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Cold Cash

As a former Navy Seal and owner of a successful security company, Jade has experienced many risky situations, and had expected them to be risky. Yet on a routine courier job, Jade unexpectedly finds himself in a desperate fight for his life. After being betrayed and knocked from a flying airplane with $2 million cuffed to his wrist, he finds himself hunted in the cold and snow of the Alaskan back country. He has to learn new ways to survive. He meets the enticing Katherine, who has her own survival skills. They work together to survive the hunters, the cold, protect the cash, and warm a place in their hearts for each other.

Action/Triller with a sprinkle of romance awaits you in Cold Cash.

The following sample is only part of Chapter 1

1 The Seal

Jade signaled his men to stop. They had been through many simulations of what to expect. He was feeling like all the simulations had been more exciting than the real thing, even though nothing was the way they had planned. Jade had improvised, and would continue to do so, until they met the chopper. His job was simple. Escort the rescue team, eliminate any obstacle, and protect the company to the extraction site.

He lifted two fingers pointing them at the two people he needed, and motioned to the right. He lifted three fingers, pointing them at the next three men he needed, and motioned them to the left. Then he pointed at the remaining two men and motioned them toward himself. He started forward leading them up the street. The other two groups split off as expected. All three groups ran silently the length of the road, toward the dead end. Everyone one was keeping pace with him. The groups that he sent to the sides of the street hugged the walls of the buildings. Jade and the men with him darted from vehicle to vehicle as they drew closer to their target.

The moon was out. It seemed awfully bright. Jade pressed forward one more time. “Of all the nights to pick for a rescue, they would have to pick the brightest one,” Jade thought. When they had been called up for the mission, they were told that it was an easy in and out assignment. Get in, take out the captures, recover the eight students, and get out. Intelligence about the coups d'État going on around them had been lacking.

After a number of complications created by their contacts, Jade decided to trust only his own men. They had found very early on in the mission, that their contacts were unreliable. Jade and his men had almost been discovered, while being sent to a safe house to meet the next contact. It was because they were running late, that they came within sight of the safe house at the exact time that the soldiers were smashing down the front door. Fortunately there had been no one there to greet the bloodthirsty soldiers. Of course there should have been a contact waiting for them. Someone had obviously compromised them. Jade and his people had pressed on alone without guides, using a new improvised plan.

So far they had been able to avoid any military contacts. They would be lucky if that situation continued. They had to skirt too many troops, too many times. They were supposed to meet the students at the church at midnight. It was almost 2:00 a.m. when Jade and his men finally made it. At the time, Jade had hoped that the students would still be there. He also hoped that had arrived in time to get back out of town again, before the troops returned to the streets at sunrise. He was no longer so certain.

Again the plan hadn’t gone as expected. Being late for some things might have been an advantage. It had proven to be fortunate at the end of their journey as well. They had seen the students taken from the church and brought to this secured location. It would have been easier to have been on time and taken them from the church, but at least Jade and his men knew where the students were. They rearranged their plans to fit the need.

Jade made it to the last parked car. The guard at the top of the stairs still appeared to be asleep. He quickly surveyed the other two groups. They were nearly in position. He waved to one of the men with him. Striker stepped up, and Jade tapped his helmet lightly. Striker raised his weapon and took aim. Jade, tapped his finger once more on the helmet. Striker took the shot. Jade could see that the shot was perfect. The napping guard, twitched, then settled. Jade made the signal, and the two teams advanced quickly on the door. The rescue team followed his men inside.

Jade, Striker and Willis turned around. They faced the open street, and took a defensive position. There was the briefest of muffled sounds from behind them. A few moments later they were joined by eight students. The same six soldiers who went in were escorting them. They cut back toward the town square. He guided the students to the left with two of his best men. The two rescuers tried to keep the students moving. Two more of Jade’s men took the right side, while Jade Willis and Striker pressed ahead in the street, while staying close to the parked cars as they went. The group sneaked forward cautiously.

