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Wednesday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Seattle, Washington.
Finley ground his teeth together and took a deep, calming breath. The whole room smelled like cinnamon and apples, Christmas. Which just made him think about earlier and ruined all attempts at making him calm.
“You don’t actually think I’m leaving you alone here, do you?” He kept his voice from being completely raw. Somehow.
Merida drew herself up straight. “This isn’t your problem.”
“It is now,” he snarled.
She took a step toward him, her hands on his chest. “Finley.”
“Do you honestly think I’d leave you?” The idea pissed him off.
Her mouth twisted up. “No. I want you to though.”
“Too bad.” His relief was short-lived. “We need to know what we’re up against.”
He crossed to the security monitors and punched the buttons.
Nothing happened.
“Lights aren’t coming on either,” she said softly.
He turned to face her and gestured at the single light overhead. “But this one is?”
“Main power must be cut. Security lighting would be on back-up power. I think.” Her face scrunched up. “Then why are all the decorations on? What kind of fucked up electrical shit is going on now?”
“Any chance your building landlord and ours is the same?”
“God, no.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“Everything we need is going to be down,” she said without any hesitation. “My floors will have gone into lockdown. They can only be opened from the inside.”
He grimaced. “Or with an appropriate application of explosives.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” She sighed. “I’m guessing these guys didn’t know about the lock-down. It’s a fairly recent upgrade, and would explain why it’s taking them so long.”
“That gives us time to come up with a counter-plan,” Finley said slowly and turned his attention on their two captives. “We still need more information. Let’s empty their pockets. You go through their stuff and I’ll see if I can’t get one of them to talk.”
Finley crossed the small room and began emptying the two men’s pockets. Both weren’t quite awake, which suited him just fine. They hadn’t bound either man’s ankles and this close a trained soldier could be just as deadly with their legs.
He unzipped the jumpsuits and found both men wearing Kevlar and body armor underneath. They had a few more things strapped to them, which Finley relieved them of and passed to Merida.
Satisfied they’d gleaned all they could off the bodies, stripped them of what he thought might be useful and secured both men’s ankles to each other. He studied both faces.
They had olive complexions and dark hair. One sported a short beard. Neither wore anything to make him think religious affiliation. There were no patches, no flags. He had a couple guesses about where they came from, and he didn’t like any of them.
Now, which one did he try to wake up first?
The one Merida had knocked out was still completely unconscious. Those candy canes were much heavier than they looked. The other guy’s head bobbed as he struggled with consciousness.
Both would have some pretty gnarly concussions.
“Hey.” Finley patted the second man’s cheek hard enough to make a popping sound. “I want some answers.”
The man’s head lolled to the side before he jerked it up and glared at Finley. The guy’s gaze was unsteady.
“You killed a friend of mine.” Finley lowered his face, so they were eye to eye. He’d never met Sai, but that didn’t matter right now. Interrogation had its own rules. “You get one chance. Tell me what I want to know or I start taking your friend’s fingers.”
A sharp gasp from Merida had Finley grinding his teeth. She had to know this situation called for drastic measures.
“Go...fuck...yourself,” the man said in heavily accented English.
“Wrong answer.”
“Finley,” Merida said sharply.
“What?” He didn’t glance up.
“Finley.”
This was not a good show of strength.
He reluctantly got up and turned to face Merida.
In the low light of the security office her skin was paler. She wasn’t looking at him or the two captives. She was looking at something she’d taken from the pile of pocket stuff.
He crossed to her, crowding her back against the desk. “What?”
She licked her lips and slid whatever the slip of paper was into her own pocket. “This is bad.”
“Why? What did you find out?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s classified times a billion. I’m probably not even supposed to know about it.” She grabbed a handful of his shirt. “Leave. Go. Get the cops. Call the local FBI office. Use my phone—”
“I’m not leaving you,” he growled. “If it’s that bad then we should both leave.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Maybe you could have talked me into it before now. But... Finley, I can’t.”
What was so damn important that she had to risk herself? How far would they have to go to get help? And if they left the building could they get back inside again?
