Chapter 18
Crusher made it through the following day and woke on extraction day, ready to conquer the world and extricate Marta from yet another compound where she was being held captive to create a killer virus for a deadly and nefarious purpose.
Thomas had called in to let the guards know he would arrive later than usual, claiming he had a flat tire on his truck.
He’d be there around quitting time for most of the lab staff.
Hopefully, that would mean the lab staff would be gone or significantly reduced in number.
Crusher’s late-afternoon arrival would give Marta more time to work on the antiviral and still leave enough hours in the day or night to fly to Vienna before the summit began.
He paced the hotel room, counting the minutes until he met with Reuben Thomas, his key to getting into the facility.
A knock sounded. “Crusher, it’s us,” Phantom’s muffled voice came through the door.
Crusher yanked open the door.
Phantom, Draco, and Marsh entered the small room, filling it with their broad shoulders and tense expressions.
“We’re going in with you,” Phantom said.
Crusher shook his head. “You can’t. I’ll only have one ID card to scan for entry.
“Scan it and let us in with you,” Draco said. “You can’t go into that facility alone. From what Thomas said, the place is crawling with guards in tactical gear.”
“It would blow my cover if anyone saw me go in with three other guys.” Crusher shook his head again. “I have to be able to move through the corridors undetected long enough to locate Marta and Cate.”
“Then take one more, not three,” Draco said.
“My daughter’s in there,” Marsh spoke up. “I should go.”
Crusher’s eyes narrowed. “No way. You got Marta into this mess. I still don’t trust you.”
“One day, you’ll have a daughter of your own,” Marsh murmured, “and you’ll understand.”
“You need someone to have your back,” Draco said. “One of us needs to go with you.”
His frown deepening, Crusher considered Draco’s words. “Thomas is only bringing one set of coveralls.”
“Unless someone contacts him and lets him know to bring two.” Draco grinned. “I called him last night and told him to bring an extra set of coveralls and a cap.” He clapped his hands together. “Then it’s settled. I’m going in with you.”
Once again, Crusher shook his head. “I might be able to let you into the building with the ID, but I can’t get you through the gate unless you have an ID as well. Thomas said they check the IDs of every person entering the gate.”
“We’ll figure out a way to hide me in Thomas’s truck long enough to get past the gate,” Draco assured him.
“If not, I go in alone.” Crusher’s burner phone chirped. “Crusher,” he answered.
“Meet me behind the restaurant in fifteen minutes,” Thomas said.
“On my way.” Crusher ended the call, his pulse quickening as he stared at his teammates. “It’s go time.”
They headed down the hotel stairwell to the lobby, where Fearghas and Catya joined them.
Together, they left the hotel and split up in the parking lot.
Crusher went with Draco in one of the rental cars.
Fearghas, Catya, Phantom and Marsh took Fearghas’s SUV.
They would go ahead and get into position outside the wire.
Crusher drove to the restaurant and pulled around to the rear of the building, where he found Thomas’s work truck parked and Thomas seated inside.
As soon as Crusher and Draco stepped out of the rental car, Thomas climbed down from the truck, wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a jacket. He reached behind the seat and pulled out what looked like a laundry bag. He lifted his chin toward the rear of the vehicle. “You can change in the back.”
Crusher nodded toward Draco. “You go first.” Though Thomas had gone along with them up to this point, Crusher didn’t know him well enough to climb into the back of a vehicle and trust that the man wasn’t setting them up to be locked inside and driven out into the countryside, where they could be quickly murdered and their bodies disposed of.
No one would be the wiser until they failed to show up to perform the mission to free Marta.
Draco took the bag to the rear of the vehicle and disappeared inside.
Moments later, he emerged wearing the gray coveralls and cap.
He waited with Thomas while Crusher entered the back of the truck and slipped into the other set of coveralls and a cap.
They fit loosely on him and on Draco, as Thomas was as tall as both men but carried more weight around the middle.
While in the back of the truck, Crusher noted two more sets of coveralls hanging from hooks in the back corner, along with rubber boots, an array of mops and brooms and several cardboard boxes filled with cleaning supplies.
He stepped down from the rear of the truck and nodded toward Draco. “I think you can hide behind the other coveralls hanging back there.
