4. Riley
4
Riley
Timothy’s van is pretty fucking cool. It’s full of computer stuff and ways to keep in touch with everyone. He’s got multiple monitors, all with different things on them, and his mouse pointer swoops over them at high speed as he taps out information, updating what we know by the second.
I can definitely see how this makes missions so much easier and allows them to adapt the plans for whole teams in real time. It also means that everyone can focus on the here and now and doesn’t have to remember everything the whole time. The teams only have to focus on what they have to do and Timothy can provide them with the rest.
“I’m in their system. I’ve got control of all their cameras.” He looks at Mathew and me, his gaze full of concentration. “I count twenty guards in total, as we expected. They seem to be where we expected them to be too. The information we got seems to be valid.”
“So far, so good.” Mathew’s voice is quiet, strong. “Anything unusual from the teams?”
The leaders of each team check in, their voices clear through the earpiece, but everything seems to be good to go for them too. Which is a promising start.
Though, the tension that something isn’t right won’t leave me.
I don’t want to be surprised by something bad, especially because we know that the Hearts have been messing with our information sources for months, if not longer. But, at the same time, for a company of this type, of this size, low-tech and basic security isn’t unusual.
The tension between those two parts is keeping me on edge, has kept me on edge for days now. And I’m so done with it.
“If everyone is in place, we can progress to the next phase.” Mathew moves at my side, his hand on my back. “We should get going too.” He gives me a daring smile.
Fuck, that’s so sexy!
Watching him in charge of it all, his easy confidence as he puts together the plans for the mission, it’s been really fun to watch, but also a constant reminder that this guy has done this plenty of times before. He knows what he’s doing, this has been his world for years and the reason he’s at the top of the game is because he’s fucking good at it.
And I not only get to work with him, but he’s my mate too.
If I had dreams of the future, this would probably have been a dream come true.
“Good luck.” Timothy calls after us.
He’s the one keeping an eye on everything from the van and he’s the contact with the outside world, while Derrick is with the team that’s expecting the most trouble and the weakest point in our plan. Mathew and I will be joining one of the other teams, so that they can help us sneak onto the research complex and into the right building as efficiently as possible.
I do a mental and physical check, making sure all my weapons are where I expect them to be, the action soothing the last of my nerves.
This is a mission. No different from any of the other missions I’ve been on, apart from one significant element, I’m doing this one with Mathew and his organisation. Which is a pretty big change, as they’re much better organised and they’ve got much better gear than I usually have, which is interesting but also slightly uneasy. Lots of changes at once. Maybe I should have only made a few changes, not everything…
But we’ll have to see about that at the end of the evening. Too late to change anything now.
Getting into the complex shouldn’t be too complicated, but getting into the lab we need is trickier. The entrance to the lab is in the middle of the building, no windows to the outside, only one way in and out. They protected the lab as much as possible.
Which is definitely suspicious.
Mathew made me promise that I can’t hover over him and that I have to let him do his job, no matter how dangerous things get.
It didn’t seem like that hard of a promise at the time, but as we make our way through the trees to join our team, I notice I’m starting to walk ahead of him, keeping my eyes on our surroundings, instinctively protecting him.
He hasn’t told me off yet, but I slow down and walk a step behind him. I’m pretty sure that walking ahead of him is breaking the rules. He’s in charge, he’s the boss, I’m simply following his instructions.
The team we’re joining is where they’re supposed to be and Mathew exchanges a few words with them before he starts walking again and they follow him. I’m staying at the back of the group, giving me a better view of our surroundings and hopefully letting me control my need to be near Mathew better.
Before we left, everyone took temporary pheromone suppressants and once we got here, we sprayed masking products all over us. That should help clear our pheromones as much as possible, which will help with people not noticing us, and not being able to recognise us by scent.
I’m lucky Mathew doesn’t have pheromones normally, or this could be really uncomfortable right now. I’m used to him not having them, which means this is something that isn’t a big change for me, luckily.
The complex is not too far from here, and we have to move carefully to not attract the attention from the guards. There aren’t too many cameras on the outside, only really around the entrances, but they have guards patrol just inside the fence around the complex.
My heart rate stabilises and my head slips into ‘work’ mode, I stop thinking and instead focus on what’s going on around me. I know the plan, I know what everyone is supposed to do, the only thing we have to do now is execute it.
