In position, Top. One by one, his team reported in until he was certain they were ready.
Mack glanced at his watch. On my mark. Three, two, one . . .
He exploded into action, shooting his guard in the back of the neck, and instantly teleporting to the second station. The wrenching of his bones was incredible, almost like the g-force in a jet. There was a split second of disorientation, as if his body wasn’t quite all there, but his finger on the trigger was steady, and he’d fired the shot before the first body hit the ground. Guards crumpled around the entire estate. He crawled forward to retrieve the dart, all the while fighting the blackness that threatened to engulf him and the bile rising in his throat, protesting the disorienting feat.
Rhianna’s first dart went in smoothly. She immediately set herself for the twisting anguish of her body, as if it was being torn apart, as she teleported to the next section of fence. Struggling to breathe when the air had left her lungs in a rush, she shot the dart even while the soldier was still blurry. He went to his knees, his eyes wide, one hand coming up as if to slap at a stinging bee. She felt her own body crumple and she went down, the taste of blood in her mouth.
Breathe. You’re holding your breath.
Rhianna cursed silently. It would have to be Javier in the control room, able to see her thrashing like a fish out of water on the ground, gasping for breath. She should have known he’d be watching her. She dug her hands into the dirt and propelled herself forward to retrieve the dart. She still had to go back to the first guard and remove that evidence as well. She tried to push herself to her feet, but there was no way to get air. She fell again.
Rose. Get to Rhianna, Javier commanded.
Rose retrieved the dart and glanced to her right. Rhianna was a force to be reckoned with. She couldn’t imagine that the woman would need help with anything, but she sprinted across open ground without questioning the order. Rhianna had already retrieved the dart from the second guard. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She pointed toward the fallen guard in the section of fence just down from her. Rose saw that the man had fallen in the center between the two fences.
She didn’t hesitate, leaping straight up to grasp the chain-link just below the barbed wire. Twisting her body upside down, she pushed off with her hands. Clearing the barbed wire, she jumped in between the two fences, landing on her feet beside the body. Retrieving the dart, she reached down to take the man’s ID, as all the rest of them had done. Souvenirs to give to Cesar Lopez. She sent word that she and Rhianna had both completed their tasks. When everyone had checked in, Mack gave the signal to proceed.
Phase four complete. We have a go.
Rose had to repeat the process she’d used entering the fences, leaping straight up and gripping the top of the fence just below the barbed wire, and once again turning upside down to thrust herself in the air like a rocket to clear the pointed barbs and land on the other side. One by one the other members of her team cleared the fence, descending on the barracks for the next phase. Rose waited for Rhianna. The other woman stumbled to her feet, swayed for a moment, and then her body went ramrod straight.
Sheer guts, Rose knew. Psychic talent could take a tremendous toll on all of them. Teleportation was a nasty business. In combat, a soldier dug deep and never—ever—let his team down. Rhianna was up and over the fence, wiping the blood from her mouth with her arm. She flashed a grin at Rose. The two of them sprinted for the barracks, joining the rest of the team already converging on the building.
Javier and Lucas in the control room were their eyes and ears, using the security cameras set up in the barracks against the guards.
Two up playing cards in the first room on your left. You’ve got three in the pool room straight ahead of you, the hallway dead-ends to the pool room. One in the kitchen just to the right of the pool room. Four in their bunks.
All of them had studied the layout of the barracks, but with Javier’s voice whispering in their minds, the maps were even clearer. They had to enter unseen into each room and either gas or dart the occupants. If darts were used, they had to be retrieved. Each guard would have to give up his ID,in order for Cesar Lopez to return them. This was a psychological assault rather than a physical one. They planned on completely destroying Cesar Lopez. The plan was risky and called for precise timing, something that Lopez—that anyone—would believe impossible. They were ghosts entering his personal stronghold, slipping past every guard, into his very home. He would never feel safe again. Over time he would question himself, and he would lose confidence in those guarding his family. They would strike at his mind—and instill sheer terror in his heart. Cesar Lopez would understand that he was vulnerable—that his entire family was vulnerable.
Rose was particularly grateful that Kane didn’t treat her any differently than he did his other team members. He didn’t hover, didn’t guard her as she feared he might. If anything, they all took extra care to stay close to Paul. He pulled his weight, handling each phase of the assignment as everyone else did, but she noticed the team members seemed to watch out for him a little more than anyone else. She found herself doing the same thing. She noticed Rhianna did as well. If anyone had asked her why, she wouldn’t have been able to articulate why exactly, but he seemed out of place in the environment—far too sensitive for this kind of work.
Rose and Jacob released the gas into the room where four guards were sleeping in bunks. Kane, Gideon, and Rhianna took the three playing pool. Mack and Paul darted the two men playing cards, and Ethan did the same with the one in the kitchen.
Phase five complete, Mack reported. Entering house for final phase.
Javier studied each room. Most of the occupants were asleep. Bodyguards sat outside the rooms of Cesar and his son. There was no camera in Cesar’s bedroom, but every other bedroom had surveillance. His two daughters were still visiting together in the conservatory while their husbands slept in the bedrooms. Two of the teens had gone to the kitchen and were getting snacks, while a third sat in Cesar’s den and watched porn. A guard stood outside the conservatory, but no one had followed the teens. Javier relayed the information to his team.
Rose had one job. Kane shadowed her through the labyrinth of halls, up the stairs to the master bedroom. The other team members were each assigned to specific rooms and families. She had to believe they would do their jobs, one by one, putting every household member to sleep and collecting some kind of evidence to show Lopez. Kane held up his hand, and she halted at the top of the wide staircase. The house was dark but for a few dim lights. It enabled them to use the shadows, sliding from one to the other in complete silence.
The whispers in her head began coming fast. Done. Done. Done. Still she waited, breathing in and out, amazed at the capabilities and unity of such a large team working together. Whitney’s idea had been two-man teams. He had stressed that the larger the number, the more room for error, and yet this unit of men—her unit—had penetrated the head of one of the largest and most dangerous cartels with an intricate and daring plan.
You have a go, Mack said.
At the soft order, Kane, lying prone on the floor just feet from the guard, shot the arrow into his neck. The guard tried to slap at what he thought was a stinging bug, but the needle had entered his bloodstream, and the fast-acting concoction had him slumping over, his semiautomatic slipping from his hands. Rose caught the gun and lowered it to his lap. Kane removed his ID. This was going to be the most dangerous moment. There were no cameras. They had to enter the bedroom without detection, put the wife to sleep, and have a talk with Cesar.