by Cara Carnes
“We’ve got movement beneath the compound headed toward the eastern grid. Twelve bodies,” Cord said. “Confirmed Red zone target.”
“Team Three, you’re clear for entry into the first sub level. Confirmed presence of eight bodies, three armed,” Edge said. “Let the drones enter first. We have potential structural integrity issues based on crawler surveillance.”
Another click sounded on the com.
Addy’s pulse quickened as her team shifted to their knees and double-checked their weapons. Maksim did the same and motioned for the team with him to prepare as well. Kristof’s gaze locked with hers as Edge’s voice returned in the com once again.
“Teams Four and Red will make entry together. Standby.”
Kostya Sidorav was making his way to Olaf. Would they be in time to save Kristof’s cousin? Addy’s body hummed with the need to make entry, but she trusted Operations. They had a full visual of the zone and would determine when it was time to strike.
Blue light exploded from the helo and blasted into buildings. An explosion sounded from the southern area nearest the center.
“Looks like my new toy found an unexpected fuel cache,” Lexi said. “I do like these new toys, Bree. You and I are going to get along very well.”
“That one recharges within two minutes after the first three blasts,” Bree said in the com. “I can control it from here if needed.”
“Good to know, but I think I’ve got it under control,” the calm voice sounded on the com as another concussive blast of weapons fired down on the central area. “Heat signatures indicate a few stragglers within the buildings not in my strike radius.”
“Understood. Teams One and Two. Status?” Jesse asked.
“Targets neutralized,” Gage said. “Teams One and Two have the package. Minimal injuries. We’re en route to exfil.”
“Roger. One taxi en route,” Lexi said.
“Orange and Green are clear for entry,” Edge said. “Terminate the squirters marked on your headsets.”
Two clicks sounded on the com. Addy was impressed that Kristof’s men had adapted quickly to The Arsenal’s gear. Her pulse quickened as the next order sounded in the com.
“Teams Four and Red, you’re clear for entry.”
“Targets neutralized. Team Three assessing packages,” Nolan said. “Minor injuries.”
Addy dispatched the drones and signaled for her team to move out. Kristof’s men fanned out within hers as they wound their way through the thicket of trees and made their way to the entry point.
Thunder and Cracker blasted the metal covering. Drones whizzed into the narrow stairwell leading down into the catacombs. Gunfire sounded as three men fired on the drones.
“Oh, hell no,” Zoey said. “These assholes are mine.”
Beast held up his hand in a halt order. Everyone waited as the drones took out the three targets near the entry. Moments later the teams entered the catacombs. Drone lights cast long beams of white light into the otherwise darkened interior. The devices fanned out at the first cross-section. Indicator lights on Addy’s headset ordered everyone right.
Gunfire sounded on the com as Marshall spoke. “We’re taking fire from a secondary wave. They exited via the ground a quarter click from our exfil zone. Heavily armed.”
The com went silent in Addy’s ear. Damn Edge. She never let the other teams hear problems that didn’t directly impact them.
Gunfire erupted from around the curve up ahead. Addy took position across from Beast as images from the surveillance drones they’d dispatched filled their headsets. Angered shouting echoed within the area as the four remaining guards looked down at their eight dead comrades.
Addy gave orders to her team and motioned to move in three. They’d lathered, rinsed, and repeated moments like this a thousand times between practice drills and real-life scenarios. Calm filled her brain as numbness seeped in.
Now that they’d had first contact with the assholes in their section of the compound, there’d be more. Likely a lot more.
She angled downward and tucked against the wall as they turned the curve and shot. Their shots struck only two of the four combatants returning fire before they crumbled to the ground. Gun aimed at the downed men, she navigated her way past the first wave of enemies. The drones never missed and the compound in them dispensed death within seconds.
She and Beast bypassed the four men her team had shot. Shep or Thunder would ensure they were dead while Cracker refilled the empty drone. The other two drones remained ahead of Addy and Beast as they continued down the corridor.