It sounded so simple. Head out to the very edge of the parking lot and call for help, but that meant exposing themselves. They’d been incredibly lucky so far that neither of them had gotten shot entering the building. That might not be the case a second time.
Aegis Group’s shit wasn’t his concern.
Merida was what he cared about.
He could easily pick her up and run out of there. She would fight him, but he was stronger. Once that was done her choice was made.
And she’d likely never forgive him. If her employee died, that would be on him, too. Finley had never left anyone behind, and he couldn’t start now. No matter if that meant risking her. He’d compromised parts of himself during that last year of being a Marine. He’d done things, followed orders, and he didn’t like who he’d become because of it. If he was going to be the man worthy of her, he had to do this with her. The right way.
“Fine.” He sucked down a breath. He couldn’t believe they were doing this. “We take their body armor and guns first. A couple of candy canes are not going to do us much good if we run into more of these guys.”
She grabbed his hand. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
He pulled away from her before he gave up just how badly he had to do this.
If she died, he wasn’t sure he’d outlive her. He twisted around her. She didn’t know it, but she’d helped him be human again. And tonight, he’d be a soldier once more for her.
Finley managed to get the body armor off both bound men with only a little struggle. He pieced together the smaller items and helped Merida don the protection before he suited up.
It had been almost four years since Finley was active duty. It seemed like a lifetime ago. And yet the weight of the guns felt good in his hands.
His stomach clenched.
That was why he’d gotten out. He’d begun to like his job too much. And he’d been good at it.
“Where now?” he asked her.
“The south stair. It’s the one that would make the least sense to anyone trying to access our floors, so hopefully we can get in and out before they know we’re here.”
“And you’re sure they haven’t knocked through the drywall or kicked down a door yet?”
Merida swallowed and squared her shoulders. “All exterior walls and doors have been reinforced. Remove the drywall and you’re looking at solid steel.”
“Shit,” he muttered.
Finley had known the AG crew was running some serious shit, he just hadn’t realized how crazy it had gotten.
They went over the plan again, with Merida telling him in detail how far it was to the stairs, how many entrances and lights there were. All of their security upgrades. By the end of it he thought he could navigate the space in the dark. The only question they still had was, why were all of the God damn Christmas lights still working?
“Stay behind me,” he told Merida as they prepared to venture out into the lobby.
She gave him a flat stare but didn’t argue, for which he was glad.
He opened the door and went to a knee, gun up and listening. It said something about the preparation of these people if they’d thought to bring a jammer that interfered with all bandwidths from cellphones to their own shortwave radios. At least that was his guess if cell phones and the radios on the captives weren’t working. It was comforting to know that they were all cut off from the outside world in here.
Satisfied there wasn’t any movement in the lobby, Finley eased out, Merida at his back. She paused to pull the security door shut and give it a jiggle. They’d locked it from inside, hopefully preventing anyone from finding their hostages for as long as possible.
The south stair was straight back down a long stretch of dark hall. They passed onto carpet, the silence becoming oppressive. Sure enough, just as Merida had described it, a pair of doors led to the outside there on their left and a door marked South Stair was directly in front of them.
He put his back to the wall. Merida flattened herself to the wall opposite him, watching the way they’d come and the cross-hall.
Finley grasped the door handle, turning it ever so slowly. It opened without a squeak or other noise and swung open on well-oiled hinges. Exactly like Merida had said.
He stepped into the stairwell, gun up.
Nothing moved.
Merida crowded in after him and shut the door with a soft, barely audible snick.
Instead of just one light casting feeble light down for the whole stair someone had wrapped part of the lower railing in colorful, battery operated Christmas lights. A lot like the lights he had on his tree. The ones that had made Merida’s face seem to glow.
He glanced at her, his focus wavering, and found her looking at him with wide eyes.
Was she thinking about the same thing?
Finley reached over. He meant to tug her mask down, or so he told himself. Instead he tugged on a single curl.
She rocked forward.
They could die in the next few moments.
