Page 74 of Heartless

She didn’t need to check the devices again. They were ready to go. She had triple-checked them already, but another check wouldn’t hurt. Especially since she needed to get her mind back on the mission. Letting herself get sucked back into these feelings again couldn’t happen. Hawke had made his position clear. He wouldn’t change his mind, and neither would she.

After once again checking each device connection as well as the computer links, she returned to Hawke, who was still eyeing the warehouse. The guards changed out at midnight. The plan was to enter at one thirty and disable them. The men would’ve had an hour and a half to get comfortable, become a little less vigilant. Once the security guards were out of the way, the devices would be placed. She and Hawke would get clear, and detonation would occur.

Coordinating timelines so that all targets would be demolished almost simultaneously took careful planning. Each team had their own timeline for securing their target, but demolition would happen at the same time. The annihilation of the Gonzalez cartel would be over in one fell swoop.

She seated herself beside Hawke again and pulled an energy bar from her pack. “Want one?”

He took it, and as he munched, she pulled out one for herself. As she consumed the chewy bar, she said, “You know they’re not going to stop coming after us.”

“I know that. After today, I would imagine they’ll be even more determined to find us.”

“Mack, Trevor, and Deacon okay with that?”

“Yeah, as much as they can be. They’ll stay hidden. This might take the heat off them, though. The contract to kill the team was a promise made to Gonzalez. With the cartel demolished, and Juan and Priscilla gone, I doubt they’re going to devote much attention to it.”

“I hope so. I’d love to see the guys again.” She glanced over at him, noting the solemn, almost grim set to his mouth. “You going to keep working for OZ once this is over?”

“Yeah, most likely. What about you?”

“I’ll go back to LCR. It’s where I can do the most good.”

“They’re lucky to have you.”

They were so polite, so civil to each other it made her want to cry. She wouldn’t, though. These were the choices they’d made. He couldn’t give her what she wanted, and she couldn’t be what he wanted. It was as simple and complicated as that.

They sat in silence after that, each waiting for the activity to begin. There were occasional desultory comments about the weather or what kind of snake slithered in front of them. Once, she mentioned mosquitoes, and he tossed her repellant. Despite the low chatter, it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. This was the norm for them.

At one o’clock, the check-ins began to come in. Each team communicated to the others that they were in place and ready to roll at the appointed time.

Hawke waited until everyone had checked in before replying with, “Go on my command.”

Unless there was a problem, radio silence would follow until the op had been accomplished.

While she checked the devices and charges one last time, Hawke completed another check of their weapons. A text signal alerted them that the van was in place. With the help of two additional men, they would load up the tranquilized security guards and send them off. When the men woke, they would be in another location and someone else’s problem.

At one fifteen, she geared up and then sat and watched as the guards finished their rounds. Once that was completed, the guards would return to their individual posts and then make another set of rounds in fifteen minutes. She and Hawke would ensure that didn’t happen.

The instant the last man returned to his post, they gave each other a nod, and Hawke said, “Let’s go.”

Running side by side with Olivia felt like old times to Hawke. Their pace matched perfectly. There was no one else he’d rather work an op with or trusted more to get the job done.

A few feet from the gate entrance, they stopped. Olivia went left, and Hawke went right. The guard in the gatehouse office was looking down at his phone when Olivia made a noise to catch his attention. He looked up to see her waving and calling out to him. Startled, he ran from the office. The instant he appeared from behind the glass enclosure, Hawke, crouched low and out of sight, shot him with a dart. Grabbing his neck with one hand, he tried to reach for his gun with the other. The powerful drug acted immediately, dropping him to the ground before he could alert his fellow guards.

Hawke glanced at his watch. That had taken thirty seconds of their limited timeframe. Livvy nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. One down, five to go.

Fortunately, the gate was low enough that they could both climb over it easily. On the other side, Hawke once again went right, and Livvy went left. They now had four minutes and fifteen seconds to take out the rest of the guards.

Over the last couple of days, they’d noted that security was lax to the point of being nonexistent in some areas. Six security guards for a facility this large was laughable, but the cartel’s arrogance worked to their advantage.

Night-vision goggles on, Hawke spotted a guard at the entrance to one of the warehouse doors. Staying low, he crept closer. The man lowered his head to light a cigarette, and Hawke fired. The guard fell face first onto the pavement.

Hawke dropped a small signal light beside the guard so the cleanup team could find him with ease. Continuing on, he took out his two remaining guards without incident.

“Liv?” Hawke said softly.

“Hold on.” He heard the ping of the dart gun, a grunt of pain, and then a thud. “Okay. Done.”

Checking the time, he was pleased to see they had an extra twelve seconds. Clicking his earbud to a different frequency, he reported, “Package ready for pickup.”

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