"Eddie," Axe said. "Guard walking toward the front door."
Eddie clicked the radio, and Javi once again moved on Eddie's signal. As the guard stepped out onto the landing, Javi dispatched him with brutal efficiency.
"Front clear," Eddie whispered. "Heading in."
"Last man on hook," Squid said over the radio. I remembered what Eddie had said earlier; that would mean they were all on the second floor now. I looked down at my watch - 0304. We were moving fast.
These guys were definitely good.
Two guys down and at least two more to go.
But how the hell were we going to find Meia and Ben in all of this?
In the darkness, I waited. I crouched, perfectly still, every one of my muscles tensed up, coiled to spring. I imagined myself as a tiger, waiting for its prey. Hungry.
The only thing that would satisfy me, the only water to quench my longing now, was vengeance. I had to kill him, the man responsible for my sister’s death. The man who had kidnapped my son, who intended to sell away his childhood like mine had been sold. The man who thought he owned me. The man who believed he had bought my loyalty, who thought he had bought my soul.
It was my destiny.
He might possess my body, but he would never own me.
He could never possess my heart.
That honor belonged to another man. A man I left behind when I was ripped from the life I’d carefully constructed, the life I had built, brick by brick, from nothing. A man who would not recognize me now, who would not know the monster I had become.
A man I’d never see again.
A man I could never forget.
We crept up the stairs to the second floor and met up with the second team. With a wave of his hand, Eddie sent the second team in motion, up the wide stairs to the third floor.
Axe's voice came across the radio, over our earpieces. "Guys, we have movement on the third floor. I can't make out numbers, but you're going to have company."
We resumed movement up the stairs, reaching the landing. The second team stacked up on the left side of the door, and Eddie stacked us up on the right side. Javi reached out and tested the door handle. It depressed completely, unlocked, and he kept it open, ready for Eddie's signal.
We streamed through the doorway in silence, and found the two remaining guards walking towards us. I didn't see what happened, from my position, but I heard muffled noise and a couple of thuds as bodies fell to the floor.
Eddie paused, dividing the teams again. "Diego and Manny cover left; Javi and Squid to the right. Blaze, Hammer and me will head straight."
I heard Axe's voice over the radio again. "Straight ahead, guys, thirty feet. In the bedroom we're assuming is Aston's. Presume this is the target. He has someone with him, small. A kid. Line of sight is clear. Standing by." He was ready to take the shot.
"Standby, Axe," Eddie said. "We don't want to blow his fucking torso clear off." The armor-piercing rounds Axe had selected, in order to get through the shuttered windows of the compound, made Axe's shot a last resort. We wanted Aston alive.
For the time being.
Eddie gestured, and the team burst forward, entering the room with weapons at the ready.
Aston was expecting us. He stood in the middle of the room, clutching the shirt of a boy, a handgun pressed to the boy's head. "Don't fucking think about it," he said. "Shoot me, and the boy dies."
The boy whimpered quietly, tears streaming down his face. A stain appeared on the front of his shorts.
Blaze stood beside me, both of our weapons drawn on Aston. He spoke calmly. "No one has to die here, Aston," he said. "Is this Ben?"
"Yes," Ben whimpered. "I'm scared."
"I bet you are," Blaze said. "We don't want you, Aston. We just want the kid. It's all we've come for."
Aston smirked. "Then you're going to be disappointed," he said.
"Now," Eddie said, from off to my right.
Before I could blink, Javi had shot Aston in the arm that held the gun, then, in almost a seamless movement, crossed to the other side of the room and pinned him to the ground. Shit, he was good.
Ben didn't move, just stood there, crying. I bent down as I approached him. "Ben," I said, in as gentle a tone as I could muster, "Your mommy sent us. We're here to take you to her."
"My mom's here," he said.
"She is?" I knew she should be, but my heart leapt in my throat, even at the thought. "Do you know what room she's in?"
He shook his head. "I didn't see her. I heard them talking."
"We'll find her," I said. "Don't worry now. You're going to be safe."
I heard Manny yell from one of the other rooms. "She's in here!" Ben's hand in mine, he jogged beside me.
"My mommy's in there?" he asked.