Chapter 18 #2
Tierney stared at both of them, looking as if she wanted to shove them over the edge, before turning, marching off. The next few minutes passed in silence, just their hushed footfalls mixing with the ambient noise.
The path ended abruptly a couple hundred meters later, melding into a sheer sheet of granite that glistened in the gray light. Tierney pointed to some weathered handholds, then started across, slowly gaining elevation until she’d reached the other side almost forty feet above them.
Buck went next, followed her line, careful to keep three points of contact as he inched across the surface.
He hit the mid-point and picked up speed, until one of the rocks beneath his hand crumbled into dust. A shower of gravel skittered down into the darkness, as a massive breaker hit the shore, the spray shooting up to kiss his feet.
The shift slid him sideways, boots kicking at air and mist, one small nodule in his left hand saving him from joining the surf.
Tierney inhaled, practically dove back onto the face, making it look as if she’d been downplaying it before.
Stumbling along when she could have been sprinting.
She reached Buck in record time, all but dragged him onto more solid ground as they made their way along the last section, collapsing onto the ledge at the far side.
Rowan shook her head. “Remind me to kick Buck’s ass later for scaring me.”
Bodie grinned. “You and me, both, sweetheart.”
She smiled at the endearment, reaching the other side without repeating Buck’s near-miss. Giving Bodie another heart attack.
The rain had picked up by the time they cleared the scramble and followed the path back into the woods.
The wind lessened, the massive pines sheltering them from the worst of the gusts as a new trail opened up in front of them, snaking off to the left through a patch of meadow grass on top of the cliff.
Tierney held out her arm, stopped them cold. “I know it looks inviting, but…”
She removed a small, weighted line from her pocket and tossed it onto the path. It landed with a soft thud, the end tumbling over a couple times before rolling to a halt. She glanced back at them as she tugged on the line, pulled it across the grass.
A metallic click echoed up from the dirt, as a tiny, circular plate popped above the surface, stopped half an inch in the air.
Rowan inhaled. “What the hell?”
Tierney sighed. “That’s an M14 ‘toe popper’. It probably won’t kill you, but it’ll take off your foot, leave you screaming for help — draw your whole team into the kill box. Might be best if we avoid that area.”
Buck crouched at the edge, whistled as he pointed out three more tripwires along with a handful of subtle soil disturbances.
Just like the patch of ground Evan had stepped on, only he’d encounter far more force.
“It’s a textbook anti-personnel field, and nothing I’d want to risk without a bomb dog like Nyx along. ”
Tierney shifted in beside him. “And that’s why we don’t take the easy road.”
She veered right, headed for a root-choked path that wove through a thicker part of the forest, deadfall and branches clogging the ground.
She stopped half a mile in, stared at a slightly elevated portion of the path that stretched the width of the trail, bramble and thorns blocking each side.
She inched forward, tapped the top gently with her boot.
The moss sagged, then sprang back, settling a bit lower.
She shook her head. “Looks like they added a damn pit trap. Guaranteed spikes underneath.” She scanned each side, picked the one Bodie would have. “We’ll skirt right, single file. My steps equal your steps. No freelancing.”
They followed, each placing their boots in Tier’s invisible footprints until they’d cleared the threat, continued on.
The last of the light bled out, the forest fading into nothing but dark shadows amidst utter blackness.
They all switched on dim, red flashlights, the glow barely enough to keep them from tripping over roots as they headed for the final hill.
They killed the lights when reached the edge of the grounds, a ten-foot fence appearing out of the fog — double chain-link with razor on top.
Poles rose above the metal every thirty feet, domed cameras perched on top, moving in slow arcs.
A low-frequency hum vibrated the air, the noise rattling Bodie’s head until it felt as if his molars were singing.
He moved in beside his buddies, studied the layout. The fence sat about twenty meters in front, nothing but open ground and raked dirt between the forest and the line. The facility stood tall in the background, a few lights on the west side gleaming in the dark.
A flare of light broke the darkness, a large beam swiping the open section before stopping fifty feet out, pausing for a while, then swinging back.
Bodie counted the arc — ten second sweep, five second pause, then twelve back. Barely enough time to sprint to the fence, cut their way through, then dart inside. But they’d make it work.
Tierney pointed toward the facility. “Movement.”
Bodie focused on the building, froze as a silhouette crossed from one window to the next — an empty gurney, a hulking figure pushing the end. It didn’t take much to imagine Rowan’s father on the bed. Fragile. All but lost to the outside world.
Rowan moved in beside him, face grim, hands fisted at her sides. She didn’t talk, just stared at the windows until the silhouettes vanished.
Nick shuffled in beside Bodie. “Okay, I’m impressed. The fence is formidable, but the microwave towers…” He sighed. “Those are gonna be interesting.”
Bodie frowned. “Don’t you have some kind of gadget that bypasses that kind of tech?”
“I’m not Batman, jackass, though… Hold that thought.”
Nick slipped out of his pack, rummaged through it. The spotlight kept sweeping, every pass identical to the last. Automated, which eliminated any timing errors. As long as they didn’t get pinned, they’d be fine.
Nick reappeared a moment later, two small units in his hand.
“These are next-gen EMPs. They work locally to disrupt any electrical signal they come in contact with for about fifty feet on either side, but only for a couple minutes before they burn out. They won’t fry the circuits, and they won’t destroy the sensors, but they’ll give us a window.
What’s designed to resemble a temporary glitch.
I can use one to get us in, the other to get us out. Assuming we’re all still breathing.”
“Will security notice?”
“Killing the power’s gonna pop a code on their end, brother. No way that’ll go unanswered.”
Dalton motioned to a tower off to their right. “I count two guards. One smoking, one on a tablet. Nothing else in view. I can take them out if they get too interested, but even my suppressed rifle won’t be silent.”
Bodie nodded. “All we need is a straight shot to the fence. Once we’re through, we can deal with whatever resistance they throw our way because we’re not leaving here empty handed.”
Tierney nudged Bodie’s shoulder. “We’ve got a massive spruce close to the fence line on our left. Might provide a bit of cover from anyone inside the building. Good place to cut through the fence, too.”
“Agreed.” Bodie took a breath, pushed it out.
“Okay, Dalton, you’re our overwatch. Buck and Nick will go first. Buck’ll snip through the fence after Nick kills the power to the microwave sensors.
We’ll all dart through, Dalton bringing up the rear, then pray we can reach the building before any reinforcements arrive. ”
Dalton checked his rifle, moved closer to the tree. What Bodie assumed was the best sightline as Nick readied the unit.
Bodie counted down the spotlight and rotating cameras, uttered a hushed, “Now.”
Nick and Buck took off, hauled ass across the open section, Nick tossing the unit against the pole. It snapped into place, a slight hissing sound arcing through the air before the hum fluttered, then stopped.
Buck had his wire cutters working the chain a second later, each snip insanely loud in the stillness. He sliced a man-sized line up the links, popped through before the spotlight swept back, continuing without a hiccup.
They waited for the next window, then took off, feet flying, dirt shifting beneath their boots. They didn’t stop, just dove through the opening, rolling into a striking position beyond the fence.
Dalton appeared out of the darkness a moment later, rifle at his chest, boots not making a sound.
He got halfway across when the ground bottomed out beneath one foot, dropped him thigh-deep into some kind of gopher hole.
He hit hard, everything jarring to a stop as the spotlight reached the far end, paused.
Voices rose from the direction of the tower, boots clanging down metal steps. Those guards Nick said would be sent to investigate the power outage. Their entire op going sideways as the spotlight jerked, started moving.