Deceptive Treasures: Slye Temp Book 5 (2 page)

Another guard entered
. Dammit.

The first guard turned around, saying something in clipped Korean to the second one
. Tanner could grasp enough Korean to get the gist of what they were saying, but the guards spoke too low for him to hear.

Whatever they’d discussed ended with one heading to the far side of the building and the second one turning in Tanner’s direction
.

Of course
.

No point in going halfway when things turned FUBAR
.

Taking down the guard or getting out of the building silently wasn’t going to happen with this woman in his arms.

Tanner turned sideways and eased backwards into a pocket of black created by a support beam. He angled his body to shield his captive.

Why
? Because of his damned ingrained instinct to protect a woman. As long as she didn’t try to kill him.

If she stayed quiet, the guard should pass by without noticing them
. But that warm little body of hers was pressed against the front of him, and
his
body was noticing her soft curves.

Not the time for Big John to wake up
.

What the hell was this woman doing here
? Following a boyfriend?

Had Shin Pang or Jae Har, the physicists, told a girlfriend goodbye?

That would have been stupid. But geniuses were not known for their common sense.

Tanner sorted through ideas for what to do with her and kept coming up with nothing his conscience would accept. First, they had to escape discovery.

That
might
have been a possibility until the guard heading his way flipped on a small penlight.

You son of a bitch.

The beam swung left and right in front of the guard’s feet as he moved closer
.

Tanner’s ninja tensed
.

That damned light swept to the left and paused on a pile of construction debris
. When it did swing back to the right, the light would land on Tanner and his ninja.

Well, shit
.

Toss aside his ninja and go for the guard?

Sure, that’d work. And for his follow up act, he’d pull a helicopter out of his back pocket.

Chapter Two

Every second thumped in tandem with Tanner’s heartbeat
. Blood pounded in his ears.

He had no other choice. He’d wait until the very last moment before the guard’s light reached him then he’d drop the woman and go for the guard
.

If his ninja remained quiet when her feet touched the floor, Tanner might just pull this off
.

If not, they were both dead
.

Logic said this woman would do anything to avoid discovery, because she’d be accused of spying for the Americans if she were caught with Tanner
.  

The guard’s light bobbed over debris and pieces of piled-up scaffolding
. He stood close enough for Tanner to smell the strong odor of nicotine clinging to his gray wool uniform. His nose was flat on the end.

Somebody hit you with a frying pan, Flat Nose?

Tanner’s muscles were drawn-bow taut, ready to spring into action
.

A high-pitched voice crackled from the guard’s radio
. Flat Nose stuck his flashlight under his arm. The beam bounced as he listened to the rapid chatter Tanner could barely understand. Something about ... intruders.

Had someone seen his men?

Only if Har or Pang had made a mistake.

Very possible, considering Tanner was holding an unknown woman in his arms.

She trembled, but didn’t make a sound.

Tanner held his breath while the rattle of scrambled words streamed from the guard’s radio. He picked up that more soldiers were on the way and some reference to shutting down the exits in the city. Sweat trickled along the inside of Tanner’s collar in spite of the freezing temperature.

Would a division of ground soldiers flood this building and surrounding area any minute?

The second guard who’d searched the other side of the building marched to the center and called out to Flat Nose. After a quick exchange of words, Flat Nose joined his buddy by the door and they walked outside.

Tanner let out a breath
.

His ninja did, too, at the same time, as if their cardiovascular systems were linked
.

Now
. What to do with her?

He’d used up six minutes. Time to make a decision
. His limited Korean would only confirm that he was American, so he said nothing as he eased his hand from her mouth, waiting to see what she’d say.

She whispered, “They know you are here for Pang and Har
. They know about the defection. We must hurry.”

He arched an eyebrow at her that she couldn’t see
. Perfectly spoken English in an angel’s voice, albeit with a Korean accent. Who the hell was she?

