Crossfire (Book 1) (The Omega Group)

by Andrea Domanski

  With their backs to the rear wall of the house, they waited for Blackjack’s diversion. It came two minutes later.

  A quick series of small explosions rocked the front of the house, sending the guards running from the game room. Wasting no time, Steve ran to the double doors and grabbed the handles. Locked.

  Grainger pulled a baton from his belt and smashed the glass in the door, reaching inside to disengage the lock. Thirty seconds later they were at Meghan’s side, cutting the rope around her wrists and pulling her back toward the door.

  The relief on her face when Grainger grabbed her hand was quickly replaced with a look of terror as Grainger was violently torn from her grasp and hurled to the floor a few feet away. Before Steve could react, both he and Lincoln were jerked up in the air and splayed against the far wall, unable to move.

  “So nice of you to join me, Grainger,” Daedric said, his voice dripping with pride. “For a while there I worried you wouldn’t come. And I see you brought some new friends with you. How very thoughtful.”

  Daedric walked slowly to where Grainger was pushing himself up off the floor. Steve gained a whole new respect for Grainger as he watched him stare down his former boss, the demi-god. “Let my wife and friends go. You’ve got me. I’ll submit to whatever punishment you deem fitting. Make an example out of me however you want to.”

  Daedric broke out in a fit of laughter that held little humor. “How quaintly simpleminded of you. No, Grainger. Your request, selfless as it might be, is denied. You see, this whole thing was a trap for you. I wanted to make sure you had a front row seat to your wife’s demise before I made an example out of you. But now, thanks to you, I have something else I want even more.”

  Steve watched as Daedric turned an almost gleeful gaze toward him.

  “Steve Colson, I presume.”

  Chapter 35

  Mirissa sat in a corner of the hangar watching as everyone made themselves useful. Everyone except for her.

  Her mother was busy with Commander Pierce poring over some documents that Julian had sent. The Omega Group preternaturals were all on their phones presumably gathering their forces for whatever was being planned around the world. The remaining SEAL team members were readying weapons and commandeering vehicles. Even Greco had a job. He was working with the SEALs.

  Traitor, she thought.

  No, Mirissa wasn’t angry that Greco had a job to do. She was angry because she didn’t. For the last year of her life the safety of the people in Jacksonville had been her responsibility. At least that was what she’d thought. Even though it turned out that there were others, like her mother, who were keeping people safe, she hadn’t known about them. Mirissa had spent every one of the last 365 days feeling responsible for everyone. And, if she was honest with herself, she’d liked that responsibility. It made her feel useful, important even. For the first time in her life she’d been more than just a spoiled kid.

  Now, as she watched the others working to solve a worldwide problem, she felt like the kid she’d been before putting that ring on her finger. Here, in this hangar, no one needed, or wanted, her help.

  A short vibration in her pocket brought Mirissa out of her self-pity party. She grabbed her phone and saw that she’d received a text from her father. At least someone wanted her, she thought. It had been almost two hours since he’d left with the others to rescue Grainger’s wife and Mirissa realized that she was really looking forward to his return.

  The text had a photo of her dad, Grainger, and the two SEALs standing side by side with their hands behind their back. There was a woman standing next to Grainger that Mirissa assumed was his wife. At first she thought he was sending her photographic proof that their mission was a success, but as it dawned on her that no one in the picture was smiling, and all of them had their hands behind their back, an uneasy feeling came over her.

  Another vibration and a short message appeared on her screen.

  I have them. Come alone or they die—badly.

  Mirissa’s head was spinning and her unusually slow heart rate almost doubled. She’d tried so hard to keep her father out of danger this past year, but now she’d unwittingly put him right in it. Daedric was after her, and her father was caught in the crossfire.

  A quick glance around the hangar told her that no one there knew anything about what was going on at Daedric’s house. They were all still engrossed in their work, completely oblivious to the text, and its implications.

  Mirissa had two options. First, she could tell her mother what Daedric had done, let her rally the troops for an all-out rescue mission, and risk Daedric making good on his promise. Or, she could follow his instructions, go alone, and risk adding herself to his list of victims.

  Mirissa knew, judging by the decisions made today, that her opinions meant little to her mother. She hadn’t even been allowed to fight back at the safe house and was given nothing to do here at the hangar. Myrine treated her like a child that needed to be protected, instead of the Amazon warrior she was. If Mirissa told her mother about the text, she would surely be relegated to taking a back seat and watching events unfold—most likely from behind one of Beck’s force fields.

  No, Mirissa thought. She had to do this alone. The second Daedric saw anyone other than her, he would kill her father and the rest of his team.

  Mirissa couldn’t let that happen. Although she tended not to tell him enough, she loved her father more than anything in this world. He had given up everything after her mother left and focused his entire life on making Mirissa feel loved and safe. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

  She would meet Daedric on his terms, and she would prevail. After all, she was the one destined to beat him.

  Walking over to the table where the SEALs and Greco were prepping weapons, Mirissa casually asked where the bathroom was. With barely a glance in her direction, the one they called Hammerhead pointed over his shoulder to a door near the back of the hangar.

