Torn (Deep 8, #5)

27. Harlow

TWENTY-SEVEN

Harlow

We don’t speak until we reach the Range Rover. The moment we’re in, I gun the throttle, desperate to get us out of there and lose the tail before they can get to us. Roger clutches the handle above the passenger window. He is silent but tense.

"Call Sean and put him on speakerphone," I bark, my voice sharp with urgency.

Roger punches a few numbers on the cell phone and puts it on speaker. "We’re leaving the ASIO headquarters now, but Harlow seems to think we’ve been compromised."

"What? How can you be compromised by your agency?" Sean booms through the speaker.

"I can’t explain now. We’re headed to the airport and won’t be coming back to the safe house. We’ll be in contact." She reaches over and presses the end button with finality.

"Would you like to explain what’s going on?" Roger asks, his voice calm as if we’re on a walk in the park instead of racing down the road at breakneck speed.

"He didn’t know about Dean. Why is that? Dean was flagged at the airport. Someone in his chain of command should have told him Dean was being detained. My guess is he’s on his way there now." I stop talking to swerve sharply to avoid a truck.

"He would never ask an agent to leave the country because of their safety. Protocol would dictate that we bring in more people in search of Lucas if we think he’s in Australia. When he asked about the pieces, he said he wanted to keep them safe. He didn’t specify where or why that was an option."

"Do you think he’s somehow behind Lucas’s kidnapping?" Roger’s confusion mirrors my own doubts.

"No, that wouldn’t make sense. He knows more about the kidnapping or Deep 8 than he is letting on." My hands ache from gripping the steering wheel as my eyes dart between the road and the rearview mirror.

"Why are we going to the airport?" Roger’s irritation seeps through.

"I think Nick is on his way to the airport to see Dean. I want to warn him, and we may have to bust him out before Nick gets there."

"When did this mission turn into the Wild West? We can’t bust him out of jail," he bellows.

My mind spins in seven different directions. "We have to get Dean out or wait for his father to get him out and then take him from there."

Roger stares out the front window, processing my plan. "I noticed you didn’t tell Nick about the rest of the team. Why?"

I smile, lightening the tension. "I would never give away a secret weapon. He doesn’t need to know about them. Technically, they can’t operate on Australian soil, but we're here under extenuating circumstances."

"I’ve worked with the team, and it doesn’t matter whose soil they are on, they’ll get the job done. They pulled Washington, D.C. from the inside out on their last mission," he responds.

We settle into the three-hour ride to the airport when Peter calls. "We got word they are transporting Dean from the airport to ASIO headquarters. Looks like it’s one vehicle with two armed guards. It’s an easy takedown. Sean and Beck are en route with a drone from the west. I’ve sent you the coordinates. Follow the yellow brick road. Bryan out."

"How does he do that?" I marvel.

Roger smirks. "He’s the best at what he does and loves his drones. It will be quite a show."

He brings up the moving red dot on his phone. A blue dot shows our guys following a yellow line toward the target. While I drive, Roger fills me in on the details.

As we speed north up Hume Motorway, Roger informs me we’ll intersect near Welby in a wooded area. We’re not sure of the details of the plan, but we’re trained to handle anything.

The trees become denser on both sides of the road, indicating we’re nearing the target area. Up ahead, we see an unmarked vehicle with blackout windows—a government ride. Behind it, a white Audi Q7 follows. We pass them, hang a right to cross over the highway and follow them from behind.

One of them releases a drone from the passenger window. The drone, loaded with firepower, aims at the wheels of the government SUV. The back tire blows out, forcing them to pull over. The Audi angles in behind them, and we pull up behind the Audi.

The driver and passenger exit the vehicle and fire at the Audi. Sean and Beck get out of the car and take cover behind their vehicle. Roger and I join them, and it’s over in seconds.

Two men dressed in black lie on the ground in a pool of blood. I run to the back door and rip it open, recognizing one of the men who has been shot. The casualties of war are brutal. Dean stumbles out of the back of the SUV with his hands tied in front of him.

"Are you all right?" he asks, glancing down at the dead man.

"I knew him. We worked on a mission together. It seems odd he would be doing delivery detail for your dad." I’m caught off guard for a moment.

"There’s a lot of strange stuff since we arrived. How about you help a guy out?" He holds out his zip-tied wrists to me. I cut him loose while the others drag the men’s bodies back in the car.

"We need to get out of here. Dean will go with you. Let us know where you land." Sean gets back in his SUV and drives away.

Dean, Roger, and I jump back in the Range Rover and head south until we get off the highway to head west. The ride is quiet until Dean breaks the silence.

"Thank you. Had they succeeded in getting me to the ASIO headquarters, there was no extracting me out of that place. Did you meet with dear old dad?" he asks.

"Yes, but there were things that didn’t add up. He didn’t know you were being detained. You didn’t call him?" I ask, watching his face.

"No. As you know, my anger gets the better of me. What’s not adding up?" he asks.

Roger gives me the side-eye. I tell Dean about my conversation with his dad. He’s silent in the back seat.

"I guess it’s a good thing you got to me before they held me at the ASIO headquarters, where no one leaves except in the dead of night. The operative word is dead," Dean replies.

Roger turns to Dean. "I don’t think he would have killed you. He wants information." He turns forward. "Men at that level have many agendas for many reasons. Believe me, my father always has an ulterior motive." Dean slaps his shoulder.

"Harlow, I need you to put an address in your GPS. I need to see my mum and maybe my sisters, if they are visiting."

I glance at him through the rearview mirror. "Do you think that’s a good idea?"

"No, I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I need to see them. It’s been way too long, and I’m slowly dying on the inside. I miss them so much. Believe it or not, this grown man needs a hug from his mum. I’m begging you."

Roger gives me a slight nod, and I punch the address into the GPS. My woman’s intuition tells me this is a bad idea, but I would do anything for Dean and then bail him out in the end. We’ve saved each other’s asses on more than one occasion.