Zane turned and followed her gaze. A large stage was set up on the far end of the room.
He turned toward Danielle. “I need to reach out to Brett.”
She nodded that she understood what to do. Whenever Zane spoke to Brett through the radio, she was to stare at him as though the two of them were talking.
“Brett, are you there?” Zane waited for a moment, but there was no answer. He tried again. “Brett, can you hear me?”
Before Zane could try again, Brett finally answered. “Sorry, I was just bringing the facility’s security system back online.”
“Do you need to get back to us?”
“No, it’s done. Where are you?”
“We’re in the ballroom.”
“Have you seen Brehmer?”
“Not yet. To be honest, I’ve been looking for someone else. It seems our little incident back at the dock caught someone’s attention.”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
“I’m not sure. I think we’ll be fine, but he did watch us pretty closely on the way over.”
“Not good.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I have some good news. Pratt’s team is inside the perimeter and headed your way.”
Zane glanced at the time. “The presentation is going to start about a half hour from now. Once I determine a plan, we’ll initiate it just prior to him taking the stage.”
“Let me know when you do.”
“Copy that.”
As Zane took a sip of champagne, he felt someone watching him again. Turning his head, he let his gaze drift across the crowd. Seconds later, he saw eyes staring in his direction. It was the man in black, and he was standing next to two men in suits. Unfortunately, he hadn’t moved on to other things. He was still watching them, and that spelled trouble.
After giving the matter some thought, Zane turned to Danielle. “There is going to be a change in plans.”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Trying to look casual, Zane set his champagne flute on the table and told her what they were going to do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
AFTER REACHING THE edge of the compound, Jia crouched behind the trunk of a palm tree. Easing to her right, she looked at the building that rose up just ahead. The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, giving her better visibility. As far as she could tell, there were no guards positioned here. The immediate area seemed strangely quiet.
Even though she could see only one building, Jia knew there were two more just beyond it. That was because she had used a tiny drone to map the entire compound the day before. Developed by the Chinese government, the drone wasn’t much larger than a bird, yet it was able to film in high definition.
Still crouching, Jia considered her next move. A steel ladder ran up the side of the building. Before doing anything else, she would use it to gain access to the roof. Once there, she would survey the next building down. It was the largest of the three and the one she believed housed Brehmer’s valuable treasure. While on the roof, she would also look for the three men she had been following.
Seeing no signs of life, Jia sprinted over to the ladder and climbed it with speed. She didn’t like being exposed, but it would be only for a few seconds. When she neared the top, she slowed down and raised her head until she could peer onto the roof. Then she saw something she hadn’t expected, the silhouette of a guard standing at the far end. She frowned. He was in the precise place she had wanted to be.
Moving carefully, Jia climbed up the remaining steps and dropped onto the roof. After considering her options, she slipped a long tactical knife from its sheath. She would use her gun if she had to, but the key was to kill in silence. Even a suppressed shot could be heard from a few dozen yards away.
As she approached, Jia could tell the guard was a poorly trained stooge. He stood casually at the edge of the roof, smoking a cigarette. Wires ran from his ears, and Jia believed she could hear music being played. This would be way too easy.
Jia came up behind the man, the sounds of her steps masked by the rain. But as she raised the knife, the guard did something she hadn’t expected: he tossed down the cigarette, mashed it with his foot, and turned around. When the man saw her, his eyes widened. Acting on instinct, he tried to lift his rifle. Jia had only a second to react. Her plan had been to cut the man’s throat from behind, but now there was only one thing she could do — she plunged the blade into his chest. The man tried to shout, but it was muffled when Jia stuffed her free hand into his mouth and pulled him down onto the roof. As they hit the hard surface, the man bit down on her fingers, his teeth tearing through her flesh. Despite the horrific pain, Jia kept her hand in place. She had been trained to endure pain, and she knew if she pulled out, the man’s screams would be heard.
Rolling behind him, Jia wrapped her legs around the man’s torso and held him tightly. She probably hadn’t hit his heart, but the cut was close enough to be lethal.
A minute later, the man’s body relaxed. He was dead. Pushing him aside, Jia rose onto one knee. Her fingers were a shredded mess, but she had to get moving.
Staying crouched, she moved to the edge of the roof. A couple of hundred yards away was the building she was looking for. There was light at the front entrance, but the view was hindered by a grove of palm trees. Removing her monocular, Jia trained it on the area. After moving it around, she finally saw a truck backed up to the entrance. Several men were loading a large metal box into the trailer.
Jia quickly realized what was happening.
DH10 was being moved.
CHAPTER FORTY
PRATT, MORTENSEN, AND Skinner crouched behind the wall that ran around the edge of the roof. Working in unison, they removed their binoculars and focused them on the middle building. A truck was backed up to the entrance, and several men were pushing a wheeled dolly up the ramp that came out of the truck’s trailer. On top of the dolly was a large container made of reinforced steel. It stood about ten feet high and was at least six feet wide.
As he studied the scene, Pratt also noticed at least a dozen guards who watched over the process, and all of them were armed with semi-automatic rifles. At first, Pratt thought they were there to protect the cargo being loaded onto the truck, then he realized most of the men were facing the container itself. He frowned. It was as though they were more concerned about whatever was inside.
Mortensen seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “I wonder what the heck is in that thing.”
“Whatever it is, it’s alive,” Skinner said.
Pratt looked over at him. “How do you know?”
“Look at the top of the box.”
Raising his binoculars again, Pratt focused on what appeared to be several black marks along the top edge of the container. “You mean those dots?”
“They’re not dots,” Skinner said. “They’re air holes.”
Pratt turned the focus wheel, sharpening the view. Skinner was right — they were holes. “Interesting.”
As they watched, the container began to shake violently. The men pushing the dolly began to shout, and several of the guards mounted the ramp and grabbed the sides of the box. Once they brought it under control, they pushed it the remainder of the way in.
Mortensen lowered his binoculars and looked over at Pratt. “You don’t think that’s Carmen, do you?”
“Impossible to say.”
“Even if they’re transporting prisoners, there isn’t much we can do,” Skinner said. “I count fourteen guards, and all of them are heavily armed. We’re outgunned and not by a small margin.”
The three watched in silence as two men shut the trailer door. Pratt noticed that several of the guards had stayed inside the trailer with the container while the others got into nearby Jeeps. Seconds later, the caravan drove off, disappearing into the trees. Pratt let his eyes run in the direction the vehicles were going. About a mile away, the lights of another building twinkled in the distance.