Bursts of bright red within the headset’s viewscreen froze Addy when she reached a sharp corner turn in the corridor. She and Beast both crouched. She flashed the signal for enemy up ahead for those without headgear. Only two of Kristof’s men didn’t have The Arsenal’s fancy visual display. The Masons never cut corners when it came to having backup equipment at the ready.
Shouted voices up ahead drifted through the narrow corridor.
“Go find out what the fuck is going on down there!” The barked order in English surprised Addy. “Take these Russian bastards with you. Make them clear the area. I swear we don’t get paid enough to deal with this bullshit. What the fuck is going on?”
“You know what the hell happened. Sidorav pissed someone off. You saw how freaked he was when he plowed through here with his men.”
“Get down to that corridor. I’ve got to haul ass through this damned maze to provide support for those missiles.” The voice raised. “Teams four through eight, you’re with me. Move out.”
“Christ,” Edge snapped on the com. “There’s bound to be an underground bunker in that area that the crawlers didn’t find. Cord, get those Mandrake drones we commandeered deeper into those tunnels. I want eyes on every inch of that area.”
“I’m sending backup drones through the tunnel from the central area, but we need most of them on Marshall and Gage,” Zoey said.
“Focus on them. Cord and I have this,” Mary said.
Addy tightened as Zoey’s fear crawled through the com. Unlike Mary and Vi, Zoey didn’t hesitate on letting her emotions run unchecked during an op. Sure, she kept a level head and got shit done, but she didn’t hide her reactions most of the time.
A larger black drone swept through the corridor and passed Addy. Images filled her view screen as a large group of men exited an opening in the dirt wall up ahead.
“There’s a large chamber carved out. The material lining the walls of the area looks similar to what they used for those Cuba detention areas we sprung our teams from,” Mary said. “We can do an initial clear with the drones, but that’d leave you exposed for a few minutes after you dispense the rest. It’ll take a while to get reloaded.”
No choice. Need to clear STAT.
Addy typed in the response. If they didn’t clear this clog now, they likely wouldn’t get to Olaf in time.
“Understood. Interception incoming.” The drones around Addy and her team flew forward. Gunfire sounded, along with grunts and agitated shouting.
Her pulse quickened as she and her team surged forward. Beast and Thunder took lead positions as they stepped out from the corner in the tunnel and sprayed the area before them with their automatic weapons. Dirt and rock crumbled around them.
Addy charged forward but kept herself pressed against the left wall. Shep took position along the right wall. Johnny whistled. The shrill pitch rose above the melee. Beast and Thunder crouched against the wall as the team’s sniper took over.
Addy and Shep helped Beast and Thunder provide cover fire from their crouched positions. They alternated popping out from their corners and firing at the marked bodies in their headsets.
But Johnny never missed a target. They fell in quick succession, one bullet each.
The battle was far from over, however. Movement sounded from the offshoot corridor to their left. Addy tightened, but Maksim’s voice sounded softly behind her.
“Go. Provide cover so
we can move on,” he said.
Kristof’s team surged forward and took a protective position alongside each corner leading into the tunnel corridor. Addy nodded her approval and she and her team, along with Maksim and Kristof, continued forward.
To Olaf.
To Kostya.
To the end of this freaking nightmare.
The black drone moved ahead of them, sweeping the area without restraint. Any enemy who saw it would assume it was an ally. Or so Addy hoped. Four shapes appeared in the heat signatures indicator. Gunfire sounded from behind her.
Kristof’s team was taking fire.
Damn.
The four shapes ahead came closer. So much for the element of surprise.
“Go,” Beast ordered. “We’ll handle them.”
We. Her team had divided themselves into groups of three enough times for her to know Beast’s we meant him, Thunder, and Cracker. The three took primary position against the four combatants. Addy, Shep, Johnny, Maksim, and Kristof surged forward and to the side as the firefight shifted from the now dead enemy near them to a surge of gunfire from their previous location.
