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Teams of soldiers were pouring out of the trucks. Heading in their direction.

She'd been ambushed. And now, there were only seconds left for her to try to dodge the trouble heading her way.

CHAPTER TEN

"What the hell's going on?"

Cora could see that nakedness was now the last thing on Garrett’s mind as he erupted out of bed before grabbing his pants, tugging them on, getting a shirt over his head.

Two women on base illegally, not just her. And a whole troop of soldiers being sent in to capture one.

“I hitched a ride in with someone. I told them to stay quiet about it, but it looks like they were a backstabber,” she said.

“We have to move! I’m going to be in so much trouble, and this wasn’t even my fault!” He glared at her while pulling on a shoe, hopping around on the floor, too flustered even to sit down.

"You got any friends on base?" Cora asked. She didn't like Garrett much. She didn't think he was a compassionate person. But he'd literally not known more about these deaths, although he had chosen not to find out. "Because if you do, I suggest you take your girl to their room. And fast."

"Yeah, yeah. I do." She could see his eyes moving as he assessed the direction he would need to move, the line of vision, the likelihood of threat. He was a soldier first and foremost. That was what soldiers did. And in the ten second gap he had to do it, he acted.

"Come," he said. He grabbed the woman by the hand, barged out of the room, and hustled down the corridor, away from the direction of the trucks. Their footsteps retreated and they disappeared.

And that gave Cora the five second window to do what she needed to do.

The window was under scrutiny and she couldn’t escape that way. They were flooding across the building and coming to the door. They were looking for a civilian. But, as she wrenched open Garrett's cupboard, she decided she was going to try to become what they weren't expecting.

He was a stocky guy but he wasn't tall. These uniform pants would fit her. Especially if she dragged them on over the jeans she was already wearing, to add some bulk. And this jacket, over hers.

She added a hat, stuffing her hair into it.

Then she slammed the cupboard shut and hustled out, racing the same way that Garrett had gone. He'd disappeared - into one of his friends' rooms, most likely, to hide his girl. There’d be a room to room search, she was sure. Maybe he’d make a plan for the prostitute. But she had no friends and no hiding places. All she had, now, was the illusion that she was one of them.

As she ran, Cora could hear the soldiers behind her, shouting and calling out to each other. She knew she had to move quickly and quietly, blending in with the crowds that were now appearing from behind the doors. She kept her head down and as she heard the footsteps get louder, she dropped back to briskly walking. The corridor curved to the right ahead, and that meant it would lead around from the officers' wing, back to the main barracks.

She could hear the sound of boots clanging on the metal floors, growing closer with each passing second.

She scanned the doors as she walked past them.Looking out for hiding places, for bolt holes which she might need. There were too many variables for her to be able to have any control over this situation, so she needed to look for alternative courses of action.

There were feet, ahead. Better not to be seen. She ducked through an open doorway into a storeroom. It was filled with large cooking pans and wooden spoons. A kitchen storage area. There was no time left, and she had to create a reason for her presence. Turning her back to the door, she made herself look busy, rooting through the big cooking pans, and she felt, rather than saw, the men glance at her as they passed.

Just a recruit, busy packing away after dinner. Not a civilian fugitive.

They walked on and Cora let out a quick breath. It had worked. She emerged from the room, hurrying in the direction she'd been going.

She needed to get off base now. This was too hot already, and getting hotter. The problem was how. Because the one thing they were going to check was the perimeter.

But those trucks. The ones with the reinforcements. They'd come in from outside. That man had called some friends from another unit to come and search and intimidate and help remove his problems. So those trucks would be leaving again.

She could see them out there, in the parking lot. Nobody was around them now. Everyone was inside, searching for her, or else, patrolling the perimeter, making it impossible for her to climb her way out over the high fence.

Cora looked again at the closest truck. It was a big, solid, high riding vehicle with at least two feet of clearance underneath. And a solid chassis.

Could she hang onto it somehow, underneath, and be transported invisibly out of base? She remembered dares, from long ago, when she and the other SEALs had done something similar. If she hitched a ride, then where would the truck stop?

She memorized in her mind the route it would take. Going out of base there was only one road. There was a stop sign along it, not too far ahead. If the truck stopped there, and there was nobody behind her, she could let go and simply lie down on the asphalt and let it drive away.

If it didn't stop, or if there was someone behind her, then she was in for a long drive. It would get hot so close to the undercarriage - but the air was cold, and would cool the chassis down.

Better not to overthink when you were being offered a get out of jail free card. Right?

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