Finally they were released. It was a relief to board the helicopter for their trip back to D.C.
Tony Ormond, the NIO trainer, was there to meet them.
The sound of a cell phone ringing as they loaded their gear into the SUV set them all to searching their pockets. Knowing it wasn’t his by the ringtone, Ty glanced at Buck. Buck shook his head in response. It wasn’t his either.
Everyone reached for their phones to check them.
Niki drew her phone from the pocket by her thigh and looked at the display.
For a moment, she could only stare at it, turning her head just slightly toward Ty, before glancing at Buck. Unregistered number. She flipped it open.
“Tallent.”
“We need to talk.”
At the sound of the voice, Niki went still.
“Victor,” she said, softly, and raised a hand for silence.
She’d almost completely forgotten his previous phone call.
Beside her she felt Ty react to the name, stiffening. As did Buck. Her alarm communicated itself to Mitch, Brad and Andy, who stopped what they were doing and went silent.
Gently, Ty brushed his fingers over her arm in reassurance. She glanced at him, and let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
With a quick look at the others, she switched the cell to speakerphone.
Anger vibrated very subtly in Victor’s voice. Everything about Victor was subtle, controlled.
“Yes,” he said. “We need to talk. You need to come in.”
“No,” she said, shortly, calmly. “We don’t, and I don’t. It’s over, Victor, done. I resigned. There’s no more need for the unit. It’s finished. As soon as the new administration finds out about it, discovers what you’ve done, you know they’ll shut it and you down.”
Now wasn’t the time for Ty to tell her that Byron and the Secretary had already found out and begun to take the steps to shut it down.
“We answer to a higher power and a greater cause,” Victor said, perfectly sanely. “There are those of us who stayed behind to ensure that this great nation of ours would be properly protected and would remain protected, despite what those in the new administration might believe. There’s already an investigation into the unit. It won’t be allowed to continue. It will be stopped for the sake of this country’s security and best interests. You need to come in, Nike, before you find yourself on the wrong side.”
Alarm shot through her as she felt Ty grow more still beside her. Glancing at him, catching the look of alarm in his blue eyes, she froze as Ty gestured to the others to finish packing their gear into the SUV. Quickly.
“What have you done, Victor?” she asked, breathless, her gaze locked on Ty’s. “What are you planning?”
His voice was implacable. “You must come in, Nike. Come in, or be considered the enemy. Don’t think to move against us.”
So it had come to that.
Nike straightened in her seat as she slid into the SUV. “No, Victor, I won’t, and I am.”
There was an abrupt silence on the other end. The signal was ended.
“What’s he talking about?” she asked Ty worriedly.
She could see that she wasn’t the only one concerned, Ty was grim, Buck tight-lipped, even Mitch, Brad and Andy had caught it, by the expressions on their faces. The conversation would have sounded benign enough to anyone who might have been listening, but the undercurrents hadn’t been.
Grimly, Ty said, “Byron started an investigation into the section that trained you.”
Niki went still, thinking of all the implications. Evan. An internal matter. Past tense. The investigation would have been the final straw for Evan, who would have known his career was over. Unless he cooperated, which he would have. Better a deal than nothing.
Victor, the psychologist, would have recognized the signs.
All the breath went out of her as the pieces fell into place, toppling like dominoes in her mind.
“Victor is going after Byron.”
Her eyes went to Ty, to Buck, to Tony watching in the mirror. Behind her, she could almost feel Mitch, Brad, and Andy listening.
“We were a clandestine unit,” she said quietly. “From what I heard, not even the Director of the CIA knew about us. Our funding was concealed in the Agency’s financing. No one was supposed to know. The rumor was that we reported only to the then Vice President. If anyone found out…” There was a moment, a pause. “We had orders to terminate with extreme prejudice.”
Byron.
The truth was there in Niki’s steady gaze, in the flicker of fear for Byron that Ty saw in them. It was a sentiment he shared.
Niki had gone still, her eyes sick, worried. “There’s only one sure way to stop the investigation, to remove the impetus for it. By starting the investigation, Byron declared himself the enemy. If Victor was calling…he feels safe, certain that we can’t stop him. He’s already on the move.”
“Buck, Tony, get on the computer, get us directions to Byron’s house,” Ty said.
“Go, move!”
Everyone piled into the van.
Ty flipped open his cell phone and hit speed dial, putting it on speakerphone. “Byron, it’s Ty. There’s no time for long explanations. Victor Torrance just contacted Niki. He said he’s going to shut down the investigation into his operation. It’s unlikely he’s going to go through channels. We’re on our way. Is there a safe room in your house? If so, you need to find it, immediately.”
“What? How?” Byron demanded.
Ty could hear his consternation on the other end of the line.
“There’s no time. You and Melody need to get to the safest room in your house,” Ty instructed. “Hold tight. We’re on our way.”
Flipping the phone closed, he looked at Niki.
“He’ll send the Unit,” Ty said.
People trained as Niki had been.
Niki returned his look. “More than one. There isn’t much time. He wouldn’t have called if he wasn’t sure…They’re either on their way or moving in now.”
