Covert Game (GhostWalkers #14)

Camera’s already disrupted, Rubin reported. Starting electricity glitches.

Draden moved to the keypad and lock. He had the door unlocked, and Gino moved to the front of the line. He “felt” for the energy behind the door and looked briefly beyond it, his eyes burning as he did so. Guard on the lower stairs to the top-floor corridor.

They moved in silence, careful of the slightest sound on the narrow, metal stairway. One sound would blow everything before they were even close. If they took out a guard and he had to report in, that would alert security that something was wrong. If they didn’t take him out then he would be between them and their escape route.

Take him out. Ezekiel made the decision.

Diego slid past Gino, his feet whispering on the stairs. Rubin covered the sound. He moved around the corner and in one motion, shot the guard with a tranquilizer dart. Rubin caught him and dragged him into the stairwell out of sight of anyone walking by.

Gino scanned the hallway. All clear.

Ezekiel nodded. Draden and I are taking left. You, Rubin and Diego have the right side. Move fast. We’ve got to find her and get her out in record time. When she’s found, we’ll converge on her location, and head back to the top as a unit. Questions?

They shook their heads and Ezekiel signaled them to move out. Draden took the lead, Ezekiel on his six. Like Gino, Draden could sense the energy of an enemy. He would know when someone was behind a door. That was no guarantee. Gino had more than once missed someone while training. It could happen, and his brothers’ lives depended on him not making a mistake.

Knowing Zara was held somewhere on this floor made their task easier, but not knowing how many guards or their locations was extremely difficult. They were playing a very expensive game of roulette, one that could cost everyone their lives. Every step, every doorway was a new spin of the wheel and they would have to play it all the way down the long corridor and back up again. Gino just hoped they were on a hot streak tonight.

When they had to take a guard down, they knew they risked being heard or seen. Each time they had to do it increased the chances of them being discovered. If a radio call was not answered, they knew someone would come looking. The best thing to do was not to touch anyone. In and out like ghosts. The problem was that was easier said than done. In the end, in spite of all enhancements, they were still human beings with limitations. This floor, and the surrounding area where they were keeping Zara prisoner, was bound to be more heavily guarded.

Anything, Zeke? Gino asked.

They were going door by door down that unexpectedly long hall. So far it was very quiet. Too quiet. They still had to worry about an ambush. Whitney very well could have set them up. What his reasoning could be, none of them knew, but it was such an unusual situation, him asking for help from the GhostWalkers after all the shit he’d pulled on them, none of them were feeling particularly confident in his motives.

We’re stuck about twenty feet from where we split. There’s a guard standing here talking to someone over his radio. Sounds like he’s giving a goddamned dissertation to someone on the other end. We can’t proceed because if we tranq him, whoever is on the other end of that call will know something’s wrong.

Gino found himself cursing under his breath. The knots in his stomach were pulling tighter. The woman needed them to find her now. Something was off. Not enough guards. Had they moved her? Where the hell were the guards? One in the stairwell and one a few feet down the hallway didn’t make sense.

The floor was essentially planned in a circle with the elevator being at the twelve o’clock position. The middle consisted of a long solid wall dividing the two corridors. It was an odd floor plan, but one Cheng seemed to favor. A gun could be shot down that long straight corridor easily, so maybe it was all about defense. Or offense.

Zeke, can you screw with the battery to drain it so they have to go and replace it?

Shit. I should have thought of that. Thanks, Gino.

There was a small silence while Gino waited, counting his own heartbeats.

Yes, it worked, he’s leaving.

Gino, Rubin and Diego inched their way another few feet until they came to another door. This one housed a few men. Three? Four? Gino wasn’t certain, the energy was blending together, but he felt them. He held up his fist and then indicated the room was occupied. He was feeling something else. Smelling something else.

He was a hunter, just like the others, enhanced with cat DNA, and his sense of smell was very acute. This was metallic. A coppery scent. Blood. His heart sank. He hoped to hell it wasn’t Zara’s blood he was smelling. It was possible this was Zhu’s private torture chamber. He wanted to believe that some other poor son of a bitch was on the receiving end of Zhu’s brand of torture that he’d read about. The man rivaled every war criminal known to the world.

Gino couldn’t make himself believe the blood belonged to anyone but Zara. His Zara. So, yeah, he wasn’t as fucking detached as he should have been. Putting a bullet in her head wasn’t going to work for him. If she was operating for Whitney, helping him set up an ambush for the GhostWalkers, no doubt she’d been emotionally blackmailed into it or brainwashed. Whatever the reason she was there, they had to get her out. He had to get her out.

He didn’t stop to think why he was so drawn to her when he hadn’t even laid eyes on her. If he looked at that too closely, he knew he’d be in trouble. He didn’t want to know the reason. He didn’t even care. He was taking this thing one step at a time, and the first step was locking himself down with discipline. He couldn’t yank open the door to the room where he was certain five guards were inside playing cards, instead of working as they should be, and spray them with hundreds of bullets until their bodies were riddled with holes like he wanted to do.

I found the guards playin’ cards in a room here, Zeke. What the fuck? I thought they were all terrified of Cheng. Why are they so sure they won’t get caught? Gino posed the question to Ezekiel.

Could be they know they’re safe for the moment. There was speculation in Ezekiel’s voice. Find her fast, Gino.

He didn’t need to be told twice. The laid-back guards could be a setup. He moved around the room with Diego and Rubin. Heading quickly down the hall, he kept his hand lifted, palm hovering toward each door they passed in order to feel the energy. Movement caught his eye and he dropped low, signaling Diego and Rubin.

Guard ahead. Two doors, standing just inside the alcove. The scent of a cigarette drifted to him. What the hell? These men weren’t on high alert. They didn’t appear to be expecting trouble at all. It occurred to him, Cheng didn’t believe anyone would try to come for her. Or maybe she hadn’t broken. Maybe he didn’t know yet that she was the one to wipe his computers clean.

Diego inched into position, slithering along the hallway, moving fast, using toes and elbows to propel himself forward, his tranq gun already aimed and in position to fire. He was so accurate, Gino would have bet he could shoot the wings off a fucking fly. Rubin set himself for a burst of speed as Diego released the dart. It hit the side of the guard’s neck, the needle delivering straight into the carotid artery, so the drug would take him fast. Rubin leapt to catch the guard and his weapon, dragged him into the deeper shadow of the alcove and positioned him in a chair that was against the wall.