  Once inside the bathroom, she turned the faucet on to cover any sound of her exit, opened the small window, and crawled through to the tarmac outside. The SEALs had done their job well, lining up several vehicles, just as Myrine had asked.

  Walking calmly and with purpose so as to not raise suspicion, Mirissa reached the closest vehicle—a drab, beige-colored Humvee with small metal doors and a cloth top—and got behind the wheel. In keeping with their well-known efficiency, the SEALs had been kind enough to leave the keys on the sun visor. Saying a quick prayer that no one would come running, she started the engine and drove away.

  Mirissa hadn’t been on this base since the field trip her eighth grade class had taken. Although finding the exit would be relatively easy given the layout of the roads, getting through it could prove difficult. She was driving a military vehicle, but with no uniform, she would stand out as most definitely not military. Hopefully, she thought, the guards would be paying more attention to the cars entering the base than they would those leaving it.

  As the exit came into view up ahead, Mirissa found herself getting nervous. She hadn’t really made a solid plan after deciding to go after her father. She’d just gotten up and left, assuming that she’d figure it out as she went. But if she were stopped at the exit, she’d have no chance of saving her father. The guards would eventually figure out where she belonged, escort her back to the hangar, and her mother would take over.

  No, she had to get through.

  There were only two cars ahead of her waiting to exit, and it looked like the guards were focused on the line of about a half dozen vehicles waiting to get on base. The first vehicle on her side drove off without incident. When the second advanced, the driver rolled his window down and called to one of the guards. The smile on the guard’s face as he walked over told her that it was just a social greeting, but Mirissa couldn’t afford to have him that close to her as she drove out.

  Centering herself with a deep breath, she focused on a small pile of leaves and other deb
ris on the far side of the base entrance. A moment later the debris was swirling in the air like a slow-moving mini tornado. The guards caught in the whirlwind were swiping their hands in front of their faces, trying to escape the leaves and twigs that had suddenly surrounded them. The occupants of the waiting vehicles were quickly rolling up their windows to keep the mess from getting inside.

  The guard in front of her, hearing the commotion from the other side, hastily waved goodbye to his friend and trotted away to see what was happening.

  As Mirissa drove out, she could see the confused faces of the people still at the entrance in her rearview mirror. The debris had settled to the ground and, with the exception of a few leaves and twigs embedded in their hair and uniforms, the guards were back on task as though nothing unusual had happened.

  With a small grin on her face, Mirissa drove toward Ortega. The ease with which she’d gotten off base undetected bolstered her confidence, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think her good fortune would continue. She was about to meet the infamous Daedric face-to-face, and the lives of five people, including her father, were in her hands. Her grin immediately disappeared.

  Chapter 36

  “We may have a problem.” Julian rarely cut to the chase like that, so when he bypassed the usual pleasantries on this call, Myrine knew something had him worried.

  “What have you found?”

  “I’ve had two of our team watching the airport for Daedric’s plane. It just landed and a group of eight people disembarked, one woman and seven men, but Daedric wasn’t one of them.”

  “So,” Myrine said. “Daedric stayed in Atlanta?”

  “Maybe,” Julian said. “But maybe not. Private planes aren’t required to have passenger manifests, so we can’t be sure that Daedric was ever on that plane in the first place. We assumed he was because he’s never used his jet for anything other than his personal transport. This time might be different. He might have just sent his pilots to pick these guys up and bring them here.”

  Myrine fell silent for a moment. “You’re saying that Daedric may have never left Jacksonville at all. That he could have been at his house this entire time.”

  “There’s no way of knowing. All we know for sure is that he wasn’t on his plane when it landed a few minutes ago. Other than that, we’re just guessing.”

  Myrine let the repercussions of this new information sink in. She had just allowed four men, including her husband, to mount a rescue operation at Daedric’s residence. If he was there… She couldn’t even finish the thought. “Do we know who those eight passengers are?”

  “Not yet. I’m running facial recognition now, but it will take some time.”

  “Thanks, Julian. Keep me posted on anything you find. We still need to know what Daedric’s next move is.”

  “Actually, I might have something on that soon.” Julian’s demeanor perked up as the conversation moved away from the bad news. “I found another anomaly in his portfolio from several years ago. It was just a tiny thread, but the more I pull at it, the more I’m convinced it has something to do with his endgame. Have you ever heard of Sera Maison?”

  Myrine thought for a moment that the name sounded familiar, just the tiniest inkling in the back of her brain, but she couldn’t place it. “No. Who is she?”

  “Well, she has been a busy little beaver over the past six years. She started a company in Colorado, called SeraTech, and has designed and built dozens of different pieces of equipment used in oil drilling and processing. Every major oil company in the world uses her stuff. She’s really quite brilliant.”

  Myrine could hear the admiration in Julian’s voice, and, with a brain like his, there weren’t many people out there that he admired. “So what does Sera Maison have to do with Daedric?”

  “Well, nothing now, but the money used to start her company six years ago came from one of his offshore accounts. That was the thread. Another interesting thing is that SeraTech has been basically idle for the last year or so. They haven’t introduced any new technology at all and made no press releases about current or upcoming projects. It’s like they just stopped working.”

