spun around so that they could see all of her. She laughed as she did it. The men all teased Lynda and were having a great time. So was she. They were young, good-looking, red-blooded American boys. Each of them reminded her of Ted.
Wayne got up and gave a serious account of what all they knew. The men got serious with Wayne. He laid out where the C-4 was and how he wanted the group taken down. He did not want anyone killed unless there was no other way.
The Friday night raid went off without a hitch. Lynda was the first person to hit the floor. Stun grenades left the entire group incapacitated. Lynda was handcuffed just like everyone else in the group. The four women were separated from the men. Then Lynda was released. None of the young terrorists knew that Lynda was an American agent. They had no idea what had happened to her.
Saturday morning, they confiscated the C-4. There were eight hundred pounds of explosives on the pallets. There were also detonators and special wiring. Lynda had not noticed all the pallets in the rear of the warehouse with electrical components, conduit, connectors, junction boxes and hangers. Wayne laughed when he saw these component. They had “Made in China” stamped all over them.
Mid-afternoon Saturday, a B-1B Bomber from Abilene, Texas made an air refueling with a giant Air Force KC-135 Tanker just inside Texas, and then flew into old Mexico. Six five-hundred-pound bombs were dropped from forty thousand feet. They were guided by lasers. They took out the main house and all the outbuildings. One building blew up like it was an atomic bomb. US Army Rangers verified that there were no survivors and all buildings were destroyed.
Just as she had told Eduardo, Lynda went home Saturday. She did not stop in Mexico. Oddly, over Mexico she could see a smear of black smoke in the sky. Lynda said, “So long, Eduardo!”
It was a long flight. She sat in first class. A Mexican-looking businessman sat beside her.
Lynda dozed off. When she woke up, he had his laptop computer sitting on his lap. He had the screen turned to where she could not see it. He said, “Hi, my name is Benito. My friends call me Ben.”
Lynda said, “Hi, Benito. My name is Mrs. Lassiter. I am pleased to meet you.” She wanted him to know for certain that she was married. She did not have her rings on. She used her maiden and undercover name.
Ben said, “I have been watching you sleep. You seem exhausted.”
Lynda nodded. “Yes, it has been a long week for me. I am going home!”
“Who do you work for?”
She used the line that she had been taught: “A shipping company based out of the United States.”
He asked her, “Do you have a business card? Perhaps I could do some shipping with you.”
Lynda reached into her purse and pulled out a card holder. She took a card out and handed it to Ben. She said, “Call anytime. My answering service will let me know that you called.” The number was for a CIA company business front. If he called, it would be answered by a CIA operative.
Ben studied the card closely. He said, “Janice Lassiter, such a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.” He had called her by her undercover name used in the business.
She smiled a business smile and asked, “What are you working on, Ben?” She nodded at the small computer.
Ben smiled back and said, “Just some business reports for my company.” He closed the laptop and set it in its bag. He leaned over and put the bag under the seat. When he sat back up, he brushed Lynda’s shoulder. She moved away from him. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his own business card. He handed the card to Lynda.
She read the card: “Benito Romero, Attorney at Law!”
She smiled at him. “Attorney at Law, what kind of shipping do you do?”
Ben returned her smile. “I also run an import-export business. I ship a lot of household goods to the United States. Perhaps we could have dinner sometime. You could bring your husband.” He seemed so innocent, Lynda thought.
She said, “I am not getting off in Houston; I am going on to Dallas.”
“What a coincidence. So am I.” He grinned.
Suddenly Lynda changed her mind; there were no coincidences in her business.
She said, “Dinner would be fine. My husband may have my daughter with him. Would that be okay?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” he said.
Lynda looked across the aisle, and on the other side of the plane a small boy waved at her. He was sitting with his young Asian Mother. Lynda waved back. Ben leaned over to see who she had waved at. He said, “Cute youngster. I love kids. They seem to love me too.”
Lynda was getting tired of his chatter, so she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She had something gnawing at the back of her mind. She realized what it was. Tasha did not know her undercover name. She might use her real name. Suddenly, Lynda was ill at ease, and she did not know why. She wasn’t sure why she had used her undercover name anyway. This man was no threat to her. She bit her lip.