Kristof’s team needed backup.
Addy trusted the other half of her team to help as she and Shep took primary positions and continued forward. Her breath quickened as they quickened their progression and entered another tunnel. Voices echoed from ahead of them. Wall sconces along the area offered the same low-level lighting as the previous corridors, but bright light reflected from up ahead.
Anticipation quickened her pulse as their two zinger drones surged forward. Unlike the drug-filled ones they’d used before, these would zap targets with a taser-like charge. The drones struck four targets toward the back of a cluster of soldiers huddled outside of the well-lit room. Addy focused on the two leftmost targets, while Shep took out the two rightmost. Which left Johnny, Maksim, and Kristof with those in the middle.
Kristof fell into step alongside Addy as she continued forward and entered the room.
Addy froze and assessed the situation. Kostya Sidorav pressed a blade against a man’s throat. Red filled his face as he gripped his captive’s hair and drew his head farther back.
Olaf.
Kristof shifted his stance and took a step forward so he was half-covering Addy. “Let him go.”
19
Blood trickled from a cut along Olaf’s throat. His cousin’s wide gaze slid from Addy to Kristof. His emaciated frame trembled.
“Let him go,” Kristof repeated.
“You’d betray me!” Kristof’s father thundered the words. Red rose in his face as a menacing smile formed.
No. This man was no father. He was an evil, sadistic bastard who deserved a slow, painful death. He wasn’t the papa he’d once been. He was Kostya Sidorav, leader of the Sidorav syndicate. Yet he was no leader either.
“You betrayed me long ago,” Kristof said. “When you slaughtered Mama and Uncle Kir.”
“That whore deserved what she got.” Kostya sneered as he forced Olaf’s head back and peered into his eyes. “So did your papa.”
Olaf’s lips thinned.
“What? You have something to say?” Kostya laughed. “Go ahead. Try. I wish he could see you now, see how dumb and worthless you’ve become.”
Anger rolled through Kristof, but he couldn’t risk firing because the bastard kept the knife pressed against Olaf’s jugular. “It’s over. Your men are all dead.”
“No, they aren’t. You think this is the limit of my power?” Kostya laughed. “You always were stupid, just like your mama. The whore.”
A group of men entered from a back room behind Kostya. Weapons raised, they clustered around their leader. Two wore different outfits, black with a green logo of some sort.
“Two Mandrake and three others in play,” Jesse said. “Get a drone into that back area. Is there another way into that room?”
Addy cursed beside him. Her stance shifted.
“What?” Edge asked on the com. “Your pulse just skyrocketed. What are you seeing?”
Addy’s gaze shifted, settling on the two Mandrake operatives standing at the far back. Both had weapons trained on her.
“Fuck,” Jesse said in the com.
“Spade is not Arsenal. Do not hesitate to take the bastard down,” Edge said.
Which was Spade? Kristof kept his attention on his father but realized the situation had somehow shifted. Who was Spade?
Wait. He remembered someone from Fallon’s team leaving The Arsenal after the Cuba incident. It’d been mentioned briefly in a couple of the meetings they’d held when they’d first arrived in Russia.
“Confirm for me,” Edge ordered.
Addy expended a breath heavy enough for Kristof to hear from where he stood. “Confirmed.”
“Confirmed,” Shep replied.
“Confirmed,” Johnny said.
Kostya’s eyes widened. He looked at the three operatives, then back at the two men they were focused on. “What is this? Who are they, Kristof? Who have you crawled into bed with like the whore you are?”
“They’re Arsenal,” one of the two men said as he took a step closer and aimed his weapon at Addy. “Hello, Addy. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Spade.” She spat the word. “Stand down. This is your only warning.”
“Afraid I can’t do that.” Amusement glimmered in his gaze as he looked over at Kostya. “Fine mess you’re standing in. This bastard is downright crazy, almost more than me.”
