Page 57 of Cooper's Command

Of course, chances were, she’d be dead once she reached the office.

She studied the landscape, judging the best time to initiate her plan when a faint whop whop whop sounded off in the distance. Not something Cartwright might think was unusual, but it caught her attention — had her doing a quick pan of the sky.

Chopper, ten o’clock. Flying maybe ten-feet off the top of the trees, disappearing then reappearing amidst the patches of fog. What looked like a crash in the making. She blinked a few times to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating, when it dipped low, vanishing somewhere on the other side of the hill.

Had she imagined it? Wishful thinking that had manifested the helicopter as part of some last-ditch effort to believe there was still a way out? That never-say-die attitude Tate had always claimed was her best weapon? Nova didn’t know, but on the off-chance it had been real, she’d see it through. Make Cartwright look her in the eyes when he pulled the trigger.

Nova was still questioning her sanity when she pulled up to the line of tape blocking off the driveway to the DEA office. What looked like a man-made fence, crisscrossing the entire area before disappearing around the rear of the building. She hit thegas and drove right through, snapping the tape before angling the vehicle toward the fountain. What she hoped wouldn’t be the place Cooper found her body. The chasis rocked as she shoved the Suburban into park, leaving it running with the headlights illuminating everything off to her left.

Cartwright snorted as if he thought she was crazy, but motioned for her to stay as he opened his door then slowly exited, keeping that Glock centered on her the entire time he circled around to the front of the truck.

She could duck. Try to scramble into the back and out another door. But Cartwright would fire before she got clear. And depending on where he aimed — if he hit her ballistic vest or went straight for a head shot — it would either kill her outright, or incapacitate her. Maybe break some ribs. Instead, she waited, praying she hadn’t been wrong — that the helicopter hadn’t been a figment of her imagination — until Cartwright waved her out of the vehicle.

The door creaked as she opened it, stepping clear with her hands raised. “Now what?”

“Now, you take me to wherever you hid that second ledger.”

“You mean the one that can prove you’re a lying son of a bitch?”

He grinned. “Yeah, that one. I know you hid it around here because there’s no way you chanced taking both of them with you when you weren’t sure you’d live. And you didn’t have many options. Simmons searched the place but he was about as useful as Paulin.”

“Before I sign my own death warrant, answer me this. Why the hell did you reassign me to Hawai’i when you knew Paulin had grabbed those drugs from the Bogotá office? It doesn’t make sense if you were so sure I’d eventually identify them.”

Cartwright merely grinned.

Nova reran the past few weeks — hell the past six months — more of the pieces falling into place. “Crap. Paulin didn’t take those drugs, you did. Which means Paulin must have helped himself to another batch. I’m guessing that big bust Tate and I made several months ago that got Moreno in our sights. And you knew that regardless of where you stationed me, I’d keep digging into the Moreno cartel in the hopes I’d eventually get back to Columbia, and I’d figure it all out.”

“I’d been contemplating what to do with Paulin for some time so when you came here and involved yourself in Tate’s murder case…” Cartwright chuckled. “You practically threw the answer into my lap. Did you really think it was a coincidence that I reassigned you to Hawai’i? That it was those drugs in that room? Ones so fresh in your mind you couldn’t help but recognize them. Or that the crime scene was just like Tate’s? What I knew would rile you just enough you’d make one of your rash decisions. Though, Iamdisappointed I had to come all the way out here to clean up Paulin’s mess, that he’d finally grown a damn conscience, but... Now, where’s the ledger.”

“Since you’ve got all the answers, where do you think I hid it?”

“I’m not in the mood for games, Nova. Unless it’s you choosing which body part I blow off, first.”

“I can’t believe I ever thought you were honorable.” She nodded toward the fountain. “Why do you think I left the Suburban running with the lights on? The ledger’s in the fountain.”

“Pretty sure they would have checked in there.”

“Notinit, asshole. Inside the base where the motor is. There’s an access panel on the bottom.”

“Show me.”

She started walking, mapping out how she could use the hatch covering the motor as a weapon. Maybe toss it atCartwright’s head then make a play for his gun. Anything but simply standing there, waiting to get shot.

“That’s close enough.” Cartwright shifted over to her right, staying far enough back she couldn’t attack but close enough he didn’t even have to aim to hit her. “I don’t see any panel. I swear, Martin, if you’re lying to me…”

“If it was obvious, Simmons would have found it. That’s why I put the ledger in there. I can open it?—”

“Do you really think I’m that stupid? I assume that’s a ballistic vest?”

She frowned. That hadn’t sounded good. “You know it is?—”

Her voice cut off as he fired, hitting her twice in the ribs. Launching her backwards from the force. She hit hard, pain burning through her chest and across her torso. Stealing her breath. She gasped in an effort to get her lungs to inflate but nothing was working. Just a heavy feeling slowly suffocating her as black dots flickered across her vision.

She wasn’t sure why this was more debilitating than when she’d actually gotten shot. If the vest had failed and the bullets had gone right through. Or maybe it was just the compounded effects of getting hit in the same area, again. Regardless it took all her strength to keep her eyes open. Fight to suck in any semblance of air. Something clattered in the distance followed by a steady crunching sound.

“I have to say, you really outdid yourself, Nova. I never would have found it without your help. And now, I’m free to see this through. Sorry about those two hits, but I have to sell this. Make everyone believe you tried to kill me. That I got off a couple warning shots but you simply wouldn’t back down. I doubt it’ll be a hard sell. But I’ll make this part quick. Tell Tate I said hi.”

She should move. Grab a handful of gravel and throw it at his head. Maybe take out his eye. Anything to give herself a chance. Except where she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe, those dotsnow blacking out most of the scenery. Just Cartwright’s twisted grin as he aimed his gun, the report echoing around her as everything went dark.

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