Chasing Victory (The Winters Sisters) Read online

  “We have provided you with a wardrobe for your stay. You will find everything you need in the bathroom and closet. Your meals will be brought up to you, unless you would like to eat out in the gardens,” Dave said looking down at his watch. “Dinner started fifteen minutes ago and will be available for the next hour.”

  Victory’s face lit up at the thought of getting outside. “So, now I’m allowed to go outside.”

  “Of course, you’re not a prisoner.” Dave smiled a wicked smirk. “Besides, you are on an island. Enjoy.” He turned and left the room.

  Victory listened for the longest time till she could no longer hear Dave’s footfalls in the hall. Then she waited a few minutes longer. She walked up to the door and tried the knob. It turned smoothly. She walked out of her room and began her exploration.

  * * *

  Logan had landed the helicopter at the nearest helipad on the coast. As he and Tristan got out, they saw a humvee approach.

  “He’s right on time,” Logan remarked.

  “Would you expect anything else,” Tristan said.

  The charcoal humvee came to a stop directly in front of them and Wyatt got out. “Nice to see you Tristan, you too, Logan. I brought all of your gear. This is an under the table mission. Biotec is a very prominent company and until we have something concrete on them we have to tread very lightly.”

  “Of course we do. Why is it people with money always get special treatment,” Tristan spat.

  “Don’t start, Tristan. I’ve been on the phone all day with General Roberts at the Pentagon trying to convince him to let the two of you go over to the lab, so don’t make a mess of this,” Wyatt said.

  Tristan rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll watch our step.”

  “General Roberts is not convinced that Biotec is behind any of this. The company has a pristine history of being on the cutting edge of disease research. Their primary goal was to improve quality of living,” Wyatt said.

  “What better way to improve quality of life than to mess with our genetic makeup, right?” Tristan quipped.

  “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. If that is really what is going on there, we need to know how they are doing it and who they are working with. We can safely assume that they are not in this alone. You guys need to get going, and I’m sure that I don’t have to say this, but be careful and don’t get caught,” Wyatt said.

  Logan and Tristan pulled on their wet suits and air tanks, packed up their gear in their waterproof backpacks and headed out towards the ocean. They climbed into the dark blue high-speed boat. The sun was beginning to set, casting a sparkling purple and pink glow over the top of the water. This lighting provided them with a natural camouflage to any passerbys looking out at the ocean.

  A few miles away from the island they anchored the boat. They rechecked all their gear and dropped into the frigid water. Tristan and Logan approached the island from the farthest side from the lab. “Let’s take our gear up and find a place to stow it,” Logan said as he peeled the mask from his face.

  They moved quickly from the shore getting out of sight as soon as possible. Together they ran for the tree line without a single word, searching for a place to hide their gear.

  “Here,” Logan grunted. He was one of the best for finding cover on the fly. He found a small cave right inside the tree line, perfect for getting to and from the water and narrowly large enough for the two of them to squeeze into. They stripped off their scuba gear, unpacked their dry bags and prepared to head for the lab to scout it out. “I think our best bet is high ground,” Logan said.

  * * *

  Victory sat alone on the edge of a bench under a big evergreen tree. Her back was to the lab and she was looking out at the Pacific Ocean, tears trickling down her cheeks.

  “Victory,” came the quiet whisper of her name. Eyelids sparkling with the unshed tears she looked up, and then around her expecting to see someone. “Don’t look around, you can’t see me. I’m on the bluff immediately off to your right, but don’t look over.”

  Tristan and Logan had crawled up the side of a bluff overlooking the gardens of the lab. They both laid flat on their stomachs with bushes, twigs, and other vegetation covering their bodies. Each of them held binoculars up to their eyes. They weren’t that far from Victory or the lab, but easily out of ear shot.

  On their way up the bluff, Tristan and Logan were updated as to Noah’s status. Payton became hysterical over Victory’s kidnapping insisting to call the police. With Noah’s help, she composed herself and explained to him in detail what Victory witnessed in the forest. She told him about Victory’s ultra keen sense of hearing. The day in the forest had finally fallen into place for Tristan. He understood how the scene played out and relayed it to Wyatt and the team.

  “Tristan?” She murmured, sheer surprise on her face.

  Now that he could understand. “Yes, it’s me. That’s the only thing I will understand. You can hear me, according to your sister Payton; but unfortunately I can’t hear you. Your sister also said that you know sign language. I happen to have a friend here that knows sign. Keep your hands low, in your lap and my friend Logan will read for me.”

  “What are you doing here? I don’t understand. Who are you?” Victory signed, total confusion and anger shown in her face.

  “That’s a long story. I work for SOCOM. It’s a unified branch of Special Operations encompassing the Navy, Army and the Air Force. We were already on Jeffery’s trail when you came into the picture. What you need to know right now is that we are with the government and we are here to get you out.”

  “What makes you think I believe you? You told me you were a botanist,” she signed.

  Logan turned to Tristan. “Seems we are in for a challenge, she doesn’t believe you, Tristan.”

