Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Zürich, Switzerland
Adam ducked his head and raced through Johannsen’s apartment. Ice appeared in the bedroom door, a pistol in one hand. He drew another and handed it to Adam, who spun and fired behind them over Steph and Kai’s heads.
She looked back as well but didn’t fire his gun. He figured he was probably never gonna get that back.
The drone behind them spun. Barrels on the back side of the drone spat small caliber rounds at them.
“Forward guns were disabled,” Kai said. “Go!”
Adam spun to the bedroom, where the thing was gonna box them in. But what other choice did they have?
Something sliced across the outside of his arm. He ducked to the side and dragged the others into the room before he shut the door. Ice fired a series of shots at the last second, stumbling back two steps right as the door slammed. Sounded like the drone hit the door, then backed off.
Adam looked at his bloody sleeve, then at Ice. “You good?”
Ice rubbed his shirt, right over his sternum. “Stings like a BB gun.” He lifted the edge of his shirt and showed Adam the bulletproof vest underneath.
Kai said, “Paranoid much.”
“Except I’m not paranoid. Because I did get shot.”
Steph said, “He has a point.”
“We need a way out.” Adam scanned the sparse bedroom, all decorated in the same white furniture, gray fabrics, and chrome accents as the rest of the flat.
Steph was right—this place was completely impersonal.
But with the waning light of evening casting an orange glow across the floor, it was pretty nice.
Still seemed more like a showroom.
Adam headed for the window. In front of it, a space of bare floor snagged his attention. He crouched and ran his fingers over a groove in the wood. “Tripod.”
He pulled back the sheer curtain that hung between the drapes and looked out at the river behind the building. An old barge had been anchored across the river on the far bank, some time ago. What, or who, had Johannsen been doing surveillance on?
This place wasn’t a bolt hole. It was a vantage point for gathering intelligence.
“There’s a smudge of blood in the closet.” Ice was still wincing and rubbing his sternum.
Bullets broke through the door, but the small caliber and the density of the wood meant they lost momentum quickly and didn’t hit the far wall.
All of them backed away from the door, fanning out far enough the bullets wouldn’t hit them.
“Show me the closet.” Steph headed for Ice, and both of them went to the tiny room on one side. Beside that, in the corner, was another door that led to the bathroom.
Adam rushed to it, staying out of the line of fire. Kai could handle anything that busted its way into the room.
Outside on the street, sirens became audible, the sound getting louder as local first responders arrived on the scene.
Adam scanned the bathroom and saw the window would be impossible to exit, plus going that way would lead to them dying on the pavement four stories below.
He dragged out his phone and sent a message.
The postcard. Johannsen’s disappearance.
All of it indicated something was going on, and whatever it was they needed to know.
After he’d fired off the text, he dug out the small case with his comms earbud. With one in, he rushed out and to the closet.
“Definitely a bolt hole!” Steph’s words carried out of the small space. She pressed the back wall, and the panel pushed away from her, swinging open like a door. “Bingo.” She glanced back, her face bright with adrenaline and a smidge of victory. “Let’s go.”
Adam turned back. “Kai!”
“Right behind you.”
Ice ducked into the space behind the door. Adam said, “Get your comms in.” Then, “Steph.” When she turned, he handed her an earbud. “Put this in.”
“Marina, you copy?” The question came from Ice. “We could use an assist.”
Adam ducked into the space, considerably darker than the bright home. Two feet in front of him another wall, stacked breezeblocks, made a narrow walkway that stretched left and right. Ice and Steph were on his right now, making their way along the walkway.
“I read you,” Marina said. “But not clearly.”
“Copy that.” Adam started his shuffle down the tight space. “You have our location.”
“Jay and Dan are doubling back to assist.”
“We need a way to take out armed drones.” Preferably one that didn’t get civilians caught in the crossfire. “We should grab one so we can see who sent them to kill us.”
“They have to be nearby,” Marina said. “Maybe Ice can find their signal.”
“Sure,” Ice said. “Just as soon as one isn’t trying to kill me. Oh, and also, I left all my tech in the car.”
“Did you get shot?”
Adam’s lips curled up. Of course, Marina would immediately peg the reason that Ice was being surly.
Ice said, “Nix got shot more than me. He’s bleeding.”
“We’re all fine.” Adam didn’t need them getting derailed with things that weren’t relevant.
Steph said, “By the time we get outside, our car will probably be blocked in by the cops. It’ll be hours before they clear the scene and we can leave.”
“I’ll come back for the stuff later,” Ice said.
Adam figured that was a good call. “We need to draw the drones away from people. It was busy outside, and someone could get hurt.”
Kai ducked into the space. “You think he got out this way?”
Ice was almost to the end. Steph, next in line after him, said, “If he smudged the closet with blood, he was either injured and on the run or he was leaving a message for whoever might come after him looking to find out what happened.”
“Pretty risky move,” Adam said. “Letting everyone know where he went.”
“It was a clue, but who knows whose blood it even is.” Steph let out a tight breath.
“Did you get hit?”
She fired back, “I’m not the one bleeding.”
Adam looked down at his arm, which stung and was getting stiff. Also, now he was the one smearing blood on places, and it would be his DNA left at the scene. If anyone found this secret exit, that was.
“Stairs,” Ice called back from the end of the hallway. “I’m heading down.”
“I’m in traffic cams and building security.” Marina’s voice crackled with static. “Police are out front. The drones are too small to see on this feed, but I think there’s one hovering on each side of the building.”
“The cops will probably try to take them out,” Adam said.
“The drones will return fire.” Steph looked at him, concern on her face.
Marina said, “Steph?”
“Yes.”
“It is you.”
“It is?” Steph said.
“Nice to meet you,” Marina said.
