Page 52 of Two Hearts' Accidental Heroes

“Well, let’s break down everything else first, Jake. What are you thinking when it comes to a plan? Maybe we can get divers to board the ship that arrives. That long beach below might be the best place to corner everyone else.”

“I agree. It’ll be frigid, but it should be acceptable as long as our divers don’t have to spend too much time in the water,” Jake observed. “I’ve checked the forecast and thankfully, there’s not supposed to be more snow.”

“I’ll bet you’re bringing in a chopper,” Shanna said, definitely looking excited.

Rick realized suddenly that she seemed to be enjoying this phase of the operation. She’d apparently been paying attention to every single detail of their conversation.

“Now that you mention it,” Jake agreed, suddenly smiling.

“I recognized one of them. I really want to get these guys, Jake,” Shanna growled.

Jake blinked. “Alright, Shanna. Then you should be there too.”

Rick hesitated, but what could he do? He had no right to try and stop her. As worried as he was about her safety, he knew that he’d feel exactly the same way if someone had stolen his life away from him, like Shanna.

“Which reminds me, Rick?” Jake raised a brow. “How rusty are your skills at handling a chopper?”

“It’s been a while, I hate to admit. But as you know, I’ve done some piloting since I was injured. I’m pretty sure I’m up for it. It’s a skill that’s pretty hard to forget.”

“I don’t exactly like sending anyone in without knowing for sure that the clearing Shanna noticed a few years ago is still there and it’s large enough for a chopper to land,” Jake admitted.

“But then again,” Shanna said. “That explains how they seemed to be able to move their victims so quickly. I noticed in the notebook that the clients appeared to be located all over the U.S.”

“I agree.” Jake sighed. “Something tells me I’m going to have a hard enough time getting a hold of a couple choppers, let alone a few pilots and possibly some co-pilots because of the circumstances. I need to somehow bypass my FBI contacts except for the few people I’m certain I can trust.”

“What about the divers?” Rick asked.

“I’ve got an in with a certain General who can probably make the arrangements for me with one of our covert operations teams,” Jake answered. “In fact, he’s already been briefed about what’s been happening.”

“Okay. So I say, let’s eat,” Rick said. “And then we can get this operation moving.”

As they headed inside, Rick gave Shanna a side glance. She’d been relatively silent since she’d been told by Jake that she could take part in the sting.

But when he realized she was smiling, he grinned, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

“Try not to look so happy,” he scolded, not without humor in his voice. “There’s still a million ways this could go wrong.”

“I understand. But I never thought that I’d ever see the day that something like this was ever going to happen. I’d given up hope, Rick. Promise me you’ll never let me do that again?”

“Oh, Shanna. I promise,” he whispered, kissing her gently before they headed inside the motel toward the restaurant, following Jake.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

They were far enough away from the location of the trafficking operation that Jake decided that they should continue to stay booked at the motel. While he made calls throughout the afternoon from his cell phone and used a notepad to communicate with recruits who checked in, Shanna and Rick did research on other properties that might be available for them to work from so they could set up some sort of command center near the site. The recruits would begin trickling into the area this evening, so that everyone could meet at dawn to begin going over the final plan.

“I found the perfect place Jake,” Shanna said excitedly. “There’s an abandoned ski resort not more than ten minutes away from there.”

Jake checked his watch. “Let’s go check it out. See if you can find the name of the property owner just in case there’s trouble.”

Shanna pursed her lips, after finally discovering the name of the property owner ten minutes later. She was getting to be pretty good at this internet stuff, she decided. “His name is Maxwell Braedon.”

Jake paused. “I know that name. I wonder…” He pursed his lips. “Is there an address listed with his name, Shanna?”

“It’s somewhere in Virginia,” she replied.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting permission. Let me make another call, and we can be on our way,” Jake said. “Let’s get the location on the map since there’s no time to waste.”

Another forty minutes later, they were near the ski resort, checking out the lay of the land. “It’s probably good for us that the property’s been somewhat neglected,” Rick admitted.

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