  “I’m telling you the truth, Victory. We are here to help you. Why else would the two of us be here?”

  “That’s a very good question,” Victory signed back. “Maybe you want my research too.”

  “We aren’t here for your damn research. We are here to help you. We don’t have time for this now. We need to get you out as soon as possible,” Tristan said.

  “No you can’t. Braxton has threatened my sisters,” she signed.

  “Victory, you need to stay calm, you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. What do you mean, Braxton threatened your sisters?” Tristan asked.

  Victory closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then relayed the entire conversation between herself and Lawrence Braxton.

  Tristan and Logan looked at each other. They didn’t say a word, but they both knew that Braxton had absolutely threatened Willow and Payton.

  “Okay, don’t tell anyone about your decision. Meet us back here tomorrow at ten in the morning and we will have a plan.”

  She still didn’t trust these two men, but at this point Victory saw no other options. “Is Payton okay?”

  “She’s fine. We have one of our best with her,” Tristan said.

  “What about Willow?”

  “We had Payton call her at the office, she’s okay. Tomorrow, ten, be here Victory. You need to be very careful. The men you are dealing with are extremely dangerous. We have good reason to believe that Braxton is the person that ordered Jeffery’s murder.”

  TEN

  “No Tristan,” Wyatt said for the fourth time in the last ten minutes.

  “Wyatt, stop, take a breath and think about it. We have been trying to get a lead on this for weeks. We knew Jeffery was somehow involved, but not who his contacts were. The fact is we were heading in the wrong direction. It doesn’t look like this is being run by a foreign organization. It’s looking more like someone in our own backyard, and that in itself makes it top priority. We need to get a handle on this and quickly. This situation was dropped in our laps, and it’s the break we have been looking for.” Tristan was pulling out all the stops.

  “Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong with this plan?” Wyatt asked.
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  “What else is new? We’re always hanging out on the line,” Tristan said.

  “Can you really handle this cover on the inside? There’s a ton of information you need to know,” Wyatt said.

  “I’m not stupid, Wyatt, and I’m not your average Joe. I do have a few degrees, including Biology and Chemistry, so I understand about science. I also have Victory on the inside. She can help me if needed,” Tristan said.

  “You hope. But only if she can keep it together.”

  “She can. I have watched her for the last week. She can handle this and will do it because it means keeping her sisters safe.”

  “Okay Tristan, you win. Let’s get the team together. We have a lot of work to do, especially Jack and we only have-“ Wyatt looked at his watch, “about twelve hours to get this crazy plan worked out.”

  Ten minutes later Jack, Logan, Wyatt, and Tristan were gathered around the large oval table in the Situation Room.

  “Okay guys, we’re one man down and I really think Noah needs to stay with Payton for now. Especially since Braxton has threatened her. We may try and move her to a safe house after she gets back from California, but for now we are one man short. Braxton wants Victory to give him three weeks on the project. Tristan has come up with a way in. He wants Victory to tell Braxton that she will give him the three weeks, but only if he brings in her lab assistant.” Wyatt said.

  All three of the guys looked at Tristan. Logan was the first to speak, a smirk filling his face. “Tristan, an assistant?”

  “Yeah, you don’t think I can assist. I can assist,” Tristan shot back.

  “Enough guys, we don’t have time for this.” Wyatt knew he had to stop them now or this bantering could go on forever. “Jack you are the lead for this part of the project and are going to be ultra busy. We need an iron clad background. We know Braxton will have his people do an extensive background check on Tristan. No slip ups. Tristan, Logan, you guys are backing up Jack. Our drop dead time is oh seven hundred. At that time, Logan and Tristan need to head back out to the island to make contact with Victory. That’s it. Let’s go to work.”

  * * *

  Nine forty-five the next morning Victory walked out of the lab and casually strolled toward the gardens. She didn’t want to draw anyone’s attention, so she stopped every now and then to look at a flower or greet the employees she met on the grounds. Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement heading her way.

  “Ms. Winters, Ms. Winters.” Victory turned to see Sarah, Braxton’s secretary running towards her. She stopped to let Sarah catch up to her; she certainly didn’t want this woman following her to her destination.

  “Yes, Sarah?” Victory greeted her with a smile.

  “Sorry to disturb your walk, but I have heard from Mr. Braxton. He will be arriving at noon and he wishes to meet with you as soon as he arrives.”

  “At noon? I thought I had at least another four hours.” Victory answered red faced and exasperated.

  “I’m very sorry, but Mr. Braxton’s schedule often changes on an hourly basis. I won’t keep you any longer, as I’m sure you have thinking you need to do,” Sarah said.

  Victory glanced around her to make certain no one was near. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and listened. She heard the chirping of the birds, the sound of the breeze blowing in from the ocean, and bits and pieces of different conversations, but no one took notice of her. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch. “Damn, it’s ten past ten,” she muttered to herself. Picking up her pace she headed for the bench overlooking the ocean. When she finally arrived she sat in the same spot she had the day before, keeping her eyes fixated on the rolling waves.

