Chapter 18 #2
McCormick turned, disappeared from sight.
“There’s an issue downstairs. With one of the storage room doors.”
“Coming… And Wilcox. Don’t call, again, until you have something worth saying.” McCormick slammed shut the door, hollow footsteps fading down the hallway.
Ellis breathed out a shaky sigh, looking up at Brett. He had his ear pressed to the door, fingers around the handle. He held up his other hand, signaling her to hold for a second. Then, he was slivering it open, checking the hallways.
He waved his hand forward, and they were out.
Racing down the corridor. Weapons out. They had one minute, maybe less.
And not enough to get clear before the cameras were back.
Not that it mattered. Once McCormick realized the storage room had been hacked, he’d put the entire place on lockdown, not just that room.
The elevator opened quickly. Just a curl of air and they were inside, heading for the main floor. A ping, then the doors slid apart, two armed guards standing beyond the threshold. They looked up—started lifting their rifles.
Brett was out. Kicking one guy’s knee as he grabbed the other’s weapon—used it to force him back. An elbow to the head knocked the soldier sideways. Kept him off-balance. Gave Brett the opening to hike him over his hip. Slam him into the floor.
His buddy stumbled sideways, grabbing at his knee as he tried to pivot toward the other men.
But Ellis was already moving. Side of her hand to the man’s throat had him gasping, reeling backwards.
A strike to his eyes snapped his head back, had him tilting toward the wall.
A swipe of her foot and he was down. The taser she’d grabbed at his throat.
Sending a few thousand volts of electricity through his body.
It shook against the assault then stilled.
She turned to toss it to Brett, but his opponent was already out. Bloodied face dripping onto the floor.
Brett straightened, grabbed her hand and took off running, again. The internal clock in her head told her they were out of time. That the cameras were back on. Probably panning that damn hallway, right now. Broadcasting the two men sprawled out on the floor.
As if on cue, a shrill siren broke the silence, dimming the lights. Casting the hallway into muted shadows. It didn’t slow them. Stop them from taking the next right, then left. Footsteps pounded the floor a few corridors over, shouts rising above the alarm.
They hit the rear door at a full sprint, using it to slow them down. Brett tried the handle. Damn thing didn’t even budge.
“Shit, do we need a code to get out?”
“Damn building is in lockdown. All the doors are magnetically sealed.”
“Fuck.” He aimed up the hallway. “Company in ten seconds or less, sweetheart.”
“That’s all I need.” She grabbed the EMP. “Tape?”
“Left rear pocket.”
She dug it out, secured the device to the door. “Stand back, so we don’t get any residual fallout.”
He grabbed her, shuffled them sideways as she hit the button. A small flash followed by a curl of smoke, and the door slid inward.
Bullets hit the metal, ricocheting past them.
Brett cursed, grabbed a flashbang out of his vest and tossed it.
She covered her ears, aware it would still affect her.
That she wouldn’t be as protected as when they’d been on the roof.
The canister clicked across the floor before the hallway erupted in a blast of light, sound and smoke.
Hands around her waist, hoisting her up.
A shift sideways, then they were out. Brett running up the stairs and across the open space.
He had one hand locked around the back of her knees, the other holding his gun.
He didn’t even slow as they hit the railing, vaulting smoothly over it then across the street.
They reached the adjoining alley before the door to the facility opened, soldiers spilling into the stairwell.
Dusk blanketed the area, increasing the shadows lining the roads. Not quite dark, but not bright. That eerie gray that made everything look two dimensional.
Brett picked up his pace, weaving back the way they’d come, every footfall strong. Steady. He didn’t swing her to her feet until they’d reached the Jeep, unceremoniously shoving her in the passenger side before sliding across the hood Dukes of Hazard style and climbing in.
He had the engine revved and the tires squealing, billowing smoke around them as he peeled out, swerving across the road, narrowly missing a truck, then heading east. The Wrangler bounced along, tipping slightly as he threw it around a corner, pushing her back in her seat when he hit the gas.
Tires screeched behind them as two Suburbans appeared in the rearview. Big. Black. Slowly gaining. Brett took the next left, cutting off a minivan then swerving to make a tight right. Horns blared, brakes squealed, cars skidding to a halt to avoid a collision.
The maneuver bought them a few seconds. Increased the distance between them and the men in the SUVs. There was a moment of silence, then tires skidding, again, lights cutting through the darkness.
A large mall appeared off to their left, the multilevel garage black against the wash of streetlights.
She pointed to it, and Brett turned, jumping over a sidewalk to avoid a red light then fishtailing into the right lane.
He didn’t slow, bouncing them over a few speed bumps then into the structure.
Half the spaces were open, a few people walking toward their cars.
He took the ramp to the upper level, somehow avoiding another car traveling down without really slowing.
He was focused. Completely in the zone. A row of cars appeared on the right.
One of them a Jeep. Similar color and vintage.
Taillights braked in front of them as another Jeep slowly took the ramp to the next level.
Brett hit the brakes, spun the Jeep right, stopping then quickly backing up between two pillars.
He killed the engine, put his hand on her head, and took them both below the dash.
Engines hummed in the background, growing closer. A screech of tires, then the Suburbans were zooming past, closing in on the Jeep just disappearing around the corner. They hit the ramp hard, scraped against the concrete wall, spraying sparks across the lane, before continuing on.
Brett waited until they’d made the turn, then started the engine and took off, winding back the way they’d come. “Won’t buy us much time, but it might be enough to disappear.”
Ellis was already scanning through the nav—looking for somewhere suitable. “There’s a factory a few miles south. We should be able to hide in there.”
He nodded, pegging the revs in the red as he flew down the streets, taking every turn at the last possible second, keeping her stomach perched up in her throat.
The scenery blurred past. One giant wash of black and gray, the occasional light streaking the window a pale yellow.
He hit the entrance to the factory still going some insane speed, kicking up gravel as the pavement switched to dirt.
A couple of large dumpsters sat off to the left. He swung the Jeep around, drove past then wedged it in behind. Again, he cut the engine, pitching the cabin into complete darkness.
He had his gun in one hand the other already pushing on her head. “Stay down until I come back.”
She wanted to protest. Tell him they should go together, but he was gone. Door shut. Nothing but deafening silence. And the sound of her own breath. Fast. Shallow.
A few moments later, the door opened, and he got back in, the car dipping against his weight. “Just saw them barrel down the road, heading for the interstate. We’ll hold for another few minutes, then backtrack. Avoid possible crossover routes. Head for the safehouse.”
She straightened in the seat, glancing over at him. “They teach you that kind of driving in Delta Force?”
Just the hint of a smile. “Every Spec Op soldier gets advanced driver training. But I learned most of those moves from my dad when I was thirteen. Just before they caught his ass.” He glanced over at her.
“He’d taught me how to pick locks. Hotwire cars.
I thought he was the most badass father around. Until…”
She nodded. Reached for his hand. “I never knew my father. And all my mother taught me was how to avoid drunk and drugged-out assholes out on a rampage.” She met his gaze. Held it. “Thinking your lessons were more useful.”
He didn’t say anything, just watched her.
Then, he sighed, started the car. “We’ll keep an eye out.
Take the long way back, but… We’re out of time.
McCormick’s going to hit us with everything he’s got after this stunt.
And since you know him best, are hands down the smartest soldier in the lot of us, you’re our best bet at figuring out how to take him down. ”
“And if I can’t? If there’s nothing here we can use against him?”
“We go with Plan B, and I kill the asshole. Then, we run. And we don’t ever stop because there’s no coming back from that without proof. And I won’t drag everyone else down.”
He pulled onto the gravel. “Buckle up. This might get rough.”