A/N — I added an Easter egg for Aspect. ;) For everyone else, google parachuting dogs. So cute. xoxo — kals

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Chapter 17

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Tonight, unlike the last time the team waited for Pablo, there was no chit-chat, no commenting on random animals that passed by, no hacky sack. Instead, the entire team was on guard, Benz and Smith hidden high in the trees of the Bosque de Chapultepec. Before their arrival, Tom had no idea that there was a park twice the size of Central Park in Mexico City. Fortunately, the dense foliage provided plenty of coverage for their arrival, courtesy of the C-17 that Utt commandeered without any questions regarding the lack of formal order. The hardest part of the mission thus far had been avoiding their own radar system, designed to keep travel across the border to a minimum, a task that Val managed to accomplish while breaking no more than a dozen laws.

Not that Tom had much to say about breaking laws, given that nothing about this mission was authorized.

He shifted, rolling his left shoulder in an effort to work out the knots. It had been fifteen years since the last time he did a high-altitude jump, and he had been quickly reminded why he left special operations. His thigh, in particular, hurt like hell. Popping two of the ibuprofen pills that Smith offered without comment, Tom felt the adrenaline coursing through his body, knowing that it would carry him through the next few hours.

More than fifteen minutes passed before Halsey alerted them to a new arrival. The dog showed no ill effects of his own jump, strapped to Danny's chest. Tom initially wasn't in favor of bringing the dog but Mike, of all people, convinced him that Halsey's tracking skills might come in useful. Apparently Halsey had gained a convert during his time in the Arctic. A moment later Tom picked out a single figure approaching, and he felt his senses move into high gear. The Nathan James' helo dropped Pablo and Tex five miles off the coast twenty-two hours ago, and there had been no contact since then. Watching Pablo approach, knowing immediately that he was alone, Tom felt a stab of concern. If the cartel had Tex, there was no telling what the man was going through right now.

Or what they were all walking into.

Pablo reached the small clearing, nodding all around. After confirming no obvious injury, Tom spoke, voice harsh. "Where's Tex?"

"He's watching your girls right now," Pablo replied. "They're at the Presidental Palace, just like you thought. Cooper's still impersonating Doctor Scott."

Danny shifted in the dark. "Did you see them arrive? Did they seem okay?"

Pablo nodded. "They arrived mid-afternoon, meaning they must have driven straight-through. Since we got here first, we decided to do a little intel and Tex saw someone he recognized from his days in Gitmo. I'm not sure how he did it, but the man managed to get himself a job working for El Chapo. I don't know where you found the guy, Captain Chandler, but he is a serious chameleon."

Tom blinked, surprised and yet not by the idea of Tex talking his way into a cartel stronghold. "I can't take credit for finding Tex. He was the one who found us."

"You should also know that President Gispert is with them," Pablo added, the comment directed at Danny in particular.

Danny stiffened. "Gispert knows Cooper by sight. Has he sold her out?"

"Not yet," Pablo replied, lips firming. "But they're on borrowed time."

Tom stepped forward. "Then we should get going. I assume you found us some transportation?"

Pablo smiled. "Right this way."

xxxxx

They were almost back to their bedroom-slash-prison when the guard next to Kara jerked backwards, collapsing to the floor with a snap of bones and flesh. Sasha was on the second guard before he had time to react, the razer she had slipped into her hand upon leaving the dining room sinking into the man's neck. Ignoring the spray of blood that now soaked her arm, Sasha spun, only to see that Kara had managed to retrieve one of the guard's guns, dispatching the last two with surgical provision.

"Damn girl, I didn't know you could shoot like that," Tex said, looking almost impressed.

Kara shrugged as she collected a second weapon and extra cartridges. "I'm from Kansas. I learned to shoot before I learned to read."

Sasha held up a hand to quiet them, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. Cursing, she looked to Tex. "How do we get out of this place?"

Tex flashed her a smile. "Lucky for you, I know just where to go. Right this way."

Instead of heading down the hall, Tex let himself into a room that appeared to be another bedroom. But, this time, instead of a bathroom, the second door opened up into another hall. Ditching her heels, Sasha followed Tex through two more halls before he stopped, opening a closet and pulling out a bag, which he dumped onto the bed. "Thought you two might prefer something a little less conspicuous."

"Smart thinking, Nolan," Sasha said, yanking off her dress and stepping into a pair of olive green pants that she strongly suspected formerly belonged to a member of the Mexican Army. The boots were too big, but Sasha didn't care. They were a major improvement over heels. "Who else is here?"

