Chapter 1

Nika glanced over at Garth as they cruised along the Interstate toward western Maryland. She liked what she saw. He was tall and lean and had the most piercing blue eyes. Just like mine, she thought. He radiated self-confidence and charm. No wonder the ladies liked him. Is he seeing anyone? She wondered.

Garth stole a glance at Nika's legs. Hot! He thought to himself. Very sexy! I wonder if Trent got into her pants? I wonder if I can?

Neither Nika nor Garth noticed the white sedan following at a discrete distance, nor did they notice when a larger silver sedan joined it just before they turned off of the Washington Beltway.

The property Garth was considering was a forty-acre tract about an hour and a half drive from his home in Alexandria. It was on a forested hillside just at the West Virginia line and accessible only by a poorly graded dirt road, and then a deeply rutted jeep trail. For most of the drive, Garth and Nika engaged in a subtle little dance. Each was seeking to gather critical intimate intelligence about the other, all the while attempting to maintain the pretense of casual conversation. The dance ended as they neared their destination and Garth began to pay more attention to the narrow and winding roads. When they finally came to the dirt jeep trail, he shifted his Bronco into four-wheel drive. They turned onto the trail and made a slow climb for about a quarter of a mile into ever more densely wooded terrain. When the trail finally ended in a small clearing, Garth stopped the truck and came around to Nika's side to help her out.

He thought to himself. With those beautiful legs, she should be running around to help me out. But at least I get an excuse to hold her hand and maybe get in a little feel.

She thought to herself. I can't believe he's playing the courteous gentleman just so he can get a feel. Maybe I'll get to hold his hand for a while.

They did hold hands and for longer than was really necessary. As they walked together to survey the perimeter of the property, there always seemed to be an reason why Garth should offer a hand to Nika or to take her arm or place a hand on her back to guide her around some obstacle. They were both full of smiles, laughing and teasing the whole while, and by the time Garth helped Nika back into the truck, there was an unspoken agreement that their relationship had passed the initial test. Soon it would be on to the next level.

Garth and Nika were engaged in flirtatious banter as the Bronco crept back down the jeep trail, and it wasn't until they were almost to the graded dirt road when Garth saw the other vehicles. At almost the instant he saw them, there was the bark of automatic weapons fire and the windshield on the Bronco turned nearly white.

He was stunned, but only for a second. He shouted a command. "Nika, get down."

Garth slammed the Bronco into reverse and backed wildly up the jeep trail as Nika dove for the floorboards. They careened crazily back up the hill to the clearing before Garth stopped.

Nika was calm but curious. "What the hell was that? Did you see who was shooting at us?"

"I saw two guys, and from the sound and impact of the weapons, they both were firing something like M-16s. We'd be dead if this wasn't my work truck."

"Work truck?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I'm in Witness Security. This truck is armored. That's the reason the windshield held. Whoever was shooting at us probably wasn't counting on that."

"So what are we going to do?"

Garth thought for a while. "Can you handle a gun?"

Nika smiled and nodded. "Yes, I've had some experience."

Things were moving in slow motion for her again. She felt in her element and she thought to herself. Maybe Trent was right. Maybe I am an adrenaline junky.

Garth climbed out of the truck and Nika followed suit, not waiting for him to come around and help this time. He reached into a compartment behind the driver's seat and extracted a nasty looking shotgun and handed it to Nika.

"It's a Benelli Nova. You've got six rounds of buckshot. Just put the laser dot on what you want to hit. It's an automatic. Just pull the trigger. Can you figure out the safety?"

Once again Nika smiled and nodded. She hefted the shotgun and Garth noticed that she looked right at home with it. He reached back into the truck and pulled out another weapon, an M4-A1 carbine. He groped around once more and came up with two extra loaded clips.

"OK, let's get away from the truck. I figure we have a couple of minutes if they come up here looking for us. Once we get clear I'm going to get on the phone and call some backup, you just keep your eyes open and your head down. Cover me while I'm talking."