty. How many do you have?”

“Four.”

“Give me two. If you need the other two…use them.”

She nodded and ejected two shells as the boat ran aground. They didn’t have much time.

“Get out as fast as you can,” Dan barked at the Griffins. He turned to Tasha. “Get them out of sight.” he ordered as he took the two bullets and clambered out of the boat behind them. “I’m going to lead them away. When they’re gone, get back into the boat and go.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You have to.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Now get under cover. Quick!”