by Norris, Kris
“That’s because there aren’t any. But…” She split the screen, bringing up another map. “It’s a live beacon. So, I can send it through several different satellites, let them triangulate the source and…” She hit a few buttons—put a map overtop of the signal. “Bingo.”
Kam frowned. “Wait. It’s coming from here. As in Seattle. Isn’t that odd? Shouldn’t it be in Afghanistan or at least, Langley?”
Crow crowded in. “I doubt he would have left a copy over there after he fled and returned to the States. He probably had it on him or stored it close these past two years. Hard to tell. But seeing as we caught him here, it makes sense he would have stashed another copy nearby. How close can you get us?”
“Pretty damn close.” A few more inputs and she had the dot flashing above a building. “A nondescript facility south of the city. Bordering the warehouse district.”
“That’s a pretty big area when we’re talking about a thumb drive. Or even a microchip.”
“The signal might pinpoint it more once we’re closer. Guess we won’t know until we try. I’ll see if I can get any other intel on that area.”
Rigs cleared his throat. “Let me call Addison. She knows this city backwards and can discretely run some checks for us.”
“Good idea. We can use all the help we can get.” Cannon frowned. “Hey, Crow. Is that close to where you apprehended him?”
“Not really. But he said he had a couple of places in a few different cities. Guy was super paranoid, though, it was obviously for a good reason.” Crow inhaled. “Fuck. Are you thinking what I am?”
“That he might have hidden more than just this one thumb drive? That he gave other trustworthy people like Kam a way of tracking one of those drives down and this is just the tip of a damn huge iceberg full of crap?”
“Guess you are thinking along the same lines.”
“But how would he have known I was trustworthy?” Kam looked between Crow and Cannon. “I could have been a plant.”
“I have a feeling he sent out those feelers you picked up on just to see who would take the bait.” Crow smiled. “And I have no doubts that he knew more about you than your parents by the time you two met in that market. The man was very skilled with a computer.”
“So, after all of this, finding that drive might not end the threat?”
“It’ll end it against you.” Six gave her another squeeze. “That’s what matters, for now. We can worry about the bigger picture once we’ve accomplished that. Besides, I’m sure we’ll run into McCormick or Slader before this is finished. If we can bag their asses, we might be able to clear it all up in one neat package.”
“Glad to see you’re thinking positively, again, Six.” Crow slapped him on the shoulder. “All we need, now, is a plan, and we can head out.”
“Yeah, about that…” Rigs stepped in front of the desk Kam was working at. “Addy’s familiar with the place. According to the records, it used to house a security firm, but it’s been abandoned for years. That’s always felt off to her, so she dug deeper for us. The records trace back to a shell corporation, and you’ll never guess who owns it.”
Cannon grunted. “McCormick.”
“None other.”
“Well, isn’t that fan-fucking-tastic.” Cannon raked a hand through his hair. “You think Slader beat us to it? Has possession of that drive? The list?”
Rigs shrugged. “Could be. Or, our buddy, Bains, set up a safehouse in the bastard’s own abandoned facility. A giant ‘fuck you’ to McCormick.”
Cannon frowned. “Crow? Ellis? Thoughts? You two know him best.”
Crow motioned for Ellis to go first.
She sighed, leaning into Colt when the man moved in behind her—palmed her waist. “If Slader knew how to track the list without Kam’s help, he would have done it by now. The fact he’s been sending endless teams her way suggests he doesn’t have a clue. I can’t see how that’s changed in the past twenty-four hours. As for the facility… My gut’s telling me McCormick isn’t the kind of man to just up and leave. More likely, he demoted this place to a lower-security storage site. Stuff he’s not quite willing to toss but doesn’t consider important enough to have locked up in one of the buildings like I infiltrated with Colt.”
