Hannah could only nod. She hadn’t had a lock in so long she threw it without even thinking. Her only thought had been to get away. Get away from him and the memories. Memories she feared would never leave her. Hannah got up to wash out her mouth.
Shopping was quick, and Hannah only got the essentials. Her mother would have shaken her head at Hannah and said a shopping trip requires at least two hours, and then lunch afterward. Hannah didn’t get much because she wouldn’t be there long, and she didn’t need more. Hannah had stayed close to Ben but never touched. After shopping, Ben took her to get her hair done then suggested they grab a bite to eat, before meeting back up with his team. She still had to tell themwhat she knew, and they had to unencrypt files from the flash driveBenhad uncovered.Bencontinuously scanned their surroundings for any threat. They sat down at a booth in the back andBensat with his back to the wall to watch the front entrance.
"Do you always do that?" Hannah asked as she set her bags down and running her fingers through her now smooth and even hair. She felt like a new woman. "Scan the area and sit with your back against a wall?"She explained at his blank stare.
"Yes, someone tried to have my team killed." She knew there was more to it than that but didn’t press him.
"So, tell me more about your team?" Hannah asked after they ordered.
"What do you want to know?"Benasked cautiously.
"I’m not asking for their social security number, just tell me about them. All I know is that they saved my life and like pizza."
"We've worked together for over five years. Most of us went through training together, others joined later. They are all loyal and would jump in front of a bullet for you."
"They seem great. Is it only you guys with odd names or are there others?"
"Odd names?"Bendidn’t think they had odd names.
"Tiny, Cricket, those don’t seem like names any parent would give a child.”
"They're not odd." Well, at least not to him. He had earned his name as the rest of his team had. "We each earned those names and what we go by. Secrecy is a must for us and using our real names goes against that."
"James Bond always used his real name,” Hannah argued.
“I doubt that was the name he was born with and was only his spy name,”Bentold her deadpan. He didn’t want her comparing him and his team to a fictional spy. Bond and other spy movies ruined a person’s image of what the Delta Force and real spies did. There was a lot more to it than fancy clothes and cool gadgets. Not that she would ever know.
“Well, I can’t go around calling them those names. What are their real names?"
"I’ll tell you, but don’t expect them to answer to them. Tiny is Mike, Cricket is Samuel, Doc is Carter, and Sunshine is Liam. Hawk is Heath and Hound is Aaron."
"I don’t think I’ll remember all those names."
"You get stuck just ask or say hey you. One of us is bound to answer."Bensmiled to show her he was teasing her.
Hannah laughed at his sense of humor. It had been a long time since she had a reason to laugh. She was no closer to finding out more about Ben and his team, but it was a start. She realized Ben was very secretive about his team and reluctant to tell her about them as if the information could get them killed. If Alejandro ever found her, he could torture her for their names. Was that why he didn’t tell her more? It reminded her of all the secrets about her grandfather's past. He had been in the army during the war. He would tell her stories about storming beaches and racing into buildings during heavy gun fire. She never knew if he embellished the stories or not, but he became so animated when retelling them she didn’t care. When he told stories, he never shared exactly where he was or who he was with, nor did he ever say exactly what he did in the army. Only that he was a soldier and left it at that.
They ate their lunch in silence and went back toBen's house where the guys were already waiting. They were friendlier than when she met them last night. Maybe they had just been tired.
"Let’s get started,"Benindicated everyone to sit down. "Hannah has agreed to share with us all she knows about Alejandro, butfirst, Hound any intel on the flash drive?"
"It’s highly encrypted. Anything we did get isn’t useful. I sent it to Blade if anyone can hack it, he can."
"Good, Hannah, you’re up."
All eyes trained on her and Hannah sat paralyzed.
"It’s okay, Hannah,"Benurged.
Hannah cleared her throat and began. "I was sold to Alejandro a few weeks ago. All the women were kept in the underground tunnel you found us in. None of the girls stayed there longer than a few weeks before having the drugs inserted into them. I don’t know where the drugs were kept, but the underground tunnels ran the length of the property and emptied into the water.To fool competitors, he had dummy trucks and planes. Every two weeks a shipment of three girls went out and the weeks between new girls were brought in. Some had European accents and others American. He pulled girls from all over the world."
"If the girls were shipped out so frequent why did you stay so long?" Doc asked.
Hannah looked down at her clenched fists. A warm hand covered them, and zings shot up her arms, she instantly knew it was Ben. Strange after all this time she knew him by touch.
He opened one fist and linked their hand together. Giving her his strength.
“Alejandro bought me from one of his rivals. I was the man’s favorite, and Alejandro bought me.Guess blackmail would be a better term. Alejandro only bought me, so I could tell him my previous owner’s secrets. I'm considered too old for most clientele, so Alejandro didn’t have much use for me. He had planned to sell me to someone when you rescued us, but I don’t know who."
