Red Wolf

  ****

  Delilah left the apartment the next morning with the woman who had helped procure the outfit Delilah was now wearing. Delilah returned two hours later smiling. After a quick lunch, Boone and Delilah took a long nap together on the couch. Logan lay on a thin mat on the floor and slept as well. They all knew it could be a long night. Not only did they need to rescue Lucy but they needed to escape the country. The jet was waiting for them on an abandoned airstrip just over the border.

  Later that afternoon, the Diego and Berto joined them at Logan’s apartment. Diego and Berto both carried in a small duffle over their shoulder. “The rest of our stuff is in the car. We have parked it down the road just north of the palace.” Berto explained with a laugh. “We have packed light. No need for a lot of clothes where we are headed. All we are going to need is swimwear and a suitcase full of condoms.”

  “We have got weapons and night vision gear,” Diego advised opening his duffle and removing several handguns and semiautomatic rifles. Most were once military issue but now obsolete and replaced with more modern equipment and firearms. Berto’s duffle bag held several knives, a long rope, and a grappling hook, should they need to egress from the palace via a window.

  “My shopping trip today was quite successful,” Delilah grinned as she put two cardboard boxes onto the table. “It is nice to have friends in high places. I think you will like these.”

  Delilah opened the larger of the two boxes. Inside were five tubular shaped metal rods, each about seven inches long and about one and a half inches in diameter. “Rummies!?” Berto called out as a question and an exclamation. He was smiling as if he had just won the lottery.

  “Yep,” Delilah grinned smugly.

  “What is a Rummy?” Boone asked. He had never served in the military nor was he one to use a weapon unless he had no other choice.

  “It is an R-151,” Berto explained. “It is a laser type weapon with several settings.”

  “It is nicknamed Rummy because the inventor, a guy by the name of Rami, liked 151-proof Puerto Rican rum. Thus R-151,” Diego laughed.

  “These are awesome,” Berto continued as he picked one up and twirled it around in his fingers. “They are easy to conceal and multifunctional. These are the newer ones, three settings, smack.”

  “Smack?” Boone questioned.

  “S – M and K,” Berto explained. “Stun, maim and kill.”

  “Stun allows you to render your victim unconscious. Maim enables you to injure, take out a kneecap, arm, whatever. And kill, well it is pretty self-explanatory,” Diego delineated.

  “Unconscious?” Boone asked. “For how long?”

  “Long enough to get away; about thirty to sixty minutes depending on the person,” Delilah added.

  “So hopefully we will not have to kill anyone,” Boone sighed, teeth clenched.

  “We might not be so lucky,” Logan shuddered. “The night guards will not hesitate to shoot. They are instructed to shoot to kill. No questions asked.”

  “And the great thing about the Rummies is they will not be able to see us pinning them. Just aim and fire,” Berto laughed.

  “But how do we know we have pinned them?” Boone asked.

  “Get ready for the second surprise,” Delilah laughed as she opened a second, but smaller box.

  “Sunglasses?” Boone asked still confused. Delilah was holding up what appeared to be an ordinary pair of aviator style sunglasses.

  “Not just any sunglasses,” Delilah laughed again. “These glasses allow the wearer to see the beam from the laser and...wait for it...they double as night vision goggles. So much better than these big bulky things Berto and Diego brought with them.”

  Berto was about to jump up and down like a five-year-old on the best Christmas morning ever. He was about to hug Delilah. “I do not know who you are, lady,” Berto said to Delilah. “But I think I am in love.”

  Boone growled lowly but loud enough for everyone to hear. He was not usually the jealous type, but he felt a little out of his element. “Sorry dude,” Berto grimaced hearing Boone. “I know she is spoken for. No harm. This is just a rescue mission. I am not trying to impregnate your woman.”

  Boone said nothing in return even though he did not like Berto’s lewd remarks. Instead, he pulled Delilah to his side and wrapped his arm firmly and possessively around her youthful waist. Boone smiled as he heard Delilah clicking her nails. Let him keep is balls, Boone told Delilah telepathically.

  “So right before it gets dark, we will head out,” Logan reminded everyone trying not to add to a tense situation. “Let’s grab dinner. It could be a long night.”

  Logan called for one of the boys in the courtyard. After ordering dinner for the army of five, they tried to relax for a while. Boone and Delilah returned to the well-worn couch while the other three sat at the table talking about the mission.

  Boone wrapped his arm around Delilah as she relaxed against his shoulder. “Don’t you feel naked without your knife?” Boone whispered into her ear.

  “Who says I am naked,” Delilah grinned as she lifted her long tunic. Boone glanced at her thigh and saw a long Arab style metal dagger strapped to her leg. The curved blade was at least a foot long with a beautifully carved designed. The knife was three inches wide at the widest point and buffed to a gleaming luster. The handle was black with no ornamentation.

  “No sheath?” Boone asked.

  “The sheath was too new. Too stiff,” Delilah explained. “I do not have time to soak it and form it to my leg. So I have wrapped the dagger to my leg with a long piece of cloth.”

  “I hope you do not stab yourself,” Boone warned half amused.

  “I haven’t yet.”

  “And where is your rope?”

  “Wrapped around my waist,” Delilah replied. “I never leave home without it.”

  Boone smiled. He knew as long as Delilah had a knife and her rope, she would feel confident, and he would feel more at ease. He knew she could take care of herself. Sure there had been a few precarious moments, like the vampires in New Orleans, but he doubted they would encounter any supernatural beings that night.

  Then Delilah reached under the couch and pulled out a package wrapped in paper and handed it to Boone. As he removed the paper, he smiled. “I got you a knife too,” Delilah cooed. Boone kissed Delilah and smiled again as he slipped the knife into his boot. He did not need a sheath for the knife. His boots, all his boots, were now custom made with a built-in sheath.

  “So where did you get the Rummies?” Boone asked in a low whisper.

  “I called in a favor or two from the CIA and the NSA,” Delilah replied. “They hooked me up with a local arms dealer. I picked them up when I got the dagger and hunting knife.”

  Boone was now worried about Delilah’s anonymity. “Did anyone see you?” Boone asked. He held his breath waiting for Delilah’s answer.

  “I doubt it. It was at a shop which sold spices. You gotta love spices,” Delilah smiled as she looked back at the cardboard boxes sitting on the floor next to the table. The smaller box was clearly marked with the word cinnamon on two sides and a larger one with the words assorted spices.

  “Is there anyone you do not know?” Boone asked with a sideways glance and his lips pursed.

  “I have lots of friends and lots of people who owe me favors,” Delilah advised and then said nothing else as she laid her head back onto Boone’s shoulder.

  “I am not even going to ask,” Boone mused as he pulled Delilah closer and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent; the scent of red wine and honey.