Chapter 21 #2
The security door clicked open. “Go. Now,” Reece said as he moved through the door, weapon up, scanning left. Deacon and Echo went high and low right. Ace and Bandit flowed through behind them, covering the center. Rip held the door.
The corridor was wide. Plush carpet. Recessed lighting. Expensive art on the walls. This wasn't an industrial platform. This was corporate luxury.
Across the platform, seven other teams were breaching simultaneously. Reece could hear the updates flooding through the comm.
"Viper, Level One points of entry secure. No resistance."
"Raptor, Level Two secure. Four personnel detained, no injuries."
"Wolf, Level Three secure. Night shift personnel are complying. Eight individuals secured at monitoring stations."
"Cougar, Level Four secure. Dex's people standing down as instructed."
"Tiger, floor secured. No disturbances."
"Falcon, area secured. Seven in custody. No problems. All quiet."
"Bear, helipad, and upper docking secure. Perimeter established."
"Good," Reece said. "Cobra moving on primary objectives."
Four doors. Two left, two right.
"Standard breach protocol," Reece said quietly. "Ace, Bandit, take left. Deacon, Echo, with me on the right. Rip, hold center, and cover our six."
"Copy."
They moved to the first door on the right, and Reece positioned himself at the frame with Deacon stacked behind him.
Max spoke. "Door unlocked. Target is the senior VP of operations. Asleep. Alone."
Reece tested the handle. It turned smoothly.
He threw the door open and flowed through the door, weapon up, sweeping right. Deacon went left.
A man sat up in bed, dazed and disoriented. He was in his mid-fifties and wearing silk pajamas.
"Guardian Security! Hands behind your head! Now!" Reece commanded.
The man complied immediately, still blinking against intrusion to his sleep.
Deacon moved in, pulled him from the bed, and zip-tied his wrists behind his back. "Clear."
Across the corridor, the sound of another advancement. Ace and Bandit had breached simultaneously.
"CFO secured," Ace reported. "No resistance."
Two down.
Reece, Echo, and Deacon moved to the second door on the right.
"Mackenzie Vance," Max said in Reece's ear. "He’s a liaison to Asian countries."
"Copy."
Same protocol. Door unlocked. Reece threw it open.
The man was standing in the center of his suite, fully dressed, hands raised.
He'd been waiting.
"Guardian Security," Reece said, weapon trained center mass. "On the ground. Hands behind your head."
Vance's eyes were cold. Calculating. But he complied, dropping to his knees, then to his stomach.
Smart man. He knew when he was beaten.
Deacon moved in and secured him, zip ties tight around his wrists.
Reece cleared the rest of the suite. Bedroom. Bathroom. Office. Empty.
"Clear."
Three targets secured.
Across the corridor, Bandit's voice came through. “Fourth suite clear. Empty. No occupant."
Reece and Echo moved to the next suite and opened the door. “Empty,” Echo said as she cleared the bathroom.
"Guardian, One," Reece said. "This is Cobra 2. Two high-value targets secured. Pike and Voss are unaccounted for. Find them."
Max was already typing. Reece could hear the rapid keystrokes.
"They must have known we were coming."
"How?"
"Unknown. But they're not on the executive level."
Reece keyed the all-teams channel. "All units, Cobra 2. High-value targets Jonah Pike and Marta Voss are mobile somewhere on the platform. Pike is male, forties, black hair, approximately six feet. He’s ex-special forces and dangerous.
Voss is female, mid-thirties, athletic build, dark hair.
Both are priority arrests. Lethal force authorized if they resist. All teams, search your levels and report. "
Acknowledgments came back immediately.
"Cobra, spread out," Reece ordered. "Search every room on this level. Rip, stay with the prisoners."
"Copy."
They moved fast, clearing the remaining suites methodically.
Each room received the same treatment. Breach.
Clear. Secure. Five minutes later, the executive level, including admin areas, computer rooms, conference rooms, and a private kitchen and dining area, was completely empty except for the three prisoners.
"Guardian, Cobra 2. Executive level is clear. No sign of Pike or Voss."
"Searching now," Max said. Silence stretched while he worked. Then, frustrated. "Pike disappeared from camera coverage on Level Six, Section D. Maintenance corridor. He just … vanishes. No exit visible."
"Hidden route?" Deacon suggested.
"Maybe. Cross-referencing structural blueprints."
More silence. More typing.
Then Max's voice changed. Sharp. Urgent.
"Found it. Unmarked stairwell. Not on any official platform documentation. No cameras. Runs from Level Eight down to Level Four. Emergency access. Probably original construction. Never mapped."
"Where's the entrance he used?" Reece demanded.
"Level Six, Section D. Behind a maintenance panel marked 'Electrical – Authorized Personnel Only.'"
"Falcon," Reece said immediately. "Check Level Six, Section D for a maintenance panel. Hidden stairwell access. Jonah Pike may be using it to move through the platform."
"Falcon copies, Cobra 2. Moving to investigate."
Reece turned to his team. "Deacon, take Echo, Ace, and Bandit. Link up with Falcon. Find that stairwell. I want Pike contained."
"On it."
They moved out fast.
Reece stayed on the executive level with Rip, guarding the three prisoners.
Max spoke again. "Voss is on Level Three. Wolf team just spotted her trying to access a systems terminal."
"Wolf, Cobra 2. Apprehend and secure."
"Wolf copies. Moving now."
Thirty seconds later. "Wolf has Voss in custody. She's compliant. No resistance."
One down.
"Falcon at the maintenance panel," came the report. "We've got the hidden stairwell. It's dark. No lights. Descends at least four levels and goes up, too."
"Hold position," Reece ordered. "Cobra team is en route to your location."
"Falcon copies."
Reece waited, listening to the comms traffic as the teams coordinated across the platform.
Then Deacon's voice. "Cobra 2, Deacon, we're at the stairwell with Falcon. Moving in to search. Ace has NVGs."
"Copy. Proceed with caution. Consider Pike armed and dangerous."
"Roger."
As the silence stretched, Reece could hear his own heartbeat. The distant hum of the platform. The quiet breathing of the prisoners zip-tied on the floor.
Then Ace's voice, low and urgent. "Movement. Bottom of the stairwell. Single target."
"Jonah Pike," Deacon called out. "Guardian Security. There's no way out. Show yourself."
No response.
"We can do this easy or hard," Deacon continued. "Your choice."
Still nothing.
Then the sound Reece dreaded. Gunfire.
"He's moving," Ace reported. "Heading toward … Guardian, where does this stairwell exit?"
Max responded immediately. "Level Four. Maintenance bay west. Shit. He's not going down. He's going up. How the fuck did he bypass our position? He's on Level Seven now. Heading for Section C."
Reece's blood turned to ice.
Section C.
The safe room.
Maggie.
"All units, Cobra 2," Reece said, his voice deadly calm. "High-value target Jonah Pike is on Level Seven, Section C. He is heading for room 7-C-18. Intercept and apprehend immediately. Lethal force authorized."
He was already moving, sprinting toward the stairwell, weapon ready.
"Viper en route, Cobra 2."
"Tiger moving, Cobra 2."
"Falcon responding, Cobra 2."
But Reece knew the truth.
They were all too far away.