Free Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Run by Pepper O'Neal

headquarters in Langley before I left Salt Lake. Found out that they have three field officers down here right now trying to locate Horton.”
    “Three more ?” Nick demanded, throwing himself into a chair by the window. “Didn’t we just eliminate two of those bastards?”
    Tony sighed again. “Relax, slick. They haven’t found her yet.”
    Tanner flicked a glance at Nick. “No, not so far. But they will. Now, don’t panic,” he warned, waving a hand. Opening the tiny refrigerator, he pulled out a couple of beers and handed them to Nick and Tony. “Jim Bradshaw, one of the three CIA guys, is staying at this hotel,” he continued, taking a beer for himself. “Room 312. I contacted him when I got in and found out that if the other two officers locate Horton, they’ll bring her here to the hotel so Bradshaw can question her.”
    A tight, smug smile curved his lips. “He’s agreed to let me in on the interrogation. If she talks about anything that incriminates you, I’ll convince them she’s full of shit. After all, she’s got no proof. And I’ve persuaded Bradshaw to turn her over to me for protection after they’ve talked with her.” Waving his beer, he toasted Nick. “So she can be disposed of whenever you like.”
    “What about the CIA guys?”
    At Nick’s question, Tanner seemed to draw inward. He drained his beer, his Adam’s apple bouncing as he gulped. And gulped again. “If it were up to me, I’d leave them alone so they could go back and report that she doesn’t know anything.” Looking back and forth between both men, his gaze settled on Tony. “Don’t you agree?”
    “Yes. There’s nothing to be gained by killing those guys. Joe said they killed the two you warned us about . Three more disappearing down here will bring too much heat.” Tony slanted Tanner a questioning glance. “You’re sure we’re talking about three more agents and not the same ones that came down here to find Almasi?”
    “As far as I know these are different men,” Tanner confirmed. “Bradshaw said nothing about the terrorists, so I assumed he and the two other officers came here just to find Horton. Although I didn’t press for details,” he added with a jerk of his shoulder as he set down his empty beer bottle. “I have to be careful what questions I ask. But if his two officers are the ones your guys killed, Bradshaw certainly doesn’t know they’re dead. He’s expecting them to bring the woman in within twenty-four hours.”
    “Okay, good. Then when he gives her to you, you give her to us and tell your superiors she was killed trying to escape.”
    “What if she doesn’t know anything, do you want me to just let her go?”
    “No!” Nick jumped to his feet. “She didn’t follow the teachings of the Church and I want her taken out.”
    “The church ? What has religion got to do with—no, never mind. I probably don’t want to know.”
    Tony chuckled. “He’s still pissed because the bitch didn’t keep her mouth shut like he told her. A woman’s supposed to obey her man, but she not only talked, she sang to your pals in the FBI.” Finished with his beer, he set the bottle on the nightstand, got to his feet, and moved toward the door. “Come on, slick, let’s get back to the motel and get some sleep.”
    Nick followed him out still grumbling about the accommodations in the village.
     
    ***
     
    6:18 p.m., the cottage near El Nopal, Baja California Sur :
     
    Hurry . You shouldn’t be wasting time on this . Tess ignored her inner voice and remained hunched over her kitchen table. Battling an emotional cocktail of guilt, urgency, and terror, she gritted her teeth and continued gluing chicken feathers onto mosquito netting, creating a miniature replica of an Aztec chieftain’s ceremonial cloak.
    You need to be gone from here . You should’ve left hours ago . She shook her head, trying to dislodge the nagging sense of dread.
    Too late to worry about what she should have done. She’d