Page 3 of Thin Ice

“Anything?” his partner yelled out to him.

“Nothing. I told you your ears are playing tricks on you. I’ll check out the rest of the place while I’m here.”

Brookes would be the first line of defense and she was worried for him. If the man discovered him before Brookes was able to take him down, he’d alert his partner. Probably the others as well. If that happened, the place could be crawling with Legion troops.

The filthy carpet muffled the man’s sound. She listened intently. Heard what sounded like a scuffle. Brookes.

Abby ran for the room in time to see Brookes wrap the man in a chokehold. She grabbed her weapon by the barrel and swung it hard. It struck a glancing blow across the man’s temple. His eyes rolled back and he went limp in Brookes’s arms.

“What’s going on in there? Stop messing around.” The man’s partner called out. When no answer came, he beat a path in their direction.

“There’s no time to get this guy out of sight. Be ready,” Brookes warned. She had just enough time to flatten herself against the wall before a second man ran through the door with his weapon pointed in front of him.

“Drop the gun.” Abby stepped from her hiding spot. The man jerked toward her and aimed for her head. She hit the floor as a bullet flew past her and lodged in the wall where she’d been seconds earlier.

Brookes charged for him. The man spotted him and spun. Before he could get off a single shot, Brookes opened fire. Three rounds straight through the chest. He went down immediately. Kneeling next to the man, Brookes grabbed his weapon and searched his pockets for his cell phone.

Abby retrieved the unconscious man’s weapon and stuck it in her jacket. She rummaged through his pockets for the phone. Once they had the president and were out of the building, they’d toss the phones to keep from being tracked.

“Help me retrain him.” Brookes indicated the unconscious man. “The others will have heard the shots and come to investigate.”

She shucked her backpack and grabbed some zip ties. Working quickly, she and Brookes had the man restrained in no time. They gagged him to keep him from alerting his partners to their location.

“Let’s get to the fifth floor and extract the president before Legion’s goons have the building surrounded.” Brooks headed for the entrance.

She wasn’t anywhere close to prepared for what lay ahead, but time had now become their enemy. They had little left to get the president out of the building before their window of opportunity slammed shut and she and Brookes became just another casualty to Legion’s deadly schemes.

???

Brookes checked the hallway before he and Abby stepped out and listened. If what those men said was correct, there were at least two other men somewhere in the building. They’d have to eliminate them before they took him and Abby out.

A second set of stairs was on the opposite end of the hall. Brookes headed toward it at a fast click while his mind assessed the things he knew so far. The two incapacitated men had used a different set of stairs. Brookes was counting on them being close to the location where the president was being held.

He reached the stairwell and opened the door. With his weapon in position, he slipped inside and quickly ducked behind the stairs. A click later, Abby followed.

She drew in a breath and peered above them. “Clear.” Abby started up the first set of stairs. Brookes fought the desire to take the lead. She was a highly trained former Army nurse who had seen plenty of combat before she’d come to be on the front lines of Legion’s attacks. Abby could handle herself in any situation thrown at her.

She took the stairs with a stealth that Brookes admired while he kept a few inches between them. They reached the third-floor landing and kept moving. No time to check the rest of the building. They had to grab their target and leave.

Somewhere within the building, a door opened. Abby froze. She pointed above them. “They’re coming.” Ducking, she used the enclosed bannister as cover.

Brookes dropped down beside her. His pulse drummed hard in his ears. There would be no way around it. They’d have to shoot their way out.

Abby slipped her goggles off. He did the same. She held his gaze. So many unspoken wishes flashed in her eyes. Like him, she understood they might not walk out of this thing alive.

From the landing above came a squeak. Then a single set of footsteps eased toward them. Where was the second person?

Brookes ticked off each second as the quiet footsteps continued coming. The person was being cautious. Suspected something was off. Silence followed. Abby grabbed his arm when the person started back up the stairs.

“He’s running. Go, go, go,” she whispered and replaced her goggles. When he’d slipped his in place once more, he rose along with Abby and together ran up the steps. They reached the fifth floor as the door slowly shut.

The element of surprise was lost.

Abby jerked the door open to be greeted by a spray of bullets. She ducked into the stairwell.

“The shooter is at the end of the hall. Probably where they’re holding the president. There’s an apartment straight across. If we can make it there, we have a chance.”

Brookes nodded. Understood it was a long shot. “We do it quickly.”

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