“You, too. Though, I have no idea who you are.”
Steph turned away from Adam and reached the opening to the stairs, ducking in to follow Ice.
Adam headed down the stairs after her and heard Kai behind him.
The stairs were pine wood and had been crudely hammered together, descending steeply down four stories and leaving the narrow hall empty except for the shadows above them as they went down.
Had to be a hall inside the exterior wall on the side of the building.
Probably a long hallway leading to apartment doors or the elevator, then a vacant space between that and the apartments themselves.
With views of the street or the river behind the building, he doubted anyone realized there was a vacant space all along this side of the building.
Or that it had likely been here for a hundred years.
Adam reached the bottom of the stairs and almost collided with Steph in the dark.
“Got it.” Ice twisted the handle and got the door open, swinging it wide into the mad scramble of people running. He ducked out into the crowd, and the rest of them followed.
Adam spotted a drone up in the air to their right, almost at the level of the fourth floor.
As they rushed out, the drone rotated to face them, bringing the barrels to bear on their group. With far too many people nearby to allow it to fire.
“Target practice!” Adam pointed Ice’s pistol at the drone.
Ice fired before him. Steph actually hit the drone.
He got a couple of shots to impact the body, and it started to drop. The others finished it off, and the drone crashed to the cobblestone between buildings.
Two police officers rushed around the corner.
“Anyone speak Swiss?”
Steph twisted to Adam. “It’s a collection of German dialects that vary by region. No one speaks Swiss except the Swiss. They’ll know we aren’t from here!”
Another drone flew around the building.
An older woman stumbled and fell. Ice helped her up so she could continue hurrying to the back of the building.
Two uniformed cops yelled, racing their way.
“Time to go.” Adam motioned them left toward the river. “Hustle.”
In his ear Marina said, “Go to the riverfront side of the building and turn south. In half a mile you’ll find a couple of boats moored in the water.”
“Copy.” Adam glanced around to place the sun and get his bearings, then led them through the crowd and south along the riverfront.
The buzz of a drone got louder behind him. He expected gunshots, but they didn’t come. Instead, the drone followed. Flying low over the crowd.
“We need to shoot that thing.”
“It’s herding us.” She gasped a breath, and he wondered if her feet were hurting.
“Ready, break,” Adam said. “Steph, stay with me.”
Her hand slid into his and he clasped it, glad she was on board and sticking with him. There was no time to explain the principles of the plan. Ice and Kai replied back that they copied. Adam waited until they were at the street between the next buildings and said, “Break.”
Ice and Kai dashed off to the right, racing toward the road that ran parallel to the river. They would likely break off again and go in separate directions.
Marina said, “Ice, double back and get one of those drones. Kai, the cars are clear.”
“Is my best option still the boat?” Adam kept his head on a swivel.
Steph said, “We’ll be exposed.”
“If we draw out a drone on the water, away from people, we can take it out.”
Whether she agreed or not, she kept her mouth shut.
Marina said, “The railing up ahead, there are stairs down.”
“That might be good enough.” Adam tugged Steph to go ahead of him and glanced back.
The cops were almost to them now. One lifted his pistol and fired at the drone but missed. It descended rapidly in response to the shot. Which meant whoever piloted it was close enough they could see everything, or they had cameras.
Adam crouched at the rail. His right hand shook, and pain radiated up and down his arm. He switched to his offhand and let the injured arm fall to his knee. Squeezing the trigger left-handed, he corrected his aim through the first two shots and the third hit the drone.
It didn’t go down.
In fact, it seemed more like he pissed the thing off.
It swung low, flying toward him. Adam ducked and crouch-ran down the stairs, stumbling at the bottom. The engine of a boat revved to life, Steph behind the controls. “Let’s go!”
He ran to her, jumping in half expecting to get shot any second. Again, the drone didn’t fire at them. “You’re right. It’s herding us.”
“Let’s see it try to catch up.” She shoved the power lever to max and steered them away from the dock, navigating them around another boat.
Someone yelled from the dock.
Their boat scraped the other, and Adam tried to look apologetic. The older man shook his fist at them. “We owe that guy a boat.”
Marina said, “I can find out who it’s registered to, but later.”
“Any way to remotely disable the drone?” Adam watched it lower, following them about fifteen feet above the end of the boat. Like a wild animal, staring at them. About to pounce. “I wanna shoot it, but we’ll never fish it out of this river.”
Wind buffeted his clothes as they picked up speed.
He held on to the rail.
“I vote you destroy it anyway,” Steph said. “That thing will kill us.”
“Or you’ll move out of range of whoever is controlling it,” Marina countered.
Ice jumped in. “Drone retrieved.”
“I got the car,” Kai said. “I’m picking up Ice.”
“Jay and Dan can grab Steph and Adam.” Marina paused. “I’ll find you a place to dock, and they’ll pick you up.”
“Thanks.” Adam turned to Steph and caught the shift in her demeanor. “What—”
She swung the boat around in an arc, cutting a wide swath across the river, in front of a dinner cruise boat. When everyone on deck yelled at her and the boat horn blasted, she waved her apologies.
“Where are we going?”
“To confront whoever is controlling these drones.” She pointed to a rusty ship moored on the far side of the river that looked like it hadn’t moved in years. The same ship that might’ve been what Johannsen was looking at from his apartment.
The drone lowered, firing at them. Following the arc of their trajectory.
“It thinks we’re going the wrong way.” Adam used the last rounds in his magazine, but he took the drone out. It splashed down, dead in the water. He got a fresh magazine from the pouch beside his holster and switched them out. “You’re sure about this?”
She pointed at the rusty ship. “Look at the antennas. And that satellite? Out of place.”
“Take us in, Skipper.”