“That’s it.” Crow banged a fist on the desk. “What if Bains had these extra drives with him all along? But we didn’t recognize them for what they were? Once Slader has Bains, he gets his goon squad to grab everything out of the man’s safehouse and store it in that building. They obviously would have gone through it, but not found anything. So, it doesn’t warrant top-secret security when they think it’s just some clothes or files. Not that it’s all that surprising. I’m only assuming we’re looking for a thumb drive. It could be a microchip. A disk. An actual sheet of paper. Bains was smart. He’d have made it blend in perfectly.”
Cannon groaned. “So, now we’re breaking into one of McCormick’s facilities?”
“So much has gone on since the man was arrested. I honestly don’t know how secure this site will be. If McCormick still has devices in place or if Bains made this one of his other safehouses after McCormick vacated it. That would have been a pretty smart move.”
“Which means, we’re back to having exactly no intel.”
Crow slapped Cannon on the shoulder. “You won’t want this to be easy, would you?”
“I’d settle for something above suicidal.”
“Now I know where Six gets the drama queen from.”
Cannon arched a brow. “Get a bit closer, buddy, and say that, again.”
Crow laughed, holding his hands up to either side as he took a couple of steps back. “Easy, big guy. Just yanking on your chain. And domesticated or not, I wouldn’t choose to go a few rounds with you. You’ve still got that death vibe thing going.”
Jericho smiled, wrapping her hands around one of Cannon’s massive arms. “It’s part of his charm.”
“It’s something.” Crow’s grin faded. “We up for this? Because it’s only a matter of time before Slader or McCormick come at us, again. And I’d bet my ass the caliber of men will increase with every strike.”
“Screw that. We’re getting that intel and this time, if McCormick shows up, we’ll deal with him—permanently. I’m done playing by the rules and leaving threats around to bite us in the ass. We’re going to do this old school—Delta Force all the way.” Cannon nodded at Six. “This ends.”
Kam swallowed. That look in Cannon’s eyes—in all of their eyes. Determination. Courage. Lethal intent. She’d seen it regularly during her time as an MI. But, they’d all mellowed since retiring. Since having to play by new rules. But now…
Now, it was like staring at previous versions of the men. Their mannerisms changed with Cannon’s words. A hard edge slowly tensing their muscles. Their steely expressions altering into chiseled rock. None of them were standing down. And none of them were accepting anything less than a full victory.
She glanced at Six. He looked even more determined than the others, not that it surprised her. Her life was on the line, and he’d made it clear he wasn’t allowing her to get hurt. That it was his responsibility to keep her safe. A feat that could get him killed—get all of them killed. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Knowing they were risking everything just for her.
A hand on her shoulder had her jumping—spinning—staring up into Six’s brown eyes.
He frowned, tilting his head to one side before leaning in close. “Hey, you okay?”
She plastered on a smile. “Fine.”
“No, you’re not, but… We need to go over the logistics. While I’d prefer you stayed on the sidelines, I know that’s not possible. Not to mention you’d probably try to kick my ass so…let’s get the plan down. Then, we’ll go find that list. Get Slader and McCormick off your back. For good.”
She nodded, listening as they went over tactics. Drew lines on a map—marked where everyone would go. What they’d do. Even as they headed out, separ
ating into different vehicles, guilt weighed on her shoulders. If anything happened to any of the team…
“Stop.”
She startled at Six’s voice, meeting his gaze as he stared down at her, the scenery blurring past him through the windows. “Stop, what?”
“Thinking this is all your fault.”
“Are you using your…” She lowered her voice. “Sixth sense on me?”
“Already told you it doesn’t work that way. Especially with you. Besides, it’s written all over your face.”
“It is my fault. I should have kept looking when Bains first gave me the drive. If I hadn’t assumed he’d been lying—”
“McCormick would have gotten his hands on the list, by now. And you’d probably be dead. Or some rogue Black Ops CIA agent. Based on the stories Ellis has shared, I’m not sure which would have been worse.”
“So, risking everyone, instead, is fair?”
