Page 84 of The Shadows We Keep

THIRTY-FIVE

HARKIN

No Rest for the Wicked - Klergy

The SUV glides around a bend in the road, the tires crunch over gravel coming to a jolting halt at a trailhead. The dark looming forest goes on for as far as the eye can see. No light peeks through anywhere, no sign of a compound. My eyes scan the area, trying to grasp what I’m about to get myself into. The car door slamming grabs my attention, and I quickly scramble to follow James to the hatch.

“So where is this place?” I ask, pulling my pack out.

“About five klicks northeast from here just over a ridge. How close do you need to get?”

“That’ll depend on their signal strength. Because they’re out in the middle of nowhere, I’d assume they have a booster to clear all these trees. If that’s the case, I should be able to pick it up as far as a mile out.”

“Good, you’ll still have coverage there.” I nod in understanding.

“How far out is your team?” When James told me about the compound and we agreed it was the best place to look for Keira, he showed me the to-scale diagram he’d made of the compound. It’s huge, a one-story modern cement fortress, except for a security tower in the right corner of the property. It must be over five thousand square feet and that’s if there’s no sub-level he couldn’t see. As we studied it to map out the best entry and exit points, we quickly realized this was a suicide mission on our own. That’s when he called in a favor.

“They’re about five minutes out.”

I nod at the update. “When they get here, we’ll hike out. Once I’m in position, it shouldn’t take me long to locate the signal and get into their system. Then I’ll scan their feed for Keira.” We’re banking on a lot of unknowns here. We’re assuming they’ll have security throughout the property and praying one of those cameras picks up a feed of my girl. They’d be smart not to have a camera where they’re keeping her. Since that’s a possibility, I plan on going in regardless of what the cameras show me. James just doesn’t know that yet, but if I tell him, he’ll hog tie me and leave me in the car.

The whirl of an engine spills through the quiet night. We both freeze and wait for the car to come to a stop next to us. James relaxes once he can see the driver. All four doors push open, revealing a group straight out of Call of Duty, masks included. A weight lifts from my shoulders as I watch them gear up.

Then we’re on the move, careful to be quiet on our approach. James was right. This place is enormous and hidden. The six-foot concrete walls that surround the compound are going to be a problem, or so I thought. Until Axe, the giant of the group, taps the rope curled around his shoulder.

Jesus, these guys come prepared.

I mentally remind myself to give James a raise after all this is over. I snag my laptop from my bag; my fingers quickly fly across the keys locating the system I need. It only takes a few seconds and I’m in. The CCTV like security feed fills my screen. There’s more than I expected, and it takes me time to scroll through all the exterior camera feeds to locate the interior points.

The entry way is clear, bedrooms, living room, nothing shows up. There’s no one walking around covering the place. Either they feel comfortable enough in this space to relax, or everyone is somewhere I haven’t come across yet. As soon as that thought passes, the camera lands on an office and my fingers freeze. My body stills, but the anger builds. James shifts next to me, but he doesn’t say a word.

My girl sits curled in a ball on the floor, tears streaming down her beautiful face, while a man I’ve never seen before looms over her. She doesn’t look injured, there’s no blood anywhere, but I notice the small bandage wrapped around her arm.

“Well, now we know,” James confirms. “Make the call,” he tells me.

“We’re going after her.” Before I can stash my computer back in my bag and sling it over my shoulder, a rustle draws our attention down the small ravine separating us from the property. The group stills, crouching low to the ground as we wait on bated breaths.

Two men walk toward us scouting the area, bickering in hushed Italian. The irritation washes off them in waves. James motions to the team. They’re all waiting on his command to strike. Two slink off from the group, while the rest of us wait motionless among the quiet backdrop of the forest. Seconds creep by. My heart hammers in my chest. I’ve never been involved in something like this. I had no aspirations of joining the military. The closest I’ve ever come to something like this is playing campaigns of COD in high school.

Then they’re there, behind the men, arms wrapped around their necks in a choke hold. They move so fast, there isn’t time for a fight. Their bodies thrash against the assault but they’re quickly subdued and drop to the dirt floor. The guys take their weapons, heading back in our direction.

“We need to move now,” James tells me. “They’ll expect them to check in and when they don’t, the rest of his security will know something’s up. If you want to do this, we have to go now.”

“Let’s go,” I command. I may not be leading the group, but I’m in charge. They’re here on a favor from a friend, but James told me it wouldn’t come cheap. When I told him money wasn’t an issue, he made the call. She’s worth every dime.

I’m coming, little one.

Instead of scaling the wall, much to big man’s disappointment, we find an iron gate to the east of us and break through. We split into two groups, taking opposite sides of the property. The team’s been briefed on the office’s location. The plan is to take the property from the outsides in, meeting at the office to retrievethe asset.Asset—like she’s some piece of property. I didn’t object. This team has its way of running and as long as they do their jobs; I couldn’t care less what terminology they use.

James leads our trio silently down a cement path that parallels the main building. We dip past every set of windows, even though most of them are black and empty. He halts once he comes up on the kitchen’s exterior door. His eyes meet mine at the end of our little train and with a quick nod, he breeches the building.

The dimmed house feels like an ominous warning. We dash through the kitchen and down the hall when we don’t run into anyone else in the house. Static from an old radio plays classic Italian music through a closed door to our left. We hurry past and I turn to monitor it before sliding around the next corner.

This is too easy. The hair on the back of my neck stands, and my fingers tighten around the SIG in my hands.

“Gentlemen,” a voice calls. All three of us swing our heads in the opposite direction, looking for the offender. When I look to the ceiling, a small red blinking light snags my attention. But I looped the camera feeds. They can’t know where we are. I tap the shoulder in front of me and he does the same to James. I signal to keep crawling forward.

We make it a few more feet before the voice comes again. “Your men are waiting with my security. Why don’t you meet me in my office,” he says, nonchalant, like we didn’t just break into his home.

---