Page 110 of Silver Elite

“What do you want?”I’m tired. Pissed off. Beyond betrayed. Yet despite that, a spark of hope flickers to life, eclipsing the despair that’s threatened to consume me since the moment Roe killed Betima.

“Adrienne will meet you tomorrow night.”

“Who the hell is Adrienne?”

“Midnight. The vehicle pool on the west end of the base.”

“There are cameras everywhere—”

“There won’t be tomorrow.”

“How—”

“Midnight,”he repeats before his voice floats out of my mind.

Chapter 25

I fear I’m walking into a trap. Despite Declan’s assurances, I ruminate about it all day, wondering how this can bite me in the ass. He said there’d be no cameras. No alarms. But I’m supposed to blindly trust him?

Is this truly a risk I’m willing to take?

I consider that question during evening meal, and by the time I’ve finished eating, I decide that, yes, it’s a risk worth taking. Last night, after Ellis healed me, I resigned myself to my fate. I gave in to defeat. But fate has other plans, it seems.

Based on experience, I know I have some leeway with the security men. Cross let me roam the base before. If they catch me on the cameras, I’m hoping he allows it again.

At quarter to midnight, I slip out of the barracks wearing my black op uniform and boots. If any of my fellows are still awake and notice me leaving, they don’t raise an alarm. In the hall, I’m painfully aware of the blinking red lights in the corners of the ceiling. The cameras are operational, damn it.

“Declan,”I gripe when he links.“The cameras.”

“I promise you it’s safe, Darlington. Go. She won’t wait if you’re late.”

She.Adrienne. Whoever this woman is.

Heart racing, I scurry out the back exit of the training facility. Declan warned me not to use the front doors. I round the side of the building and follow the cold façade as I walk.“Stay close to the walls,”he’d warned.

I feel the weight of the mission pressing down on me as I make my way across the base. Avoiding the sentries is easier than I expect. The ones in the towers all seem to be staring toward the south, and I wonder if the network arranged for a distraction that I’m not seeing.

Declan told me to go to the western vehicle pool, but I suddenly feel disoriented. Panic tugs at my belly as I hug the wall behind one of the guard towers.

I send a telepathic SOS.“I don’t know where the entrance to that vehicle pool is.”

A second later, a sharp pain explodes behind my eyes. He’s projecting something.

“You could’ve warned me,”I mutter.

“Who has time for that? Focus.”

He’s projected a simple map of the base. My destination is clearly marked.

“She’ll be in the tunnel. Walk until you see her.”

I continue walking, my pulse stuttering when I reach the massive chain-link gates. The vehicle pool features both an outdoor lot and a covered structure, and I creep toward the latter’s entrance. Inside, I find rows of utility trucks and armored vehicles, illuminated by the greenish glow of the overhead lights. They sit silent and imposing, their sleek exteriors blending seamlessly with the shadows.

I have to pass a row of tanks to get to the transport tunnel. I stare at their gun barrels. They’re pointed skyward, but I half expect someone to pop up, swing them downward, and begin firing at me.

At a shadowy doorway, my heart starts beating double time. The tunnel greets me with a warm breeze, yet somehow it brings a chill rather than heat to my bones.

He said to walk until I see her. I move cautiously, once again fearing a trap. With each step, the darkness swallows me deeper, the only sound the echo of my own footsteps against the paved ground.

---