Page 81 of Silver Elite

She holds up two fingers.

Two guards.

I nod and edge closer to take a look. Two men dressed in dark uniforms walk the perimeter, blending seamlessly into the shadows. They scan the surroundings for any sign of intrusion.

This is supposed to be covert, so we don’t want any fanfare. We haven’t been tasked with killing anyone but the target. Which means we can’t act until the guards have moved on.

The moment they disappear around the corner, Kess and I creep toward the door. Despite the fact that we’re not supposed to be working with the roof pair, Kaine’s playful voice fills my earpiece.

“Broken Dove, come in.”

I grit my teeth. Goddamn Cross.

“We’ve infiltrated the roof. Copy?”

“We’re not working together, Condor!” I hiss, and his laughter tickles my ear.

Together Kess and I enter the warehouse. Various corridors snake away from the main entrance, disappearing into the darkness like veins in a giant, metal beast. Shit. I can only remember the path toward the stairs. Everything beyond that draws a blank in my brain.

Our footsteps are muffled by the thick layer of dust that coats the concrete floor. Every shadow seems to pulse with potential danger, every corner harboring unseen threats. I know it’s fake, but I get caught up for a moment. Under other circumstances, I would thrive in this training program. My adrenaline is surging.

Kess and I move with silent precision. I glimpse the first alarm, a razor-thin blue line slashing across the floor. We carefully step over it. As we round a corner, a pair of guards materialize out of the darkness, armed. Without hesitation, we inch back, flattening ourselves to the wall. We wait for them to pass.

“Now,” she urges, her voice barely a whisper in the stillness.

We press on, ascending a narrow staircase. Kess is in the lead again. She holds her weapon with ease and moves like a ghost. She’s good. I hate admitting it, but it’s true.

Halfway up the stairs, she steps on a tread that gives a loud creak.

We freeze.

Everything remains quiet.

I release a breath and keep going.

Finally, we reach the top, our target tantalizingly close yet shrouded in darkness. According to the countdown on the source around my wrist, we’re making really good time. I don’t remember this part of the map, so I’m happy to follow Kess, who seems to know where she’s going.

She halts in the middle of one hall, holding up her hand. I stop, too, following her gaze to the blue lines glowing up ahead. We’ll need to crawl beneath them to make it to the end of the corridor. While a guard might be turning the corner at any second.

With a nod from Kess, I go first. Crawling on my elbows, keeping my head as low as possible.

“Hurry up, bitch.”

My fellow, who’s supposed to be watching my back, hasn’t mastered the concept of camaraderie. Or encouragement. Or human emotion. I resist the urge to kick my foot back at her face.

After we clear the alarms, we hop to our feet and keep moving. For a second, I’m caught up in the exercise again. I don’t know where Roe and Kaine are. Suddenly I want to beat them. I want to reach the target first. We’re just turning the next corner when I hear, “Target eliminated.”

It’s Roe.

Kess huffs in displeasure and turns to glare at me as if it’s my fault the guys got to the target first. But the op isn’t done yet. We reach the door that was marked on the map. Kaine and Roe are already gone.

Kess eases the door open, locates the dummy that serves as our target, and presses her gun barrel to it to activate the sensor. Then she bitterly mutters into her mic, “Target eliminated.”

Now it’s a matter of getting up to the roof. We might be able to beat Kaine and Roe’s time if we hurry, but I never had any intention of executing this mission.

The alarm is camouflaged in a layer of dust at the base of the staircase leading to the roof. It’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention.

“Come on,” I urge Kess. “Let’s move faster. Run.”

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