Chapter 20
Ashlin gently touched down on the Kelly Field airstrip just west of downtown San Antonio, Texas, at two o’clock in the morning, local time.
She taxied to the side of the barely lit runway, where an aircraft tug latched to the front wheel and pulled them inside the dark hangar.
Once the doors were closed, the inside lights were turned on.
She and Kayla finished the post-flight checklist and finally exited their airplane.
Kira and Piper had just unloaded the last bags from the rear hold when Mia walked up to grab her bags.
She had already placed cameras in the corners and checked in with the Ops Center, which had tapped into the base’s safety and protection system before they had landed.
Internal and external security was set for their precious airplane.
As the last three Ladies exited the now-secure building, Ashlin saw Clint talking with Shadow next to one of the black SUVs lined up in the otherwise empty parking lot.
Their conversation looked intense. Piper stepped around from the back of the first vehicle in line and signaled for them to join her.
“These don’t look like the rentals we usually get,” Mia noted.
Piper smiled. “Clint arranged these. He got them from a Beltway bandit he’d worked with here before.
They’ve also provided us with safe houses, so we won’t be staying in hotels.
” She looked directly at Ashlin. “Our house only has four bedrooms, so you are going to have to stay in the small two-bedroom house a block over. The men are in the same neighborhood in two separate houses.”
“Nice.” Mia walked to the back and loaded her gear followed by Kayla.
“I take it I’m riding with Clint?” Ashlin asked and lifted her bags onto her shoulders. “I guess I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”
“I’m going to go with you down to Charlotte,” Mia announced.
“I can help Clint install the security system. I put one in for Mom after Dad died, then my sister decided that as a single woman, she needed one, too. So, I had to put one in her house. I’m confident I can help Clint better than you can. ”
“I don’t have anything to do tomorrow morning. I can hold a ladder,” Piper offered.
“I’ll go in case somebody gets shocked.” Kira headed around the SUV to get in on the other side.
“Well, if everybody else is going, I guess I’ll go, too.” Kayla loaded her gear into the rear and closed the door.
Ashlin smiled. “So, we’re all going. I’ll text you after talking to Clint and figure out what time we’re leaving. See you all tomorrow morning.”
She walked over to the vehicle, where Clint was now talking with Coyote and Boomer.
She put her two large bags into the back on top of the other eight and closed the lid.
When she opened the back door, Ashlin noticed Van behind the wheel, and Boomer had slipped into the shotgun seat.
To give the men more room, she slid into the middle of the back seat, where she was joined within a minute, Coyote on one side and Clint on the other.
“My whole team is going with us to help you install the security system tomorrow,” she announced to Clint.
“It looks like we’re going to have plenty of help. Boomer and Coyote are coming too.” Clint slipped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her in tight before giving her a kiss on the temple. “Thanks for the smooth ride.”
“You’re welcome.” She looked up at him with a smile. “Since we fly at about fifty thousand feet, we were able to pass right over that storm front.”
“Clint and Ashlin,” Van called from the front seat, “I’m dropping you two off first. Text Coyote when you figure out what time you need to leave in the morning.
He and the new guy will pick you up. I intend to sleep.
Maybe all day. After I finished the short mission for the State Department, I intended to sleep for twenty-four hours before flying home.
Then I got this phone call from Homeland, telling me I’m supposed to pick up that cute little bird Ashlin and her friends landed on our tarmac a few weeks ago.
No problem. It doesn’t have to be in Montana until two in the morning on Monday.
I can still sleep. But, oh no, plans changed this afternoon.
We had to load the bird under complete secrecy and fly back to San Antonio so big brother could play hero to the poor little widow.
It’s going to be about three in the morning before I can finally lie down and sleep. Nobody had better fucking wake me up.”
“Some of the Ladies are going out tomorrow night,” Ashlin mentioned then corrected herself, “make that tonight. Do you want to get invited?”