Finley took a step toward her, bent his head and sealed his lips over hers. It was a hard kiss. There wasn’t time to be soft or ease her into it. He kissed her because he needed to and was done.
“Stay close,” he said and pulled her mask down so he wouldn’t have to see her face or her rejection.
If they survived this he had a lot of things to say to her, but not right now.
Finley approached the stairs. The silence wasn’t as complete as he’d first thought.
He climbed a bit and paused, motioning for Merida to also stop.
They listened.
There.
It wasn’t much, just a slight...something.
Finley proceeded slower, peering up, trying to catch sight of anything.
They’d been lucky. Now they had to be smart.
He was impressed with Merida. She moved like a shadow, making less noise than he did. He was worried about her if they ran into real trouble. She was trained for combat, but she’d never been in combat to his knowledge. At least not that she’d told him. Still, she was brave and he wanted her close.
A cough made Finley freeze.
The hair on the back of his neck rose.
The sound was from just above him.
He glanced down at Merida and found her looking up at the spot from where the sound had come.
Finley followed her gaze then examined the stairs. Whoever was up there would have the advantage of the high ground. Then there was the question of how to go about subduing the person. Shoot them? Or try to do it quiet like?
A foot plodded on the stair. The stair headed up.
Now.
Finley crossed the landing in two strides, put his back against the wall and lifted his gun.
A thin figure trudged across the third floor landing looking down at something.
Finley didn’t think he’d make it to the guy in time before the sentry saw him and either fired at him or sounded an alarm. Finley slid the brick of a radio out from his belt, hefted it and threw it. The radio sailed end over end. Finley rushed up the last stairs as the radio struck the man in the shoulder and head, sending him staggering sideways.
The man whirled, gun up and shot. The blast echoed in the small space off all the concrete. The bullet hit Finley in the chest like a ton of bricks, but he’d been prepared for that. The Kevlar vest did its job and he kept going.
Only, an answering blast stopped him short.
Warm, sticky blood splattered Finley’s face as the man’s body went lifeless, collapsing to the floor in a gruesome heap, all while Finley’s ears rang.
He blinked at the body then down at the landing. At Merida just now lowering her gun.
Finley opened and closed his mouth.
He’d had the situation under control, but she hadn’t known that. So she’d acted. She’d killed a man to save him.
The next moment she was at his side, her hands patting his face and chest.
“Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” Her whisper was frantic. He knew she was probably speaking normally, but with the ringing in his ears it was hard to tell.
“I’m fine.” He grasped her hand. “Vest did its job.”
If he hadn’t loved her before, he sure as hell loved her now.
“Good. Good. Very good.” She nodded, her fingers hooked into the hole in the jumpsuit.
“We need to get moving. Someone is going to have heard that.”
“Right.”
She jerked her head toward the third floor door and dug in her pocket, producing a set of keys. He turned, ignoring the body and watched the stairs.
He’d always known Merida was strong, he just hadn’t known how strong until now. He hated that she’d done that. If he could go back he’d tell her to hold, that he had this. The last thing he wanted was blood on her hands.
If he had to spend the rest of his life making this up to her, he would. Happily.
“Come on.” Merida grabbed his hand and pulled him through the previously locked door and into a dark hall.
He heard the clang of the door locking, but that that was it. He was too focused on the figure stepping out from the shadows with a gun pointed straight at them.
MERIDA SUCKED IN A breath and for a moment her worst fears were reality.
These people had what they wanted. They’d gotten into the secure part of their suite and they knew.
“Hands up,” a familiar voice barked.
She knew him.
That wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t someone that wasn’t supposed to be there.
It was one of her people.
“Elias!” Merida sagged with relief.
“Hands up,” Elias said again with more force.
She lowered her gun and shoved the knit cap off. “Woods, it’s Merida. It’s me.”
A flashlight blinded her. She grit her teeth and endured the examination.
“Who is he?” Elias asked, no less hard.
“This is Finley. He’s a friend of mine and he’s here to help.” She took a step forward, holding her breath. Elias was still fairly new to the company. He’d been hired on to head up marketing for the whole company and learned fairly quick that everyone did an over-night shift. She didn’t know him, and truth was since he wasn’t cleared to work in the field she had no way of knowing if he had PTSD or triggers. Zain wouldn’t keep her appraised of anyone working in the office, not like that.
