Page 92 of Moonstruck
“One down,” Jericho said.
“You’re good to go,” Noah directed.
Zane paced as they walked from the sea, stashing their dive equipment on the shore beneath some plants. They all wore cameras, but Zane only cared about one: Asa’s.
DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU’RE GOOD ENOUGH TO HACK ME? ME? YOU’RE A FUCKING AMATEUR.
Calliope scoffed but didn’t respond to his message, focused on whatever it was she was doing that had lines of code flashing across the screen at a dizzying rate. “That’s it. Come on. Just a little fucking more, you dumb motherfucker.”
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Noah murmured into the comms.
“My mother’s dead,” Calliope shot back.
“Another guard at twelve o’clock, standing in the alcove behind the decorative wall. He’s got an assault rifle and a side arm.”
August motioned for the others to stay, then crept up to the wall with its Moroccan inspired cutouts, pulling a wicked looking blade from a sheath on his leg and sending it through one of the gaps. “Guard two is done.”
“Oh, what’s that? That’s right, it’s me kicking in your backdoor, but you go ahead and keep searching,” Calliope muttered to herself.
“You’re free to breach the perimeter,” Noah said.
Zane swallowed hard as he watched the glass doors part and the six of them enter the well-lit mansion, fanning out in formation. Noah shrunk the screen with the satellite image and enhanced the blueprints of Freddie’s house.
“Jericho and Adam, take out the two guards just outside the front door,” Noah commanded. “Avi and Asa, find the panic room in the back of the master closet and cut off his access. Aiden and August, clear the downstairs and close off the exits.”
Zane couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He turned to the monitor where Calliope was locked in a virtual battle.
ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?
“I’m everywhere,” Calliope said out loud.
The wail of a security alarm came to life, echoing throughout the house and through the comms, causing everybody to wince. “We’re made,” Noah said, stating the obvious.
“Guards in the front are down,” Jericho responded, “but if we don’t cancel that alarm, there’s going to be sirens in five minutes or less.”
“Panic room is sealed,” Asa added, pulling the master closet door shut and jamming something into the lock. “Where is this son of a bitch?”
“Not downstairs. It’s cleared,” somebody said, probably Aiden.
“Hah! I’m in!” Calliope screamed, triumphant.
Zane tried to keep eyes on Asa’s camera but there was so much going on. People were running, images blurring. Zane dragged his gaze back to Asa’s camera just as he rounded a corner into an empty hallway. He glanced quickly behind him, and when he looked again, he was face to face with Freddie and a shotgun that looked comically large to Zane’s fear-soaked brain.
Zane sucked in a deep breath, but before he could let out the panicked sound building within his lungs, Avi was there, bringing down what looked like a ceramic pot on Freddie’s head. Zane’s knees gave way just as Freddie’s did, only Freddie crumpled to the floor while Zane fell into the seat positioned beside him.
“We’ve acquired the target. Have Lucas come get us,” Asa reported.
“Home stretch now,” Noah said with a supportive smile at Zane. “It does get easier, I swear. There have been a few near misses but also hundreds of perfect scores. They really do know what they’re doing.”
Zane nodded, stomach lurching as Lucas put the boat into gear and stepped on the gas, the engine roaring.
“I canceled the alarm and gave them the passcode. We should have more than enough time to get us out on the water,” Calliope said. “I’ve started downloading his files, but I won’t know if we have what we’re looking for until I sort through it all.”
* * *
Freddie definitely didn’t look like much in person. The shotgun he’d held was normal-sized. Rather, it was the man himself who was small, almost diminutive, especially in his too tight tank top and silky wide-legged pants. They’d tied his hands behind his back and dumped him on deck, making sure they were far out to sea before anyone tried to rouse him.
It took an hour for Freddie to wake enough to fully understand the gravity of his situation. Much to Zane’s dismay, he seemed to find it funny, squinting at them in the darkness, mocking their wetsuits.
