Game of Fear (30 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

D
EB HUNKERED DOWN
behind a dune
and settled into position overlooking the northwest corner of a huge square building. Darkness shielded them from view, but dawn wasn’t that far away.

Gabe’s family had come through. Zach and Whitney, of course. But Luke and his sniper wife, Jazz, the über-mysterious black ops brother Seth, and even Nick had flown in. They’d need the help.

Poor Gabe had even relented. Steve Paretti held a sniper location in sight of one of the building’s corners.

“Is everyone in position?” Deb whispered to Gabe.

He swept the area with infrared binoculars. “Close.”

Gabe clicked his mic. “Roll call, Mousketeers?”

Each member of the team sounded in through the communications system. “Affirmative,” Seth responded last. “We have good coverage, but no obvious exits.”

Nine against however many manned that huge building. The odds didn’t look good. Even Zach and Luke, with their combined equipment and skills, hadn’t been able to find a hole in the security.

She shivered, fighting a fear that threatened to overwhelm her resolve. Not for her, but for Ashley. Deb rubbed her temple. Did they have a chance?

About ten feet away, Jazz Montgomery had set up her Remington 700/40 to provide a clear view of two sides and two exits. Jazz must have noticed the sag in Deb’s shoulders and crept over before flipping off her mic. “I can tell you one thing, Deb. When the chips are down, there’s no one I’d want on my side more than the Montgomerys. They don’t give up. They fight until the end. If Ashley is in there, they’ll get her out.”

Deb nodded. “Thanks.”

Jazz gave her a small smile and resettled her Remington against her shoulder, returning to an eerily still, prone position.

“She’s right.”

Deb shifted closer to Gabe. “What’s happening?”

“We’re waiting.” Gabe didn’t waiver from sweeping the area with his binoculars. “We need to create a break in their security to gain access to the building. Zach and Luke will do the tech work. They have heat sensors and are looping the remote viewing cameras, shutting down what they can. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to pull in reinforcements.”

Deb swallowed hard. “Ashley may not have that kind of time.”

“Believe me,” Gabe said. “We’re all aware of that. We’ll do everything in our power to get into that warehouse as quickly as possible, but if we screw up, we could put every innocent life in that place in more danger.”

“Is your family safe?” Deb asked. “Have you heard?”

“Yeah. Mom stewed for a while, until Caleb gave in. No secrets, about the op anyway. She’s got her rosary out for us.” His voice lowered. “We decided not to tell her about Whitney. Not yet. She’ll kick our butts for keeping it from her, but we need to find the right way.”

“Good luck with that. From what I’ve seen, your mother doesn’t take any prisoners,” Deb whispered.

“Yeah. I don’t know what she’ll do.”

Deb could finish the sentence for him.
About me keeping a secret for all these years.
She moved her hand to stroke his arm with a comforting touch. “She loves you. She’ll forgive you.”

“Yeah. Probably. No matter how much we hurt her. She’s like that.”

His words said it all. The guilt ate at him, probably had been all these years. His back stiffened as he tried to shake off too many thoughts.

“At least Neil Wexler’s been cleared,” Deb said, a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject and get him out of his head. There would be time for that. Later. “Tower kept good records and they were able to tie him to Menken’s so-called suicide. They also arrested two more deputies. I’m so relieved for you.”

“I’m just sorry I couldn’t sit in a courtroom and watch Tower go down. The SOB is dead,” Gabe informed her.

Deb couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping in surprise. She’d thought they’d have another battle with the sheriff once they returned to Denver.

“Yeah, Nick just told me,” Gabe said. “One shot. Assassinated. Hand cut off.”

“Gasmerati.”

“Once we find Ashley, we’ll bring Gasmerati down. Luke and his family will be out of danger.”

He didn’t mention failure, as if he wouldn’t entertain the notion. Deb prayed he was right. Because if Gasmerati was eliminated, Gabe would be safe, too.

“I’ve got bad news.” Seth’s voice sounded through their communication devices. “Really bad.”

Deb’s entire body tensed. She dug her fingers into Gabe’s arm. “Tell us,” he said. “We need to be prepared.”

“Fresh digging on the east side of the building. Our radar shows human remains. At least a half dozen.”

Deb couldn’t move, or breathe. “Ashley?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Seth said. “We won’t know until we dig.”

Deb didn’t fall apart. She couldn’t. Gabe pulled her close to him and rubbed her arms. The chill taking over every fiber of her being begged for heat.

“It’s probably not her.”

Deb’s jaw clenched and she nodded, but everything inside seemed to shatter. First Ben, now Ashley? God, none of it could be true.

Gabe turned her to face him. “Look at me, Deb.”

She stared at his chest. She didn’t want to look. She didn’t know if she could hold her emotions back if she saw the least bit of sympathy in his eyes.

He lifted her chin. All she saw was determination and fury lighting his eyes.

“We’ll find Ashley, honey.”

Deb nodded again, unable to respond to the unexpected endearment. She looked back at the warehouse. She just prayed they found her sister alive, and not her body.

Step by step, Ashley closed in on the computer room. She couldn’t stop her heart from slamming against her chest. Only a few more feet.