“I should be rested by then.” A slow smile slid over Van’s face. “I can sleep all day Sunday since we aren’t flying until after dark. Sure. Just let me know when to be ready to roll.”
“Ashlin and I have other plans.” Clint’s blue eyes looked nearly black in the darkness of the SUV. “It’s my wife’s birthday, and I have something very special planned since our Michelin-starred restaurant back in D.C. had to be canceled.”
“Ooh. What is it?” Ashlin couldn’t withhold the excitement in her voice. “Are we still going out to dinner?”
Clint’s grin looked almost evil. “Definitely. It will be a birthday to remember.”
They pulled off the interstate, and within a few blocks, the GPS directed them through the perfect grid of a middle-class neighborhood, where all the houses were the same white brick with a squat pyramid roof.
Every fifth home was a repeat. On the next street, the homes were a mirrored version.
The neighborhood seemed to go on for miles.
Since the homes were built about ten years ago, their lawns and shrubbery were well established, but there wasn’t a tree in sight.
Van turned into the driveway of a smaller version of the cookie-cutter homes. “This is you two.” He handed Clint a small keychain with a garage door opener attached. “I’ll see you when I see you.”
Ashlin’s bags were easy to grab because they were on top, but Clint had to dig for a few minutes to retrieve both of his. He hit the garage door opener, and the lights inside came on as the door lifted. They waved goodbye as they practically dragged their bags into the house.
“I hope to hell the beds are made because I am just too damn exhausted to do anything but crash,” Ashlin informed him, standing in the kitchen.
She didn’t know why she felt so tired. They had slept on and off all afternoon.
Yes, it was between several wells of sex, but she felt like it was quality sleep.
True, it wasn’t eight straight, but it was sleep.
“Which of these are your weapons?”
She pointed to a large black bag next to her boot. Out of habit, since they all looked exactly alike, she looked for the black embroidered tiger next to the zipper on top.
“Do you want this in the bedroom with you, or for tonight, can it live right here?”
“We usually leave them next to the door. We’ll probably go out through the garage, so this will be fine for tonight.” Her voice was so tired, it was barely audible.
Clint picked her up with one arm under her legs and the other around her back, and carried her to the master bedroom.
He was lucky. He found it immediately and placed her on the bed.
He unlaced her boots and pulled them off.
She stood in her stocking feet and unzipped her flight suit, tossing it on a nearby chair.
In nothing but her bra and panties, and socks, she crawled into the bed. “Can you please check the house?”
Clint returned to the kitchen to grab his gear and personal bags.
He took them into the bedroom and laid them on the floor next to what in the last few days had become his side of the bed.
More out of habit than Ashlin’s request, he walked through the house, checking every window lock and door.
As with most safe houses, the drapes and curtains had already been closed.
He stopped in the kitchen to see what they’d left them for breakfast. In the light of the refrigerator door, he grinned from ear to ear.
These guys were good. They understood safe houses.
The refrigerator was stocked with bacon, eggs, bread, sandwich meats, sliced cheeses, sodas, and even beer.
There were three bottles of unopened wine on the door.
His phone vibrated with a new encrypted email.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living room.
Dell had confirmed that the latest version of their favorite brand of surveillance equipment had been delivered to Theodora’s house around five the previous evening.
Everything he needed for installation tomorrow was already on-site, including drills with extra bits, hammers, nails, wire, and even an instruction booklet. Everything was itemized in the email.
Clint saw a text from Theodora, confirming that several boxes had arrived.
She’d also answered his other questions, such as what time she woke up in the morning.
He then decided it would be best if their entourage arrived about nine thirty.
He sent a text to the entire team announcing that they needed to leave around eight thirty.
So Theodora wasn’t overwhelmed in the morning, he sent her a text to be delivered around eight o’clock, letting her know how many people would be descending on her home.
He glanced at a few other emails and decided they could wait until the morning, or maybe the afternoon. His eyes were starting to droop.