Cloud Invasion: R-D 2 (R-D #2)(38)

It was probably a wise move on Marcus' part-if he acted up in any way, Rafe would use it as an excuse to kill him.

That's how angry Rafe was. He had no desire to ride in the same vehicle on a long journey to our mountain-he wanted away from the temptation that a living Marcus presented.

"Let me tell them I'm leaving with you," Rafe leaned down to give me a hard kiss. I watched him lope toward one of the agents, who'd stepped back to allow a military police contingent to shackle Marcus before stuffing him into the backseat of an armored vehicle.

"We're good to go," he was back after a short conversation. "I had to let Colonel Hunter know, but he promised not to yell at you," Rafe offered a guilty grin.

"Of course you did. He won't yell; he'll just have Leo do it. I'm glad you're safe," I leaned into him.

"My love, you're cold," he said. "Why didn't you bring a jacket?"

"Because I wanted to see somebody really bad and didn't take time to get one from the closet."

"Then come." He led me toward a nearby guard shack. Once on the other side of it, I relocated us to the facility.

"Your pancakes are ready, and I'll hold off yelling until our session tomorrow," Leo informed me as he walked out of our kitchen. Pancakes were ready-James had a spatula in his hand as Rafe and I sat down at the kitchen island.

"Thanks for cooking," I gave James a hug when he set a plate of pancakes in front of me.

"Thanks for not being dead." He hugged both of us. Rafe grinned when James stepped away.

"I hope your pancakes are good," Rafe said.

"Come on-I can make pancakes. Not much else, but pancakes I can do."

*

"Marcus is in the lockup downstairs-next to the Mary clone from Dublin," Auggie said when I asked at breakfast the following morning. "He says he doesn't remember handing a cell phone off in Ketchikan."

"That's preposterous," Rafe growled. "The f*cker is lying to save his ass."

"Whether he's lying or not, he's done his job. He's worthless to the enemy, now. Worthless to us, too," Auggie said. "I need more coffee."

"Auggie, do you suppose Askins and Phillips think they killed us?" I asked. "They were waiting for us to follow Clone Mary. I'm sorry I fell for that."

"Marcus played right into their plan-defecting when he did," Auggie growled. "So yes, I believe they wanted to lure us away. Who knows who might have been watching when you and Rafe first appeared in Vancouver?"

"I feel like an idiot. So many people died," I began.

"That wasn't your fault, so stop thinking it is," Rafe pulled me against him. "We wanted to follow Mary. We had other people out looking for Marcus in Vancouver. The enemy got to him first and handed him a cell phone detonator."

"This isn't the first time they've done that," Leo said. "Remember when they bombed the Mansion?"

"Yeah." I remembered, all right. Again, I hadn't seen the danger until the last moment, and people died.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, dropping my head into my arms at the kitchen island.

"Maybe we should let them think you're dead." Matt Michaels walked in.

"How will we do that and keep Madam President from going crazy?" Auggie asked. "You know they'll be watching her reaction to this news. She won't take it well if she believes it. She won't be able to hide it if she knows the truth."

"Easy. Tell her the lie in front of Askins and the Joint Chiefs. Tell her the truth later."

"That sounds horrible," I said.

"But necessary. Let them think they took you down in their well-calculated explosions. You'll be on your own to track the enemy for the most part, but with you seemingly out of the way, he may poke his head out of his shell, anyway. People are already working on their presidential runs. If he's not in the public eye soon, how will anyone know to vote for him?"

"I honestly don't give a f*ck about politics. I just want the bastard dead," Rafe hissed. "What are you planning to do with the prisoners downstairs?"

I could tell he wanted to kill both of them.

"I have contacts," Matt offered. "With Corinne's help, I think we can lock them up for as long as necessary."

*

My help entailed disguises for Marcus and Dublin Mary. They now looked like escaped criminals that Matt assured me were dead-but nobody besides him and a handful of his agents knew that.

They'd be transferred back to their respective prisons, held in private cells and nobody would ask questions.

"We have transportation arranged to get back to D.C." Auggie said as he surveyed my work. Marcus glared at all of us from the cot inside his cell. After his capture, whenever he saw me, all he could say was "dead."

He was saying it now.

Repeatedly.

Somehow, the enemy had f*cked with his head. Leo, who'd examined Marcus and asked him questions shortly after his arrival, said he'd never seen anything like it. He'd seen victims of brainwashing and mind control before, but that had always taken time to achieve.

Marcus' alteration had taken hours, at most. I still couldn't see past the fog of it, so we were no closer to an explanation than we were before.