Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Neve ushered her teammates over to the wooden ladder bolted into the far wall — what looked a thousand times worse than the metal one they’d descended. Splinters poked out in every direction, some of the rungs cracked in half.
Scout scurried up first, weapon scanning the darkness as the others followed after her. Neve took point at the entrance, counting down the seconds in her head, when shadows moved at the edge of the lantern’s glow.
She cracked off half a dozen rounds, had those shadows scattering before she grabbed a flash bang and tossed it down the tunnel — prayed it didn’t bring the upper level down on top of her.
The canister skipped across the dirt, spinning to a halt twenty feet up the passageway, voices shouting at everyone to move before it blew, reducing the corridor into a wash of light and sound.
Neve retreated, hit the bottom of the ladder a few seconds later, the high-pitched whine still ringing in her ears. She caught her balance, started climbing, carbine pointed toward the ground, that timer counting down in her head.
She reached her team a level from the surface, a circular patch of gray light drawing them up, Scout’s silhouette blocking out the right side. She tugged Zadie over the edge, then leaned back in, reaching for Kane when their time ran out, everything exploding with a deafening roar.
The ladder shook, parts of the vent walls breaking off, taking a section of the rungs with it.
Kane slipped as the ladder yawed to the left, dropped a few feet, his body swinging one way, before snapping back, a heavy thud vibrating through the wood.
He grunted, his legs hanging oddly still for a moment before he planted them onto the next stable rung as Neve shoved from below.
The ladder cracked down the center as a plume of smoke and fire flashed past the bottom, a column of it shooting up toward them.
One final heave, and Kane popped free, Wynn following him out as Neve scrambled up the last few feet, using the wall to propel herself over the lip.
She hit the ground, tumbling down the side as fire shot out the opening, dust and ash spewing into the air.
Rain stung her skin, the blast still echoing across the mountainside, the loud roar fading into the next roll of thunder.
Night eclipsed the landscape, the darkness swallowing the sharp edges just like inside the mine.
A breath.
That’s all she allowed herself before she pushed onto her hands and knees, the air burning a line down her chest. She crossed over to Kane, frowned at his tight lips and furrowed brow, one hand pressed against his back before he jerked it away, fisted it at his side.
She nudged Wynn. “Everything okay?”
Wynn grunted. “He took a hard hit—”
“Jesus, Whitmore, I’m fine.” Kane accepted the hand Neve offered him, levering onto his legs. The left buckled slightly before he locked his knee, looking as if the climb had aged him five years.
Kane tapped his wrist. “We’re down to ten minutes before Gus’ call. We need to be as far away from here as possible, because there’s no way whoever’s left standing won’t scour every inch of this mountain.”
Neve watched him stumble off with Wynn, that left leg dragging a bit before he got it beneath him, carried more of his weight. She scanned the ridge line, pain clawing at her ribs, the ghosted feel of the soldier’s fingers around her neck hampering her next breath as she followed after her team.
Rain poured from the sky, the thunder a constant backdrop as they marched along a narrow trail, mud splashing up their pants. A deep chill settled into her bones, her teeth chattering in a poor attempt to stay warm.
They hit an open expanse of scrub, the perimeter too far to avoid crossing.
Neve pushed down her inner voice, working with Wynn as they carried Kane across, set him against a tree once they’d reached the other side.
He winced, balancing on his right leg for a moment as he drew in a series of shallow, choppy breaths.
Wynn checked Kane’s vitals, cocking her head to the side. “You okay? You’ve been favoring that left leg.”
Kane snorted. “Just cold, like everyone else.”
“Everyone else didn’t get shot or slam into the ladder.” She layered on more bandages, gave him something to help with the pain, then moved over to Neve — held out a nasal spray. “Take this before that pain blurs everything into gray.”
Neve turned the unit over a few times, eyeing Wynn out of the corner of her eye. “Ketamine? Really?”
“Do you want to keep moving or not?”
“You should save it for Kane.”
Wynn snorted. “Please, if I give the man any more, it’ll look like I spiked his damn coffee.” She crossed her arms, stared.
Neve relented, inhaled the mist, then stuffed the empty bottle in her vest. “Thanks.”
