Daron was grateful Cameron had come to the house after dropping Brandi off. They were able to create a plan to rescue Amarion and Reese while taking down the bad guys. They put together the piece of the puzzle he’d been overlooking.
Cameron called her brother Jason to assist simply to ensure they didn’t get someone that had been bought off. The only way to pull this off was to use the Emperor’s Suit. He’d called a meeting with the kings to get some much-needed help but he couldn’t, in good conscience, let all them wear these suits worth billions if the tracker hadn’t been installed. He made those last revisions and tweaks.
He entered the state-of-the-art conference room where coffee, tea, juice, and petite cut sandwiches graced a platter sitting on a wooden credenza. Daron had expected the credenza to be empty since this Castle meeting had not been planned in advance. The Kings were known for their healthy appetites for knowledge, building community, and good food.
“Is this emergency meeting about installing those protective shields?” Dro pulled out one of the navy executive chairs at the semi-circular conference table and dropped into it.
“No.” Daron placed a laptop bag and a small duffle on the table. “I need help breaking into Marquise’s mansion to save two of my young men.” He was frustrated that Marquise was allowed to walk away.
“How do we know it isn’t a setup?” Vikkas placed a steely gaze on Daron. “You did inherit your membership from a criminal.”
Kaleb and Dwayne’s heads snapped up from their devices and their gazes locked on Daron.
“I thought we’d moved past that.”
“Past?” Vikkas shot back.
“Maybe we should talk about the reason you didn’t mention that Kaleb was on property the day Khalil was shot.” Daron glared at Vikkas, challenging him to say something else.
“Whoa, shit just got real,” Jai said, sitting back in his chair.
“Hell, we didn’t know any of that.” Shaz put his elbows on the table and propped his head up on his hands. “I’m all ears.”
“No. We’ll have to deal with that topic another time.” Daron grabbed the laptop bag off the conference table.
He only came to them instead of using his people because he thought they had a vested interest in taking Marquise and Adesh down. He had less than four hours to make this happen or he’d lose his window of opportunity. “I don’t have time for this. We can discuss all that other stuff later. I have two young men to save and a couple of criminals to take down. All I need to know is who is in so I can stop wasting time.”
Jai stood. “I’m in.” But his gaze flickered between Kaleb and Vikkas
Dro, Reno, and Shaz joined Jai. Grant sauntered over to Vikkas as he headed toward the door.
Kaleb looked from Reno to Daron. “I’m sorry man. With everything going on, I can’t afford for things to go wrong.”
Dwayne rose to his feet. “You know I’m an educator. I have a little training from my time at Macro. I haven’t done anything with it since then because that’s not the circle I travel in. Your best option is to get people who are trained for this. Like the police or the FBI.”
“They won’t be the FBI’s focus.” Daron sat his projector on the conference table, scanning the faces of the men who remained.
The four men left The Castle’s conference room, shutting the door behind them.
“We’ll also be attempting to take down Adesh, who was key in bringing The Castle’s security system down.” Daron pulled the devices that compromised the foundation of The Suit and placed them on the table.
“Whoa.” Shaz reared back in his seat. “Why wasn’t he taken in with Terrell?”
“Because his motive doesn’t seem to be money,” Daron answered, “So we don’t have proof he’s involved.”
“He’s been head of security for almost as long as I know about The Castle.” Jai shook his head.
Reno added, “Maybe with the shift in control of The Castle, he felt he had no other choice but to comply.”
Dro typed something into a cell then stated, “Interrogating him could give us a clue on the motive behind the shooting or fill us in on some …” He looked at where Kaleb had been sitting. “Other players.”
Daron was thinking the same thing, that the information would put Dro on the right path to finding the mastermind.
A light knock came at the door and Roc peered in. “Calvin’s here.”
“Send him in,” Daron instructed as he pulled up a 3-D holographic floor plan of Marquise’s mansion, knowing they needed to focus on the current emergency, but by throwing suspicions on Kaleb and Vikkas he’d muddied the waters a little.
“His place has the same state-of-the-art security as The Castle,” Dro explained, moving closer to the image.
“How do we get in?” Jai asked, studying the floor plan, tracing three of the exits with his index fingers.
“If Vikkas had allowed me to continue, he would have realized we’ll be wearing suits, because its reflective and cloaking technology makes us invisible to the naked eye.” Daron noted the disbelief in their eyes.
“Seriously,” Shaz frowned. “How are we getting in? How is that even possible?”
“Walking through the doors.” Daron gathered the items and opened up the laptop so that he could prepare to program the suits for their height and size.
“With those?” Reno collected two bracelets, glasses, and silver discs.
“Yes. You have the choice of wearing a hat.” Daron held a thin, black skull cap out then touched the necklace. “Or this.”
