High-Risk Affair

Being a special operative was hard, dangerous work but he wasn't afraid to sacrifice for his country. On his belly in the dirt, pitch-black darkness pressing in on all sides, Cameron Vance adjusted his night vision goggles and tried his best to get his bearings. The goggles didn't really work well here in the deep mining tunnels and he could barely see where he was going, but he knew he'd been in this part before. He recognized the rusted old mine cart and the fork in the tunnel. He pulled out the small penlight and found the small white arrow he'd drawn with chalk on an earlier trip to point the way out. By the muted sounds he could hear ahead, he knew he was close to his mission objective--infiltrating a hideout full of Tangos and then taking them down. They weren't supposed to be there. For the last week, he had seen lights flickering up here on the mountain where there shouldn't be any. Finally a few nights earlier, he decided he would have to investigate. It wouldn't be easy. He would have to plan an elaborate deception, a daring escape, but he knew he had no choice. It was his duty and obligation as a loyal soldier to look out for his country's interests. He had a cover to protect, though, and knew he couldn't just come and go as he pleased. Finally, when he was sure everyone was asleep, he managed to slip out the window and climb carefully down. He had done it before, but those other times had just been practice. This was for real. No one had detected his escape. He'd made sure of that. No one could have seen him leave the house or witnessed his careful hike up the mountain, his way lit only by the moonlight and his memory. He moved to the fork in the tunnel, fueled by the adrenaline pumping through him and the deep certainty that what he did here would make the world a better place. Others might find the heavy darkness inside the mine shaft a little scary. He knew plenty of guys who probably wouldn't have the nerve to come in here. But he was a Navy SEAL, a trained fighting machine, and he wasn't afraid of anything. As he headed down the shaft, the light grew brighter and his goggles worked much better, casting a greenish glow on everything. He knew right where the Tangos were hiding--the large chamber he had found in an earlier exploration. It would be a perfect staging spot for whatever evil the terrorists might be planning. It smelled strange here, something harsh and burning. He hadn't remembered that before. Were they planning some kind of chemical attack? he wondered. With renewed determination, he moved slowly toward the light, his heart pounding and blood pulsing through him. He crawled the last fifteen yards on his belly, ignoring the dank stench and the rocks that scraped his skin. The shaft sloped down into the large chamber, perhaps twenty feet across. He didn't have the best vantage point from up here, but Cameron didn't dare inch closer for fear they might see him. He could hear them clearly enough, anyway. "I don't see the problem here," one said, his voice sharp and angry. "I kept my part of the deal. I've been cooking my ass off for two weeks, working in this tomb here. I'm doing all the work and I deserve a hell of a lot more than some lousy quarter cut." Cameron frowned. Cooking what? "You're getting your fair share. Who's taking all the risks? I'm the one out there setting up all the deals, working all the angles. I got the ammonia, I made the Mexican connections. Without me, you'd still be in yourBeavis and Butt-Headlab cooking your little nickel bags." "And without me all you'd have would be a bunch of worthless chemicals." "You really think you're so indispensable?" The older-sounding man's voice was low and sent a chill down Cameron's spine as he crouched in the dirt. That voice seemed familiar, he thought. Where had he heard it before? "I found this place for you, didn't I? Nobody's eThayne, Raeanne is the author of 'High-Risk Affair ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373275182 and ISBN 0373275188.