"At the moment, just me. You two ready?" Receiving nods, Tex slipped through a door that Sasha hadn't noticed. "But your friend Pablo is collecting the cavalry as we speak. Plus, El Chapo might not be quite as in charge of things as we thought. There's definitely some grumbling in the lower ranks. My new best friend seems to think that a coup is in the making."

Sasha nodded, storing that information to consider later, as she followed Tex down another hallway. Despite possessing an excellent sense of direction, Sasha had no idea where they were headed as Tex led them through one room and then down a hallway. This one appeared to be unused, most of the furniture covered in dusty covers. She vaguely recalled having read once that the building contained more than two thousand rooms and, based on the tiny amount of the building that she had seen so far, Sasha could believe that it was true. At least there were no signs that they were being followed. Worst case, they could probably hide here for the next week.

After ten minutes of walking, Sasha paused, grabbing both Tex and Kara, lifting a hand to her lips. The muffled sound of approaching footsteps couldn't be mistaken. Gesturing towards the various tables and antiques littering the walls, Sasha slipped behind a table holding a huge vase, gun at the ready. Across from her, she could see Tex and Kara doing the same, Kara kneeling so she could shoot without hitting Tex.

Hoping that the cavalry arrived soon.

xxxxx

Pablo insisted on taking point, and Tom reluctantly agreed. The man was the only one who had been inside the Presidential Palace before and, despite having reviewed both blueprints and pictures of the building, Tom was now understanding how futile his efforts had been. More than four hundred thousand square feet, the structure was more like a town than a house. The section that they were currently in had apparently been closed for maintenance prior to the virus hitting, when all such work was stopped. The scent of mold and standing water was mixed with something that might have been decay, making Tom wonder what — or perhaps who — crawled in here to die.

They had just entered another section of the Palace, one still showing no evidence of occupation but smelling better, when Pablo's hand went up, and the team split, hugging the walls. Tom could hear nothing but the dripping of water. A minute passed, and then two, Tom's mouth so dry that he could hardly breathe. As they approached the Palace, Pablo had pointed out the Mexican armed forces outside, presumably working with El Chapo and the cartel. Yet something inside Tom still rebelled at killing allies, even knowing that many of them must have supported El Chapo's rise. Pablo gestured at Danny, and then Halsey burst down the hall, coming to a dead stop fifty feet away, sitting down, tail wagging.

A heartbeat later, Tex stepped out from behind a table. "Took you long enough, Reyes. You're late."

Tom walked forward swiftly. "Tex. Pablo here said you had eyes on ..."

And then he stopped. Because standing just behind Tex, wearing what looked vaguely like a Mexican Army uniform, was Sasha. Ignoring everyone — everything — around him, Tom walked straight towards her, hand lifting to brush a finger across her cheek, seeing the smile that curled her lips.

"You came."

Her words were quiet, meant only for his ears. "For you, I'd go to the end of the earth.

And he meant it. They might still be fifteen hundred miles from the United States, surrounded by hostiles who were likely hunting for her at this very moment, but the terror that had been driving him disappeared the moment Sasha stepped out from behind that table.

Because no matter what happened next, they would face it together.

Refocusing, Tom stepped back, confirming that Kara was here, standing next to Danny, their hands clasped tightly. Nodding to Danny, an unspoken message of understanding, Tom turned back to Sasha. "Time to get the hell out of here."

xxxxx

Sasha took a deep breath. "No."

Tom scowled. "What?"

"I'm not leaving until I talk to Gispert," Sasha declared. Heart racing, her eyes met Tom's, understanding what she was asking. From the second that she left the Superdome, Sasha had known, without question, that Tom would follow her here. He would find her and do whatever it took to save her and Kara. Only one question remained.

Did he trust her enough to do what needed to be done?

Tom's lips thinned. "This isn't our fight, Sasha. If the Mexican people want a president who isn't associated with the cartel, they can vote him out of office. We need to get out of here before anyone knows that we came."

"Gispert isn't here voluntarily," she said, talking swiftly, making every word count. "He could have sold me out, Tom. He knew who I was. But he didn't. He said he was in the same position. He's being held hostage. We need to rescue him."

"Have to agree with Ms. Cooper there," Tex said, surprising her. "There's something fishy going on here. Wouldn't be surprised to find out that the President was in a similar spot to Mrs. Granderson."

Tom narrowed his eyes at her. "We can talk about this once you and Lieutenant Foster are safely out of here."