Niko slowed the pace as he and Ashley approached the corridor to the computer room. “Go check the rooms,” he ordered the guard. “We want no mistakes.”

The man nodded and methodically opened door after door. Once he’d moved far enough away so he couldn’t hear their conversation, Niko drew her close to the wall.

“Shut up and listen. We’re between cameras. Act like you feel nauseous in case the guard comes back.”

Ashley clutched her stomach and bent a little at the waist, one hand on the wall as if she needed support.

Niko moved in closer. “It has to be today. They’ve planted gas canisters in the basement. They’ll take everyone down there, then destroy the building. By tonight, this place will be gone.”

Shocked, she stood again, though the pain cramping her stomach was now real. “Why are you telling me this?”

Niko stared at her in frustration. “You’ve got guts like I’ve never seen, Lansing. The worst part, you’re who I used to be. Who I thought I could be before . . . You’re like Shannon coming back to remind me—” He stopped. “Never mind.”

“Are you coming with us?”

“I’ve done too much.” Niko’s voice was resigned. “I don’t deserve to escape.”

“You helped us. I could tell them . . .”

“There’s no time. As soon as our important guests arrive, the Warden will be distracted. I’ll disable as much of the security system as I can to help you and the others escape.”

“Can we make it?” Ashley asked. “There are so many guards.”

“Justin and Dave made it. The Feds have them. I’ve never seen the Warden so furious. I thought he might shoot someone just for fun.” Niko shrugged. “He has before.”

Relief flooded through her. “Then help could be on the way. Justin was going to contact my sister.”

“The Admiral? The one you sent the game to?”

Ashley blinked in surprise. “You knew about that?”

“I told you. I followed every keystroke you made.”

“Then I was lucky it was you watching me.”

“You’d be dead right now if the Warden hadn’t betrayed me and planned to get rid of me, too,” Niko said bluntly. “If she shows up, how could I signal her? No way can I risk a phone call or text.”

Boots sounded down the hallway. Ashley bent over even more, imitating some dry heaves. There had to be a way. “She taught me Morse code,” Ashley said, her voice hesitant. Then she smiled. “No. Four stars,” she said. “As in a four-star admiral. Like the address label. She’ll get that it’s from me.”

The Warden’s voice boomed down the hall. “Niko, where the hell have you been? Get her in here. She’s late.”

Niko grabbed her by the arm. “Yes, sir. She started to vomit, so we stopped for a moment.”

Ashley wrapped her arms around her waist again, feigning sickness.

“She can throw up all over the damn computer lab for all I care. Just get her in here.”

As they walked across the expanse, Ashley blanched. Mylo and Floyd stood in the black corner against the wall. Fletcher’s blood still stained the grated floor. Her stomach lurched for real. She understood the warning.

Niko shoved her into her computer chair. “One screwup, one gunshot. You’ve got two friends. Two chances. Then you go to the corner.”

“Nice performance, Niko, but a little too late for me to believe,” the Warden hissed. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Faint light rose from the horizon. Dawn was approaching.

Gabe tensed. Their positions were more vulnerable than ever. “Status?” he hissed in the mic.

“These people have a military connection or someone in the government,” Seth said, frustration piercing his voice. “Their equipment is military grade like I’ve only seen in black ops. Either black market or with major connections in D.C.”

“When do we go?” Deb asked.

“Incoming!” Seth’s voice boomed over the airwaves. “Everyone take cover. Binoculars down. Chopper coming in from the southeast, heading straight toward the helo landing pad.”

Gabe hit the dirt next to Deb and lifted his gaze. A large, luxury helicopter flew to the edge of the compound, then, rocking slightly, settled to the ground.

“That’s one damn expensive design,” Deb said.

“The moneymen.” He touched his earpiece. “Heads-up. Anyone in line of sight take a good look. See if you recognize them. Maybe we finally have proof of who’s behind this place.”

The high-pitched squeal of the rotors slowed, then stopped. “This isn’t a drop-off,” Deb muttered. “They’re staying awhile.”

“Good. That means we clean up this mess that much sooner.” Gabe crawled to a position where he could view the helicopter. Two men exited. Gabe would know one of them anywhere. “Jeff Gasmerati. We were right. That son of a bitch.” He hesitated, then, not caring who heard, added, “Watch Paretti.”

“I know you don’t want to trust me,” Steve said, his voice furious. “But that’s low, Gabe.”

“We’ll see.”

Paretti muttered a very succinct curse, then signed off.

Seth let out a low whistle. “Eight heavily armed guards showed up to escort these guys inside. At least two muscle men with Gasmerati. From the bulk, I’d say they’re packing Kevlar, and carrying a lot of weapons.”

“How do we get in?” Deb asked.

“Ask and ye shall receive,” Seth said. “Zach’s top-secret-sensors-we-should-forget-asap came through. Whitney and I just located a tunnel and a hatch. We’ll have to crawl the last forty yards, but if it’s open and we can bring down that surveillance, we may have a way in.”

Niko stared at the camera feed, searching again for the small flash of movement he’d seen on one of the dunes when the helicopter pad lit up. Had he imagined it, or had Ashley’s sister come through after all?