The plane touched down in Houston, and Ben asked her to watch his stuff as he got up to stretch his legs. She noticed that he had a nice physique. He was a very nice-looking man. He wore an expensive suit. He had on black, shiny shoes.
He came back to his seat and thanked her. The plane took off and made the hour flight to DFW. Lynda gathered up the gift that she had gotten Tasha and her purse and was ready to get off. The plane finally taxied up to the gate and they were allowed to get up and leave the plane.
She was walking out of the baggage area when she saw Tasha and Ted. Tasha was waving at her furiously. She waved back. Then she flashed the signal to Ted to use her undercover name. His nod was almost imperceptive.
Tasha ran up to Lynda and Lynda picked her up. She heard a “pop-pop,” and knew immediately that it was gunfire. She fell to the floor, on top of Tasha. She saw Ted reaching behind his jacket for his gun. The rest was a blur.
She saw Ben go down. He was digging in his briefcase. He came out with a gun and began shooting in the direction of Ted. Ted went down. Lynda wasn’t sure if he had been shot.
She pushed Tasha’s head to the floor. Tasha was screaming.
Lynda grabbed at her purse. She had the little three-eighty handgun in it. She pulled the gun out and waved it around. She could not see the shooter.
Apparently, Ben did not see the shooter either. He was firing wildly. Lynda held her fire. She only had the six shots. Then she saw Ben stop firing. He was out of ammunition. She saw a young man walk up to Ben and point a gun at Ben’s head. She shot the young man in the back three times.
A second young man ran toward Lynda and was firing at her. She held Tasha closely underneath her own body. She remembered how Billy had covered her once.
Ted was up and running at the second young man. He shot twice, hitting the second man in the head once. Then all that Lynda could hear were people screaming.
Tasha had stopped squirming. Lynda looked down; there was a puddle of blood seeping out below her. Lynda screamed. Tasha had been shot. The bullet had hit the concrete floor and ricocheted upward into Tasha’s shoulder, and then into her little chest.
Ted was beside them instantly and had his cell phone out. He was calling 911.
He took off his jacket and ripped his shirt off. He whirled it around and made a bandage for Tasha. The screaming had not stopped. Lynda realized that it was herself that was screaming. “My baby,” she screamed. She panicked. She grabbed Tasha up and held her ever so tightly.
Airport security and policemen materialized everywhere. Two ambulances arrived. Tasha was placed on a gurney and the two paramedics began to work on her. She was ashen and unconscious. Lynda had never been so scared in all her life.
One of the paramedics said, “Ma’am, she has a strong heartbeat. She is going to be fine.”
Lynda left Ted and went with the ambulance. Tasha was taken to Cook Children’s Hospital in Grapevine.
The second
ambulance took the Asian mother to the hospital. She had been shot in the stomach. Her son went to CPS, Child Protective Services. Ted was aware of everything that was going on.
Ben went up to Ted. “Is that your wife and daughter?”
Ted did not even look at Ben. He said, “Yeah!”
Ben said, “Your wife saved my life. I wonder who those men were.”
Ted said, “I was wondering why you had a gun?”
Ben stuck out his hand, and shook Ted’s hand. They introduced themselves.
Two policemen walked up. Ted flipped out his badge without thinking. Ben watched the policemen interrogate Ted. Ben knew that his turn was next, and was thinking up a good excuse for why the two men were after him.
Lynda sat in the ambulance and held Tasha’s hand. Tasha came to and said, “Mama, I hurt!”
Lynda said, “I know, baby. Mama is right here. I won’t leave you, I promise.”
She got her cell phone and called Ted. When he answered, she said, “Honey, she woke up, she talked to me.”
Ted looked at everyone around him. He replied, “That’s wonderful, honey. Let me know how it goes in the hospital.”
Lynda hung up and massaged Tasha’s forehead. Tasha drifted off to sleep.
The police finished interrogating Ted. They began to interrogate Ben. Ben implied that he knew nothing about what had happened. Ted called Tom and told him about the incident. Tom said, “Ted, just don’t forget, you and Lynda have to fill out a contact report tomorrow.”
Ted hung up