Reno pointed toward the gold-link necklace that matched the bracelets as Calvin entered the conference room.
“Perfect timing. Gentlemen, this is Calvin Atwood, the inventor of the device.” Daron introduced Calvin to each man.
“Nice to meet you all,” Calvin shook each of their hands as he made his way to Daron.
“He’s here to help tailor the devices to you.”
Daron let them choose between hat and necklaces.
Calvin picked up a silver disc. “These are very important. If you have a phone in your pocket and The Suit on, your phone can’t be seen. However, if you take it out without this disc affixed to it, the phone will be seen.”
“We’ll be placing them on anything we might be using while the device is on.” Daron placed one on his tablet. “Let me give you a demonstration.”
He flicked the link on the bracelet on his right wrist and turned on the suit at the same moment the conference doors opened.
“We had a change of heart,” Dwayne announced.
Daron didn’t speak, curious about what the others would say when they realized what happened.
“Where did he go?” Grant asked, scanning the room as Kaleb and Vikkas followed him toward the conference table.
“He standing right in front of you.” Dro chuckled, as he slipped on his bracelet.
Kaleb walked up to the conference table and stared at Marquise’s mansion’s floor plan.
“I thought he didn’t have time to waste.” Vikkas leaned on the wall, eyeing Calvin curiously.
“He was telling us how we’re going to enter the mansion before you returned,” Jai supplied.
“I was just demonstrating The Suit.” Daron turned the device off and the four men’s eyes widened. “As I was saying, this will get us through the doors undetected. The alarm will trigger, but they won’t see anyone.”
“Damn.” Grant blinked twice, holding up the device Shaz handed him for closer inspection. “If I hadn’t seen it for myself …”
* * *
Daron needed all the men to enter the mansion at the same time to trigger the alarm. He had to get in place to record the transaction between Marquise and the recipient of the art and jewelry pieces. The team was dropped off at the edge of the property, just outside of the camera range, in vehicles driven by Steve, Vikkas, and Nicco. Daron signaled to activate the suits. Together they walked up the driveway. One guard was posted outside the door and four circled the grounds. Calvin, Mia, and Cameron were parked across the street monitoring the situation.
“Let me know when you’re in position.” Daron watched as Jai, Grant, Reno, and Kaleb made their way to the front door. He waited until the security team passed and headed to the security entrance.
“We’re here,” Jai announced.
“Same here,” Dro, who was at the back entrance with Shaz, chimed in.
The guard checked his watch as Daron and Dwayne slid behind him.
“Go,” Daron ordered, unlocked the door, then opened and closed it again after Dwayne cleared the threshold. The alarm blared, the man standing at the end of the hall placed a finger to his ear as if he was trying to listen from an earpiece.
A door opened and a man with ash-brown hair and a large belly looked around. “No one has come in or out?”
The blond guy at the end of the hall shrugged.
“It’s unlocked,” he asserted. “You’re sure no one attempted to come out and changed their mind?” The man pulled the waistband up over his gut and stepped in with a hand near his firearm. The blond’s only response was to look at him as though he was crazy. “Alright.”
Daron and Dwayne sidestepped the guard as he searched the small alcove near the door.
“The system must be tripping.” The guard gave a thumbs up to the blond man then returned to his position outside.
“We’re all in,” Dro said.
“We’ll start our sweep,” Shaz chimed in.
“I’ll let you know when the cameras are down.” Daron rushed to the security room, entering a code. It buzzed. Incorrect. He went to the next code. The green light appeared. Daron pushed the door open.
“What the hell?” Four men’s heads snapped toward the door.
“Whoever’s pulling pranks today of all days needs to cut it out,” a man with a barrel chest standing in the center of the room said, before returning his attention to a large flat screen mounted on the wall. “It ain’t funny.”
Daron shot the three men in the chairs with a tranquilizer first, then when he was close enough to catch the remaining one, he took him out. “What did you shoot them with?” Dwayne placed two fingers on one of the men’s neck.
Daron handed Dwayne the gun, then collected the empty shells even though he knew they didn’t contain fingerprints. “Something to put them to sleep while we work.”
A door to the right opened, the security guard’s eyes widened as he stared at his immobilized coworkers. Daron reached for his Beretta. Dwayne lifted the tranquilizer gun and hit the man in the shoulder. Moments later, the man’s body hit the floor.
“Surprised you pulled the trigger.” Daron gave a quick glance at the man writhing on the ground, then held out his fist for a pound.
Dwayne obliged, saying, “Even Jesus turned over a few tables in his days.”
“Point taken.” Daron shifted the guard onto his back so that he’d have feeling in his arm when he woke up. “But we’re going to need to get you the same target practice as Milan,” he said, referring to a shooting incident that occurred with Vikkas’ woman. “That aim was off, bro.”
