by Amy McKinley
More men joined the others behind us. We ducked through a door hanging off its hinges and into an abandoned building. Leaping over debris, we raced to the back corner, shattered the intact window, and exited. We had a lead, but not by much. Doors crashed behind us as five men came barreling out of the building. I nudged ahead of Jack and took the next alleyway. The building three over had an entrance into tunnels below the street. That’s where we could lose them. I had firsthand experience of those tunnels, as I’d used them when I’d escaped as a kid.
Jack was on my heels. Someone behind us fired shots, so we ducked and ran, dodging into alleys and behind dumpsters. The entire time, we kept moving. The streets would soon be swarmed by cops, Ahmed’s guards, and possibly the Dark Wings, which I wanted to avoid. The building was ahead, and no one was behind us for the moment—we had maybe two seconds.
I busted through the door. After Jack followed, I secured it behind us. “This way.” We had to get to the room where the access was hidden in a pantry. I’d learned about it by chance—it was what had saved me from detection then, and I hoped would again.
We shimmied around tables and through dimly lit rooms until we were at the door that held our escape. No sounds found us as we slipped past the doorway and into the stairwell. They hadn’t seen us enter, but if they did figure it out, they would be on us in no time at all.
“How’d you know about this place?” Jack whispered beside me as we followed the tunnel down.
“This is how I got away from the Dark Wings.” We were slowly jogging, splashing through a few puddles where pipes had leaked. It was musty and dark but a safe haven nonetheless. “I hid down here for days. Without it, they would have found me.”
That was enough for him. He understood. Silence stretched between us as we made our way through the tunnels under the streets above where they searched for us. We had several minutes to go at least before we could go topside.
Beneath a manhole cover in the street, we waited several minutes after we heard the guards confirm the area was clear and search to the east. Cautiously, we ascended the ladder, and with my shoulder, I pushed the heavy piece of metal up enough to slide it over.
When no alarms sounded, we exited the manhole, returned the circular covering to hide our trail, then took off again at a fast pace. We’d gone out of our way and had a good distance to cover to make it to our next safe house.
My legs were tight from our flat-out sprint to get Lily free earlier, and the fifteen-block jog would do me some good, even with a heavy pack on. Soon, the city would wake. We kept to the shadows, weaving in and out of alleyways and behind brightly painted homes. Luck stayed with us, and we didn’t encounter any of the many groups of criminals that ran the nights or anyone sent by Ahmed. I suspected our reprieve after the tunnels to be short-lived.
The tiny house was in sight. No lights were on inside. There would be a window toward the rear that would be unlocked, and we could enter there, free from prying eyes.
Nothing would take away the pain of the father and mother inside that home, who still grieved their son, but I hoped we could ease some of their suffering through supplies, payment, or possibly even a way out and a path to begin life elsewhere. That was something Kara and I could discuss, even though I wanted to take her away, never to return. She had been chained to others and at their beck and call, and I would never do that to her.
There was also the matter of her husband, Samir. He had what I desperately wanted: a family, and in particular, Kara and Lily. I couldn’t help but wonder if their marriage was for protection rather than love.
Jack eased the window up, and while he crawled in, I kept watch. Nothing stirred. After he scoped the inside, he came back and squeezed my shoulder. I turned and faced him then hoisted myself through the square opening.
With the room secured, I dropped to the couch along the wall adjacent to the single window. The space was small, with only a narrow bed and a futon. We didn’t need much, and it would do nicely.
“We need to be on the move in two hours tops,” I whispered to Jack. “Depending on how Hugo and Ahmed’s meeting went last night, the drones may have changed hands.”
“We’re running out of time.” Jack leaned against the wall. “If he sold them to Ahmed, and the president gets his hands on them…”
“Right. So we’ll need to make Hugo a priority.” My gut was in knots and would be until I heard from Hawk that Lily was safe in Maine. Then there was Kara… At least she had the skills to take care of herself. I opened my pack, pulled out a bottle of water, and took a few sips. “I think he’ll be close to where Ahmed lives. Our search should begin there. We can question the residents.”
