Page 78 of Lethal Game

They drove to the Elliott Tower in two vehicles, parking around the corner to keep out of sight. Wearing tactical gear, Jason, Beck, Flynn, and Savannah, along with four members of FBI SWAT, moved silently in teams of two. A drone had spotted at least three people in an eighth-floor apartment. Agents covered both front and back entrances as they entered the lobby.

Flynn had obtained keys from the management company, and any resistance to the search warrant had been firmly dealt with.Now, they just had to make it upstairs without walking into an ambush.

His gut twisted, the memories of three years ago playing through his mind. Stephanie and his father had gone to a motel where they thought Novikov was hiding.They hadn’t waited for backup, and that decision had cost his father his life and taken away his partner's ability to go into the field. He hoped they weren't walking into another trap. His gut churned, and he started to sweat inside the thick gear he was wearing.

When they reached the floor where several condo models were completed and ready for sale, they set up on either side of the door, and then one of the SWAT team members kicked it in. He and Savannah were the first ones through the door.

They went into the apartment, guns drawn, calling out their presence.

The shooting started immediately. He took out a man to his left, while Savannah shot another man coming down the hallway. Flynn picked up a third shooter as he made his way further into the apartment. Within minutes, the three people inside the unit were dead or injured. Unfortunately, they hadn't found Novikov, Ilyin, or Alisa's father.

A huge, crushing wave of disappointment ran through him.

His fellow agents looked just as grim.

One of the men they'd shot moved. As Flynn tried to talk tohim, Jason walked into the kitchen, seeing papers on the island. His heart jumped as he realized he was looking at blueprints.

Savannah entered the kitchen. "What did you find?"

"Schematic drawings," he muttered as he flipped through the pages.

"Of this development?"

His gut tightened. "No, the Figueroa Center," he said, referring to the new convention center where the global tech conference would kick off tomorrow afternoon, with a welcoming speech by the vice president of the United States. "This is confirmation of the target. We don't have Novikov, but at least we know where he's planning to attack."

"Hopefully, we'll get more information about where he is right now from that guy," she said, tipping her head to the man who was crying to Flynn about the pain he was in.

"The ambulances are pretty busy right now," Flynn said. "Why don't you tell us where Novikov is, and we'll see if we can get one here faster?"

"You can't let me die," the man begged.

"I'm not letting you die. If you want help, talk."

"I don't know where he went," the man said. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"What about Dominic Ilyin?" Jason interjected. "Was he here?"

"He left an hour ago. He didn't say where he was going. Get me help. I think I'm dying."

"What's the plan? Are they setting off a bomb at the Figueroa Center?" he pressed.

Flynn gave him a surprised look as they both waited for the man to reply.

"I don't know. I'm just a driver. I drive people around and I pick people up."

"Did you pick up a man at the Sparks Motel in Brentwood yesterday?"

"No," the man said. "That wasn't me. Them," he saidnodding his head to the two dead men on the floor across from him. "I don't know where they went." He howled in agony at the end of his sentence. "But they didn't come here."

"An ambulance is on the way," Beck said, coming into the apartment. "The rest of the building is clear."

"Were you just guessing on the Figueroa Center?" Flynn asked quietly, pulling him away from the man on the floor.

"Blueprints," he said, leading him and Beck into the kitchen while Savannah stood watch. "This has to be the target."

"We knew it was the most likely one," Flynn said. "We've already tripled the security. It will be difficult for them to get in."

"They must have an inside track, a way into the convention that will get them past security. Maybe they're entering through a company."

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