“How long until we’re ready to move him?” Grant asked.
“About fifteen minutes,” one of the techs replied.
“Okay. If you’ve got it all handled here, I’m going to check in with the team.” Grant glanced at Melody.
She nodded at him and briefly caught his hand for a squeeze.
The sooner this was over, the sooner he could work on them. He just wanted to put all this behind him and move on already.
He let go of her hand and stepped out into the hall.
Somehow he’d wound up in charge of the team on the ground running Ethan’s security detail. Marco and a few select others would be at the new facility, ensuring it was secure for their arrival. A team had been on site since that morning to beef up security and ensure the new location was able to hold Ethan.
At least Grant knew some of the new guys he’d be working with besides Nolan and Brenden. There was Brett Jones, a former CIA agent who’d lost his job when he’d put the life of an American informant over that of the orders. Then there was Quinton and Kage whom Grant had met and worked with in South Africa during a destination wedding event for one of the Alpha Team guys that had gotten tricky. The rest of the team hadn’t yet distinguished themselves enough for their names to stick in Grant’s mind. What mattered was that they took orders and acted quickly.
He strode out to the loading area where the armored van waited. Crawford wasn’t taking any risks. Even the medical staff riding in the van were former military medics from different branches.
Grant paused to speak with the van staff before proceeding to his guys. They’d be split between a lead and follow SUV, five guys to a vehicle. Word was their tech guru was also on hand with drone support that would keep up with them so long as they stayed at or under sixty miles on the highway.
“Everything’s good to go,” Nolan told Grant after he ran down the pre-op check-list for this move.
“Good.” Still, Grant didn’t like any of this, even if he knew it was the right thing to do.
He paced out to the fence line and stared at the road leading away from the facility.
They were in a suburban area close to a hospital. The local community college wasn’t far away. There was lots of traffic, plenty of people coming and going.
Grant didn’t like it, which was just another reason to get the move over with.
The new location was rural, with layers of security. No one would get in to Ethan who didn’t belong.
“Anderson,” Crawford called out.
Grant turned.
Melody strode out of the building next to the gurney carrying Ethan. She was back in clothes that looked like her. Gray slacks. Black blouse. He knew she was wearing a Kevlar vest, but wasn’t armed on the off chance Ethan got hold of the weapon. Her hair was up in a bun, another fashion choice made so that there was less to grab.
It was time.
This was happening now.
Just a few hours and all of this would be over. He could take his guys and Melody home. They could heal.
Grant turned his head toward the guys.
“Load up, let’s get ready to go,” he called out.
They jumped to action at his words, dividing into two groups and heading for their SUVs.
It was up to Grant to perform the final security check. He headed for the van, walking around it once more, kicking the tires. He even double-checked with the driver that they had a full tank of gas. By the time he’d finished his inspection the paramedics had Ethan secured.
Grant climbed inside and looked at Ethan.
Passed out like this, his head lolling to one side, he looked like an average kind of guy. He was tall, a bit lanky and lean. Someone had trimmed his hair recently, giving him a high and tight look. Nothing about him said homicidal maniac. At a glance, Grant would never have imagined this guy could mow through his team like they were nothing.
Grant gave the restraints a tug, easing his conscience.
“You guys think you’ve got everything you need to keep him out cold?” Grant asked one of the medics.
“Yes, sir,” the man said without hesitation.
Grant finally glanced at Melody.
She sat in a chair bolted to the metal grate separating the back of the van from the front. She was armed with nothing more than a tablet and an earpiece. She wouldn’t even have a pen for protection.
God, he hated this plan.
“You good?” he asked her.
“Yes.” She smiled, albeit briefly.
Ethan had nearly killed her. It was a fact Grant was still grappling with, but she appeared to have put it behind her. So he opted to follow her lead.
“Okay, let’s roll,” he said.
Grant climbed out of the fan, shut the doors and waited.
The locks engaged.
Not even the driver could unlock the back of the van now. The only people who could were inside.
With any luck, they wouldn’t need these measures and it would all be over-kill.
Grant blew out a breath and headed for the lead vehicle.
This was like any other job.
He had to deliver the asset from one place to another. They did this all the time.
He climbed in the passenger side of the lead vehicle driven by Kage. He’d opted to have Brenden and Nolan in the follow vehicle. Grant could trust them should problems arise.
Grant picked his earpiece up, slid it in his ear then turned it on. The soft voices of the guys from the other SUV drifted to him, along with the regular beeps of the heart monitor.
“Take us out,” Grant said staring at the gate barring their way.
Kage nodded and the SUV eased forward. “Follow the leader.”
Grant turned his head as the gate slid aside and opted to watch the van keeping pace with them.
This was as simple a job as he’d ever done. So why did he have a bad feeling about it?
SUNDAY. SAFE HOUSE, Chicago, Illinois.
Liman watched the live stream from the cameras mounted on the cars. There were four teams trading off tailing the Americans. It took a lot of coordination, but this way they were guaranteed to not alert their targets.
And boy had it payed off.
