Page 75 of Very Special Forces

"I hearfootsteps," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him aswe darted across the blacktop. We paused at the building, thenSolomon pulled me after him to a narrow alley opposite and pressedme into a doorway. "Pull off your Kevlar," he said as he tugged onthe straps of his vest.

"Why?What if they shoot?"

"They'lldefinitely shoot if they see us wearing them," he said. He tossedhis vest into the doorway behind me and I threw mine after it. Hepushed me backwards, ruffled my hair and pulled out my blouse,partially unbuttoning it.

"Really?" I asked, confused. "Is now the time?"

"I amnot hot for you right now," he said, then paused. "Okay, maybe alittle." He untucked his own shirt, covering the gun at his hip andpressed against me, kissing me hard. I had no idea why he was doingwhat he did but I was damn sure I liked it.

"Hey!You!" yelled a voice behind.

Solomondetached from me briefly but didn't look their way. "Wait yourturn," he grunted. "I paid my money."

"What?"yelled the voice.

Thistime, Solomon tossed a look over his shoulder. "I said I paid mymoney. I've got fifteen minutes. You can wait until then and she'sall yours."

Istilled, waiting nervously for the shot that didn't come. Throughthe mess of hair, half covering my face, I could see two men inblack fatigues and t-shirts, handguns cocked and ready. I inched myhand to my hip, reaching for my gun. Solomon's hand looked like itwas on my hip but I could feel his fingers, knowing he was alreadyin position to grab his gun if the ruse went south.

"Finishup and get out of here," said the man, his face barely moving. Ifhe were disgusted or intrigued, I couldn't tell. Hopefully, hewasn't reaching for his wallet. "Don't come back," said the manafter a long moment. "This is private property."

"Fifteenminutes, man," grunted Solomon, turning back to me as he added,"Can you give us some privacy?"

Thefootsteps receded.

"I'm aprostitute?" I whispered, raising my eyebrows. "Really? I mean...really? That was the best cover story you thought of?"

"Therewas no way they'd believe I was."

"Youcouldn't think of anything else plausible?"

Solomonrocked back and looked down at me. "Can you?"

Ithought about it. "Nope."

"We'llgive them two minutes to clear out, then grab the flak jackets andhead back to the car. We can't risk being seen again by going backbut the others might have found something. I'll alert them so thatthey're aware that we almost blew our cover." Solomon reached forhis phone but didn't move away from me, ensuring I was stilltrapped in the doorway. He tapped out a message and the moment itwas sent, he grabbed our flak jackets, tossing one to me. We pulledthem on and took off at a run. I followed him, weaving betweenbuildings until we were suddenly at the auto shop. The car wasthere, but Fletcher and Flaherty weren't. Neither was the skinnyman. Solomon and I climbed into the front seats and waited. A fewminutes passed and the rear doors opened before our colleaguesclimbed in.

"Foundit," said Fletcher. "Got a great photo to confirm too. Whathappened to you guys?"

"Twoguards on patrol stumbled across us," said Solomon. I waited forhim to mention my cell phone ringing at an inopportune time but, tomy relief, he didn't. "They didn't suspect anything but told us toclear out. Show me the photo." He held his hand for Fletcher'sphone and looked at the screen, then turned it to me.

"That'sa tank," I agreed. It was parked in the warehouse. I could see twomen sitting at a table next to it. Coffee cups, guns, and a stackof cards lay on the table.

"Wecounted four guards," said Flaherty.

"We gotthree. One inside, two on patrol. That only makes seven total.Probably less if we saw the same guys."

"They'renot heavily armed but I don't think they're expecting a gunfight,"said Fletcher.

"All thesame, we're not engaging," decided Solomon. "This is definitely notour fight. The moment they know it's over is when they'll doanything they can to maintain control of the prize. We have peoplewe can reach out to help."

"Youmean Mitch," I said. I first met Major Mitch McAuley when Solomonand I went undercover as a married couple to investigate a strangecase at Fort Charles. We helped him solve a troubling case and hehelped me again recently when I needed to plunder Solomon's past.He was good man: solid and reliable. Much as I wanted to avoidthrowing my buddies into further distress, there was no denyingthey needed the help.

"I do.It's time to call it in. Lexi? This is your case. What do you wantto do?"

"I'llcall Captain Harris and Sergeant Major Kafsky with the goodnews."

"Youcall this good news?" asked Fletcher with a gruff laugh. He leanedbetween our seats, his forearms resting on the top, then shot aglance to Solomon's window. "Someone wants you, boss."

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