Dwayne chuckled and rolled the man away from the center station and placed an empty seat in front of the security monitors. Daron stood at the supervisor’s station.
“Okay, system down,” Daron relayed so that all the Kings would know they could cut off The Suit when needed.
With a couple of keystrokes, Daron rerouted the feed to the room where the men were gathered into Jason’s tablet and his own. The only camera recording was the room where Roger and Dr. Oakley were congregated. Why is Roger here? He pulled out the tablet, making sure the feed had come through then checked on Jai, Grant, Dro, Shaz, and Kaleb’s progress.
“You know what you have to do.” Daron left Dwayne monitoring the security team on the outside. He had wanted to take them down first, but Cameron had pointed out that it would definitely alert those monitoring the security. She reminded him that invisible or not, the men were solid mass that couldn’t be “walked” through. Unfortunately, an increased security presence would make it difficult to navigate through the house.
“I’ll let you know if they’re any issues.” Dwayne turned his attention to the screens.
Daron raced out, heading toward the entertainment room wondering where Marquise was as he listened to Dr. Oakley explaining how to administer the drug to keep Reese and Amarion out during transport and how young black boys were now in demand.
“We found Reese but we’ve got a problem,” Kaleb announced.
“What kind of problem?” Daron changed direction, heading for the two men.
“We can’t get to him,” Reno explained.
He hit the hallway where the two security guys were laid out on the floor as Reno and Kaleb peered through the glass window in the door.
Reno twisted the knob. “Look at what happens when we attempt to open the door.”
Daron watched as the back part of the floor lowered, opening as the chair Reese was bound and gagged to tilted back. He turned off his suit, scanning the area looking at the guards.
Kaleb frowned. “We checked them already.”
Reese shook his head as Daron positioned his fingers in the okay symbol before they opened the door slightly to examine the inner panel. “What did you open the door with?”
A small black key-like device was extended. Daron attached it to the inner panel and the floor closed. “I suggest one of you go in and the other make sure this device stays in place.”
“I suggest you don’t step on the floor behind the kid,” Reno stated as he replaced Daron in the threshold, giving Kaleb the task of getting Reese.
Kaleb shot Reno a dirty look as he entered the room.
“Daron, Levi’s here,” Cameron announced. “Coming through the front with one guy. Two more men are waiting outside the door.”
“Dammit. Mia, I need to make sure Dwayne gets to his ride safely.” Daron knew this situation could go sideways at any moment.
“I’m on it,” Mia replied
Daron bolted toward the front, engaging The Suit knowing that there were still guards prowling around. A guard stepped into the hallway scanning the area, which caused Daron to pause until the man moved on. His suit started to flicker as he neared Bobby, Marquise, and Levi, who were arguing in the foyer.
“Calvin,” Daron whispered as he pressed himself against the wall near a large display of statues. “My cloaking isn’t working.”
“Your main battery is low,” Calvin replied. “Turn the activation link in the opposite direction to engage the backup battery.”
Daron did as instructed and the issue stopped. He shifted position so he could see the three men.
“You didn’t think I’d find out about this?” Levi asked.
“What is there to find out?” Marquise glanced down the hallway as if looking for someone. “I made the deal with the judge like you demanded.”
“I didn’t ask you to sell the one boy who saw me eliminate a mutual enemy to the judge,” Levi fired back, pulling out a Glock.
“What do you think happens when you take over shit that ain’t yours?” Marquise launched his thin body at Levi, surprising the two men.
Daron stood shocked as Marquise took Levi to the ground and choked him.
Bobby snatched Marquise off the larger man.
Levi hopped up and grabbed his gun off the floor.
“We’ll see.” Levi put a bullet in Marquise’s leg and stuck the muzzle of his gun in the wound. Marquise let out a string of obscenities as his face contoured with the pain. “I’ll be handling the transaction. Keep him in the living room. If Roger has a different tale to tell you’re a dead man.”
“Do we need to send one your way?” Mia asked.
“No,” Daron replied as Bobby opened the door, letting two men in.
“Now show these two gentlemen where Amarion is or I will end you here.” Levi pressed the gun against Marquise’s forehead.
Levi’s men grabbed Marquise as three guards ran into the foyer.
“We’re fine,” Levi said to the guards, who looked uncertain about walking away until Marquise nodded. They cautiously left the area as Marquise was escorted down the hallway, dragging one bloody leg.
Bobby and Levi headed to the back room.
“Guys, we’re running out of time.” Daron cursed, debating between following Levi or Marquise, then said, “Did you find Amarion?”
Once Levi made the payment, then the FBI would be coming through the door. No time to extract Amarion and get him to safety.
