Page 2 of Covert Vengeance

It took time to ensure she wasn’t being followed and get into the unit. Once she swept the interior, she set up a handful of micro cameras to give her a view of the hallway and streets below. Finally, she was able to get to work.

Her custom laptop, Lady Ada, looked ordinary enough. Nondescript, thin, black, with no decals or any other decoration. But just as with Amber herself, looks could be deceiving.

Ada was far more than she seemed, and right now, the laptop allowed Amber to access what she needed, including CCTV footage from outside the old palace she was interested in. Word had it that the people she was looking for were using it as temporary headquarters.

This organization specialized in running weapons and people, and had ties to both the military and a powerful terrorist group operating in Syria. They were also mostly old school and shied away from a lot of modern technology, preventing her from being able to remotely hack into their security systems, and everyone was afraid of them because they were ruthless and rich and powerful. They could buy off whoever they wanted, and kill anyone who wouldn’t take the money or got in their way.

Her hacking and technological wizardry wasn’t much of an advantage here, but thanks to her training Amber could also do old school when necessary. On screen she watched the handful of armed men moving about the building, looking for familiar faces, patterns that would allow her to penetrate the target. She needed to get inside to see if there was any sign of Hannah.

Sitting around made her antsy. After several hours without gaining any new insight the need to keep moving pricked at her.

Time for some eyes-on recon.

She put on a headscarf, set two stacked glasses behind the edge of the door, and strung a piece of thread from it the top to the adjacent wall on her way out. If anyone came in while she was gone, she would know.

She left the building on foot, a shopping bag over one shoulder as she made her way down the sidewalk and blended in with the locals on her route. Less than twenty paces in, a niggling awareness warned her she was being watched.

Her gaze snagged on someone across the street. A man. Around her height, but heavyset. He wore a full beard but the tops of his cheeks were exposed.

Showing the curved scar snaking down the right one.

Recognition hit. He’d been watching her from the café at the second checkpoint. The soldier must have sent him after her, either to keep tabs or…something worse.

She glanced away and kept walking, that warning buzz growing stronger in the pit of her stomach. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the scarred man step away from the building and follow.

She walked faster. Turned left at the next corner, using her mental map of the area to keep her bearings in the tangle of ancient streets. At this point she needed to avoid a confrontation at all cost. There was enough heat on her already without adding more.

In her peripheral she caught the moment the man broke into a jog and crossed the street, coming after her.

Amber broke into a run, scanning for a place where she could lose him. Getting in a shootout in the middle of the street meant disaster for her and the mission.

She found an alley a block up and darted into it just as running footsteps sounded behind her. The old cobbled surface was narrow and deserted. The only cover was a wooden wagon near the other end, offering only partial concealment.

The heavy treads behind her kept coming, and the end of the alley was less than thirty yards away. She’d wanted to avoid this, but there was no other choice. If she was going to do this, it had to be here and now. The wagon would have to do.

She darted under it, stretched out on her belly and reached down to grab the pistol from her ankle holster. Then she waited, weapon ready.

The man raced around the corner of the alley a second later. Stopped, then ran toward her, a pistol in his grip.

Amber fired two rapid shots.

Surprise and pain twisted the man’s features as the bullets struck his lower legs. He dropped to his knees, blood spreading across the cobbles, and raised his arm to fire at her.

Nope.

Amber fired twice more, this time center mass.

The man toppled sideways with a painful groan and arched his back, his weapon now lying on the shadowy ground as he tore feebly at the front of his shirt. He would be dead in moments.

Glancing behind her to make sure no one else had seen her yet, she scooted out from beneath the wagon and hurried toward him, pistol aimed at his head this time. He lay unmoving, only his eyes shifting, rolling toward her as she approached.

She kicked his pistol out of reach, then crouched down and quickly went through his pockets. No ID, but she took his phone. Once she was safe, she would use it to find out who he was and who he worked for.

Amber ran for the end of the alley, tucking her weapon in her waistband. The gunshots would bring unwanted attention. When someone came to investigate, she couldn’t be anywhere near the body.

She scrapped her plan to conduct recon of the palace and headed back to the apartment, ready to go back on the offensive if someone else came after her. The dead man meant more danger for her. Everything was moving faster now, time slipping away too quickly and increasing the chance that she wouldn’t live long enough to complete her mission.

That didn’t frighten her. Risk and pressure came with the territory, and constantly watching her back was nothing new. She’d lived most of her life that way. Had learned long ago not to fear death, because death came for everyone eventually.

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