As I approach, I can hear muffled voices on the other side, and I bring my finger to my lips before pointing at the door. Indicating that he hears the voices too, we both remain still as we listen. More muffled words that are impossible to make out, nor can I tell who’s talking. Mason doesn’t seem able to discern the voices either based on the concentrated frown on his face.
I guess there’s nothing else for it. Carefully, I reach out and pull down the handle, slowly inching the door open until I can peer in. The room beyond looks like the main part of the warehouse, consisting of a large, open space. On the far wall, there’s a large metal shutter that looks like it can roll up to allow forklifts to move easily in and out, with another steel door to the side of it.
I hear the voices again, drawing my attention to the middle of the room. What the fuck? I ease the door open further so Mason can see, and the two of us stare at Maria, who is standing in the middle of the room, with her gun aimed at…my father? Why is he here? Two guards are standing behind her, like a wall of muscle, while another two are manhandling Barton. Tied to the chairs in front of them are West and Hawk. Their backs are to us, so I can’t see their faces, but other than West slumping a little in his chair, they appear to be unharmed. Hawk definitely doesn’t look dead, and the sheer relief I feel at receiving that confirmation has my knees nearly buckling.
I quickly scan the room for any other entrances or exits, noting there aren’t any. Okay, so Beck and Cam are going to have to make their entrance via the steel door beside the roll-up shutters. Once again searching the room, there are a stack of crates near the back wall.
“Do you think you could get over to them?” I whisper to Mason, pointing out the crates.
He takes a moment to work it out, assessing the distance and cover points, and weighing up how likely he is to be caught by Maria or one of her goons.
“Yeah, that should be doable, what are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure yet, but Beck and Cam are going to have to come through that door”—I point out the only other door on the opposite side of the room to us—“so if you come from there, and I approach Maria from here, we would have them pretty well surrounded.”
He mulls it over before nodding, and I step back so he can slip out. He shifts toward the door, but before he leaves, he spins around. His hand comes to rest on the back of my neck, pulling me in as his lips find mine in a searing kiss. “Be careful,” he murmurs, slipping out of the room and stealthily making his way across the room to the far back corner.
I don’t breathe again until he’s hidden behind the crates, giving me a thumbs-up to let me know he’s okay. As my heart rate settles back to a normal rhythm, I focus back on Maria and Barton.
“How did you even know we were here?” Maria asks him suspiciously.
“You forget, dear, I was the head of security. You might have been running the illegitimate side of things, but I still have access to anything associated with Nocturnal Enterprises. I was alerted to unusual activity here, and imagine my surprise when I signed into the system and saw my own son tied to a chair.” He loses his cool by the end, snarling furiously at Maria, and pulling against the two guards holding him in place.
From what I heard of Maria’s speech earlier, it sounds like Barton, out of the two of them, has actually given a damn about our wellbeing all these years. If what she said is true, she was the one that never wanted kids, but it sounded like Barton did. Is it possible he was the one that dragged her to Hawk’s sports games and school events, wanting to have a more active part in his son’s life? Regardless of the reason, he wouldn’t be here now, trying to help his son, if he didn't care on some level, and for that I have to respect him, but it does complicate the situation somewhat.
I notice a small movement on the far side of the room, and my gaze snaps to the steel door, noticing it’s ajar. I can just about make out Beck, who catches my eye, and I signal toward where Hawk and West are being held. He purses his lips, nodding, and I see his mouth move, likely relaying what he sees to Cam.
When he looks back at me, I do my best to tell him where Mason is, but of course he doesn’t speak shorthand, and I end up huffing out a breath in frustration. It takes me a second to wrack my brain before realizing I can just send him a text.
Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I notice Mason already sent one to a new group chat he set up that doesn’t have Hawk or West in it—probably not wanting to accidentally set their phones off in case Maria or one of her gorillas reads the messages. Quickly scanning through the message, he’d already described the layout of the warehouse to Beck and Cam, and informed them where he’s hiding.
As I finish reading his message, a new one pops up.
Beck: What’s the plan?
Hadley: You two reveal yourselves and distract them. I’ll sneak up behind Maria and catch her off guard. Mason, you stand by in case things go sideways.
Beck: Ok. Be careful.
Mason: thumbs-up emoji
Putting my phone away, my palms sweat as I wait for Beck and Cam to reveal themselves. I have done plenty of jobs not dissimilar to this before, where myself or my teammates have been at risk, but I’ve never put anyone I care about in danger like this, and my stomach is threatening to revolt as I second guess my decision. I can’t afford to lose any of them. I have no idea how I’d survive if I was responsible for any harm coming to any of them.
I don’t get the chance to spiral any further as the door Beck and Cam were hiding behind is whipped open, daylight flooding the room and casting them in shadow as they step in, guns raised and pointed at Maria.
Maria turns slightly, and the guards move to stand in front of her, protecting her from the new threat and giving me the advantage, while their backs are turned, to sneak into the room. On silent feet, I hurry toward a small collection of large wooden barrels, and duck down behind them.
Peering my head around the side, no one has spotted me, everyone still focused on the new threat Beck and Cam have presented. I’m not paying attention to the conversation that is going on as I work out my next move and then quickly sprint toward the next item I can hide behind.
I continue to do this until I’m within firing distance of Maria. With the guards standing in front of her, blocking her from Beck and Cam’s shot, her back is exposed to the unknown threat lurking behind her—me.
As I lift the gun out and flick off the safety, the voices start to escalate, and for the first time since Beck and Cam stepped into the warehouse, I actually focus on what’s being said.
“It doesn’t matter where your friends are hiding, you’re outnumbered. This is your final warning, give me the shares!”
The confidence in Maria’s tone has me narrowing my eyes on her. She’s so fucking sure that she’s on the winning side here. That her goons are enough to protect her. Well, she has seriously underestimated us.