The students ran noisily along. Jade was practically holding his breath. They were about as subtle as a herd of elephants at a watering hole. The group of two to his right had arrived at the end of the street first. They held up while they checked the road to either side. The point man stopped the others with him. He scanned the square. He made a fist. The two soldiers who were leading the students on the other side quickly came to a halt. The students didn’t. The point man on the left grabbed the lead student and jerked him quickly to a stop and forced him up against the building. The other students finally came to a stop and pressed close to the building too. The two Marines making up the rescue team, moved up to be with Jade’s men.

All eyes seemed to be on the point man on the right side. Finally the man signaled flat handed, motioning forward. The group started again. The right side group quickly crossed to the left. They moved out in front of the others leading them hurriedly across the street. The soldiers took the first group directly to the building on the other side. They instantly disappeared into the dark doorway at the bottom of the stairs. Jade and his group moved to be with the rest of the students. The clatter of unchecked footsteps from the students was nerve racking. The mission had ceased to be boring.

The students followed the others across the street. They rushed down the steps, also disappearing into the darkness of the lower floor of the building. His team had found the abandoned building as they moved upstream along the river. It had been perfect for their needs.

Jade, Striker and Willis held back as they reached the building. They waited for a couple of slow students and the other men to hurry down into the dark. As soon as they were past, Jade tapped Striker on the shoulder. Striker turned and disappeared. Next he tapped Willis on the shoulder. Willis followed Striker. Jade took a quick breath. He scanned the square one last time. He saw no one. He saw no movement at all. He was about to turn and follow the others. Instead, he looked back briefly, to be certain that he hadn’t missed anything. One could never be too careful. There was no one.

Satisfied, he slowly closed the door and raced quietly to the others behind him. He rushed to the remaining black rubber boat. He helped to put it into the water. The others had gone already. Striker and two students were all that were left. He pushed the students down low into the boat. One of the young men tried to raise his head, but Jade roughly pushed him back down. He quickly pulled the black tarp over them. He pushed the boat out through the small door into the current outside. Jade held to one side of the boat, while Striker held to the other. They silently glided downstream being pushed along by the water.

The current in the water gained speed and bounced the boat around. Jade gripped the rope tighter, trying to keep only one arm over the boat. He could feel the students moving around. He was about to do something, but by then, they were floating beneath the bridge. Jade knew that there was a checkpoint at one end of the bridge. Jade and Striker fought to keep the boat in the current. The sooner they got past the bridge, the better Jade would feel.

He looked downstream. He could see the other three boats ahead of them. He held his breath the moment he could hear the men speaking on the bridge above them. The river made a quick drop and the water took them over the small fall with it. He heard one of the students gasp, as the water splashed into the boat, but no one on the bridge above them seemed to hear. Jade pushed at the water as hard as he could, kicking quickly to get the boat moving again.

The current must have heard his silent desperation and felt generous. The flow of water seemed to take hold of the boat and began to pull it along once more. Jade looked up quickly raising his weapon, but was glad to see no faces over the railing of the bridge. He knew that Striker would also be watching. Jade continued to watch, until they rounded the bend. A curtain of weeds soon covered their existence.

They continued to float with the current for another couple of kilometers. Then finally they were almost to the rendezvous. They were less than a kilometer from the border. They would not have much time. There were many soldiers down stream watching the river. It would be very dangerous for the students to be caught by the soldiers of the new regime again. However, it would probably be even worse for Jade and his men. They had made an example of other American soldiers. Jade was certain that if caught, they would die in the most hideous way.

They would have to hike the hills before the sun rose. Otherwise, they would be exposed. Jade knew that if they hurried, there should be enough time. It would be hard to keep the students hiking, but there was no choice. If they stopped, they might not get out. That was not an option. Jade’s squads had not failed an assignment yet. He certainly wasn’t going to let that happen this time either. Still, nothing had gone right on the mission so far. This was his last mission. He swore that he wasn’t going to finish his career in failure.

They rounded a few more bends, until they finally reached the place they had agreed to exit. They pulled the boats in, and let out the air. They packed them away as discussed. They reclaimed their stashed equipment, quickly pulled on their boots, and began their climb.

A pair of students had the gall to start talking in a normal tone. Jade rushed them, as did others.

“Want to live?” Willis whispered, holding out the shiny blade toward them. “Keep your mouths shut for the next two hours.”