He left her sitting at a bar after calling her a bitch.

Northern New Hampshire

We tried to think ahead while stuffing stacks of hundred-dollar bills into our small backpacks. We did not expect to be money shopping today, and if we had known, we would have devised a better solution to the new logistics problem.

Eve was funny. "Allston, I never knew how heavy money is. Should we leave some here?"

I considered it and told her, "I think we should leave some because we don't know who is coming in here next, and we don't know how fast our exit will have to be." "We need to travel light."

I said, "They know we are here; they must be sending someone." 

We laughed a bit, and I got uncomfortable acting like this. There was no doubt that the source of this cash came from trouble.  

We took a lot, but we also left a lot. We left the one bag that was not cut open. I took that cut bag and found enough room in my backpack to stuff it in.

It was time to move up and out, and Tango probably needed some tree time by now. I looked at my watch and realized we had been inside this underground facility for about an hour. That's too long, and it will be dark soon.

"Tango, let's scoot, buddy."  The dog wagged his tail, and he started to lead us out.

We walked past everything we had seen and noticed a few more things. Many access points have not been set up yet; we may have been sealed in if they had been.

Eve dawdled a bit, but she did not complain about the weight. "Allston, I have got to pee now. Can we stop at the locker room?" "Be quick, Eve."

In front of the locker room, she dropped her backpack at my feet. As she entered, she stopped and listened, but she sensed nothing. Tango, being a good guard, went in with her.

Eve went quickly. She hitched up her pack, and we started moving toward the entrance. We could feel the cold air coming through the open door as we approached. It's still weird that whoever owned this bugged out and left the doors open. Before we stepped out, Eve and I had a little chat.

"I don't think we should go anywhere near the access road." "Let's go north for a mile and then head for the highway." It will take a while, but we will avoid anyone coming up the access road."

 "Are you up for it, Baker?"

Eve hates it when I call her Baker, and I thought it was appropriate. Since that is her trade, she shot back, "I'm up for it, Dick" Then she told me that "Dick is a nickname for a Private Investigator."

I won't be calling her Baker anymore.

We went up the ramp and into the woods with Tango leading. 

We were in the woods when a massive amount of gunfire came from back at the compound. I heard what had to be automatic AK-47 reports, followed by a significant amount of fire from other guns. It sounded like an assault being thwarted.

"I think we got out of there just in time," Eve said.

For a minute, I thought about going back to see what was happening, but Eve said, "Time to go, Allston. We will read about it tomorrow; we won't be part of the story." 

Eve was right, but I'm not going to say it.

Northern New Hampshire

Fyodor and Dmitri drove up the main access road and stopped at the steel road barrier. They exited the car and started walking through the bollards to get back on the road. Each man was equipped with body armor and helmets. They moved like silent cats in unison. They moved, listened, and moved some more. They had been working together for years, and it showed.

They had been briefed by a man they had never met, and they assumed he was Chinese. They were hired by the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) the last time they came here to kill the security detachment. They were told that two intruders were inside the compound and that they must be eliminated.

They headed for a side entrance when they saw a man, woman, and dog about one hundred yards away walking toward the northernmost woods.

Dmitri stopped and dropped to one knee while putting his eye onto the scope of his rife. He started to sight in on the man and wished he had his long-range SVD-GRAU but the A.K. would do in a pinch. He felt the wind and he slowed his heart and calculated. He stopped, resetting his leg, and lined his shot up better. 

He started to squeeze the trigger when an assault team dressed in black started yelling for them to 

"Freeze and get on the ground." 

They were too focused on what was before them and forgot to keep looking back.

Fyodor turned toward the assault first, raised his rifle, firing a long burst. Two rounds hit his head, and he spun his helmet around. Dmitri, furious and grief-stricken, all in a split second. He also turned and fired the shot that was meant for his target at the assault team. Dmitri's life ended when two F.B.I. sharpshooters from TAC-2 mowed him down.

The team poured in and started fanning out when they found the opening to the compound.

One Hour Later

Allston and Eve stepped out of the woods about a mile from Allston's truck. They stepped back in when a steady stream of law enforcement vehicles started zooming by. When a break in the traffic happened, they crossed the road and got in the truck. 

As they proceeded South, the number of cars going north increased, and it seemed like they were all on "Official Business." It wouldn't be long before the helicopters arrived. They spoke briefly and decided to head home instead of the cabin they rented. It would be about a two-hour drive. Eve cuddled up to Thomas, put her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Allston is fun, and her time with him is not dull.

Her life had changed so much since she met him in a Mexican Restaurant in Portsmouth. 

She saw him walk up to the bar and sit two seats away from her seat. 

Two minutes earlier had a "first-date guy" walk out on her because, in his words, she "Was a bitch" 

She laughed a little and started to doze while Allston drove them home.