“The Nest units don’t work,” Danielle said. “Every one of these things is smart and they’re your enemy. You’re in serious trouble. We’ve fought this guy before and he’s a murdering psychopath.”
They came to a metal door and a fourth soldier entered a code. The cell slid open an inch with the clack of magnetic locks disengaging. One of the MPs twisted her arms to release the cuffs.
“You’ve got protocols. Follow them. Now!”
They pushed the redhead through the door of the cell and pulled it shut behind her with a clang. One of the soldiers hit the lock button and the magnets kicked back in.
Her muffled voice came though the door. “Don’t I get a phone call or something?”
“Jesus,” muttered one of them, holstering his pistol. “Why can’t she be quiet like the other one?”
The MP across from him chuckled. “Why can’t she be hot like the other one?”
“We’re going to have to cut the other one out of that outfit of hers,” said Furber.
“Yeah, no shit.”
The lieutenant shook his head. “No, seriously.” He pointed down the hall toward Stealth’s cell. “We tried to strip her after they brought her in ‘cause there’s so many damned knives and tools in that harness of hers. We could get the belts and holsters and all the gear off her, but if there’re any zippers or anything in that outfit, we couldn’t find ‘em. I think she might actually be sewn into it. We couldn’t even get the mask and gloves off.”
“Goddamn,” said one of the others. “I don’t know if that’s hot or fucked up.”
“Little of both,” said another soldier with a grin.
Furber gave a sage nod.
One of the MPs swaggered two doors down the hall. “That suit of hers is so damned tight, bet you can see them tittays all nice now without the straps and shit in the way.” He slid the viewing slot open and peered into the bright cell. “Shit,” he muttered. He glanced at the armored door on either side. “Which one’s she in again?”
“She’s in five,” said Furber.
“Nah, five’s empty. Check the roster again.”
A moment passed. Then all four men pulled their weapons.
Furber shoved the lech out of the way and peered into the cell. It was a gray concrete room with a steel cot, a steel toilet, and a pair of fluorescent tubes ten feet up behind a wire cage bolted to the ceiling. The tubes washed out everything in the cell and made it look pale.
It was empty.
The cot was placed to make hiding beneath it impossible, and the sheets were still wrapped around the thin mattress without a wrinkle on them. The toilet wasn’t large enough to hide behind and was bolted in the corner, anyway. The cell wasn’t much wider than the door, but he craned his neck to make sure no one was pressed into the small space on either side.
“Shit,” he said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit.”
“Call it, Lieutenant,” said one of the MPs.
He dropped his voice. “Get ready to open it,” he said. “Jake, you’re with me. Kenny, Greg, you’re out here covering us. You see anything at all, don’t hesitate. She was out cold when they brought her in but this bitch can move, believe you me.”
“What if she’s not in there?” said Kenny, all lecherous thoughts gone from his mind.
“Then we call it in and we all get court-martialed,” said Furber.
They nodded and he tapped his code into the keypad. The locks clacked and the door fell open an inch. Four fingers tensed on four triggers.
The lieutenant inched the door open. It rolled back into the frame until it hit the full-open position with a thud. He mouthed a three count and he and Jake swung into the tiny room.
Nothing.
He gestured for Jake to cover him and crouched by the cot. The flashlight beam swept back and forth beneath the steel frame, highlighting areas he could already see by the light of the tubes.
“Shit,” Furber said again. He turned to the men in the hall to have them call in an escape and saw her over Jake’s shoulder.
The woman in black was upside-down in the three-foot space above the door. Her back was pressed against the wall and her feet braced against the ceiling. She balanced on the half-inch door frame on her fingertips.
By the time he realized what he was seeing, she was already in motion.
Her legs swung down and struck Jake between the shoulders. She knocked him onto Furber and launched herself into the hall. Her arms wrapped around and under Greg’s shoulders as she twisted over him. She rolled down his back, let momentum lift him off his feet, and flipped him into the far wall.