  “There you are, we thought you were going to stand us up.” Tristan’s warm, soft voice floated into her thoughts. Suddenly her controlled façade fell away and panic set in. She frantically started signing about her run in with Sarah and having to meet with Braxton in two hours.

  “Calm down Victory. We have a plan. Everything is going to be alright.” Tristan said.

  “We? Who’s we?” She signed.

  “All your questions will be answered. But right now we are short on time, we have to make this fast. I hoping you will be able to retain everything I need to tell you,” Tristan said.

  “I’m one of the best research specialists in the world, what do you think?” She flashed a glance in his direction.

  “I’m glad to see you still have your sense of humor. Take your left hand and slid it down the inside leg of the bench until you find a small--”

  “Yuck,” Victory said out loud. “Sorry about that.” She whispered.

  “No worries. There is no one within one hundred and fifty feet of you, and yes you have found what I want you to. That is a synthetic chewing gum. Pull it free and be careful, it is encapsulating a tiny ear piece.”

  Victory pulled apart the gum and found the ear piece. She looked around and then quickly placed it in her ear.

  “Its sound activated. Say ‘go’ when you want to start the recording; ‘Back’ to rewind, and ‘stop’ to end the recording. Got it?” Tristan asked.

  Victory hand signed the instructions back to Logan and Tristan verbatim.

  “Okay. You need to memorize the plan recorded in this ear piece before you go back to the lab. We can’t take the chance that they might have sensors that can detect electronics. So when you are done with the ear piece put it back in the gum and throw it out into the ocean.”

  “Tristan, who are you, you’re certainly not a botanist.”

  “We’re the good guys Victory. I told you, part of a U.S. military team. It will all become clear after you listen to the recording. Learn the plan, and stick to it, verbatim, don’t deviate from it at all, and Victory?” She hazarded a brief glance in his direction. “Good luck,” he murmured.

  ***

  It was a few minutes before her meeting with Braxton. She got up from the bench to walk back to the lab and took a few steps towards the edge of the cliff to toss the gum into the water.

  She had to get back to her room in time to splash water on her face and take a breath without fear of being watched. She was wiping the water from her face when there was a knock on her door.

  “Man, they are nothing if not prompt here.” Victory hung her towel and headed for the door. There was a second knock.

  “Ms. Winters, Mr. Braxton doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Dave said from the other side of the door.

  Victory swung the door open before he finished his sentence. “Ah Mr. Anderson, my favorite kidnapper, shall we go?” She walked right past Dave without a second glance. For the first time since she walked into the coffee shop two days ago, Victory had a feeling of control about her situation.

  They got out of the elevator on the top floor and walked down the same stunning black marble hall to Braxton’s office. Dave knocked on the door and opened it for Victory to enter, closing it behind her. Lawrence Braxton snapped closed his cell phone and was working on his computer. Victory had picked up a few words of his conversation as she approached the door, but none of it made any sense to her; something about a meeting with kaleidoscope?

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Winters. I trust you have enjoyed your time on my lovely island,” Lawrence Braxton said from behind his antique cherry desk without bothering to look up from his computer.

  “Considering the fact that I can’t leave the island, it was fine,” she responded.

  Her abrupt response caused Braxton to stop typing, but his gaze remained on his screen. “Good. Have you made your decision about coming to work for me?”

  “I will give you three weeks under one condition,” she said.

  That got his attention. For the first time Braxton looked up and actually made eye contact. “And what might that be?” He raised one eye brow and asked more out of curiosity than compromise.

  “I need my lab assistant. He has been with me since the very beginning of my research. He understands my short hand, my train of thought,
and my idiosyncrasies. It will take me longer than three weeks to get any of your people up to speed.”

  Braxton sat back in his oversized leather chair with a sneer on his face. He didn’t say a word for almost one whole minute. Then he asked, “is that all?”

  “Three weeks. That’s it. And you have to leave my sisters out of this.” Victory stared Braxton in the eye.

  “No problem.” He had no plan of honoring his promise, but being the smug man that he was, Braxton was sure he would be able to convince Victory to stay of her own accord before the three weeks were up. If not, then he would again threaten her sisters.

  “I need to able to speak to my sisters. I will tell them that I was called away on research.”

  “Of course, as long as you don’t give them any of the details of the project you will be working on. And as far as your assistant, it would be best for him if he was also kept in the dark.”

  “My thoughts exactly, the less he knows the safer he will be,” Victory responded casually.

  “Good, I’m glad we are on the same page. Give Sarah all the contact information regarding your assistant on your way out.”

  “I need to call him first and let him know that he will be coming out here to work for three weeks.”

  “Yes, you do need to contact him. But he won’t be working here,” Braxton said.

  “We need to work together,” she quickly responded, slightly less brazen.

  “And you will be. Call him on your way out and tell him to pack for warm weather. He is to go to the airport tomorrow morning at nine, there will be a private helicopter waiting to bring him out here. Good day Ms. Winters.” Braxton returned to his computer and Dave entered the office.