Byron’s house, his home, a grand Federal-style brick home, had been chosen carefully for the neighborhood, the privacy. It was something he’d dreamed of for years. He moved quickly through it, unconcerned about the carefully selected details, the Federal blue decorations, the period furniture he and Melody had so carefully chosen. He set the alarms. It might at least be a warning.
This was the house where they’d raised his sons.
He knew exactly where to find his wife.
His blood chilled to find her in the garden, as he expected, with the last of the brilliant afternoon sunlight pouring over her. She was so exposed. He didn’t want to startle her.
“Melody,” he called, keeping his voice just low enough to carry to her.
Even now, she stunned him.
She was beautiful, her dark hair falling down to her shoulders, gleaming, her skin like coffee with just a touch of cream, glowing against the brilliant yellow sundress. There were touches of gold and green in her eyes he knew, if he looked close enough.
And he did. Often.
If he went out there, with both of them out in the open, vulnerable, if Victor Torrance’s people were already out there they might just start shooting.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Melody put down her tools and went to him.
“By,” she said, “what’s wrong?”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her quickly away from the windows, shutting the French doors and triggering the alarms.
“I’ll explain soon,” he said, turning her toward the interior of the house, letting her see the gun in his hand.
Her eyes widened as he hustled her down the hallway.
So far, there was no sign their home had been breached, but Byron was still cautious.
They’d never installed a panic room. He’d never seen the need for it, should never have seen the need for it, certainly from not from his own people in his own country, after deca
des of devoted service. Fury, heartbreak, and despair warred within him. This wasn’t what he’d fought for, to be murdered in his own home by fanatics.
Only one room would suit, and it would be unexpected, the downstairs bathroom, but it would need modification. They simply had to hold out until Ty and the team…until Ty and Nike Tallent…could reach them. If they did, they might just stand a chance of surviving.
The bathroom was large, the door concealed by wainscoting, only those who’d been in the house knew it was there. It had been fitted with wider doors and handrails for the brief time when his mother had lived here fighting the breast cancer that would in the end kill her.
“Help me,” he said, and Melody grabbed the other end of the decorative oak dresser.
They wedged it against the bathroom door, before settling within the confines of the shower walls to wait. It was the only room in the house with no windows and ample walls to shield them.
Byron began to explain to his wife what was happening.
Horrified, Melody gripped his hands.
Even as Niki finished speaking, Tony unexpectedly slammed on the brakes, jolting all of them forward against their seatbelts. He reached into his jacket as they bounced back.
Buck, typing on the dash-mounted computer, braced himself with one arm on the dashboard and turned to look at Tony in disbelief. The shock of betrayal hit him at the same moment as the bullet from the gun in Tony’s hand. It slammed into his chest, drove him back against the door.
The report of the gun was loud in the confines of the car.
Stunned, Niki cried, “Buck!” even as she saw the gun whip around the seatback toward her.
Releasing her seat belt with one hand, she lunged forward, reaching for the hand with the gun, pushing it up. The gun went off. The bullet punched into the roof of the car. It was a painfully awkward position in the cramped confines of the vehicle, but she held it desperately. Mitch, Brad, and Andy were in the seats behind her, in the line of fire. And Ty…
Ty drew his weapon.
Yanking free, nearly pulling Niki over the console, Tony spun out of the stopped vehicle.
Ty threw himself against Niki, pushed her down to the floor. The others scrambled out of the SUV as Tony pulled another weapon from beside his car seat and opened fire.
It was like a nightmare from Niki’s past, the sound of glass shattering, Ty’s weight on her. They spilled out the side door onto the pavement as more shots rang out.
She and Ty scrambled for cover behind the SUV, drawing their weapons, and then both of them spun, using the vehicle for cover as they started shooting.
It was immediately clear that Tony wore a bulletproof vest beneath his loose t-shirt – as none of them did – and he never stopped moving, using the vehicle for cover. It was also abundantly clear who Tony’s target was as he rolled over the hood of the SUV, trying to put it between him, Mitch, Brad, and Andy…and that target wasn’t just Niki. She saw his eyes track to Ty behind her.
As did Ty.
He was after them both.
She saw Andy come around the end of the vehicle, just his fair head in the darkness, and open fire… As did Tony. Niki stood up, pirouetted away from the SUV and Ty like a ballerina en pointe, with Tony her focus, her spot. It forced him to divide his attention, his targets, as he fired, and kept firing…
Her first shot hit Tony squarely in the chest, but behind the vest it only made him take a step back and stumble a little. Still shooting, Tony was already trying to evade…as she’d intended he would. She just needed to throw him off balance, for his shot to go wild. Giving Ty or the others the chance of a shot at him.
Rolling away from the bullets, Ty focused on the weak spots in Tony’s vest, taking the shot as Tony was forced to fire in two separate directions.
The bullet hit just under the vest. At that angle it exploded upward into Tony’s chest even as Mitch’s shot took him in the shoulder and spun him.
For a moment, they all stood there in the middle of the airport feeder road.
“Buck!” Ty said.
He eased the door open, braced himself to take Buck’s weight as he nearly fell out the door. Ty felt hot wetness against his chest as Niki came to help him ease Buck down onto the road.
