Page 14 of Jason Bourne
14
Jason
We decided to move in on the Chinese who kidnapped Lane first, since she remembered they told her they kidnapped people and sold their organs to wealthy people. We were in a new safe house.
The safe house living room looked like a war bunker by sunset — maps, laptops, weapons stripped and cleaned on the coffee table. Nate leaned against the doorway, eating cold pizza like nothing could possibly shock him. Forest paced by the window, eyes flicking to the road every few seconds.
Lane sat on the arm of the couch, elbows on her knees, one foot bouncing like she’d combust if she didn’t move soon. She wore one of my black long-sleeve shirts rolled to her wrists and her hair tied back with a thick black band. Battle-ready.
I laid out the last set of satellite images. “The trawler was a moving target. But the mother snake sits right here — a warehouse off Harbor Road. Smuggling hub. Paper trail says fishing gear; heat signatures say human cargo. The bastard calling shots never leaves that compound.”
Nate cracked his knuckles. “The whole place is a fortress. Local cops are in their pockets. The feds keep tripping over red tape.”
Nate added, mouth half full, “I vote we blow it up and be home by midnight.”
Lane snorted. “Subtle, Hayes. Real subtle.”
I pointed at her, voice firm. “Andyouare staying back.”
Her head whipped up. “The hell I am.”
“You’re still hurt—”
“Bullshit,” she snapped. “I fight, or you don’t fight. Pick.”
She said it so low, so calm, it shut up even Nate.
I planted both hands on the table, leaning in. “Lane, you were chained to a wallfour days ago. You think I’m letting you back into a kill box already?”
Her chin lifted, eyes flaring that wildfire I’d bled for a hundred times over. “Youdon’t let me do anything, Jason. You want me safe? Fine. Burn that place to ash and take me with you while you do it.”
Max muttered under his breath, “God, I missed you two idiots.”
I ignored him. My eyes never left hers. “You’re riding shotgun. You do exactly what I say. No hero stunts.”
“Cross my heart,” she said — but the crooked grin saidliar. And God help me, I loved her for it.
Nate dropped his pizza crust,brushing crumbs off his hands. “So we breach, grab the boss, leak everything to the Feds on a silver platter, then vanish back to Mexico for beers?”
Max deadpanned, “If you think I’m drinking Mexican beer after this, you’re buying next round.”
Lane cut in, practical and deadly serious. “We go in quiet. We’ll need a distraction — something big enough to pull muscle off the main compound. I’ll ghost in with Jason, hit the server room, rip their files. Max, you and Nate sweep the dock warehouses for survivors. Any live cargo, we pull out with us.”
She shot me a look that dared me to argue. I didn’t. Not this time.
“Max’s old contacts still run a trawler out of San Diego,” I said. “They owe us. We’ll use it as cover.”
Forest grinned. “A smuggling ship to infiltrate a smuggling hub. Poetic.”
Max cracked his neck. “Better idea. Let’s finish this tonight. They’re not expecting ghosts at midnight. We go dark, we hit fast, we disappear.”
I glanced at Lane. She grinned back, wicked and alive.
“Then what are we waiting for?” she said.
I crossed the room in three strides, cupped her jaw in my palm, and kissed her hard enough the whole damn team looked away.
I broke it only to growl against her lips, “Stay behind me.”
