Robert and Estella have been given their assignment. They wait with four others in the trees at the western edge of town. They can’t see the guard with whom they’re supposed to make contact, but they know where he is.
The only question Robert has is, will the guard shoot first or wait until it’s too late?
It’s a huge risk, but no bigger than some of the stunts he’s pulled lately.
At least that’s what he tells himself.
Kusum sits behind the wheel of the car. Sanjay and van Assen sit in back.
When Sanjay confronted him at the makeshift roadblock, van Assen tried to grab Sanjay, probably intending to knock Sanjay’s head into the car. Sanjay batted away van Assen’s hands and kneed him in the gut.
Now, as they sit in the backseat, van Assen lunges at Sanjay as Sanjay is talking to Kusum. The Dutchman is able to get in a few jabs, but fails at wrestling away the gun Sanjay procured from the trunk of the vehicle. Sanjay slaps the weapon against the side of the man’s head, causing a trickle of blood to run from his ear.
If the man tries anything again, Sanjay is prepared to shoot him, first in the foot, then, if necessary, the knee, and then the hip. He doesn’t think pulling the trigger will be needed, though. He is pretty sure van Assen has received the message, but Sanjay will stay vigilant nonetheless.
After he resumes his conversation with Kusum, he glances occasionally at the sat phone sitting in the front passenger seat, knowing that at any moment, the call will come.
Rachel puts a supportive hand on Crystal’s back. “You doing all right?”
“Fine,” the girl says.
“And we’re all set?”
“As set as we can be.”
Rachel smiles. “Good.”
She knows the girl, like most of the others present, is running on adrenaline, having already put in more than twenty hours straight. Soon Crystal can rest, but not yet. There is still work to do tonight.
Help me give them strength, Rachel thinks, hoping somewhere her brother hears her.
She is still shattered by his absence, but she’s learning to cope with it, if barely.
She walks over to Leon and puts the same hand on him. “Hanging in there?”
Celeste Johnson’s annoyance is growing with every minute the Los Angeles survival station remains silent. She decides to dispatch a squad from the Bay Area to get eyes on the ground, and is told they will arrive within ninety minutes.
With nothing else to do and the hour growing extremely late, she decides the best thing she can do now is get some sleep.
Ash eyes the concrete building in the middle of the snow-covered field. So unassuming, so easy to dismiss.
C8 has confirmed it’s the entrance to the facility.
To Dream Sky.
Ash looks over at Powell and whispers, “Are we all in position?”
“Yes, sir,” the man responds.
Ash turns to Chloe and notices a far-off look on her face. “You okay?”
She jerks a little in surprise and then tries to smile. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good. It’s just…”
“What?” he asks.
“I feel like I’ve been here before.”
Ash waits, but nothing else comes. “You want to sit this one out?” he asks.
A sneer leaps onto her face. “No way.”
That’s good enough for him. He reaches into this coat pocket, pulls out the sat phone. The number for Ward Mountain is waiting for him on the screen.
He looks again to Powell. “Group one, go.”
As Powell raises his radio to his mouth, Ash moves his thumb over the SEND button.
It’s time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brett Battles is a Barry Award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn, Logan Harper, and Project Eden series. You can learn more at his website: brettbattles.com