“What’s that facility?” he demanded.
“Some kind of medical research lab,” Khaled said.
This was it. The break Liman has been waiting for.
There was only one reason a convoy of heavily armored vehicles be at a place like this.
Elio had to be there. They were moving him.
“I need a tracker on that van and a plan.” Liman pointed at the screen. “Whoever brings me a plan gets rewarded.”
“There’s only one route out of this area.” Khaled turned to face him. “If we hack the traffic lights, we can control their speed. Slow them down, give us enough time to come up with a plan.”
“Can you do that?” Liman asked.
Khaled tilted his head. “Depends, is the person with the plan the only one getting a reward?”
Liman knew Khaled could only be trusted to a point. It was a gamble he’d have to take. “You hack those lights and we’ll talk.”
Liman would have Elio back and on a plane tonight and all of this would be over.
SUNDAY. PRIVATE MEDICAL Research Facility, Chicago, Illinois.
Grant drummed his fingers on his thigh.
The late afternoon traffic was heavy, keeping their pace painfully slow, but they eventually made it to the back roads they’d opted to take instead of the highway. While the highways would be ten minutes faster it was also impossible to gauge whether they were being followed or not. Out here with nothing but a few houses and trees, cars stood out.
Kage turned the SUV onto the long, country road they’d take for the next ten miles. Grant heaved a breath and finally allowed himself to relax a tiny bit. They were almost at the halfway point to their destination and Ethan’s new home. With each mile it was increasingly less likely that they would be attacked out here
. Besides, no one outside their core group knew the route or what they were doing. The other vehicle and the drone hadn’t tagged any suspicious vehicles. It appeared that for once things were finally going their way.
The secret was safe.
Ethan would be kept under wraps and remain someone else’s problem.
So why was it Grant couldn’t sit still?
He glanced at the side mirror and wished he could ask Melody for another check-in. Once every ten minutes wasn’t too bad. He knew she was fine, that the paramedics were watching him like a hawk. Even if Ethan woke up, he was restrained three different ways. The worst he’d be able to do was spit on someone and even that wouldn’t go far with his head strapped down.
Just a little while longer and this circus would be over.
Grant leaned his head back and forced himself to watch the road ahead of them.
It was a beautiful day. White, fluffy clouds blocked the summer sun making it a cooler day. The breeze was at that just right spot. It was the kind of day where he’d want to be out, doing something.
Like ride a bike or hike.
Did Melody like either of those?
He didn’t know.
Grant made a mental note to talk to her about that later. There were lots of bicycle trails around Seattle and he knew there had to be plenty of areas to go hike, be outside.
Yeah, he liked this idea.
A baby blue semi-truck topped the hill ahead of them. Grant’s gaze skipped over the white trailer and on to the road behind it. He’d seen motorcycle gangs use big rigs like that as a shield.
The truck drifted into their lane, not much, but quickly corrected.
Even if Melody wasn’t keen on bikes or hiking, he was fairly certain he could come up with other outdoor activities they’d both like. She was athletic. They had to have something in common.
The blue semi jerked sideways, into their lane, bringing Grant back to reality.
“Shit!” Kage swerved and stomped on the brakes.
Grant He braced his feet on the floorboard, grabbed the center console with one hand and the door with the other. It was all he had time to do before the side of the semi-truck glanced off the driver’s door.
The SUV jolted sideways, the front nose swinging around.
Gravity tilted. Grant’s stomach dropped, much like it would were he riding a roller coaster, then the whole vehicle tipped over. The window at Grant’s right shattered. The airbag deployed. All he could hear was the crunch and scream of metal on asphalt as the SUV came to an abrupt stop.
He sucked down air, tasting the burned rubber and gasoline. Or tried to.
The seatbelt held Grant in place, so tight it nearly cut off his oxygen.
Holy shit.
His mind was still scrambled, trying to orient himself.
A blood curdling sound rent the air. A woman’s scream. The sound punctured the haze around him, spurring Grant to action.
Melody.
The other vehicles.
“Mel? Melody? Nolan?” Grant pushed at the airbag with one hand and felt of his ear with the other. His earpiece was gone. “Kage?”
A loud pop sounded on Grant’s right, then again as Kage used a knife to rip through the airbag.
Another pop sounded, but this one had nothing to do with airbags.
Grant’s blood went cold.
That was the sound of gunfire.
“Everyone okay up there?” That was Quinton.
“No,” Grant snarled.
His body ached, but it was all peripheral.
He reached down, his fingers fumbling to get past the hem of his pants. He finally managed to get a grip on the knife from his boot and pull it out. He lost no time hacking through his seatbelt. He crouched there, standing on what had once been the door, and looked up at Kage.
The other man was free, hauling himself up and out of the window. The door was too badly damaged to open, now or ever. The other three in the back seat were already moving into action.
Kage reached down. Grant grasped his wrist, pushed the stabbing pains out of his mind, and crawled up, out of the SUV. Grant scrambled past Kate and stood on the back panel of the SUV, staring back at the carnage.
