Page 8 of Death Wish

He walked to the far wall to a set of cabinets and opened one door. After scanning the contents, Jesse grabbed a small pink gadget and showed it to her. “How about this? The female operatives and spouses of operatives all carry one of these. It’s easy to use and efficient.”

“Is that a stun gun?”

He nodded and flicked a switch with his thumb. Instantly, she heard the snap of an electrical spark. “All you have to do is touch this to your attacker’s skin, and he’ll go down. As soon as he drops, get away from him. Don’t stop until you’re with me or you’re locked in where no one can get to you.”

“Is all this necessary?”

“I hope it’s overkill. If it isn’t, you’ll be ready to protect yourself until I can get to you.”

“Sounds like I should have opted to take a truckload of self-defense courses instead of computer classes,” she muttered.

Jesse chuckled as he ushered Simone from the weapons vault and into the elevator. “We’ve worked together on a few self-defense moves since you moved here.”

“You don’t seem worried about this mission.”

He glanced at her. “I’m not happy about taking you into the lion’s den. I’m trained to do this. You aren’t.”

“So you’re in less danger than I am?”

“Just as much, but I’m better prepared to handle the danger.”

She considered that. Made sense. He should be confident about his training. Jesse had certainly had plenty of it. “You realize I’m not athletic at all, right?”

His eyebrows shot up. “What does that have to do with handling danger?”

“I’m not prime material for self-defense lessons, despite your best efforts. Besides, you can’t teach me everything I need to know to toss bad guys over my shoulder while we’re on the plane.”

“You might be surprised what you can do. Your center of gravity is lower to the ground, and that gives you an advantage over a taller opponent.”

“Yeah, if I know what to do. I don’t.”

“By the time we land in Mexico, you’ll have more training that will hopefully give you a chance to escape.” He paused. “Provided you have time to use the training.”

That didn’t sound good. “What if I don’t?”

“That’s where the stun gun comes in handy. Keep the weapon on you or it will be of no use.”

“Jake said the same thing.”

“Good. Pay attention to his advice. I’ll get you through this, Simone. Concentrate on finding the programmer who’s selling out our people. I’ll handle the rest.”

“You should have more help.”

“I’d prefer my team, but they’re not available until next week unless Zane or the boss calls them back sooner. I hope not. We can handle this by ourselves. If we need help, backup will be close. We’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words.” She hoped they didn’t regret it.

CHAPTER THREE

JESSE OPENED THE jet’s hatch and stepped onto the top of the stairs. He surveyed the area, looking for anything that pinged a warning on his internal radar. Even at midnight, the air was hot and muggy, typical for the climate in this area.

The private airstrip was quiet, only necessary lighting illuminating the company jet. Although he saw nothing out of the ordinary, Jesse’s skin crawled. Someone was watching them.

Seconds later, a vehicle’s engine cranked, and two sets of headlights approached.

Jesse glanced over his shoulder. “Jordan, we have company.”

The pilot stepped to the hatch, weapon in hand and held by his thigh. “The boss said we’d be met with a vehicle.”

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