The team leader radiated fury, pacing the aisle between the seats.
“Working on it.” A somber-looking Brooks was on a screen set in the wall, a headset on and his brow furrowed. He swiped on his tablet.
“These Hannibal assholes are going down,” Smith grumbled.
A gray-haired man in black fatigues appeared on the screen behind Brooks. “Brooks said you guys got your asses handed to you. Twice.”
Axel growled and dropped into the seat beside Nat.
She cleared her throat. “Hi, Arlo. Yes, we’re all fine, thanks for asking. And the Hannibal Syndicate have some unexpected weapons.”
Arlo made a harrumphing sound. “You’re all badasses. Show these assholes you mean business.”
Lachlan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thanks for the pep talk, Arlo.”
Arlo’s scowling gaze fell on the blood-stained fabric in Nat’s hand before shifting to Axel. “And if you don’t pull your head out of your ass and treat her right, I’ll make you regret it.”
Nat bit her lip and Axel scowled. Callie caught Nat’s gaze and winked.
“I’ve got them!” Brooks shouted.
Lachlan leaned forward. “Where are they?”
“In the air, headed northwest.”
“Seth, Blair, get us airborne.”
The X8’s engines rumbled to life.
“Everyone strap in,” Seth called out.
The jet-copter took off like a helicopter, sweeping out over the Santorini caldera. Once they hit the right altitude, the jet engines took over.
“Brooks, any way to tell exactly where they’re headed?” Lachlan asked.
“I’m working on it. I figured they’ve logged a flight plan under a false identity, so I’m running searches.” Brooks frowned. “I’ve got something else.”
“My man is good,” Callie murmured.
“There’s some chatter on the dark web. I accessed some chatrooms about weapons sales.”
Lachlan stilled. “What did you hear?”
“Talk about a new bioweapon coming onto the market soon. A weapon that turns people into raging animals with increased strength.”
“Fuck,” Smith breathed.
“So the Hannibal Syndicate will take the virus, find a way to isolate it, and then sell it.” Nat gripped the armrests of her seat. “What is wrong with these people?”
“There are bad people out there, Nat,” River said quietly.
“Why?” Nat insisted. She just couldn’t comprehend it. “Why are people looking for the worst things to do to others?”
Axel touched her cheek. “I don’t have an answer for you. Sometimes, they think they’re doing the right thing for whatever they’re fighting for.” Shadows shifted in his eyes. “Sometimes, they are just born assholes.”
She frowned and lowered her voice. “There is nothing similar between you and the Hannibal Syndicate. Not one thing.”
A muscle in his jaw worked, and his gaze dropped to her neck again. “How’s your cut?”
“Fine.” She pressed the gauze harder against her neck. “It’s really fine. It looks worse than it is.”
He reached out and stroked the skin on the side of her neck. “It’s one cut too many.”
She circled his wrist. “Axel.”
“Lachlan?” Brooks’ urgent voice. “I think I’ve found them.”
“Destination?”
“I found a flight plan lodged under the pharmaceutical company name used to register the plane. Renagen, Inc.”
“Where?”
“London. Due to land at London City Airport.”
“London,” Callie breathed.
“Bloody hell.” River shook her head. “London City Airport is just a few miles east of the city center. Not far from Canary Wharf. Millions of people in a high-density area. If the Minotaur got loose, it would be a disaster.”
“Worse if they manage to extract the virus, and that got loose,” Ty added.
Everyone turned to glare at the scientist.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Just telling the facts.”
Nat shivered and Axel gripped her hand.
“We’ll stop them,” he said.
“We have to, Axel.”
“Brooks, you need to track any known locations the Hannibal Syndicate has in London,” Lachlan said.
“Searches are running, but these guys are shady.” Brooks ran a hand through his dark hair, leaving it mussed. “They operate in the dark. Finding anything won’t be easy.”
“Lucky you like a challenge, then. Do what you can.” Lachlan’s gold gaze moved to River. “We need eyes on London City Airport.”
River nodded. “I can call some friends.”
Friends meant MI6.
Lachlan nodded. “Do it.”
River pulled out her sat phone and rose. She stalked to the back of the aircraft.
“We aren’t far behind them,” Callie said.
Nat swallowed. “Let’s hope we aren’t too late to stop more people from dying.”
* * *
They were coming in over the south of England.
Axel looked out the window, taking in the green fields below, and ahead, the sprawl of London.
Lachlan turned in his seat. “Brooks said the Hannibal Syndicate has landed.”
River nodded. “My friend said a black van’s arrived to meet them. They’re preparing to load up.”
Lachlan cursed. “Tell your friend to stay on them.”
Nat chewed on her lip.
“I told you not to worry,” Axel said.
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t just turn it off, Axel.”
“We’ll stop them. It’s what we do.”
“I know, but I’ll worry about you guys.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I always worry when you’re out there risking your life to save the world.”
He felt a pang in his chest. Since he’d left Delta, he’d made it so no one worried about him. He kept his family in the dark about his work and life. He didn’t see his family as much as he should.
But here was Nat, telling him that she worried about him.
He cupped her chin and their gazes locked. Damn, she was going to make staying away from her damn hard.
