The Spy in 3B, стр. 50

On my comm unit, Tyler’s voice said, “Okay, guards in the north wing have been dealt with. I have their comms.”

Good, so Tyler had taken care of them.

Roz’s voice was clear. “Team C, report.”

Chris, the lead on team C, came back. “All clear. Target one is out.”

Once I was in the main part of the house, I tapped my comm unit again. “Okay, I’m in the main house. Where am I going?”

“You need to go up to the third floor. You’ll have a guard nearby on your way. He’s in the east corridor. Once you take him out, stick him in the little closet to your right, and then you’ll be clear for the third floor and the girl. They’re keeping her behind the last door on the right.”

Easy. Done. I was light on my feet in the dark, waiting for any hint that something was amiss.

The guard was, in fact, in the east corridor. I was quick and quiet, and before he knew what happened, I reached up behind him, injected cyclobenzaprine into his neck, and quickly spun out of the way into the shadows. He winced and cursed, cupping a hand over the injection spot, and then… Five, four, three, two…

He went down like a sack of potatoes.

“Jesus, Roz, that’s some fast-acting stuff.”

“Stop wasting time and go get her.”

I had just managed to wrangle the guard into the closet, when Addie’s voice said, “Stand down. Stand down. We have hostiles. I repeat, we have hostiles coming in from the east.”

My heart leaped and hammered against my ribcage. “Addie? Sit rep?”

“Teams A, C, and E, hold pattern. I repeat, hold pattern.”

“What the fuck?” I breathed.

Addie’s voice was tight. “I’m trying to figure it out. Hold on.”

There was more cursing from Roz.

Tyler’s voice came over the line, and he was panting, like he’d been running and was very out of breath. “Fuck. These guys are Exodus.”

I heard him grunting and growling. “I took out one hostile. How many more do we have, Addie?”

“Motherfucker, I don’t know. They’re coming in. Too many of them. Seven? Nine?”

Roz shouted at her. “You need to be sure.”

“We have no infrared, so no night vision. I’m doing the best that I can here.”

I forced myself to stop, step into the shadows, take a breath, and assess the map on my tablet again. There was nothing but hostiles between me and the girl. “Roz? Advise.”

Roz’s voice was stern. “Stay put. For the love of God, stay fucking put.”

Marcus

“Comm check.”

“Team one, we are go.”

“Team two, we are go.”

We went through teams three and four, and everything was a go. The mission was simple; go in and rescue the girl. Catching Logan Brodick would be a bonus, but it was secondary to safely retrieving the girl.

Max Teller was powerful and could easily pay the ransom. But why were we doing this and not some kidnap and ransom crew? This was such bullshit.

Get your head in the game.

I had to. I had no other choice.

“Team two, you’re in.”

Team two entered from the east. “Boss, there are no guards at this entrance.”

I frowned at that as I entered through the south, where I also found not a single guard.

What the fuck?

Matt Williams was on team three. “Are we sure we’re not walking into a trap?”

“Right now, I don’t know what the fuck we’re walking into. Proceed with caution. All teams, red alert.”

Something didn’t feel right. I could feel it in my bones.

“Command, what do we have on the girl?”

Michael was running things remotely from the threat assessment room at headquarters. “I still see a single heat signature in that room. It’s her. Minimal movement, but movement all the same. She’s alive.”

Rhodes came alongside me, and he pulled up his night vision goggles. “Doesn’t this strike you as eerie? Like we’re not the only operatives here?”

I squinted at him. “The Firm?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

“All teams, be on high alert. Prepare for Firm operatives.” To Rhodes, I said quietly, “How much worse could this get?”

Rhodes laughed. “If I were you, I wouldn’t ask that question.”

There was static on the line and then something that sounded like a grunt. Michael said, “All teams, report in.”

They all did, except for team one.

“Team one, I repeat, report in.”

More static.

Rhodes rolled his eyes. “Fuck. I’ll go check.”

“Team one, Turbo coming to your location. I repeat, Turbo to your location.”

At least they wouldn’t be alone. I proceeded cautiously up the stairs. I knew the girl was being held on the third floor, but what was that sound?

You’re paranoid.

Better to be paranoid than dead.

Rhodes’s voice came over the comms. “Yeah. Be very alert. We’re not alone, boys and girls.”

Fuck, how did The Firm know about our mission?

“Are they after the girl too?”

Michael responded, “It could be.”

I tapped into channel A. “Curtis, come in.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Phoenix. Sit rep?”

“Confirming, we have Firm operatives onsite.”

Curtis’s curse was low but heated. “Son of a bitch. How many?”

“No idea. We walked into a silent compound. Lights were off in half the surrounding neighborhoods. We thought it was rolling blackouts, but now this seems like it was set up. Rhodes just checked in. He said the guards are out.”

Curtis cursed. ”Do you want to abort?”

I glanced up the stairs as I waited for Rhodes to return. Fuck. “No, continue. I’m keeping all teams on alert though.”

I switched back to open comms and gave everyone their instructions. “Proceed with extreme caution. Use live rounds carefully. The girl is still on location, be advised.”

The footsteps up the stairs had me tucking into my hideout around the corner. But Rhodes’s sharp whistle told me it was him. I put my hand out, and sure enough, he whispered, “Did I scare you, princess?”

“Shut up.”

I hand-signaled him up the stairs. He would take the corner, I would provide cover, and then I would take the lead.

Once we were up the third flight of stairs, step after careful step led us to