“I know Ian and Ryan pretty well. Ian said the new guy had some good ideas. I imagine that guy is you?” Finley kept pace with her, his gun also lowered, and extended his hand to Elias. “Glad to see you’re in one piece.”
Elias clasped Finley’s hand. “I heard shots. Are you both okay? Are there others?”
Merida’s knees shook. She was trying to not think about that. At that second she was glad she hadn’t eaten since early afternoon. There simply wasn’t anything in her stomach to throw up. She took several deep breaths.
Seeing and being around death was quiet different from being the person pulling the trigger. She’d always known that to be true. Now she’d experienced it.
Finley fielded the questions, giving her the moment to gather herself. “We took care of one of them on the stairs. Two more are restrained on the first floor. It’s just the two of us. Anyone else here with you?”
Elias shook his head. “Just me. A few of the guys were here earlier, but they decided to head out to a bar.”
Those same guys might come back to bunk at the office. They had a whole room set aside just for that since not everyone opted to keep an apartment or house here.
Merida took a deep breath. They had to get a move on.
Neither Elias nor Finley could know what this was really about. Elias was too new and possibly not knowing might save his life if it came to that.
“Elias, what happened after we got cut off?” she asked.
He jerked his head in a nod. “A few moments later all power went out. I began lockdown procedures, beginning with the front office. I observed at least two individuals in the elevator lobby before the security gate went down, but I believe there are more. I need to do a three floor sweep, but...”
“No.” She blew out a breath. “There’s too much risk, and what they want is here.”
Merida wished she could get word to Zain. She couldn’t show either Finley or Elias what she’d found in the men’s pockets.
To the world Ethan Turner was still dead.
There weren’t many who knew that the former Aegis Group employee hadn’t died in a Beirut bombing years ago. He’d been taken, experimented on, brainwashed and turned into a sort of super soldier. In fact, he’d almost killed Merida’s best friend, Melody. Now Ethan was finding a new path, but there were still people out there who wanted him for what he was or what they hoped they could learn from him.
“What’s our next move?” Elias asked her.
“I need to go to Zain’s office,” she said.
Finley shifted his grip on his rifle. “Let’s move.”
As if by some silent consensus, the men took up position, Elias in front of her and Finley behind her. She absently noticed that the Christmas decorations hung along the walls here were dark, as they should be. Really, how were the rest in the lobby and stairs powered?
And what was she going to do?
All the way up the stairs she’d asked herself that question.
Really, there was only one answer.
These people wanted information on Ethan. She had to destroy it.
Zain would have backups off-site and likely at their original location in Illinois. The digital stuff was most important, but that wasn’t all there was.
As they neared the front of the office, she heard a high-pitched whine. Like that of a saw or a drill.
Elias stepped into Zain’s office, but she proceeded on a few steps, staring at the metal security gate that had been lowered over the glass doors protecting the suite.
There were people on the other side of that barrier. People who would kill them for what they knew.
Finley’s hand wrapped around her elbow and squeezed. “Come on.”
She nodded and let him pull her into the office.
Elias had taken up a post by the door, his gaze on the front of the suite.
Merida circled around to sit at Zain’s desk and glance over what was there.
He kept a tidy work station. The computer was gone, likely with him. Her laptop was at home, too. With those they could supply support to all teams in the field. Other than that he had a framed picture of his wife, a small Lego Christmas tree and a cup of pens besides the two monitors that were currently dark.
“Is there any way to get word out? To smoke signal people?” She directed that question at the two men.
Finley glanced at Elias. “They are blocking both cellphones and shortwave radios, which means a hefty jammer.”
Elias grimaced. “Electricity and our fiber optic is down. I’ve tried comms. I’ve cycled several workstations. Even the secure room. Nothing.”
Merida nodded and used her key to open a drawer on Zain’s desk. Inside of that drawer was another set of keys.