“What do you wait for?” she hissed at him
. “More soldiers will come. Pang and Har have been betrayed.”

If she knew about Har and Pang’s defecting then Tanner was losing time hiding that he was American
. “Who are you?”

“You must hurry or—”

Did she think this was some damn game? “Explain who you are or I’ll leave you unconscious to face the soldiers alone.”   He wouldn’t do that to a woman, but threatening anything less was wasting precious seconds.

She turned rigid as his mama’s broom handle and derision saturated her words
. “I should expect no more from your kind.” 

“What kind?” 

“US military.”

Just how much did she know about this op
? “I’m not military and you don’t know what you’re talking about. Time’s up.”

She got the message. “I am Soo Jin. I perform research in the same center as Har and Pang
. I know you are here to take them to the US to defect in exchange for information on the Project Jigu-X.”

This woman clearly knew something, but in this country she could be working for any side
. “What was transmitted on the soldier’s radio?”  

She warned, “You waste time. When your people die, it will be your fault.”

Tanner grabbed her by the throat, keeping her back to his chest. “If you’ve set us up, I’ll kill anyone responsible for harming my men.”  He squeezed his fingers.

She struggled against him
. “Stop. I ... came ... to help.”

He eased his grip
. “Why?”

Her words rushed out wrapped in fear
. “I am part of the network that is helping Pang and Har escape. I came to warn them and show you the way out of the city, but if you do not hurry your men will die ... if they have not been caught already.”  

Was she telling the truth
?

He put her down and yanked her arms behind her back, holding them with one hand, and keyed his throat mic to transmit to his team
. “The package has a leak. I repeat, package has a leak. Hold position.”

Dingo’s voice came back
. “What’s wrong, mate?”

“They might be expecting us
. Where are you?”

“Sixty yards from wheels
. We haven’t seen any movement around it.”

Tanner considered her words and told Dingo
. “Send someone to recon, but don’t touch it.”

“Stand by.” Dingo and the rest of the team were half a kilometer away
.

Tanner itched to move out, get out of the center of the damn city, but the op had major flaws right now
. The minute he left this building, he had to know for sure where he was going and what he was doing with this captive. There was still time to make the transport, if it hadn’t been compromised.

Could he unload this woman somewhere between here and meeting up with his team without leaving her in a vulnerable position
and
without leaving a leak that would sink his mission?

She’d spill her guts to the soldiers the minute she was caught
. Why? Because she was a woman and a scientist.

That combination had already screwed him once
. Literally
and
figuratively.

“Where are your men?” she asked just loud enough for the sound to have substance.

“Where do
you
think they are?” he countered.

She drew in a breath and released it in the long, exasperated sigh someone used when counting to ten
. “I heard that a truck is waiting for you next to the metro station where Kyonghung crosses Ponghwa.”

She was right, which didn’t weigh in her favor since only a few people back home were supposed to know that detail
.

Tanner hadn’t liked the setup for traveling hidden in a transport truck since hearing about it, but the only way out of Pyongyang was through a smuggling operation
.

He asked, “How do you know so much about what’s going on?”

“Pang and Har belong to a secret underground group working to smuggle our people out of here. I help by passing messages that are in code, but ...”

“You broke the code,” Tanner finished.

“Yes. Their boss was dragged from his office at our lab an hour ago. Soldiers demanded that he tell them where Pang and Har were. I did not know if he knew, but he started crying and said Pang and Har wanted to defect. He offered to tell them everything. One of the soldiers bragged that he had better tell what he knew and they would compare it to the information they already had. He made it sound as if he knew more about this escape than Pang and Har’s boss. Someone has betrayed them.”

That could be you, darlin’.

She twisted to look over her shoulder and Tanner finally saw the face his ninja hid inside a hooded shirt. This was no kid. She had to be in her mid-twenties. The face turned up to his was more oval and narrow than the rounder shape he’d expected. She had a wide mouth instead of a puckered one, a narrow nose and sharp cheeks. In fact, the only thing that hinted at Korean in her blood was her exotic gaze that was too light to be brown.

