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Kendra and Adam circled around and approached the warehouse from the rear.
It offered the path of least resistance. The sentries were mostly patrolling the front of the building or the sides. They weren’t really expecting anyone to intrude from the water’s edge, hence their rounds of the area were less frequent.
Kendra intended to exploit that.
She moved in a slow, careful shuffle, leaning into her UMP sub-machine gun, night-vision goggles clasped against her eyes.
Everything felt heightened now.
The grass brushing against her shoes.
The wind caressing her face.
Her laser dancing over the eerie green glow of the terrain.
There was almost no moonlight, thanks to the presence of a heavy cloud cover, and that reassured Kendra. So long as she didn’t stray too close to the lamp posts or spotlights dotting the warehouse’s perimeter, she would remain invisible to the naked eye.
Still, she wasn’t relying on shadows alone to achieve cover and concealment.
She had selected a route that took her through the most rugged parts of the terrain. Places where the topography rose or fell, further obscuring her silhouette.
Eventually Kendra stopped and went prone, flattening herself against a grassy knoll.
Beside her, Adam did the same. He set down his sub-machine gun and unslung the HK69 grenade launcher he’d been carrying. He braced it against his shoulder.
The paved parking lot was twenty metres ahead, and just beyond that was the loading dock. This was as close as they could get without coming into range of the CCTV cameras.
‘This is Sierra Actual. We’re in position,’ Kendra said into her throat microphone. ‘We’re good to go.’
‘Copy, I’m providing overwatch,’ Jim said. ‘Ready whenever you are.’
‘Wilco. Stand by.’ Kendra turned to Adam and nodded.
‘Executing now.’ Adam aimed his launcher skyward and squeezed the trigger.
The launcher thumped, and the grenade soared in an arc, spiralling as it did.
It disappeared somewhere beyond the warehouse’s rooftop.
A moment later, all the lights in and around the warehouse went dark.
The grenade had detonated without a sound, unleashing an electromagnetic pulse that fried all the circuitry within range, disabling not only the power supply but any communications equipment.
Kendra rose to her feet. ‘Moving.’
‘Covering.’ Jim said.
Kendra and Adam entered the parking lot. There were three cars here. Sedans. She recognised the one in middle as being the vehicle that had pursued her this afternoon.
Working quickly, she got her knife out and slashed their tyres. She didn’t want them going anywhere in a hurry. Then she was up and moving again, trotting towards the loading dock.
‘Hold up,’ Jim said. ‘Tango approaching at your two o’clock.’
With her breath caught in her throat, Kendra raised her fist and signalled Adam to drop to a crouch. Then she pivoted and aimed her weapon in that direction.
Sure enough, a sentry rounded the corner, a couple of paces away. He was smacking his palm against his radio, muttering in frustration.
‘I have the solution,’ Jim said.
‘Scorpio,’ Kendra whispered.
There was a pop, followed by a spray of blood and brain matter, and the sentry staggered and sprawled forward against the ground.
‘Tango neutralised,’ Jim said. ‘You’re clear to proceed.’