“It’s only temporary. As soon as we’ve got a minute to breathe, I’m performing a full body sweep, so start pouting now, if you need to.” She tossed her a roll of gauze. “And wrap that damn graze before you look as bad as Kane.”
Neve nodded, cinched the bandages around her arm, as they continued down the trail. Esposito’s message arrived on time, Zadie taking down the coordinates before switching off the radio.
She sighed when the rest of them stared at her. “I’ll save the power in case we really need it.”
Kane chuckled. “Worried we might encounter an even graver situation, Noor?”
Zadie cocked her head to the side. “Did you really just jinx us?”
Kane grinned, looking as if the simple exchange had drained half his reserves before they pushed off, then stopped at the edge of the next clearing.
Two Tacomas sat off to one side, a thick diesel scent riding the breeze.
Large silhouettes loomed in the clearcut, piles of logs just visible amidst the fog.
Scout motioned to the crew cab. “Give me thirty to cross over, jump inside and strip the wires, then dart across. I’ll fire her up once everyone’s inside. With any luck, the storm will hide the engine growl in case anyone’s hanging around.”
Neve maintained her vigil, dividing her attention between the two active fronts as Scout crept out, darted across the open stretch of uneven ground, then up to the pickup. She tried the door, hopping inside when it opened on the first try, her head dipping beneath the dash.
Neve ushered everyone out once she’d reached thirty, helping Kane slide into the back with Wynn and Zadie before rounding the vehicle and jumping in the passenger side.
Scout got sparks arcing between the wires, the engine coughing to life on a sputter of smoke.
Thunder crashed overhead, the rain drenching the windshield as Scout popped the truck into drive and eased forward.
They bumped down the gravel road, picking up speed once they’d put enough distance between them and the loggers. Scout ignored the headlights, relying on her NVGs to see through the night. The wipers tapped out a rhythm, the air inside the cabin thick with shared tension.
Kane rested in the back, thermal blanket draped over him, Wynn hovering like a hawk.
He inhaled as the truck skidded through a patch of washboard, a few cans in the back rattling across the floorboards.
Zadie inputted the coordinates into the truck’s GPS, staring at her radio as if she expected the general to bark out more orders.
The vents pumped out some much-needed heat, the interior falling into an uneasy silence.
They traveled for another twenty minutes, each mile a small victory, as they slalomed down a tight switchback, bounced through a series of potholes.
Scout rounded a bend, shuddering to a halt, a swath of black cutting through the gray.
She removed her goggles, hit the lights.
An old log bridge spanned a large ravine, one side tilted lower than the other.
Neve opened her door, had her flashlight centered on the edge as Scout inched ahead, tires slipping on the rain-soaked wood. The structure creaked, dipping more as they rolled across, the outer part of the tires clawing at air.
Neve held her breath, glancing back, checking for headlights she feared would slice through the dark as Scout kept the vehicle moving, finally driving off the other side as the bridge shifted, one of the support beams crumbling off the edge.
Scout followed the GPS, skirting onto spurs, then crossing back onto the main service roads, avoiding any chance of an encounter. They arrived at the cache coordinates four hours later, the rain lessening to an annoying drizzle.
Neve trekked into the woods at the edge of the pullout, uncovering the hidden case from inside the hollow log.
She waited until she’d returned to the truck before popping it open, retrieving a sat phone and a thumb drive.
Zadie took the drive, grabbed her ruggedized tablet from her pack, then hacked through a series of encryption codes before uncovering the final coordinates.
She read them out to Scout, studying the map as it drew a line to the bunker’s location along Harrison Lake. “What the hell would we have done if I hadn’t been able to crack the codes?”
Kane coughed, each breath wheezing through his chest, crackling as if his lungs were full of static. “Then, we’d be screwed.”
Zadie snorted, watching the map move as Scout veered onto the main service road, opting for the headlights as they traveled in silence, just the crunch of gravel beneath the wheels, a few stones pinging off the undercarriage.
Another two hours before Scout stopped short of the cabin’s driveway, headlights off, nothing sounding but Kane’s continued wheeze.
She scanned the surroundings, looking as jumpy as Neve felt. “Are we sure about this? We thought Fraser was part of the team, too, and look how that played out.”
Neve checked her pistol. “I could do a quick recon, see what we’re up against.”
Wynn leaned between the seats. “Neve…”