Page 33 of Durango

Davis nods. “I had. My pilot had some sort of last-minute emergency. He sent his friend, Vlad, instead.”

I stiffen upon hearing this news. “How do we know we can trust him?” I ask.

“We don’t,” Davis says.

Harding was right not to trust the pilot, since now it appears no one really knows him. Fortunately, he flies us to the field, and we land safely. But instead of taking off after we disembark, he steps off the plane, too.

“Do you need a ride? I have a friend I can call,” Vlad says.

“No, we’ll be fine,” Harding says. “You can leave now.”

Vlad holds up his hands and steps back into the plane. Harding walks toward the road, and the rest of us follow. After about half a mile, she turns down a long driveway. I’ve worked with her enough not to ask questions. I’ll bet money she has a car waiting here somewhere.

Soon enough, a small cabin and vehicle come into view.

Harding reaches under the driver’s side and retrieves a key with a magnetic key chain. She opens the door and glances at us. “Get in.”

All five of us cram into a medium-sized car. Moose manages to get the front seat again. Since Rover and I are tall, we are cramped in the back. Davis ended up squished between us.

“How long is the drive?” Davis asks, surprising me.

I figured she’d be in the know as to where we are going.

“Not long,” Harding says. “When we get there, we will discuss the details.”

We drive farther into the woods, making a few turns, before Harding pulls to the side of the road. “We’re on foot from here.”

We get out of the car, and she pops the trunk open, revealing a large black box. She opens it and hands us each a gun.

“I hope none of you need these, as it will alert the captors of our presence. Rover, before we get to the compound, I’ll drop you at a restaurant. That is where you will stay until you meet your contact.” She hands him a phone. “There’s a bar inside where you will sit, drink soda, and listen.”

Rover frowns. “Listen for what? I don’t understand Russian.”

Harding nods. “Listen for the contact. She’s the woman with the British accent. That is Damien’s wife, Sylvia. She has information for us. She’ll talk as long as you say the correct phrase.”

Rover grins. “Is this some kind of joke? This sounds like it’s from a movie.”

Harding doesn’t smile. “It’s not a joke. When you find her, go up to her and say, ‘The orange juice is magnificent here.’”

Rover’s brows shoot up real fast, but he recovers. “All right. The orange juice is magnificent here. Got it. Where does the flirting come in?”

“That’s what you’ll do to get her to follow you back to our meetup spot, which I will point out when we cross it.”

Rover grins. “Why don’t I just ask her to follow me?”

“If that works, go for it,” Harding says.

Rover frowns. I’m also questioning his real purpose, but for whatever reason, Harding must not want to tell him.

“The rest of us will be going into the compound.” Harding pulls out phones from the box in the trunk. “My number is programmed in. That’s how I will give the final command to retrieve Damien.”

Before anyone can ask any questions, Harding takes off into the woods. We all follow. Once we hear voices, she stops and turns to us.

“The restaurant is down there. This is our meeting spot. Rover, we won’t be back for several hours, so you might want to keep Sylvia entertained if she arrives early.” Harding hands him a wad of rubles from her pocket. “This should cover your tab.”

Rover takes the money and leaves us. We continue walking until Harding motions for us to go off of the path and over to the edge of the hillside. We crouch down, and then we see it—the compound. It’s much larger than I expected. There is a fence surrounding a very large house. Well, it appears to be three houses that are all connected with covered walkways. The fence surrounds all the structures, and there is a gate on the side nearest us with a guard.

Harding points to the far side and whispers, “We will make our way over the fence at the back. There is a tree we can use. Once inside the fence, Durango and Moose will take the right side, Davis and I will take the left side.” She motions for us all to go back to the pathway.

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