“Hopefully, they won’t inform Ahmed’s men about us.”
Fear did strange things. “We have money. Let’s offer that in exchange for information.” God knows the people needed help, and we could easily spare what we had. “We need to rest. I’ll take the first shift.”
Jack lay back on the bed. “That’s the plan, then.”
In an hour, I would wake him then pass out myself. That would be enough to keep us going. If Kara got the chance, I knew she’d be in town. Maybe not right away, but even so, we had to find Hugo and put a stop to his selling the drones, if he hadn’t already. We would have to split up. Jack could question the residents near Ahmed’s home, and I would wait for Kara.
As I repeatedly scanned the small alleyway, the access point to where we were, Hugo’s appearance came to mind. The drooping eye and beard had thrown me off, and I wondered if they were real. If so, the damage had to have been from an accident, probably a fire. No matter what had befallen him, he deserved pain and suffering. Whenever I thought of him, a red haze coated my perception, and I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from killing him. Hugo was not a good person.
Nothing stirred nearby except a cool breeze. Outraged shouts and general discord were typical of the city as criminals ruled the night—Ahmed being one of sorts, himself.
I couldn’t keep Hugo from my mind, even if the mission had changed and no longer called for us to pursue him. If he didn’t believe that I was dead, there would be the matter of the Dark Wings calling their due. Jamal, the leader, would welcome a chance to make me pay. In their eyes, I’d committed the ultimate sin. I’d left. And ever since my escape, I’d been marked for death.
Soon, Kara would be as well.
19
Kara
The sun was high in the sky, adding to the already sweltering temperature. I meandered along the city’s sidewalk at a slow pace, taking time to talk with anyone I knew. It gave me time and would provide enough of a distraction for Max if he was around. I had to find him and warn him.
I clasped hands with the homeless woman, Margo, I’d been helping. Her toothless smile reflected the hollowness in her eyes. After pressing a mango and a sandwich into her arthritic hands, I secured the large purse that I’d filled with food back on my shoulder. Ahmed could go to hell for his part in starving the people. He advised the president, and he could take a stand for the people rather than lining his own pockets.
There weren’t many homeless out that day, but I would feed those I could. With each step on the dusty pavement, the feel of being watched sizzled along my skin. I would not lead them to my daughter, but I had to warn Keegan. He would show, somehow. I knew it. An invisible cord seemed to connect us. I physically sensed when he was near. The heightened awareness and release of butterflies in my stomach told me that he, too, watched my progress along the street.
Every few stores, a Dark Wing soldier leaned against the building. I met their cold gazes with determination. I wouldn’t let them touch me. Nor would Ahmed, at least not yet. He thought I would lead them to Lily, like a lamb to slaughter. As if.
At the end of the block, I rounded the corner and passed the abandoned pastry store, and my instincts flared. In the recessed entryway, away from the prying eyes of the soldiers, Keegan stood. We only had a couple of minutes, and while I
longed to hear about Lily, I had to help him first.
I stepped on my left shoelaces and unraveled them, which gave me an excuse to bend and retie them while staying on the sidewalk and in plain sight. Under my breath, I whispered, “Ahmed knows you’re alive.”
“I figured. Any word on the drones?”
I dropped my right shoulder, one of the straps for my purse slid down, and I nudged a mango to roll out. Two emaciated men went down on a knee to help me. With shaky hands, the one closest picked up the fruit then passed it back to me. I wanted to cry. “No. Please, you keep it.”
I pulled out two bags with a few sandwiches and several bills hidden in each. As they accepted the food I offered, I spoke in hushed tones to Keegan and implored the men with my gaze not to give away his position. “I haven’t found them yet. The meeting with Hugo is rescheduled for today. An hour. I have to get back. I’ll do everything I can to get what you need.”
