Morgan's Mercenaries: Heart of Stone by Lindsay McKenna Page A

change quickly. Flexible he wasn’t.
    Maya came to a halt. So did her women pilots, who created one solid, unbroken line in front of the contingent of men. She snapped off a crisp salute to him.
    York returned her salute.
    “Welcome to Black Jaguar Base, Major York.”
    Dane saw the gleam of laughter lurking in Maya’s eyes as she stood toe-to-toe with him. He admired her chutzpah. Maya knew how to get into a man’s space real fast. She knew she was tall and powerful. Confidence radiated from her like the sun that had embraced her seconds earlier.
    “Thank you, Captain Stevenson. I can’t say the welcome was what we’d anticipated.” Dane decided to keep things professional between them at all costs. He saw the glint in Maya’s eyes deepen. Her lips curled upward—just a little. Her husky voice was pleasant and unruffled.
    “Get used to it. Around here, we’re on alert twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”
    He nodded and dropped into an at-ease position, his hands behind his back. “The report didn’t say that.” Maya stood easily, her booted feet slightly apart. The other women pilots were looking his crew over with critical eyes. He felt as if they were all bugs under a microscope.
    “The report,” Maya said crisply, “was meant to be brief and to the point. My X.O., Lieutenant Klein, here—” she motioned toward Dallas, who stood at her right shoulder “—did warn you of possible altercations with druggies once you entered our airspace. And it happened, unfortunately.”
    Dane held back a retort. “If you’ll get someone to show my men to their quarters and where we can set up our schooling facility, I’d appreciate it, Captain.”
    All business. Okay, that was fine with Maya. It was better than York taking verbal potshots at her pilots. Turning to Dallas, she said, “Take them to their quarters. Feed them. And then have Sergeant Paredes take them to our Quonset hut, where we’ve set up shop for them to teach.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Dallas smiled hugely at the cluster of men in green flight suits. “Gentlemen? If you’ll follow me, I’ll give you a quick tour of our base and get you some quarters.”
    York didn’t move as his men left with Dallas. He remained rigidly where he stood. Maya frowned.
    “Aren’t you going with them?”
    “We need to talk, Captain. Somewhere private. Your office, perhaps?”
    Smiling suddenly, Maya got it. Okay, York was going to have it out with her in private. Fine. She turned to her other pilots. “Let’s call it a day, ladies. You all have reports to fill out, plus your collateral duty assignments. Wild Woman, see to it that the crews refuel the Apaches and let’s get them on standby. Any problems, see me.”
    Jess came to attention. “Yes, ma’am!” And she turned on her heel and hurried into the cave with the other copilot at her side.
    Turning her head, Maya looked at Dane, the ice between them obvious. The sunlight was suddenly shut out as a thick cloud slid silently over the Eye. “Well, Major? You ready?” Her voice was a dangerous rasp, a warning that if he thought she was an easy target in private, he was mistaken. She saw York’s eyes widened momentarily and then become slits. Maya felt him harness his anger.
    “Ready whenever you are, Captain,” he said coolly.
    Turning, she moved into the cave’s murky depths. Within moments, York was at her shoulder, matching her stride, his profile grim and set. Maya could feel the tension within him. As they walked into the maw, the lights overhead illuminated the way, giving the cave a grayish cast with heavy shadows.
    “Let me give you a quick idea of our layout, Major,” she said, gesturing to the right. “Over there is our HQ. My office and all other collateral offices are located in that two-story building. Just ahead of us is the maintenance area for the helicopters. As soon as they land, we get them inside. Faro Valentino always has his Kamovs snooping around. Luckily, we’ve got