  Myrine thought for a moment before speaking. “But if they’re out of business, how can they be tied to Daedric’s endgame?”

  “That’s just it! They aren’t out of business. As far as I can tell, all of their employees are still working full time, at least they’re still cashing paychecks from SeraTech. It’s just that whatever they’re working on has been kept secret for over a year.”

  Myrine had grown accustomed over the years to not understanding some of what Julian said. It was the price she paid for having a certified genius on her team. “Is that so unusual? Don’t all research and development firms keep their stuff secret until they introduce the finished product?”

  “Kind of, yes. But this is different. Corporate espionage is huge. One company wants something that another company has, so they hire spies to find and steal it. To combat this, companies keep the details of any new technology locked up tighter than Fort Knox. The overall project, though, always gets made public. Stock prices go way up every time a tech company tells the world it’s about to come out with something amazing. They always give out the big picture and hide the details. SeraTech, however, hasn’t told anyone anything.”

  “So what you’re saying is Ms. Maison is working on something so big that she’s willing to let her company fall into obscurity to make it happen. Any idea what it is?”

  “Not yet,” said Julian. “But I’m working on it.”

  “All right. Keep looking.” Myrine ended the call, filed that latest piece of information away, and refocused on the immediate problem. Using her speed dial, she tried Steve’s number. There was no answer. Although it could simply mean that he was still operational and unable to answer, Myrine couldn’t help the knot that was forming in her gut. Walking over to the table where the SEALs were working, she pulled Commander Pierce aside. “Commander, have you had any contact with Lincoln or Blackjack?”

  “Not as of yet. Why?”

  “I just got word that Daedric wasn’t on his jet. He may have never left Jacksonville.”

  “Which means our boys just walked into some serious trouble.” Myrine saw the look of worry cross his face, but it was almost immediately replaced by one of determination. “Let’s get everyone together. We need a plan.”

  One loud whistle from their commander, and the SEAL team was front and center. Myrine’s team, not accustomed to the military way of life, was a little slower to respond.

  Myrine looked around the room, turned to Greco, and asked, “Where’s Mirissa?”

  The look of confusion on Greco’s face told her everything she needed to know. “Damn it! Why would she wander off? Phoenix, can you check the area for her?”

  It only took a moment for Phoenix to connect to a bird outside. “She’s not here.”

  Myrine grabbed her phone again and speed dialed Julian. “Julian. I need you to pull up Mirissa’s phone. She’s gone missing.”

  A few taps on the keyboard and Julian had his answer. “Right now she’s travelling north on Roosevelt Boulevard. Looks like she’s heading for Ortega.”

  The knot that had been forming in Myrine’s gut got instantly tighter. “Check her phone records.”

  A few more taps and Julian said, “Oh crap. She got a text. I’m forwarding what she received to your phone. You should have it now.”

  Myrine glanced at the photo of her husband, Grainger, the two SEALs and Grainger’s wife. Then she read the message below. Her head started to spin and she felt as though she’d just been sucker punched. She handed her phone to Pierce and motioned for everyone else to take a look.

  Commander Pierce, opting to give Myrine a few moments to pull herself together, addressed the group. “All right everyone, it looks like we’ve found our battlefield. Pick up your weapons of choice from the table and suit up. Remember, we’re heading to a residential neighborhood, so guns are for backup only
. The last thing we need is local law enforcement called in on us. My men will load up the vehicles and get them ready. Omega people, you do whatever it is you do. Myrine and I will put together a plan.”

  As the group headed over to the table, Commander Pierce put his hands on Myrine’s shoulders. “We’ll get them back. I promise.”

  Myrine’s eyes glistened as a dozen scenarios played out in her mind, each more horrifying than the last. Meeting Pierce’s eyes and putting strength she didn’t feel into her voice, she said, “Yes, we will.”

  Chapter 37

  Mirissa pulled the Humvee into the driveway of Daedric’s house. There was no need for stealth as Daedric already new she was coming. A quick glance around told her there were at least six pairs of eyes watching her, so she turned off the engine, pocketed the keys, and slowly exited the vehicle.

  Before she had taken even a few steps, a tall man that looked to be in his forties appeared a few feet in front of her. This must be the teleporting thing Mom was talking about, she thought. He was looking at her with a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes and, without a word, he walked to the front door, gesturing for Mirissa to follow.

  This is it, Mirissa thought. The look in her host’s eyes reminded her of the cartoon characters she had watched as a kid. The evil fox looking at a scared chicken and seeing it as a savory roast on a platter.

  “Where are they?” Mirissa asked when she reached the top of the front stairs.

  “They are quite safe. I’ll take you to them if you like,” Daedric said.

  Mirissa took in every detail of this man’s face. From a distance, she had to admit, he was an attractive man. He stood about an inch and a half taller than she did and wore a beautifully tailored designer suit over his slender yet muscled physique. His black hair was cut short and swept off his face, while his blue eyes were cold steel. Despite his physical beauty, Daedric emanated an evil so clear that as soon as she got close to him, all attraction was lost.