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WE TOUCHED DOWN JUST outside of Oslo, on the same runway I’d used with the jet. It was a private runway designated for use by Dark Sparrow. We hustled out of the airplane and reconvened a moment later in the back of a truck.
The driver waited just long enough for all the troops to hop on before peeling out into the night. Time was of the essence. We had to reach the New Dawn stronghold before they knew we were coming. And if they were up to speed on the way things had gone down at the Dark Sparrow base, they would know that we were on our way.
Since Regg was dead, it was likely that the body had already been found. That meant that New Dawn suspected we had all the information that Regg had. I hadn’t tortured him, but if I was the enemy intelligence, that’s what I would assume.
The coordinates to the New Dawn building were punched into all of our devices. I pulled out my phone and watched the map in real time. Lukas sat next to me, a tablet in his hands. He was simultaneously watching the map as well as reading intercepted communications through artificial intelligence.
He looked concerned.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“I’m getting word that people are fleeing the compound,” he said tersely.
“What does that mean for our attack?”
“We’re still going to attack as soon as we can, but I’m unsure how many operatives we’ll be able to take out.”
“Is it worth it?” I asked. “I mean, if we’re going in there, guns blazing, are we walking into a trap?”
“I don’t think so,” Lukas replied.
I looked around and saw a number of other operatives listening closely. It was difficult to tell what New Dawn’s next move would be. Again, I could only put myself in their shoes and guess what I would do with the information I knew they had. One option would be setting the base to blow as soon as everyone evacuated.
“Ashcroft will be there,” Lukas assured me.
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“I know him. I grew up with him. He’s not the kind of person to abandon ship,” Lukas reasoned. “And don’t forget, they think they have the key. They think it’s still in Clark’s shoulder.”
“But that puts Clark in more danger,” I remarked, not liking the connotations. I had been on the fence as to whether to go back for her when Z explained what happened. Things were moving so fast, and I’d had to make a decision in the moment. But I didn’t like hanging our hat on Clark. That put too much pressure on her from both sides of the battle.
At least they wouldn’t do anything crazy if they thought she was vital to their cause. But then the glass-half-empty side of me whispered that they didn’t think they actually needed Clark, just the key. What was to stop them from killing her or attempting to remove it by force?
Lukas saw where I was going, even though I didn’t say anything. He put a hand on my knee and squeezed. “She’ll be okay. She’s more than just a vehicle to Ashcroft. He chose her because he genuinely respects her. He’ll try to convince her to play along before he’ll do anything to hurt her.”
I nodded, allowing the words to sink in. They made sense. The last interaction we’d had with Ashcroft bore them out. He’d wanted her to get into the helicopter, yet he’d made no move to shoot her. He seemed to want her help with his crazy scheme, and maybe that was the key to his downfall.
“I just want to get out of this alive,” I said morosely. “It didn’t used to matter. I could run into a burning building and figure if it was my time, it was my time. Now I’ve got something to live for.”
“Clark?” Lukas guessed.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “We’re going to retire together. Did she tell you?”
“I hope you make it,” Lukas said.
“I hope so too. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her.” I tried not to picture her alone in enemy hands. The fact that Ashcroft was employing Ryan to do his dirty work was like a kick in the nuts. I didn’t like the idea of Clark sitting alone in a bedroom with him, much less being held at gunpoint.
The truck pulled up to a dock where several small motorboats were waiting. All the troops disembarked, separating themselves into groups of six without any formal instruction. I chose a boat with Lukas and four others, easing it into the water under the cover of night.
Lukas pulled on the rip cord, jetting out into the channel. It was about an hour to our destination, the last part of which we would have to go without engines. We found a box of gear stashed at the bow, and one of the operatives passed it out.
I received a pair of gloves and a hood to cover my head. There was also a set of infrared googles and a weapon with a scope. Everything needed for a midnight assault was there at our fingertips. We were going in hot, preparing to bring the fight to them. It was about time to end their little charade and set the world back on a path to prosperity. All we had to do was wipe Ashcroft off the map and our problems would be solved.
The time for idle chatter was over. I no longer had the luxury to regret my decisions. The only thing that mattered now was action. We had to stop New Dawn from setting off their bombs and destroying life as we knew it. And in the process, we had to rescue Clark from the clutches of her foster father.
Of course, if she had anything to say about it, she probably wouldn’t need rescuing. That was one thing we had going for us: Clark’s ability to kill. There had never been a similarly talented assassin, as far as I knew. If Ryan thought it would be smooth sailing with her as a captive, he was sadly mistaken. I almost wanted to see his face when he realized that he was the one in trouble. But then, I would just have to kill him, and that would take all the fun out of Clark’s revenge.