There’s an area of the fence that’s out of view of the cameras and will be easy to breach. It’s near the parking lot and has a maintenance building close to it, too near for guards to bother walking between it and the fence. The area is also in deep shadows, as a bright light on the other side of the maintenance building makes the shadows very pronounced here.
It’s a simple wire fence, no electricity on it or any other security measures. Two people from the team will cut the wires, the rest keeping an eye out for the guards. Then, we’ll sneak through and make our way to the building that’s to the side of the parking lot using the coverage of that to make our way to the building that houses the labs.
From the corner of my eyes, two guards come into view and I track their movements.
Neither of them are paying attention to their surroundings, deep in conversation. They glance from side to side once in a while, but with the way their heads move, it’s more of an automatic action and meant to appear that they’re doing their jobs, than them taking real notice of what they’re seeing.
We’re in the shadows of the trees on the other side of the fence, where the lights from the complex won’t reach us, and with them standing right under the lights, it’s even harder for them to see what’s going on outside of the fence. An extra safety measure for us.
We chose this moment because it’s right before the night shift starts, these guards have been on shift for most of the day, they’ll be at their least attentive and most tired.
One of the guards nods to one of the cars that’s parked close to the maintenance building and they come closer and closer, still in conversation, but it will be easier to spot us if they get too close…
I let my breath out slowly, focusing on the guards, waiting for any sign that they’ve spotted us. My fingers slide down to my gun, carefully taking the safety off as I let it hang to my side, not wanting to move too abruptly unless I really have to.
Abrupt movements attract attention, so I have to move in fluid and deliberate motions.
The guards look at the back of one of the cars, commenting on something, something they don’t like by the faces they’re making, before they walk closer to the maintenance building. They’re near enough that we can now hear their low voices, though not the words.
If they get any closer…
“Whisper, don’t.” Mathew’s voice is close, his breath warm on my cheek.
I jolt, suddenly aware I’ve come out of the trees and am walking to the guards, my gun trained on them.
Oh, fuck, that wasn’t part of the plan.
Mathew’s hand is on my arm holding the gun, his other arm around my waist as he pulls me back into cover.
I watch as one of the guards picks something up from the ground, holding it up to the other. It’s a piece of black plastic. With a hard voice, he taps the piece against the back of the car, cursing. Someone must have crashed into the car, breaking it, which he’s complaining about.
I’m so used to making sure nobody spots me that I nearly took the guards out, out of habit. If I’d done that, it would have put more attention on us, not less.
I want to apologise to Mathew, but he gives me a quick smile and nods to the rest of the team, who are waiting to progress.
The guards have left the parking area and the hole in the fence is now big enough for us to get through. The next guards should be here in five minutes, so we have to get through before they’re here.
Mathew raises his eyebrows at me and I nod. Yes, we should get a move on. We’re here for a reason and the sooner we’re done, the sooner we can go back home.
“First phase complete.” Mathew’s voice is quiet and then he starts moving, confident strides towards the fence.
I wait for the rest of the team to follow him, before I slip through the fence too, nodding to the two people who are staying here to make sure nobody notices what we just did.
They nod back, faces determined, and take up their positions.
I follow the rest of the team, my eyes shooting over the parking lot and then they land on Mathew. He’s easy to spot, not because he’s taller than the rest or because he wears anything different, but because of the way he moves, so comfortable, so confident, like he already knows this mission will be a success and doing it is only a formality.
It calms me down too. We can do this. I might not be used to working in a team, but I know the plan, I know what’s expected of me, and that’s good enough. If this is how all missions go, I think that being part of a team isn’t so bad.
So far, so good.
The team waits, hiding in the shadows of a greenhouse where they’re growing the plants we’re here for. Well, we’re here for the seeds, much easier to transport than full plants.
The flowers’ scent is only a simple floral fragrance, nothing like Mathew and Vera’s pheromones, which would be a combination of wisteria and honey. But at the same time, my brain reacts like it is, like I’m smelling my Omegas’ pheromones right now. It’s a strange experience, I’m not sure if I like it.
I shake my head, trying to ignore the flowers.
I need to focus. I need to focus, or we might get in trouble.
And I don’t want to be the reason this all goes to hell.