The medical van carrying Melody and Ethan was turned over in the ditch. From this angle he could see that one of the doors had been blown off. It sat a dozen yards away on the grass.
The other SUV was blocked from sight due to the jackknifed truck. And in the distance a van turned out of view.
“Go, I’ll get them out,” Kage said.
Grant nodded and dropped to the ground, his ankle protesting. He drew his sidearm and limp-jogged toward the van, his heart pulsing in his throat.
This wasn’t a random accident. Those things didn’t happen, not to him and not while they were transporting one of the deadliest men on the planet.
One of the paramedics lay in the grass. The bullet wound through the man’s skull wasn’t one he could come back from.
“Mel? Melody?” Grant slipped and staggered down to the ditch.
No answer.
His heart thudded in his throat as he circled around to the back of the empty van.
There was no body.
Not Melody. Not Ethan.
They were just gone.
SUNDAY. SAFE HOUSE, Chicago, Illinois.
Liman stared down at the dazed woman.
Why the fuck had they grabbed her?
He shook his head. If only the stims could make men smarter.
Just because he’d wanted the woman back on Ibiza didn’t mean she was valuable now. In fact, she was a liability now. He wasn’t keen on leaving behind more dead bodies. It just made more evidence they’d been here, and they were already running the risk of pissing off a super power.
Maybe the woman would be useful in getting out of the country?
If she wasn’t Liman figured, they could always take her with them and dispose of her later. Still, it was an unnecessary complication.
“Sir?”
“What?” Liman turned.
“He’s waking up.”
“Good.” A bit of tension eased out of his shoulders. “It’s time for something to go right. I want us ready to move out as soon as he’s awake.”
Liman turned and strode from the windowless inner room they’d turned into a sort of holding cell.
Elio lay on a sofa, eyes shut, breathing even. There wasn’t any visible indication he was waking up. A man trained as well as he was shouldn’t give away something like that. Liman kept his distance, watching Elio’s chest rise and fall.
He’d lost some weight, but was still lean. In all the time Liman had known Elio, he’d always been very focused. Liman had seen the earliest videos from when Elio hadn’t even known how to speak or walk. He’d been full of determination, and he’d carried that on into his training.
With any luck, Elio would be ready to get back to active duty soon. No matter how many stim candidates they had, they couldn’t replace Elio.
The medic they’d brought with them moved in, pressing the smooth end of a stethoscope to Elio’s chest.
That was when Elio moved.
It happened so fast, like a snake striking. He grabbed the medic, sat up and pulled the man in front of him, wrapped his legs around the medic’s and pressed a steak knife pressed to the man’s throat.
Impressive.
Liman held up his hands and grinned.
Where had the knife come from? When had Ethan managed to grab it?
“You are still fast and deadly, I see,” Liman said.
“What did you do to me? Who am I?” Elio demanded, his words more like snarling.
Liman’s smile slipped from his lips.
This was what he wasn’t looking forward to.
When Liman had taken over the project, there’d been much his supervisors couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him. Elio’s history, where he’d come from, were all details Liman hadn’t known until it was too late.
“Why don
’t you let that nice young man go before he pisses himself? We can talk. I miss our chats,” Liman grabbed a rolling chair from one of the nearby desks and sat.
Elio didn’t move. The hand at the medic’s throat didn’t waver. It appeared that captivity hadn’t dulled him in the slightest.
“What did they tell you?” Liman tilted his head to the side. There were several ways to go about dispelling the damage that had been done to Elio in the months since he’d been taken. Discrediting the Americans was by far their best route. He wanted to destroy whatever bonds Elio might have built while he was here. “What lies did they make you believe?”
Elio stared back. “It wasn’t what they told me.”
Liman didn’t know what to say to that. The drugs used to enhance Elio’s body had wiped his mind. He couldn’t remember what he didn’t know.
“And that was?” Liman finally asked.
“Who am I?” There was a certainty in Elio’s eyes Liman didn’t like. As if he knew something Liman didn’t.
Had something happened? Were there memories coming back to him?
“You’re my man, same as you were before.” Liman pushed those doubts to the side and doubled down on his practiced line of thought. “These people want to use you, to turn you against your people. They’d say and do anything, including drug you and make you think you had another life.”
“It wasn’t what they told me that matters, it’s what I saw, what I remembered,” Elio snarled.
“It’s all a lie, my friend.” In the corner of Liman’s eye he could see through the side door where the others were gathering.
He didn’t want this to come to a violent clash. It might be Liman who died.
“You just want to put me in another prison.” Elio shifted, his face now half behind the medic’s. “You want to cage me.”
“Elio.” Liman held up his hand, both to stall the gathering forces and draw Elio’s attention to him.
“No!”
Elio moved then, shoving the medic aside. He bolted to his feet and lunged at Liman. Liman pushed back, his chair toppling over. Before Ethan could get to him, the others grabbed Elio.
Fucking hell.
Elio snarled and spat curses. He thrashed, but there were too many hands holding him back.
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