“Yeah, but don’t throw it open. Just open it normal-like.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean, ‘normal-like?’” Mannie asked, his voice sounding slightly panicky.
“You know, don’t throw it open like they do in the movies and shit. Just…open it.” The movie always got shit like that wrong. The last thing you wanted to do was announce your presence in a big, bad way.
Kade stepped back from under the platform and watched as Mannie approached the door. Liz was on her feet now and she tugged at his arm, saying something Kade couldn’t hear. Mannie patted her hand, then gently set her aside and went for the door. It swung open easily. Kade held his breath.
Nothing happened.
Mannie let out a huge gasp that Kade silently echoed, then said, “It looks like an exit. I can see a window and the streetlamps outside.”
“Then get out of here,” Kade said roughly. “Take the girl with you and get somewhere safe.”
Mannie glanced back down at Kade. “I don’t want to leave you alone,” he said. “What if you need help?”
“Please,” Kade scoffed. “I let you find that tripwire.” Not particularly the case, but no sense arguing semantics. “Now go.”
He didn’t wait to see if Mannie would listen. He’d spotted what looked like a carefully hidden exit underneath the platform in the opposite corner from where Mannie had found his. Kade didn’t know where it led and didn’t care. He just had to get out of this paintball playground. It was creepy as fuck.
And Blane was still out there.
Chapter Ten
Blane was about ready to tear this shithole apart. They’d searched everywhere and were no closer to finding his brother than they had been earlier.
“Hey, look at this.” It was Terrance and he was gazing through a doorway. “This place must have a basement we missed.”
“How the hell did we miss an entire floor?” Blane asked, coming up to him. The stairway led down and wasn’t lit.
“We didn’t miss it. We just found it,”
Blane didn’t reply. He knew he was being a dick, he just couldn’t bring himself to care right now. Worry for Kade superseded everything else. It was only because of his training that he was able to keep it compartmentalized and from turning into total panic.
“I’ll go first,” he said. His Glock at the ready, he started down the narrow staircase. Terrance followed a couple of steps behind.
At the bottom of the stairs stood another door. Blane paused, taking a breath before reaching for the knob. But before he could turn it, the door opened.
There was a split second where his finger tightened on the trigger before his brain processed who stood in front of him and ordered his muscles to stop.
Kade stood there, his weapon a mirror of Blane’s.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Blane spit out, his relief nearly palpable, which meant now he was just pissed off. “You were supposed to get to the top and help me.”
“I tried,” Kade said, lowering his weapon. “This place is like a fucking funhouse, minus the fun. Did you get Brandy?”
“Yeah, she’s fine,” Blane replied. “Liz?”
“Ditto.”
“Then let’s get the fuck out of here.”
They headed for the front door, Terrance trailing them, and had just reached it when all the lights suddenly came on.
“Leaving so soon?”
They turned to see Péng standing about twenty yards away, flanked by two men pointing AR-15s at them.
“It was entertaining, to say the least, watching you play the American cowboys and rescue the damsels in distress. But I’m afraid we still have our problem. I want that device.”
“Our deal was that the girls were to be untouched,” Kade replied. “You broke the deal.”
“A few bruises don’t matter,” Péng shrugged. “Now give me the device or I’m going to have my men shoot your companions. Which one shall they kill first? The black one?”
The rifles aimed at Terrance who stood on Kade’s right.
“Or perhaps…your brother.” The rifles swung to Blane on Kade’s left. “Oh yes,” Péng continued, “I know you have a brother. A quite well-known man, politics in his blood, now an attorney of wide repute. I would imagine the discovery of such a close relation as you would captivate the media’s attention. Especially when they realize you’re a black hat and assassin.”
“What the fuck is a black hat?” Blane asked Kade in an undertone.
“A hacker with malicious intent,” Terrance replied.
Blane looked at Kade. “Really? What have I told you—”
“Not malicious,” Kade interrupted. “Just not…benevolent. That’s all.”
“Really? We’re arguing semantics now?” Blane retorted. “If the FBI finds out that you’ve been doing this shit—”
“They’re not going to find out.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know—”
“Dudes!” Terrance interrupted, looking at them as though they were insane. “We got two rifles pointed at us. Can we do the family intervention later?”