River leaned forward. “My guy says the Syndicate are making a beeline straight for central London, and they’re moving fast.”
Fuck. Axel looked at the others. Tension filled the X8.
“We’ll be landing soon,” Blair called back.
The X8 dipped, and they flew in over London City Airport.
Axel resisted the urge to tap his boot. He wanted to be on the ground, stopping these mercs. And he wanted the damn Minotaur behind bars.
They landed and Lachlan wasted no time opening the side door. Outside, two SUVs waited for them.
“Let’s go.” Lachlan jerked his head.
Axel had just settled into the backseat with Nat, when Brooks’ voice came through the console. “Guys, we have a problem.”
Lachlan dragged in a breath. “What now?”
“Open your tablet,” Brooks said.
Lachlan pulled it out and tapped the Team 52 logo. Axel and Nat leaned forward from the backseat. Smith peered over from the driver’s seat.
A lanky male news reporter appeared, holding a microphone. “There are strange reports of a wild animal on the loose near St. Paul’s Cathedral. There was a car accident on the A1 near Barbican, and then eyewitnesses reported seeing some sort of animal tear a van open.”
A wide-eyed woman popped onto the screen. “It was huge and roaring.”
A young girl clung to the woman, tears rolling down her chubby cheeks. “It was the devil.”
“Fucking hell.” Lachlan slammed his palm against the dash.
Next, the news report showed shots of an overturned black van. The side looked like it had been ripped open with a blunt knife.
“Brooks, can you track the Minotaur?” Ty asked from beside Axel.
“Trying to hack traffic cams
now.” Their tech guru sighed. “I’ll look, but it’s a fucking big city with a lot of hidey holes.”
Axel gritted his teeth. “We have to find it before it decides to eat some innocent people.”
“Hold on,” Smith said.
Their SUV picked up speed, the second vehicle keeping pace behind them.
Lachlan pressed his phone to his ear. “River? You guys see the news report?” A pause. “Does your friend still have eyes on the creature?” He thumbed the speaker button.
“He lost it.” River’s crisp, accented voice came through. “He’s tracking the Hannibal Syndicate, though. They’re regrouping at a warehouse in Spitalfields.”
“So no sign of the Minotaur?”
“Isaac said it ran.”
Where? Axel tapped the seat in front of him. Where the hell would it go?
“Brooks is trying to track it,” Lachlan said.
“Lachlan, we need a base of operations,” River said.
“I’ll have Kinsey find us somewhere.”
“I know a place. There’s an MI6 safe house in northwest London, near St. John’s Wood. Let me make a few calls.”
“Do it.”
Not long afterward, they found themselves following River’s SUV into the affluent, leafy suburb that was home to Lord’s Cricket Ground and the Abbey Road Studios made famous by the Beatles.
They pulled into a street lined by stately row houses. Beside Axel, Nat was studying her tablet, lost in whatever she was reading.
“What’s that?” he asked.
She looked up, blinked. “Minoan writings. I’m taking a look at anything that mentions the Minotaur. Maybe I can find a clue to where it might go, or if there’s a way to communicate with it, or to change Dr. Kitchener back.”
Axel stayed silent. He wanted the monster dead. As far as he was concerned, Kitchener died when he’d gotten infected and killed those women.
They pulled to a stop in front of an unassuming brick row house.
They waited for the first SUV to empty and unload. They didn’t want a large group of them drawing attention to themselves.
Finally, Lachlan nodded. “Let’s go.”
They followed the team leader through the front gate. Axel slung an arm around Nat’s shoulders so they’d look like a regular couple. Really, he just wanted an excuse to touch her. Her dark eyes met his.
For a second, he wondered how it would feel to have her belong to him.
Pure temptation.
She leaned into him. “Are you falling in love with me yet?”
His lips twitched. “Stubborn.”
“Yep.”
They jogged up the steps and entered the house. River closed the door behind them. Inside, it looked like a normal home. River lead them to a door in the kitchen and pressed a code into a discreet pin pad.
The door opened to reveal a set of stairs leading down.
They all filed down and lights flicked on.
“This is more like it,” Seth said.
The underground level was large, spacious, and high-tech. Screens lined one wall, with desks, and top-of-the-line computer terminals in front of it. It almost rivaled Team 52’s base at Area 52 in Nevada.
“Nice,” Blair drawled.
“Bedrooms.” River pointed down a corridor. “There is also a fully-stocked kitchen.”
A sharp whistle came from Lachlan’s tablet. Brooks was on-screen, studying the safehouse. “Nice digs.”
Lachlan set his large duffel bag down. “You find the Minotaur, Brooks?”
“Possible sighting of something strange near Tottenham Court Road.”
“It’s headed west,” River said. “Where’s it going?”
Brooks shrugged. “No way to tell yet.”
River activated one of the computers on the desk, and the screens on the walls flared to life. “Let’s link up and get to work, Brooks.”
Brooks cracked his knuckles. “You’re talking my language, MI6.”
“Find it,” Lachlan said. “Before the bad guys do.”
Chapter Twelve
Nat made coffee and handed mugs out to everyone.
“You’re a goddess,” Seth said with a smile.