Buck’s face was white with pain, his jaw clenched. Blood soaked his shirt as he swore softly, weakly, and eloquently in Spanish.
Alive.
For the moment.
Still, relief swamped Ty. He could see it in Niki’s pale stricken face, too, tears bright in her eyes.
They heard Mitch on the radio, calling for backup and help. “Officers down. Officers down. Need emergency services ASAP…” giving their location.
Officers.
Looking up, Ty counted heads as Brad came around the end of the SUV, his eyes sick and grieving.
One was missing. Ty’s heart clenched.
“Andy?”
He was nowhere to be seen.
Jaw working, Brad nodded.
Ty saw it. The terrible grief in his eyes.
Niki cried out.
“Fuck, no,” Mitch shouted, slamming his helmet down in the middle of the street. “Not here. Not in fucking D.C. He survived fucking Afghanistan and all that other shit to die here?”
He looked at Tony. The traitor.
So did Niki, as tears ran down her face.
Tony, too, was sprawled in the street. Dead.
“He was one of us,” Mitch shouted furiously, pounding on the hood of the SUV as Brad looked on in disbelief. “We trained with him.”
Niki couldn’t tell him it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that she’d thought Tony a friend, as he had.
The Unit had no friends. Not even each other. They never saw each other, never trained or worked with each other as far as she knew. There was only their duty, to the Unit, first and foremost, and then to the country. Nothing else. No questions, no quarrels. They had a nation to protect.
“Byron,” Ty said.
Niki met Ty’s eyes, saw what was in them and nodded.
Turning her gaze to Buck, she laid a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met, in grief and sorrow…and in promise.
Buck’s glance cut to Ty even as his hand came to cover hers. Keep him safe. Niki nodded.
Her eyes rose to meet Ty’s once more.
As much as he hated it, Ty knew what needed to be done. What he had to do.
“Brad,” Ty said, easing Buck down, “keep pressure here. Stay until the cops and EMTs arrive. Mitch, you’ve got the wheel. Let’s go.”
As soon as he reminded them, Mitch went for their gear in the back. He tossed flares behind and ahead of them on the street with a bitter, grieving glance at Andy’s body before pulling out his armor and gear.
He wanted the sons of bitches that had done this.
“They’ll be waiting for us,” Ty said, borrowing Andy’s body armor. Andy wouldn’t need it any longer. Ty’s jaw clenched at the thought.
He looked at Niki.
Niki nodded in acknowledgment as she quickly checked and secured her weapons, stashed extra clips in her pockets.
“This is a rescue mission. Our only objective is to get them out. No more. No less.”
Ty looked at Mitch, at the wheel, then Niki.
There were no more words.
A glance in the rear view mirror showed Brad on one knee in the street with Buck braced against him and the bodies of Andy and Tony to each side as the lights from the flares flickered luridly over them.
Niki closed her eyes, felt Ty’s hand on the back of her neck. She pressed a hand against her eyes and then pulled herself together fiercely.
When her eyes met Ty’s, they were resolute. There was no time for grief. That was for later.
Chapter Thirty Five
The SUV slowed as it came around the corner of the elegant suburban D.C. neighborhood. A door opened briefly. The headlights washed over the neatly manicured municipal landscaping, but it was just enough illumination as Mitch t
hrew the vehicle into gear and gunned it as the door slammed closed. He aimed for the decorative iron gates at the entrance to Byron Hood’s property.
Ty had a vivid memory of a dinner here with Byron and his pretty wife Melody. It had been a pleasant evening. He put it aside to focus on the matter at hand.
With a crash, they hit the gates at speed, Mitch fighting to keep control of the vehicle as it slewed, before slamming his foot down on the gas to send them flying up the drive. Hitting clutch and brake, he turned the wheel to bring them around in a short slide into the front yard that put the bulk of the vehicle between them and anyone outside.
Ty and Mitch piled out of the SUV. Mitch grabbed the ram and sprinted for the shattered front door, as Ty mentally cursed the solar lights that lined the drive and the front garden, illuminating the plants that grew there…as well as him and Mitch.
Gunfire opened up around them.
That brief moment at the corner had been enough. Niki had rolled out of the vehicle onto the grass verge and then kept low, moving fast along the bushes that lined the road, sprinting hard for the brick wall that surrounded Byron’s property. Tall yews softened the harshness of the brick. She leaped for the top of the wall just at the SUV hit the gates, caught it with her fingers, bounced her feet off the wall to get the momentum to cat vault onto the top of it.
That wall had never been intended as anything more than just a decorative barrier. It wasn’t a real obstacle as it was only a little wider than her feet. Perfect for her in her thin shoes, but impossible for anyone wearing standard issue shoes or combat boots.
She raced along it for a few steps, keeping low behind the trees planted on each side. The yard was heavily landscaped, so there was plenty of cover. Both for her, and the members of the Unit…
Tires screeched as Mitch brought the car slewing around, and Ty and Mitch hit the ground running, instantly drawing fire. Ty covered Mitch from behind the car door, and then went after him.
Fear for them lanced through her, lending everything a surreal and crystalline clarity in the darkness. Her only purpose was to keep the door to the house clear.
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