With the help of one of the too-thin men, I stood then offered each a hug to delay having to leave. We couldn’t talk of my daughter, not there. There was no way I could stay, so I continued my stroll through town, away from Keegan. I had to get back to the house soon. Although Ahmed found my compassionate excursions pointless, he ignored them. I would make that meeting, no matter what.
I stumbled on the sidewalk when Keegan spoke. His rough whisper whirled through my mind, tempting me to turn back. “I need you, Kara.”
Keegan
“I don’t like it.” I crouched before the patrol neared. Jack and I were a reasonable distance from Ahmed’s home, but there was no reason to take any chances. “Using Kara to get intel on the drones is risky. Ahmed is already suspicious.” Not only that, but I recognized the way she’d moved on the street earlier today. She was hurting. Our window to get her out was closing.
“I agree, but you know the ramifications of the drones falling into the president’s hands. From what you told me about Kara’s background and training, she can take care of herself for now.”
He was right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. We’d positioned unobtrusive cameras around the property so we could monitor the comings and goings, and particularly when Hugo arrived. If he carried anything with him, we would take him before he entered the residence. If not, we had to count on Kara to intercept what was happening.
On our phones, we could keep several main angles on display then toggle through some of the lesser possible entry points as needed. I swiped a hand over my tired eyes in an attempt to clear my vision. Due to Lily’s disappearance the night before, the meeting with Hugo would be heavily guarded. Or at least that’s what we assumed. I didn’t get a chance to confirm with Kara.
I zoomed in on camera six as the guards made rounds in that section of the yard. “They added more security. I recognize two from the Dark Wings.” I didn’t want Jack involved.
“Stop worrying.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Jack rolled his shoulders. “Didn’t need to. It’s written all over your face. I know how you fight, which gives me an advantage they won’t be expecting. I can hold my own well enough with them.”
“Stay away from Jamal. If he shows, I don’t want you or Kara engaging.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and expectant. He was going to push for answers. I’d given him and Hawk a good portion of what had happened and who these people were, but it wasn’t enough, and I couldn’t expect him to wade into war without the history and battle plan.
“What happened between you and your uncle? Why is leaving the outfit still a problem for you?”
Baring my soul wasn’t something that came naturally, but I would do it if even a shred of understanding could keep Jack safe. “My parents were affiliated with the Dark Wings, as is Hugo. They wanted out and were killed because of it. My guess is by Hugo’s hand.”
“I can see why you hate him.”
“There’s more.” Not only didn’t I want them to know about my relation to Hugo, but during my time in the Dark Wings, I’d done terrible things in order to survive. “Once they were dead, Hugo decided he’d be the one to initiate me. It wasn’t pleasant: the training, the abuse, the fear, killing for them. I was eleven when I was dumped in the mercenary group and put under Jamal’s instruction. There were rules we could not break. For me, there were two major ones. To leave the outfit meant death. And upon my sixteenth birthday, Hugo would return, and I’d fall under his command, killing the targets he deemed necessary.”
Jack’s features hardened. “Are you and Jamal matched fighters?”
“If I’d stayed, I would have surpassed him. They had ways of keeping us in line.”
Jack frowned. “The scars on your back?”
That day flashed in my mind with the velocity of a train wreck.
Kara had failed to kill her target, something I’d been tasked to make sure she was ready for.
The crack of the whip hissed through the air and burned across my back, tearing flesh in its wake. Drops of blood decorated the ground. I bit down on a piece of leather, straining against the ropes that bound my arms. I focused on Kara’s muffled cries, not the jeers from the men who surrounded me.
I cared for her. It could lead to my downfall, possibly to hers. They would not know.
Jamal’s dusty boots were within my line of sight as he ordered five more lashes. I refused to look at him. The scar that marred his face from cheekbone to chin had been my doing two years before. Even at thirteen, they’d molded me into a feral animal, a force that few could contain.