She smiled. “Did you talk with January?”
“For a bit. She was busy studying some new Mayan Snake King artifacts.” His smile widened. Half his face was handsome perfection, while the other half was covered in terrible scars that only added to his appeal. “She said our peanut is behaving. Not kicking her too much.”
Except for his interaction with Team 52, Seth had been a loner until January had exploded into his life. He’d been haunted by his past, with no plans to ever fall in love or have a child. Now, love filled his voice as he talked about his pregnant wife, and Nat could see how excited he was to meet his baby.
She glanced at Axel. He could have that, too, if he let himself.
She thought of a dark-haired little boy with his father’s wide smile and she shivered. God.
Turning, she set down the last of the coffee mugs. Ty, River, and Blair were busy on the computers, their fingers flying.
“Another possible sighting near Russell Square,” Blair said. “Near the British Museum.”
“Confirm it and put it on the map,” Ty responded. One screen was filled with a map, covered in glowing dots.
Lachlan leaned a hip against one of the desks. “Where the hell is it going?”
Nat moved to Axel, who stood in the back corner, watching the action with a pensive face. “Hey.” She held a coffee out to him.
“Thanks.” He wrapped a hand around the mug.
“Milk with three sugars.”
He grinned. “I like it sweet.”
“I know.”
His smile faded, an intense look filling his face. He glanced at the rest of the team, but no one was looking at them. He slid his free hand into her hair and tugged her close. “You’re going to keep pushing, aren’t you?”
She lifted her chin. “You need a push.”
“I’m trying to do what’s best for you.”
“I know what’s best for me, not you.” She went up on her toes. “You’re afraid. You lost people. You did difficult things. You need to face those things and let yourself be loved, Axel.”
His face twisted, and the torment she saw hurt her heart.
“My parents don’t love me.”
His face hardened. “Nat—”
She shook her head. “I have no idea why they got married or had me. They weren’t interested in parenting or being a family. But that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve to be loved.”
“You deserve love. You deserve fucking everything.” His tone was biting.
“That’s why I’m going after what I want.”
She shifted and kissed him. He went still for a microsecond, then pulled her close, his tongue demanding entry. She gave a low moan, her hand digging into his side.
“Got something,” River cried out.
Nat pulled back, dragging in a breath. Axel let her go and stepped back, scowling.
She hid her smile. She was getting to him. But the most important thing right now was their mission, and they couldn’t afford a distraction.
Turning, she gathered around River’s screen with the others.
“CCTV picked up this.” An image appeared in black and white. It was a little blurry, but it showed a large man loping across a park.
“Can you zoom in?” Lachlan asked.
“Hang on,” River replied. “There.”
A large set of horns were visible.
“It’s him,” Nat breathed.
River tapped the keyboard. “I’m searching for where he went after this.”
“I’ve got something.” Ty’s fingers pounded his keyboard. “Breaking news coming in.”
Live footage appeared on another screen. The Minotaur was right in the center, with terrified, screaming people running from him, and a huge, arched ceiling above him.
“Shit, that’s King’s C
ross Train Station,” River said.
As people screamed, sprinted away, and stumbled into each other, the Minotaur tensed. It looked around, clearly panicked.
“Team 52, let’s move.” Lachlan straightened. “Ty, Nat, you both stay here.”
Her stomach clenched. She hated being left behind, but one look at Lachlan’s face said he wouldn’t change his mind. She nodded, then turned to Axel. “Be careful, all of you.”
Axel stared at her for a moment, then jerked his head.
She wanted him to touch her, to kiss her, anything, but he spun away.
There were grunts and nods. A flurry of activity filled the space as the team grabbed weapons, vests, and then headed up the stairs.
She watched Axel’s back as he disappeared, then dropped into a chair beside Ty. “This is the bit I don’t like.” It sucked to sit and watch the team go into danger.
“Yeah,” Ty rumbled. “Especially when you’re in love with one of them.” He arched a brow at her.
“Don’t be a smartass,” Nat murmured.
One screen was filled with the feed from a small camera that Lachlan pinned to his vest. Ty and Nat watched the SUV race through London’s streets—down narrow lanes and traffic-clogged avenues.
“We’ll leave the SUVs here and continue on foot,” Lachlan announced.
Nat chewed on a nail as she watched the team exit the vehicles. They jogged down the sidewalk and, moments later, she heard sirens and saw people running from the train station.
The team pushed on, fighting the crowd and skirting two police officers futilely trying to calm the crowd.
Ahead, the brick-and-arched façade of the station appeared. The team pushed on, leaping over the ticket barriers. They entered the train station, the platforms stretching out ahead in long rows, the arched roof overhead.
People poured off one platform in a panicked mass.
“That way,” Lachlan said.
Nat caught a glimpse of Blair as she moved ahead, tranq gun held down by her thigh. A terrified, middle-aged man tripped over, and Callie stepped into view, helping the sobbing man up.
“Go,” Callie said. “Get out.”
“T-there’s a monster,” the man stammered.
“Go.”
The team sprinted down the platform. The Minotaur was right ahead.
Mission: Her Shield: Team 52 #7 Page 9