Page 68 of Peace Under Fire

Crusher shrugged. “If that’s the worst we’re facing, things look sweet.”

Nods traveled through the group. When you consistently faced MP5s, a pitchfork was child’s play.

“I take it that’s the garage?” Crusher sent a chin lift toward the remaining building.

It was a good guess. The building was huge, almost as large as the living quarters. But unlike their first target, this one’s south wall was composed entirely of roll up doors. Squish counted seven of them—some of them narrow, some of them wide, all of them corrugated steel. There were holes throughout the exterior wall on this building, too, and several of the roll up doors were buckled or bent.

“It’s where we park the cars, but there’s a gym in the back too.”

“Let’s take a looksie.” Crusher started crunching his way across the pristine snow.

Squish checked for footprints as they closed on their final target, but the snow surrounding the building was undisturbed. It was looking less and less likely that they’d find Mandy’s missing sister, or clues to where the other women had been taken. At this point, their best hope was that sketch book. Maybe something in the pages would help locate the women.

There was a single-entry door on the corner of the east wall, butting up against the edge of the first roll up. Like the entrances to the other buildings, it had been hammered open and was hanging limply. One by one, the insertion team nudged it further open and swung through. He hung back with Mandy, Brick, and Gray.

The night sat eerily silent around them. Hushed, you might call it. It was the kind of silence he associated with a heavy layer of fresh snow, as the thick blanket of white absorbed all sound.

He glanced at Mandy as he waited for Crusher’s all clear. She looked deflated, her shoulders rounded, her chin dropping, that damn sketch pad pressed hard against her chest, like it was the only thing holding her upright. She’d held up better than he’d expected, but the adrenaline crash and disappointment that they hadn’t found her sister were finally hitting. The return slog through the snow to their vehicles was going to take a heavy toll on her. She’d be fighting exhaustion and disappointment with each step. He would be by her side, though, ready to carry her if her determination gave out.

“Drop it. Drop it!” Grumpy’s sudden shout was faint, but clear, coming from somewhere deep within the building.

Metallic screeching drifted out to them followed by a metallic crash. Then more shouts of “Drop it.” but from multiple voices this time.

“Don’t shoot.” Crusher ordered, his voice a booming warning. “Damn it. Don’t shoot. And don’t fucking touch her.”

Mandy jolted and spun toward the door. Squish reached for her arm, but she yanked it from his grasp and threw herself through the doorway before he could stop her.

CHAPTER 16

“Son of a bitch.” His heart pounding, Squish raced after her.

She was surprisingly quick, considering two seconds ago she’d looked like she was about to collapse.

By the time he made it through the door, she was halfway down the garage, racing between an orange, squeaky-clean riding lawn mower and a red Kubota tractor. He caught a hazy impression of neat rows of cars—a Mustang convertible, a Dodge minivan, a Toyota Tundra.

The shouting was coming from the back, exactly where Mandy was headed at a dead run. Adrenaline flooding him, he raced after her, the thunder of his boots drumming in his ears. The smell of whatever chemical they’d used in the canisters mixed with the scent of oil and gas. He hoped like hell the combo wasn’t fatal.

He grabbed her just as they reached the back of the garage. There was another door back here, and light was spilling out of it. The shouting and cursing were coming from within that room. He jerked her to a stop before she had a chance to dive through that door and straight into the chaos.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped, tightening his grip on her arm. He flipped his NVDs up and scowled at her. “You bust through that door and you’re either a distraction or a danger—to everyone back there.”

“JoAnn?” she yelled, her face apprehensive, her voice high and fraught with anxiety. She squirmed, trying to slide out of his hold. “It’s me. It’s Mandy!”

There was a fractured pause in the room beyond and then a thin, shaky voice. “Mandy? They caught you too?”

Surprise loosened Squish’s grip as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the light. Well, fuck, they found her sister.

“Let me go.” Mandy writhed, almost breaking his hold on her.

“Let her in,” Crusher said at the same time.

He let go of her arms. The sweep team knew she was here now, which mitigated the danger of her getting hit with friendly fire. The adrenaline still buzzed through him. He followed her through the door in time to watch her slide between the three hulking dudes parked between a stationary bike and a treadmill.

“Oh, no. No. No,” Mandy groaned, her head disappearing from sight.

There was a free weights station along the right wall and a weight machine along the left. Matts and mirrors were everywhere. But he couldn’t see a damn thing thanks to the angle of the mirrors and the hulking dudes blocking his view.

“Fabio, Ajax.” Crusher’s voice came from somewhere in front, but low to the ground. It was calm and cool, but tight. Way too tight. “Get the Land Rovers.”

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