Kara had messed up, badly. Allowed to go on a mission with myself and another, she’d faltered and hadn’t made the kill. An alarm had gone up before I could get to him and slit his throat. Hesitation killed, and Jamal didn’t train his soldiers to harbor compassion or indecision.
Her mistake would require punishment. I was her trainer. He thought punishing me would resolve the problem, effectively trickling down to her. Her father, Ahmed, probably wouldn’t have allowed marks upon her skin. That had been the only thing that’d saved her from the whip.
I shook my head, pulling myself out of the past. We had a job to do, and it needed to end that day if not the next, at the latest. Each day that passed decreased our odds of recovering the drones and getting Kara out. Jack nudged me, stirring to mind the question he’d asked about the scars.
“Yes, but the punishment was worth it.” She was worth it.
20
Keegan
Hugo never showed for the meeting the day after Lily was rescued, which was cause for alarm. Ahmed had strung Kara along about Hugo’s presence at one meeting or another. The stakes were so high that it seemed Hugo had fled the country with Ahmed’s help. The more time that passed without a sighting indicated a good chance that Hugo was gone. Then there was the other possibility we couldn’t dismiss. If the drones were transferred to the Venezuelan president, we would have to infiltrate his home.
The roar of the protesting crowd from the front of Ahmed’s house echoed through the streets in muffled waves.
“We have to check in with the guys, and we can’t do it here.” Jack holstered his gun under his shirt.
I did the same. There was little chance anything would happen before dark with the protesters out front again. As we made our way back to our base, I couldn’t stop my mind from imagining different scenarios between Ahmed and Kara. The various possibilities of how she might suffer for Lily’s extraction ate at me. I should have insisted that she come, too, stormed Ahmed’s office, and taken her out of there. It wasn’t the best way to handle things, but it would have gone a long way to alleviate the ulcer I was surely developing.
Back in the cramped room, Jack called Rich. As soon as he answered, Jack put him on speaker so we could both talk.
Rich’s baritone burst from the speaker. “We have news back from the medical examiner, and it’s not good, gentlemen. The director of National Intelligence Services, who fell ill at the last meeting, was poisoned with t
he organophosphorus compound VX.”
Jack and I exchanged uneasy glances. The extremely lethal and odorless chemical would block enzymes affecting the glands and organs, which resulted in heart failure.
“Were you able to get a signature on the nanoweapon used?” I knew it would come up as GH Envirotech, but with Rich’s confirmation, we would have access to whatever we needed to apprehend the remaining drones and those in possession of them.
“We were. It was GH Envirotech, George Hammond’s company. Following the identification of the poison, we seized their office computers.” We heard movement in the room as Rich put us on speaker. “I also have Liam and Mike here.”
Good. We needed to touch base with our team, and their presence must have meant the interrogation was complete. “What did you learn about the US half of the business? Is George guilty?” If he was, he could have a wealth of information that would be useful in helping us find where the missing drones were.
Mike’s gruff voice crackled over the line. “George held out on us about the drones made here. But they were different than what was produced in the Caracas plant. The ones here were for farmers.”
“The US plant was developing pollinating insects for crops.” Liam’s Irish accent complemented Mike’s harsher vowels. “We questioned him thoroughly, and aside from the larger drone that would fly overhead, connecting to the smaller wireless units, he was unaware the Caracas branch was developing anything different.”
“What did he think they were doing?” Jack drummed his fingers on the windowsill in our room.
“He thought they would offer the drones to the people of Caracas to help with the food shortages.” Mike filled us in. “The partner in Caracas who died of a heart attack was getting ready to pull out before the company was seized. He’d sent two emails to George that Chris was able to retrieve. In one, he shared doubts about Henry Adams. It seemed he was utilizing a few from their team to work on another project that hadn’t gotten approval. And when questioned, Henry wasn’t forthcoming.”