“One last area to check,” Dro replied.
Jai’s voice came through. “He’s not in our area.”
Daron checked his tablet to see Dro and Shaz still in the area Marquise was going. “Dro. Shaz. Trouble’s headed your way.” He followed Levi and prayed they would get to Amarion first.
Dr. Oakley and Roger, who sat on opposite ends of a long maroon couch, exchanged concerned looks as Levi entered the room.
“Where’s Marquise and my money?” Dr. Oakley’s eyes dropped to the gun in Levi’s hand.
Levi replied, “I’ll be handling things. The payment will be made soon.”
An angry voice caught Daron’s attention. “This isn’t about money for me, I did it because Khalil lost his way and turned his back on The Castle and his—”
Daron slid into the bay across from the entertainment room that gave him a clear view of the meeting and Adesh, without blocking the entrance.
“Is that what you were told, you old fool?” Levi was laughing so hard, tears were sure to come. “Whoa, so gullible, no wonder I was told to recruit you.”
Adesh’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open. Clearly, he believed the lies.
“We found him,” Shaz announced.
Daron watched as Adesh stormed out. “Jai and Grant, do you think you can detain Adesh until the FBI arrives?”
“We’re on it,” Grant replied.
Daron tapped the display screen of the tablet. Three men entered through the back, heading toward the entertainment room, passing Adesh along the way. Adesh stopped in his tracks as a table suddenly moved in his path. The older man dodged a cabinet door that kept opening and closing. Adesh raced to the door, struggling with the knob.
Daron refocused his attention on the entertainment room. Jai and Grant had the situation handled.
“You have them?” the newcomer asked, as the two henchmen stood behind him.
“Yes,” Levi replied, then made a call. “Bring them in.”
“Guys it’s time to clear out,” Daron announced.
He thought about Cameron’s idea to cloak a vehicle and wished Calvin had made that a reality. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be worried about them exiting the property. Only one vehicle would remain nearby and that one was Vikkas’.
“Adesh’s tires are flat,” Jai explained, with the humming of an engine in the background. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Daron moved further into the room to get a better look at the stranger, expecting to see someone else.
Roger stood as two men came in, one holding small briefcases and the other a poster tube by its strap and a small silver box.
“The Castle newbies won’t be ready to take us on. We should keep hitting them where it hurts. Their personal lives” Levi took possession of the poster and silver box. “That’s where they’re most vulnerable.”
The bald man with a trimmed beard seized the items, handing the box back while he examined the painting, then peeked into the silver box. “Once I get the document, I’ll make sure there are no problems.”
“Thanks, Judge.” Levi extended a leather briefcase to Dr. Oakley, who quickly exited the room. “The injunction will stop their meddling right in its tracks.”
Roger secured the other briefcase, along with the poster tube and silver box. “I’ll transport them safely to your Phoenix property along with the boys.”
“Speaking of the boys,” Levi said.
“It’s a setup,” Dr. Oakley yelled in the distance.
The FBI had arrived.
The judge slowly inched out of the room. The judge’s men whipped out their weapons. A bullet hit Roger in the shoulder as he bolted toward the door. He dropped everything in his hands. Bobby was hit twice and his body slammed against the floor. He dragged himself behind the couch. Levi returned fire, then sprinted down the hallway which led him straight into a group of agents.
The FBI entered, neutralizing the situation as Daron raced after Roger. “Vikkas, I’m coming your way and fast.”
An engine roared to life. “I’m ready.”
The older man was in better shape than he thought because Roger was on the front porch by the time Daron reached the foyer.
“Ugh.”
Daron turned to see where the sound came from. Cameron had knocked an agent to the ground as he was about to take a shot at Roger. Only Daron would have taken the bullet since he had the cloaking engaged and was standing between the agent and Roger.
“Go,” Cameron yelled, as Roger bolted down the stairs to a yellow Ferrari.
Daron sprinted around the truck and hopped in the passenger seat, noticing that the guards had been neutralized. He assumed courtesy of Cameron. Vikkas shot off after the Ferrari, his tires eating up the pavement.
“If this is supposed to be a high-speed chase, you know we’re going to lose.” Vikkas’ hands were steady on the steering wheel as The Suburban sped down the driveway.
“He’s probably trying to get to a doctor or hospital.” At least that’s what Daron hoped. A yellow sports car shouldn’t be hard to track.
Roger paused, then pulled into the street.
Daron pulled out his phone to send a text to Mia. A loud boom and metal crushing snapped Daron’s head toward the sound. The yellow vehicle became a blur. An eighteen-wheeler had hit the side and was pushing the Ferrari out of sight.
Vikkas hit the brakes and turned to Daron. “He’s definitely going to the hospital.”