Page 7 of Avenging Angel

Grace shrugs. “I sold my shares. If a donation was made, I had nothing to do with it.”

Roger opens the inventory list, reading the contents of the boxes and a letter from Noctira thanking us for recovering stolen plans that would have put our national security at risk. The gift they gave us is nothing short of spectacular. Stealth weapons.

As a sharpshooter with a love of guns, it’s no surprise to anyone that I have questions, especially about the NSR300TLR that’s been digitally modified.

Roger opens one of the cases and takes a few minutes to read over the manual. His eyes widen as he does. He explains how the prototype weapons use smart ammunition and have been modified to use our non-lethal simunition rounds. The bullets can change direction after the target has been painted with a laser. Laser-guided bullets! How cool is that?

As Roger continues to list the specs and capabilities, my mouth drops open, stunned by what this could mean. Not only would our team remain virtually silent, but our range to target is increased exponentially.

Scott talks about the pros and cons of such a weapon being used for military purposes. Not all of them are good. But for me? I can already see the benefits.

I smack my hands down on the table. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go test these babies out at the range and then put them into operational use.”

Roger chuckles at my enthusiasm, as does the rest of the team.

“Not so fast. We have much to discuss and assignments to give out,” Roger says, sliding folders to Jack, Owen, and Jaxon.

Over the next few days, Jeremy and Jack are assigned to a protection detail for a business executive arriving to secure a land deal that the public isn’t thrilled about. Jaxon and Faith will be additional security for a foreign dignitary giving a speech on the weekend. Owen and Scott will be heading to Lassen Volcanic in Northern California to investigate a hunch.

“What about me?” I ask. “I don’t start my leave for another week. Isn’t there something I can do to stay busy?”

For the past 15 years, I’ve been trying to track down the man who took me. I’m always a day late and a dollar short. By the time the abduction hits the news, the perpetrator is long gone. He’s either holed up in a cave and waiting out the search party, or he’s long since changed his tactics.

Grace slides the thick folder across the table. “About that. During the five years your abductor remained in hiding, you trained to become one of the best sharpshooters in the country. You learned skills as a civilian that most military personnel—excluding special operators—aren’t equipped with. Tracking. Survival. Hunting. All so you can catch this guy.”

“Yeah. Once he makes his move and it’s all over the news, I’ll be on the next flight out,” I reply. “He never strikes before October 1st and never later than the 14th. That gives me time.”

Owen takes my hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve always been one step behind him, Daisy. By the time the abductions made the news, he had a three-day head start in a national park that spans hundreds to thousands of square miles. We know he kept you in a cave for a week, but we don’t know where he hid the other girls. He’s good enough that the FBI and the CIA have all but given up.”

My brows furrow. “What are you saying, Owen? That I should just give up?”

“If I may,” Grace interrupts. “I’ve been combing through that file almost every night looking for anything to stand out, but last night I couldn’t sleep. Something was nagging at me.” Grace continues to explain her theory and talk about the maps with all the locations where an abduction took place.

She slides over the map with a bunch of triangles on it. “The first three abductions are Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, and Glacier. When you connect them, they form an almost perfect triangle. Not exact, but close enough. The same goes for the next three: the Grand Canyon, Redwood, and Grand Teton. They, too, form a triangle.”

I study the picture. “Petrified Forest, Joshua Tree, and Zion. Rocky Mountain, White Sands, and Sequoia. Saguaro, Mesa Verde, and Carlsbad. They all form triangles. Huh! Why didn’t I ever see that before?”

“No one did. It looks random when you simply look at the locations,” Grace says with more enthusiasm than I expected. “In the last two years, there was a kidnapping at Yellowstone and another at North Cascades. Daisy, if this pattern sticks, the third location could be either Crater Lake in Oregon or Lassen Volcanic in Northern California based on distance.”

“We’d like you to leave tomorrow for Crater Lake,” Roger tells me. The look in his eyes is one of excitement and anticipation. The rest of the team doesn’t know that he was one of the agents who were investigating this from the very beginning. After the CIA took over. I know it hurt him deeply that he couldn’t see it through to the end. I’m sure the same can be said for the current Director of the FBI, Robert Finnegan.

“Owen and Scott will be scouting the areas around Lassen Volcanic. Whoever finds something worth pursuing first, the other team will join up.”

Grace adds another piece of information to the mix. “As far as we know, the kidnapper hasn’t returned to any of his previous abduction sites, nor has he ventured east of Texas. With one exception. Six weeks after you escaped, there was a similar kidnapping at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It’s the only anomaly, and it coincides with your kidnapping. This might be our only chance for the next three years, Daisy. After this, the cycle starts over.”

Faith gets up and walks around the table to hug me from behind. “When—not if—the time comes, we’ll be there. Owen and Scott are only a few hundred miles away and can get to you within hours until the rest of us arrive. There’s a reason why Roger accepted only brief assignments for us over the next month. It’s because we’ll be waiting for your call with our bags packed and raring to go.”

My eyes moisten with tears as I look at each person in the room; not as team members, but as family. These people would die for me, just as I would for them. Then I lock eyes with Roger; an understanding passing between us. “You said ‘teams,’ as in plural. As far as I can tell, I’m going to Crater Lake solo.”

Roger adjusts his tie and meets my gaze head-on. “You’re not going solo. In fact, your partner is already on his way and has made the arrangements.”

“Who’s my partner?” I ask hesitantly. “And don’t you dare say who I think you’re going to say!”

When Roger remains silent, our sweet Grace jumps on the figurative grenade. “Angel Conway!”

Angel Conway. Faith’s brother and the man I kissed while his sister was being held captive by a cartel leader. It was the first time I’d ever felt a connection with a man and dreamed of something more. I’d made a vow to myself years ago that relationships would be on the back burner until my mission was complete. After kissing Angel, I thought that maybe I might have met a man who would be by my side as I finished what I’d started. A man willing to support me. Then he had to open his mouth when Faith found out about our kiss. He’d said it was “in the moment and meant nothing,” or something close enough to that. It hurt in a way that made me feel cheap and devalued.

I rise slowly and go over to the cases, removing one of the longer ones. I open it up and lift the NSR556TLR D&M from the foam cutout to examine it. Once my inspection is complete, I replace the gun and shut the lid before grabbing a case full of the smart simunition rounds. The simunition rounds are tipped with a paralyzing agent and have just enough force to penetrate the skin without causing significant injuries.