Draco nodded. “My thoughts, too.”
Crusher turned to Thomas. “What about you? Where will you be while we’re inside the facility?”
Thomas held up his hands. “I’ll be drinking beer in the restaurant. If anyone asks, I’ll say that my truck was stolen.”
Crusher nodded and held out his hand. “Thank you. With your help, we might have a chance to save so many people.”
Reuben Thomas shook Crusher’s hand and then Draco’s. “Good luck.”
They left the man standing beside the rental car. Draco climbed into the back of the truck. “I’ll duck under when we get close,” he said.
Crusher slipped into the driver’s seat, familiarized himself with the gears, and started the engine.
He drove through town and out toward Helvetic BioSolutions, willing his heartbeat to slow and forcing a calm he didn’t feel.
This had to work. Otherwise, they’d have to go into wrecker mode, crash through the gate, then through the door into the building, fight their way to the ladies, and back out again, praying the damage to the truck from the crash wasn’t so severe they couldn’t drive away in it.
He wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever he had to, even if it meant crashing into the facility. However, the guards could start shooting indiscriminately, which could put the two women in the line of fire on their way out.
As he neared the gate, he performed a quick comm check.
“Fearghas and Caty here,” Fearghas responded.
“Phantom and Marsh in place,” Phantom said.
“Draco getting hot in the back of this truck,” Draco said. “Ready to get out.”
Crusher pulled his cap down over his forehead and stared straight ahead as he approached the gate and handed the guard Thomas’s ID.
The guard had barely glanced at the ID when the phone rang inside the guard shack, drawing the man’s attention away from Crusher. He turned to answer the call, holding the ID, the gate arm still blocking Crusher’s entrance into the compound.
For what felt like forever, Crusher sat still, counting the seconds as the guard spoke to someone in German. Crusher didn’t understand what the man was saying. He only wished the guard would finish the conversation, hand back Thomas’s ID and let him enter.
The guard ended the call and approached Crusher. He handed the ID through the window, his brow furrowing. He asked Crusher something in German.
Crusher had no idea what to say in response, so he nodded.
The guard’s frown deepened. He asked another question Crusher couldn’t understand.
His hand on the shift, Crusher got ready to ram the gate.
The phone in the guard shack rang before Crusher could throw the shift into drive.
The guard snorted, his lips pressing into a tight line. He turned back into the shack and hit a button on the wall. As the gate arm rose slowly, the guard answered the call, his gaze following Crusher and the truck as he drove through.
Crusher let out the breath that had lodged in his throat and backed into a parking space near the door where he’d seen Thomas park. He thought about leaving the engine running but changed his mind.
He went to the back of the truck, opened the door, and nodded to Draco. “Hand me one of the mops and bring one for yourself.”
Draco tossed a mop to Crusher, grabbed one for himself and hurriedly dropped down from the back of the truck onto the pavement. “What took you so long to get through the gate?”
“The guard was answering phone calls.” Carrying the mop, Crusher strode to the door, held the card over the reader, and waited for the mechanical click of the lock releasing.
Snick.
Crusher entered, followed by Draco.
They were in. Now all they had to do was find Marta and Cate.
With a mental image of the map he’d studied, Crusher led the way through the corridors toward the BSL-3 lab, where Marta would be working to complete the antiviral.
God, he hoped she’d succeeded in replicating the antiviral she’d created at the CDC.
The three days she’d spent at the Helvetic facility hadn’t been nearly enough time, but it was all she’d had.
If she came away without the antiviral, they’d just have to stop Vasquez before the virus could be released, which was the primary goal anyway.
At each junction in the corridors, Crusher led the way around the corners with his mop, pretending to be cleaning. When someone passed him, he bent his head, letting the overhead lighting cast a deep shadow below the bill of his cap.
He held his breath as he passed two guards in tactical gear headed in the opposite direction. Neither tried to stop him or Draco, nor question them.
One last corner and he’d be in the hallway where the lab should be located.
Again, he led with the mop. As he rounded the corner, a guard straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall and shot a glance in Crusher’s direction.
His eyes narrowed briefly before he shook his head and resumed leaning against the wall, his hands resting on his utility belt, close to the holster with the handgun fitted inside.