"By then it will be too late," Sasha argued. "Right now they'll be looking for me and Kara, but they won't expect us to head towards Gispert. It's the perfect time."

It was Danny, not Tom, who spoke. "We're not officially here, Lisichka. If anyone finds us, it could start a war."

Sasha let that sink in, her gaze flying to Tom. "This is off the record?"

"Completely." Tom paused, then added. "I told Utt to sell me out the second anyone asked."

Utt did something off the books? Sasha's gaze flew to Danny, who shrugged. "Did you keep this off the books because of Granderson?" she asked, attempting to catch up, piecing together the bits of information.

"Granderson is a patsy," Pablo explained. "They've had their hooks in her for years. Probably the same with Gispert."

Again, Sasha was surprised, yet Pablo's information made so much sense. The cartel wanted control. What better way to get control than to have an inside person, one who could be controlled and manipulated. Sasha thought back to dinner, to the slight glimmer of hope that she saw in Gispert's eyes when he saw her. "They have something over him. If we can get to him, he might be able to help us."

Tom stared at Sasha, his eyes burning into hers, and she could see the moment when his decision was made. Lips firming, Tom turned. "Pablo and Tex, we could use your help."

"Whenever there's trouble and long odds," Tex replied, a grin covering his face.

Before anyone else could speak, Tom continued. "The rest of you, take Lieutenant Foster to the rendezvous point. If we are late, don't wait for us. Everyone else is with me."

"Sir," Danny began to protest.

Before Tom could speak, Sasha stepped forward, lifting her hand to his arm. What they were doing was dangerous, and getting Kara safely out of here had to be Danny's first and only priority. "You have more important things to do right now, Kotenok." Sasha looked to Kara, swallowing tightly, and a moment of understanding passed between them. "Take care of him, Kara."

Then Sasha turned, focusing on Pablo. "Let's go."

xxxxx

Two hours later, Sasha slipped through the curtains of the window on the third floor Presidential Suite, praying that she was right about this. Tex might have been able to get them here without tipping off the guards, but escaping off the roof if Gispert called for security was going to be an entirely different matter. She was betting her life on the belief that Gispert wasn't here voluntarily.

Worse, she was betting Tom's life.

She slipped through the room, Tom on her heels, thankful for the nightvision goggles that he had brought. She approached the bed, expecting the man to be asleep but, instead, he sat upright, fully dressed. Waiting for her. Sasha stopped, slipping the safety off her gun but not lifting it. Behind her, she could sense Tom's tension as he lifted his own weapon, knew that he was prepared to shoot if Gispert moved so much as an eyelash, but not wanting to put that on him.

Killing the sitting President of Mexico for her.

"I do not know why you are here, Ms. Cooper. If your assignment is my death, I will accept this without protest. I know what I have done, and I deserve the hell I now live in," Gispert said softly. "I ask nothing for myself. All that I ask is mercy for my wife and child. They are innocent of all of this, and I live in fear of what that madman might do to them."

Without taking her eyes off Gispert, she spoke softly. "How long have you been working with the cartel, Imaz?"

Although Gispert didn't move, she could tell that the words hit their target from the way his eyes flared. "When the Red Flu first hit, we had nothing. My people were dying and your government refused to provide any information about the vaccine you were developing. El Chapo claimed to have a means of getting what we needed. He offered me hope. I foolishly believed him." At the slam of a door, they all jumped, their attention moving to the door to the suite. Sasha unconsciously held her breath, yet the moment passed. Gispert's attention returned to Sasha. "They are looking for you, are they not?"

Sasha studied Gispert, considering all she knew of the man. Despite the times they worked together, Gispert remained something of a mystery. Yet she didn't think he was lying — at least not about being willing to sacrifice himself for his family — but that didn't mean she trusted him. Sasha shifted closer to Tom. "Time to get out of here."

There was a long pause, then Tom lowered his gun, stepping forward to take Gispert's hand and pull him off the bed. "President Gispert, on behalf of the United States, I would like to offer you safe passage to the Nathan James, where we are happy to provide you with doses of the vaccine and directions on how more can be made."

Gispert didn't move. "Ans my family?"

"We'll pick them up on our way out of here," Tom assured him. Reaching the window, Tom held the rope harness for Gispert before giving a short whistle.

Sasha waited until Gispert was on his way to the roof, before reaching out to touch Tom's arm. "Thank you for trusting me."

Even through her goggles, Sasha could see the slow smile that curled across Tom's face. "Just returning the favor."