A loud bang sounded from the front of the suite. She jumped and failed to hide it.
“Can we just get whatever we need to get and go?” Finley asked.
“No.” Merida tipped her chin up. “We have to wipe all of our servers. Fry all our machines. And...we need to blow up the building.”
There was a beat of silence. Both men stared at her.
“You’re joking, right?” Finley asked.
“I’m not.” She braced her hands on the desk. “This isn’t just about sensitive things Aegis Group knows. This is national security. Please trust me when I say this is really, really bad.”
She stared at the two men. How could she make them understand that protecting Ethan’s location and everything they knew about him was of the utmost importance? The last thing the world needed was more people who knew how to genetically enhance their soldiers into something on Ethan’s level.
“Do you honestly have enough explosive material on site?” Finley asked.
“Yes,” Elias answered.
Finley shook his head. “Shit. Okay. Whatever you say, boss.”
Merida eased her grip on the keys and glanced at Elias.
“Is this really necessary? Can’t we just fry the servers and go?” he asked.
“If you knew more...” She shrugged and wished she could tell them, but she couldn’t.
“We’re doing this,” Finley said. “What’s our plan? Where’s our equipment?”
“The servers are on this floor. That’s why they’re focused here. I’ll initiate the security measures and fry them while you two head downstairs—”
“No,” Finley said in a hard tone. “We go together.”
“They’re going to get through that door soon.” Elias thumbed over his shoulder. “You two stay here. I’ll head down to the munitions locker. Meet me there. Use the south stair. We’ve already cleared it.”
He didn’t wait for Finley or her to agree, Elias just turned and went.
“Are we seriously doing this?” Finley asked her as she got up.
“Yes, we have to.” She circled the desk, but he blocked her path.
He gripped her shoulder. “Tell me it’s worth risking your life.”
She tipped her chin up. “I’m not being dramatic when I say this is national—global—security, Finley. The idea of those people—anyone—getting their hands on the intel in this office when I know what they’re after scares me.”
“Okay. Lead on.”
He didn’t pressure her or ask her for proof, he just accepted her word.
She swallowed, not sure what that meant, and just looked at him for a moment.
He looked back at her and she wished she had more time to understand this, them, whatever this was. Instead, she needed to figure out how the hell she was going to blow up a building.
Merida gathered herself and stepped into the hall. She wanted to rush to her desk and gather the mementos and things in her drawers, but Elias was right. Those people would be in soon enough. Merida had to work quickly.
Several rooms had been deconstructed to form one large command center room with terminals set up to perform a variety of tasks. They even had a secure room where they could handle classified information. And now she had to destroy all of it. Everything she’d helped build now had to be torched. Not a single shred of information could be left behind.
She strode across to the server room. It was a portion of the room walled off with glass. Normally bright lights gave it a futuristic look. Zain had designed it that way likely because it amused him.
“Get the fire extinguisher,” she said over her shoulder as an afterthought.
“Seriously?” Finley muttered.
If the systems were online, she could do a virtual kill switch and the whole thing would wipe in a matter of seconds. That wasn’t an option. She would need to manually trip each server’s kill switch, igniting several tiny charges to detonate and destroy the delicate electronics.
Something similar would happen if a person plugged into the servers and tripped the security measures. Merida wasn’t willing to risk that the people on the other side of that door weren’t good.
“Are you sure you have to destroy this? Can’t you—I don’t know—take some of it with you?” Finley asked.
“There’s no need to. Everything on these servers will be backed up in our other office.” She just needed to keep reminding herself of that. This exact scenario was why they were as careful as they were.
She took a deep breath and gripped the lever.
“Hold your breath,” she warned.
Merida put some muscle into it and flipped the switch.
Immediately pops and sizzles lit up the seven foot tower as the charges went off. The acrid smell of burning plastics and metals made her eyes sting and smoke hung in the air.
All she could do now was continue.
This wasn’t the end of something. It was a setback. So long as all three of them got out of here and they stopped these people, they could go on. They had to. For Sai. For all the people Aegis Group helped. They had to keep doing their job.
