Tuesday. Unknown Location, Beirut, Lebanon.CARLA'S HEAD SWAM and everything spun. Her stomach clenched and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick. She swallowed and tasted bile. Or was that fear?The motorcycle slowed, and they passed out of the sunlight into darkness. Her eyes stopped throbbing, but that was only one ache in a long list since getting hauled onto the motorcycle.Should she try to throw herself off the bike again?The first time hadn't gone so well for her. But she'd tried, just like Melody had told her to. The difference was that whoever this guy was, nothing seemed to surprise him.Before her muddled brain could decide on a course of action, the bike came to an abrupt stop. She lurched forward, catching herself on the handlebars. Her captor spat a few words then roughly grabbed her by the hair."Ow! Hey, I'm cooperating." She grasped him by the wrist in an effort to ease the pain.He used the hold to drag her off the bike, nearly toppling

Tuesday. Beirut, Lebanon."CARLA? CARLA!"Vaughn stared straight ahead, but he didn't see the side of the building or the curb he'd nearly jumped trying to get off the road to listen to the call once he realized who it was.He pulled the phone away from his face.The call was gone."What the hell? What did she say?" Jamie twisted in his seat to face Vaughn."We need to trace that call. I need..." Vaughn's mind came to a screeching halt.They couldn't call the home office. They shouldn't even reach out to an American number for fear of leading the authorities straight to him."I'm getting someone." Jamie had his burner out and pressed to his ear."Vaughn? Hey, Vaughn." Brenden leaned forward between the seats. "What'd she say?""She's alive. Oh, God. She's alive." Vaughn braced his hands on the steering wheel and held tight to that one fact."Yeah, hey Luke." Jamie turned away from them. "We need support over here. You know our situation?"Vaughn picked his he

Tuesday. Streets of Beirut, Lebanon.VAUGHN LAID ON the horn and swerved around the slower moving car, momentarily playing chicken with on-coming traffic."Jesus!" Jamie held onto the door."Try to not die," Ghost said through the cell phone."How close are you getting?" Vaughn asked."The phone's still on. I've triangulated it down to a city block. Not sure I'll get you closer than that."Red light. Red light!" Jamie braced his free hand on the dash.Vaughn stomped on the brakes, none too happy about getting caught in city traffic. He glanced up and down the road, in case Carla had somehow managed to leave a sign that she'd passed that way.A blue van passed through an intersection one street over. He caught a glimpse of a logo that tickled the back of his mind.Ghost began speaking again, so Vaughn put the van out of his mind. "Have you considered how you're getting out of the country?""No." Vaughn peered at the lights and eased off the gas as the other street

Tuesday. Warehouse, Beirut, Lebanon.VAUGHN STARED AT the downed bodies of the men in suits. There were four of them and they were most certainly dead. When Vaughn had made the call to gas the building, they hadn't been certain this was their location, but when the gunshots began, there'd been no doubt."I don't see anyone," Jamie called out from around the corner."Fuck," Vaughn muttered.There were three of them against how many? Was it just the one guy? Or was he with backup now?Three people couldn't cover the whole building.Vaughn waved Jamie on. "Go around, Brenden and I will cover this side and the front."They were spread too thin.How the hell were they going to pull this off?Vaughn and Brenden jogged toward the other end of the building. They'd only seen one side exit, and it was impossible for them to get inside because there were no door handles. At this point they had to hope they smoked the guy out. Going in after him would take too long and allow t

Tuesday. Yialos Hotel, Meneou, Cypress."YOU HAVE REACHED your destination."Vaughn stared up at the white hotel in front of them. It was out of the way and with any luck they'd look like a group of tourists who'd partied a bit too much. He parked their rental in the small lot adjacent to the building and together they got out.The keys to two adjoining rooms had been waiting for them along with the car.Vaughn didn't know how the guys back home did this stuff, but he appreciated it. They were all on their last leg, too tired to think beyond making it to the next stop to figure out what that stop was.He got out of the van and stretched, his legs wobbling a bit. An hour after they'd disembarked from the smuggler's small ship Vaughn still felt the ground moving beneath him. It was the same thing every time he got on the water. His body just clicked with it and didn't want to let it go.Maybe the next chance he got he should take a vacation. Bring Mom and Santiago if he wa