“Screw fair. Life isn’t fair. War even less, so. But it is what we’re all good at.” He brushed his thumb along her cheek, tucking a few wispy stands of hair behind her ear. “We’re choosing to fight, Kam. Not just for you, but because we all made a pledge. Retired or not, we’re not the sort of men to let that slide. So, dig in, and put your energy into finding that list.”
Great. Now, she couldn’t question them risking their lives without questioning their honor. And she wasn’t about to insult them that way. Or let them down. They weren’t the only ones willing to do whatever it took to keep the intel secure. To see McCormick and Slader got what they deserved.
Six frowned, looking as if he was trying to read her mind before exhaling a raspy breath. He gave her hand a squeeze, focusing out the window as they wove through a maze of side streets, finally parking a block back from the building.
Kam checked her phone. “Signal’s still broadcasting, and it’s definitely coming from inside that facility.”
Six nodded, speaking into the com around his neck. He ran through a series of checks with Cannon and the others as he, Crow, and Kam readied their equipment. Kam patted down the vest Six had given her—a couple Ka-Bars, her Beretta and some extra clips. A flash bang tossed in for good measure. Not that she really needed it. Six was carrying more than double of what she had, as was Crow and all the rest of the guys. They also had Gibson and Midnight on sniper duty, again, and Rigs and Addison checking the perimeter with Blade for any explosives. A veritable army if ever she’d seen one.
Six placed his hand on the small of her back, gave her a nod, then they were off. Taking a parallel alley across the street and over to the next block. Crow paused for a few moments, scanning the area, then darting forward. They quick-stepped to the curb, followed it for several feet then turned left, heading down what looked like a loading ramp to a rolling-style garage door.
Colt and Ellis were already at the door set in the wall beside the ramp—Colt eyeing the street while Ellis did something to the panel beside the door. Crow was a couple feet back when a soft whoosh drifted toward them and the door slivered open on a swirl of cool air.
Ellis grinned as she stepped back. “If Bains did convert this into a safehouse, he really should have gone with a different encryption protocol than what McCormick had used. Made it far too easy for me.”
“That, or McCormick’s still monitoring this site. Still using it, and that’s why it’s the same protocol.” Crow exhaled a rough breath. “Not that it changes anything. Let’s just be ready. Kam, can you tell where it is?”
Kam sighed. “I’d hoped the damn signal would narrow our range once we got closer, but it’s still just flashing over the building.”
Six nudged her. “You got us here. We’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way.”
Colt snorted. “Guess that good luck we keep hoping for isn’t going to start today.” He motioned toward Ellis. “We’ll take the first floor. You three head to the second.”
“Watch your back. I have a bad feeling we’re going to have company soon.”
Colt grinned. “Good thing we’ve got you, then, Six. Feel free to spread that Jedi thing around, okay?”
“Jackass.” Six spoke quietly into his comm. “The team’s watching the perimeter. Will keep an eye out for McCormick or Slader. All we need to do is find whatever Bains left behind.”
“Great. Looking for…something inside a huge facility. Cakewalk.”
Ellis elbowed Colt, smiling at his grunt. “Focus on the storage rooms. Whether this is a safehouse or McCormick’s dumping site, I’ll bet that intel is hidden with Bains’ other stuff so let’s start by looking for his personal belongings.” She handed Kam a second phone. “Here. In case you need to bypass codes on the interior doors. One of these should work.”
Six grinned. “Ten bucks says we’ll find the item, first.”
“You’re on, soldier boy.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Is it just me, or is everyone wondering why a covert CIA storage facility doesn’t have any damn lights?”
Six glanced at Kam, watching as she moved the beam from her flashlight along the staircase. “It’s supposed to be abandoned. Having lights come on would attract attention.”
“And the high-tech panel by the door doesn’t?”
He held back a chuckled. Damn, she was adorable. “I’m betting not many people get that close, and those that do are probably just pissed they can’t get inside. True to McCormick’s style, this isn’t exactly the kind of neighborhood you’d expect to find a CIA site.”