Amerasian. A beauty.

But now he understood why she’d said US military as if she’d been sucking on a lemon. US soldiers had fathered a lot of kids in Asian countries. In Korea, mixed blood with other Asians was a step down from pure blood, but Amerasians? They weren’t even considered part of the Korean population. She hadn’t been simply
abandoned
by her father.

He’d marked her as an outcast in a country where she’d have no human rights.

How had she ended up working in a laboratory? And why take a risk to come here and help a Korean?

She must have sensed his suspicion and pressed her case
. “What are we waiting for?”

“To hear back from my man.”

Seconds were ticking away with every thump of his heart. He had to decide which way to roll with her, because the minute he stepped from here all discussion would end. “Why are you here?”

“You need me.”

Like hell. “How do you figure that?” 

“I know the city.”

“I do, too, darlin’. If that’s all you have, I don’t need you.”

“You know
all
the ways to leave Pyongyang?” she challenged with a gutsy load of irritation for someone in her situation.

Dingo reported, “Bad news, mate. Sandman got to our guide and the engine’s gonna blow.” 

Shit. That meant their driver was dead and the truck was rigged with explosives.

Gunfire rattled in the distance
. Maybe a few hundred yards away.

Dingo’s voice shouted in Tanner’s comm unit
. “Shit. Taking fire. We’re moving.”

Decision made and he hoped he wasn’t wrong
. Tanner yanked the woman around. “What’s the quickest way out of the city?”

“I will show you.” She told him where to send his men a kilometer north of their current position
. “Tell them to wait for us next to a sculpture of a lion your size.”

More gunfire popped, sounding closer this time
.

Heading toward the hotel
.

Tanner relayed her directions to Dingo, changing her instructions at the end
. “Wait for me somewhere you can
see
the lion sculpture. If I give you the go sign when I show up, then come out to join me. If not, you know what to do.”  
Get out of this city any way you can
, Tanner finished silently in his mind.

“Roger.”

Tanner released his ninja, aka Jin. “Head out, but know that I won’t hesitate to drop you with a shot if I see anything that so much as hints of a trap.”

“You will thank me before this night is over,” she muttered as she stepped past him.

We’ll see.

Tanner kept that thought sealed behind his lips when the shouts of soldiers boomed outside the lobby entrance
.

Jin was on the move, heading for the exit Tanner’s team had used
.

Boots thundered over the concrete floor with soldiers entering the building just as Tanner stepped through the opening in the wall and picked up his pace
.

The smell of hot oil and smoke permeated the air
.

His ninja turned into a black slip of energy moving deftly past the temporary residences
. She found passages Tanner had to turn sideways to get through and she changed direction every hundred steps to sweep around a building or blend into a wall of shadows.

Much as Tanner didn’t want to admit it, Jin moved with the stealth and cleverness he’d expect from someone on his team.

But she wasn’t on his team.

She pulled up short next to tires stacked in front of a rickety looking garage that faced a main highway. She tossed her arm back, waving Tanner to hide behind the tires that reeked of the stagnant water pooled inside them
.

Tanner spotted what had stalled her progress
.  

Two soldiers stood with their backs to them, hiding behind a tuk-tuk parked along the curb on this side of the street
. They used the banged-up, three-wheeled vehicle to shield their bodies and the rifles they held ready to use.

Tanner could see why she’d chosen this point to cross the two-lane street
.

No lights lined either side of this stretch.

Nice and dark for making a run to the other side, if not for the soldiers waiting for someone.

Like his team.

If soldiers hid here, more would be all along this stretch of paved road if they’d been sent to watch and hunt for defectors.

Jin turned and made hand signals that he translated as
wait here for me to distract the soldiers then you run across.

That couldn’t be right
.

Did she think the soldiers would just let her pass by this time of night
? Not a chance.