Page 8 of Covert Vengeance

Their departure could be mere standard operating procedure, to avoid threats. Or, itcouldmean that someone had connected her to the dead man in the alley yesterday.

She nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at the screen. The vehicle windows were tinted, and it was too dark to make out who was inside them anyway. “Who are you, and where are you going?” she murmured, her fingers moving over the keys as she raced to access the cameras in the network.

She was ninety-percent certain it was the terrorist group she’d sold Hannah’s information to weeks ago.

Another stab of guilt knifed through her. If Hannah had been captured, it was Amber’s fault. She’d given these ruthless bastards everything they needed to hunt Hannah down as the Valkyrie had been trying to escape across the border.

Amber was going to get her back. But as good as she was, her attempt to follow the vehicles to their destination was futile.

The CCTV system only encompassed a few square miles. She tracked the convoy to the edge of it, then lost sight of them. “Dammit.” She could hack into a satellite feed, but it required a lot of covering up, and the one she’d accessed earlier was currently out of range anyway.

Where were these guys going? Were they coming back? Did they have Hannah or not?

She switched the feed back to show the exterior of the once grand palace. From the angle of the cameras it was impossible to tell if the building was now vacant, or if a skeletal security force had been left behind.

Well, that had to be her starting point. If she was lucky she might find clues that would allow her to get a better picture of who was involved and whether they had any captives, as recent chatter she’d intercepted suggested.

She shut down Lady Ada, then hid her and her other electronic gadgets in places people were unlikely to look in case anyone broke in while she was gone. Tucking her phone and weapons into various pockets and holsters, Amber tugged a long tunic over her head and covered her hair with a black headscarf. It was getting dark out, which would help conceal her fair skin.

Outside the air was warm, the sky turning from lavender to plum as she exited the building and made her way down the street to where she’d left the motorbike she’d rented. Yesterday’s events had made it necessary to ditch her car and get new wheels. She preferred the bike anyway because it was small, fast and maneuverable, and the helmet concealed her face.

The local shops were emptying and the restaurants filling up as she passed through the winding streets toward her destination. She drove around the area in circles first to check if anyone was following her. Satisfied she was still undetected, she parked three blocks away from the palace and took off her helmet.

Here we go.

She kept her head down slightly as she walked, her posture submissive and nonthreatening to draw as little notice as possible. The foot traffic was lighter here, mostly men. She stayed in the shadows of the buildings as she walked, her senses attuned for any trouble.

The crenelated roofline of the old palace stood out above the other buildings, its once proud façade now pockmarked with shell and bullet holes from the savage fighting that had plagued the area. It was now controlled entirely by the Syrian military and government. That was both a blessing and a curse, since it increased the overall safety, while also making it harder for her to do this op.

She turned right up the street across from the palace and kept walking, angling her head only slightly to get a better look at what she was dealing with. Security lights marked the scarred exterior every fifty meters or so and she spotted several cameras. Two armed soldiers stood inside the main gate.

Around back there were no guards visible. The rear door appeared to have an electronic keypad lock on it.

Excellent.

She continued past the palace and doubled back using a different route. The rear entrance was still unguarded but she was unsure of how many guards were inside, or exactly where the security cameras were. She wouldn’t know what she was truly up against until she went inside.

Choosing a path that allowed her to mostly blend in with the shadows, she darted across the street and raced for the rear door. Pulling a device from her pocket, she attached the magnetic surface to the keypad and hit enter to unscramble the digital code.

The heavy steel-plate doors unlocked. She slipped the gadget back into her pocket and drew her silenced pistol, easing the door open a fraction of an inch to peer inside.

The interior was dark, and thankfully, empty.

Sliding inside, she quietly shut the door behind her and glanced around, getting her bearings. Waiting. Listening for anyone coming toward her.

Her boots were soundless against the floor as she crossed the room, rocking her weight from her heels to the balls of her feet. The silence was eerie. There were no sounds at all, not even the echo of distant voices from another floor.

What little furniture was left in the room was bare except for a small table covered with radios and walkie talkies. There were enough of them that taking one shouldn’t draw attention. She tucked one and its charger under her tunic and kept going.

Moving faster now, she swept the rooms on this floor, looking for evidence. The men who’d been here hadn’t left much behind.

She paused briefly to take a few pictures of maps and other documents left lying around so she could check them later, but didn’t hold out much hope that they’d be of use to her. If they’d been left behind, they probably contained old intel.

She stopped when she spotted a gated-off doorway in the center of the building. It led down a set of stone steps into pitch blackness. Her internal radar started pinging. Not from danger. From the certainty that she might find what she was looking for down there.

The old gate squeaked slightly. She froze and waited, but no one came to investigate.

Once inside she paused to pull out her mini NVGs, then descended, pistol firm in her grip. The deeper she descended, the colder and darker it got. It was so dark her NVGs were practically useless so she used a penlight to look around.

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