"The second day guard is Rajiv." Gregori picked up the last profile.
"Do you know Maxim?" Abigail interrupted.
Gregori blinked. "Who?"
"Maxim. He's a werewolf."
The president stiffened. "Abby! You know a werewolf?"
"No! He's the hero in Mom's book . . . but I guess he's not real." Her face flushed. "Sorry. I hardly know what's real anymore."
Gregori refrained from smiling.
The president's face softened as he regarded his daughter. "I understand how you feel, sweetie. We've had a lot thrown at us these last few nights." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Werewolves and were-bears - who would ever believe this?"
"You can add were-tigers to the list." Gregori passed him the last profile.
Abigail gasped. "Tigers?"
Gregori chuckled. "Wolves, tigers, and bears, oh my!"
When the others continued to stare at him with stunned expressions, he cleared his throat and assumed a serious expression. "Rajiv has been working for MacKay S and I for a year. His tribe is from Thailand, but they originated in the Yunnan province. Came down the Mekong River, and then settled in northern Thailand. Apparently the were-tigers like to have a set territory for each tribe, and they ran out of room in Yunnan. The good news is Rajiv has relatives there, and he knows one of their local dialects."
"And he shifts into a tiger?" President Tucker passed the profile to Caprese.
"Yes. He can shift at will." Gregori closed his now-empty folder. "I'll be going, too. And Abigail. So you have the six members the A-Team."
"Why only two day guards?" Caprese asked.
"We'll be teleporting around," Gregori explained. "Three vampires means we can safely transport only three - Abigail plus the two shifters."
Caprese gathered the profiles together in a stack. "I'll let you know if I approve of these . . . men."
Gregori gave him a wry look. "Try to do it within a few hours. The men are already in San Francisco. As soon as the sun sets in Hawaii, they'll teleport there. Then they'll move on to the MacKay office in Tokyo. In twelve hours they could be in the Yunnan province setting things up."
Abigail sat up with an alarmed look. "They're leaving without me?"
"You and I will follow as soon as everything is ready," Gregori said. "The other four will establish bases around the province. Since the terrain is fairly mountainous, they'll be looking for caves or abandoned buildings away from populated areas. They'll set up beacons in these bases that only Vamps and shifters can hear. We use the beacons to know exactly where to teleport. And each base will be stocked with supplies: food, water, synthetic blood, sleeping bags, and so forth. I'm afraid we'll be roughing it."
She nodded. "I was expecting that."
Gregori shifted to face the president. "The plan is this - careful and thorough preparation, everything set up, and then when it's time to take Abigail in, we do a quick strike. Get her in and out as fast as possible. Two or three nights at the most. No one will ever know she was there."
The president smiled. "I like it."
"Laurence," Caprese said, "I hope you realize the ramifications if your daughter is discovered. The Chinese could hold her prisoner, claiming she's a spy."
"I'm counting on the Vamps being able to teleport her out at the first sign of trouble," the president replied.
"What if the Chinese realize she's stolen some of their plants for research?" Caprese asked. "She could be in serious trouble, and your career would be over."
"If I can save my wife, I don't give a damn what people think of me," President Tucker said. "I'm on my second term, so my career's over anyway."
"If I discover something useful with one of the plants," Abigail said, "I'll find a way to synthesize it so we won't have to go back. We should only have to go once."
"Exactly," her father agreed. "What's important right now is managing Abby's trip without putting her in any danger." He turned to Gregori. "I'm counting on you guys for that. Don't let me down."
Gregori nodded. Personally, he didn't know how he could live with himself if something happened to Abigail. And if something bad did happen and the president blamed the Vamps, then they could all be in serious trouble.
He adjusted his tie. "If Abigail can give us some information on the plants, we'll do our best to locate them ahead of time. Then we'll take her in, grab them, and leave."
She removed a short stack of papers from her portfolio. "I have the information here."
"Great." Gregori smiled at her, then turned back to her father. "Our first priority is your daughter's safety. That's why we're trying to minimize the time she'll be in China. But it would be seriously remiss of me if I didn't suggest letting our men take care of the entire mission. With enough information, we should be able to find the plants she wants."
She gasped. "You would go without me?"
Gregori winced inwardly at the shocked and injured look on her face. "I'm sorry, but it's something we should consider."
She pressed a hand to her mouth, then to her chest. "I can't believe this. You know how important this is to me."
Her father gave her a sympathetic look. "He has a valid point, Abby. The best way to protect you is to keep you safe here."
Her eyes glistened with tears. "There's more to life than always being safe." She glanced at the Secret Service man. "Everywhere I go, everything I do, I'm watched so I'll be safe. We've had bodyguards since you first entered Congress. It's been going on for fifteen years!"
"It's all right," the president said gently. "I'm sure they can locate the plants without you."
"No!" She shook her head, and tears tumbled down her cheeks. "Don't tell me I can't do this! I'm always being told what I can't do. You can't wear that. It doesn't look classy enough. You can't have those friends. They're not prestigious enough. Don't frown like that. You can't look unhappy in public. Don't say anything in front of the media. They might print it. I had to go into hiding to get a life!"
Gregori sat back, stunned. He squeezed his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her. He glanced at her father. President Tucker looked equally stunned.
"Abby," her father whispered. "I - I didn't know . . ."
"Oh God." She wiped her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . ." She stuffed her papers back into the portfolio, her hands shaking. "I'm going on the trip. I won't share my information until you agree." She rushed toward the door and stopped in front of Charles. "I want to leave."
The Secret Service man glanced at the president, who nodded, then he opened the door and Abigail ran out.
President Tucker slumped in his chair, rubbing his forehead. "I didn't realize my career was so hard on her. She never complained. Not once."
Gregori shifted on the couch. The CIA director was just sitting there with a blank face. Charles was expressionless as usual. "Sir, I've only known your daughter a few days, but I can tell she loves her family very much. She would do anything for you."
The president nodded with tears in his eyes. "She's so brave. So smart." He leaned forward suddenly and grasped Gregori's shoulder. "Give me your word you won't let anything happen to her."
He gazed into the president's eyes. They were hazel like Abigail's. "You have my word. I'll defend her with my life."
The president watched him closely, then nodded. "Good." He sat back and took a deep breath. "You were right to suggest she stay here. It occurred to me, too. But you can see how strongly she feels."
Gregori nodded. "Yes, sir."
"She's very passionate about this mission. She hopes it will save her mother. I have the same hope, or I would never put her at such risk."
Gregori rose to his feet. "Then it's settled. We'll take her." And God help them if anything happened to her.
Chapter Nineteen
Abigail slammed the safe door shut and twirled the combination lock. She'd tossed all her plant information inside. It was her personal safe at the lab, and only she knew the combination. Of course, the info was also on her computer, but no one could access it without a password. If Dad sent Gregori and his buddies to China without her, they wouldn't know what to look for.