Last Spy Standing

So she wouldn’t fight to help him. But would she fight against him? Or would she stay out of it all together? He didn’t have a chance to ask.

“Hey, gringo,” Paolo called him over, working at skinning the monkey. “Look at this. Big sucker, eh?” He puffed his chest out. “What do you think?”

“I think we’re about to have some lunch.” He faked an enthusiastic grin.

Twenty minutes later, the fire crackled under the roasting meat. When it was done, Paolo divided it and handed out the portions. Mitch ate in silence, filling his stomach for the first time in two days. Now if he could only get some decent sleep. As soon as he and Zak could make their escape and get far enough away from Juarez, they were going to take a serious break.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Megan sneaking off into the woods. Probably for a bathroom break. The men had taken theirs as they’d walked, barely bothering to step off the path before aiming at the nearest tree.

Mitch gobbled up the rest of his portion, noting the position of every man, the whereabouts of every weapon. Now was his chance. He could take them without having to worry about Megan. He reached for his gun, ready to yell at Zak to duck.

If he weren’t watching the men so closely, he wouldn’t have caught the exchanged look between Paolo and Sanchez.

A second later, Paolo melted into the jungle following the path Megan had disappeared down a minute ago.

“All right.” Sanchez stood. “Better get going.”

The others washed down their food with some water then picked up their backpacks and fell in line. One yanked Zak onto his feet. The kid shot a plaintive look at Mitch, but he was more concerned about why Paolo had taken off after Megan.

He made sure he was the last to head out, bringing up the rear. Then he silently fell behind without anyone noticing. They were slowed by the heat and humidity as much as their full bellies. Catching up with them again wouldn’t be too difficult. Their job was to bring Zak back to Juarez, so unless the kid did something stupid, he’d be safe for the moment.

In five minutes, Mitch had returned to the remains of their abandoned fire, drops of water sizzling on the coals as rain began to fall. He moved forward in the direction Megan and Paolo had taken.

He was a pretty good tracker, and they hadn’t bothered to mask their trail. Another minute or two brought him close enough to hear the two of them, and he soon realized they weren’t talking. They were fighting. Mitch rushed forward, finding them rolling in the undergrowth, glaring and swearing at each other. Paolo was doing his best to gain the upper hand while Megan fought like crazy to prevent that from happening. They were a blur of growling faces and entangled limbs.

For a moment he hesitated, unsure if Megan would want him to interfere or if she needed to beat the man herself to maintain her status on the team. He didn’t want to mess up her mission if he didn’t have to.