“Enough!” Kostya thundered. “Kill them. Leave my son to me. He will watch his cousin die, then I will give him what he deserves.”
“So, you’re the bastard he’s been ranting about,” Spade said. He chuckled. “I’ve got to know. How are you still breathing? My boss back there thinks I missed my shot. But I don’t ever miss.”
“You shot him,” Addy said, her voice low.
“It was a test.” Spade shrugged. “Our new client here wanted his trouble gone. Looks like I’ve got a second chance to earn that payday. After you tell me how you’re still breathing.”
“Vest,” Kristof said. “That and Iriana shoving me out of the way just enough.”
“Iriana, huh?” Spade smirked. “Love the blonde, sweetheart. I’ve heard they have more fun.”
“Shut up,” Shep growled.
“Kill them,” the other Mandrake operative said. “He gave you an order.”
“Yeah, like that’s the smart play.” Spade shook his head as Kostya’s men stepped closer to Shep, Johnny, and Maksim. Each move took them farther from Olaf, which was likely what the men had wanted. “A dead Arsenal operative does nothing but put you in the crosshairs of the others. How many are here, Iriana?”
“How would I know?” Addy responded.
“More than you’re capable of taking on,” Shep said.
“Kill them!” Kostya ordered. “Put down your weapons or Olaf dies!”
A standoff. Kristof knew none of the men around Kostya were prepared to make the first move. Unease quickened the three non-Mandrake soldiers’ moves as they rapidly moved their weapons from Shep to Johnny to Maksim. None of the Arsenal moved. They each had a target locked on someone, just as he was trained on Kostya.
“Let him go,” Kristof said. “You aren’t making it out of this room. It’s over.”
“You have no idea what power I wield!” Kostya shouted.
“Power without money means nothing,” Addy said. “You’re broke. Soon to be dead broke. Let him go.”
“You’re Iriana. Ivan mentioned you, said you were a problem. I see he was right.” Kostya looked back at the second Mandrake operative. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have had him killed.”
“It was necessary. He knew too much,” the man said.
About what?
“We need that Mandrake bastard with Spade breathing,” Edge said. “Prepare for attack. We have two drones incoming from the back room. Cord found a secondary entry.”
Kristof tensed.
As much as he
wanted to take the kill shot that would end the decades long nightmare, he wanted Olaf, Addy, and her team to walk away unharmed. He’d do whatever it took to ensure that.
“Ivan was an idiot,” Kristof said. “He was too stupid to see anything.”
“You betrayed me beneath his nose,” Kostya said. “Dima saw. He told me about your network. What you’ve done through the years. You’re why I had to…”
“Shut up!” The second Mandrake took a step toward Kostya and aimed his weapon at him. “Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll kill you myself.”
“You wouldn’t dare. You need me,” Kostya argued.
“We needed your compound and your firepower. Now that they’re here, you’re a liability.”
“You’ll never get everything out of the country without me.”
“Everything. There’s more than those three missiles in play,” Edge said. “Cord, get the extra zingers scouring the catacombs. There’s another payload here somewhere. We need to find it.”
“You crawled into bed with them to stem the bleeding,” Kristof said. “That was a stupid move, Father.”
“You left me no choice. I should’ve killed you that night, left you in the same hole as your mama and uncle. May they rot in hell.”
“Where are the rest of the weapons?” Addy asked.
“You’ll never find them,” the Mandrake replied with a laugh. “You can’t stop us.”
Under house.
Under house.
Olaf flashed the two words on repeat. Eyes wide, he stared at Kristof.
“What is he signing?” Jesse asked. “Get me a visual from the nearest drone so I can see his hands.”
“HERA is translating,” Cord said. “Under house.”
Kristof expended the breath he hadn’t realized he held as Edge and Jesse barked orders into the com. Clicks sounded on the com as Nolan’s team headed to the new target position.
“We have a solution mapped,” Edge said. “Kristof, you need to take Kostya out first. Nod if you can. Otherwise Johnny will take the shot.”