“I don’t think any neighborhood fits that description.” She crested the stairs, shining the light down the hallway. “Great, only a few dozen rooms—on each hallway.”
“Still nothing from the signal to narrow it down?”
She just looked at him over her shoulder.
He held up his hands. “You’d have told us if there was. Okay, let’s start opening doors.”
They moved systematically down the hallway, Kam using the codes Ellis had given her to open any locked doors. Over half of the rooms were empty, the remaining ones filled with old office supplies. Nothing remotely interesting.
Twenty minutes in, and they’d cleared the first hallway—were moving onto the next. It looked similar, with nearly as many doors down the long corridor. The first few rooms were a bust—more office supplies, but the next held promise. Had some containers with tech. They took their time, scrounging every piece of hardware before heading off, again. Took Kam a full minute to hack the code on this door, sending a shiver of warning down Six’s spine. None of the other rooms had been that hard to open, which meant there might be something worth hiding in this one.
Crow headed for one side of the room, picking up a Newton’s cradle. “Well, I’ll be damned. This is Bains’. I remember seeing it on his desk. Had the same brass plate on it.”
Six grinned. “Looks like we might win that ten bucks, after all.”
They split up, each taking a portion of the room. Six went through boxes, clothes, belts—anything that could house a thumb drive or microchip, silently cursing when he came up empty. Now, would have been a good time for his damn sense to kick in—give him a ghosted snapshot of what they were looking for. Maybe them carrying it out.
Of course, that was assuming they found it. Knowing there was something here and actually unearthing it were distinctly different. Hell, Slader had likely gone through all the material in the room and not found anything. And Six had no doubts the man had been thorough.
“Damn it.” Crow huffed out his next breath. “I’ve got nothing. Not a single thing that popped apart, or had some hidden tray.”
“Maybe these other items aren’t his?” Kam swung her light beam around the room. “Or they split it up?”
“That doesn’t sound like Slader to me. The guy was meticulous.”
“Then, maybe that’s someone else’s Newton’s cradle.”
“No way.” Crow walked over and grabbed it, holding it out to her. “I doubt many people have the same odd
name plate on it.”
“Odd?”
“Some kind of braille. His file said he had a blind sister. I just figured she’d given it to him.”
“May I?” She shined her light on the brass. “Twelve letters or numbers… This is it. I bet my ass those are numbers, not letters, and they correspond to the IP address that was hidden in the old intel.”
Kam turned the cradle over, feeling along the bottom, then righting it and covering the base. Then she moved along the metal supports, frowning when nothing opened. She leaned in closer, inhaling sharply. “Six, hold it for a second.”
He grabbed it, keeping it steady as she lit up the metal balls, tugging on each connection until she reached the middle one. There was an audible click, then the ball slid off, a small drive hanging down from the connector.
She held up the unit. “Got ya.”
Kam separated the drive from the connector, putting the device in her pocket before nodding at the cradle. “We should probably take it back, just to be sure, but I think this is the only one.”
“Got it. I’ll radio the others—”
A blast of static sounded in his head, then Gibson’s voice—garbled. Nothing but ‘er’ making it through before the line went dead.
Six didn’t wait to see if his time leaks would kick in. If he’d get a peek at the threat he knew was closing in on them. Years of training had him grabbing Kam and heading for the door. He made a few hand signals to Crow, going left as Crow went right. Six listened at the door, Sig already in his hand before slowly opening it.
Eerie stillness filled the hallway, the lack of windows encasing it in deep shadows. Six blocked Crow with his arm when the other man tried to duck out—cover them from the other side of the corridor—shaking his head at his buddy. Though Six didn’t see anything, something felt off.
He had a split second of the hairs on his arms prickling, his damn sense giving him a shove, before the first bullet hit the wall where Crow would have been if Six hadn’t stopped him—gotten him to step back. That had them both returning fire as they crouched, waited until the next round of shots eased then they were moving.