“They know what they’re doing,” Sloan assured her. “We made sure of it.”
They had. Reese had assembled her best-trained people for this raid. And Connor Mackenzie, the leader of a small camp not far from hers, had sent three of his best men as well. Rylan, Pike, and Xander were used to these types of dangerous missions. In fact, Xan’s technological prowess was what made the entire plan possible.
“Give the order, Reese,” Sloan said softly. “We’ve wasted enough time.”
She swallowed. Then she reached for the radio strapped to her belt. One shaky jab of her finger and she was addressing her soldiers. “Go time,” she murmured. “The front guards will be switching rotation in three minutes. Xan, disable the fence now.”
“Copy,” came Xander’s faint reply.
There was no outward sign that the fence would no longer zap anything that came in contact with it, but Reese trusted Xander when he reported a moment later that they were all set. The fence and cameras had been taken care of.
“Rylan, get ready,” she said into the radio.
“Born ready,” the bane of her existence drawled back.
She pictured him lying flat on his belly like a snake, hidden behind the small rise in the landscape that was hardly considered decent cover but was their only option. If the night breeze rustled even one strand of his hair, the Enforcers at the front gates would spot him. Though Rylan probably got off on that. From what Reese had seen, the man was addicted to danger.
She really wished Connor hadn’t sent Rylan to join the party. The gorgeous blond outlaw got on her nerves, big-time. But he was also one of the most lethal fighters she’d ever met, thanks to the years he’d spent training recruits for the now defunct People’s Army, an outlaw military group that had risen decades ago to fight the GC right after the war.
She might not like Rylan, but she needed him.
She glanced at Sloan, who was getting his rifle in position. “Let’s do this shit,” she said with a sigh.
His mouth quirked up in an almost smile.
The radio crackled to life again. “Shift change about to happen,” Pike reported.
Reese took a breath before voicing the command. “Go.”
There was only a split second of silence between her orders and the gunfire that blasted through the night.
Reese and Sloan burst out of the tree line, rifles up, fingers on the triggers. All her people had been given the same order: shoot to kill. They weren’t taking prisoners.
Four Enforcers stood at the back gate, identifiable by their black tactical gear with red stripes down the sides of their pants. Two were behind the fence; two were posted at the gate beyond it. Reese didn’t hesitate as she took aim on her enemies and opened fire.
Between her and Sloan—and the element of surprise—the guards at the gate dropped like flies, dead before they even hit the pavement.
The two behind the fence were a different story.
“Take cover!” Sloan shouted as they charged toward the fence.
Reese dove for shelter behind a military Jeep parked nearby. Sloan threw himself beside her as bullets whizzed above their heads. The Enforcers were shouting sharp, muffled orders to each other that Reese couldn’t make out over the gunshots. The odor of gunpowder filled the air and she breathed it in as she repositioned her rifle and turned to Sloan.
“Head for the gate. I’ll cover you.”
He nodded, waited for her silent count, then flew forward with a surprising amount of grace and dexterity for such a large man. Reese popped up and provided cover fire, crowing in triumph when one of her bullets connected with her target. The assault rifle clattered out of the Enforcer’s hands as a pained shout left his mouth. She’d hit his shooting arm. Good. That meant one less weapon being aimed at Sloan as he stormed the gate.
Shots continued to explode from all directions, but she refused to think about what was going on outside her assigned quadrant, refused to consider that her people might be caught in the crossfire she was hearing all around her. She focused on backing up Sloan, protecting Sloan.
“Clear!” he called less than a minute later.
Adrenaline surged through her blood as she hurried toward him. The cameras affixed to the tops of the fence weren’t blinking green, but she still angled her face away from them, ducking her head as she ran.
Sloan trained his rifle on the rear doors. Reese did the same. She expected those doors to fly open at any second. The Enforcers guarding the interior would panic once they realized their lockdown procedures had been thwarted, a notion that brought a cruel smile to her lips. This station and its security protocols were wholly dependent on the technology that kept it operational. Thanks to Xander, all systems were down.
Her smile widened when muffled gunshots sounded from inside the warehouse. “They’re in,” she murmured to Sloan.
He didn’t look as thrilled by that. “We should be in there too.” But he didn’t make a move toward the doors.