Chapter 18 #3
“Phantom, if you can hear me,” Crusher said into his headset, “we’ve got the girls and are coming out hot.”
“On it,” Phantom said. “Once you’re outside the fence, we’ll have your back.”
Ahead, several guards lined up in front of the gate, weapons drawn, targeting the truck and driver.
Crusher ducked as low as he could while still seeing over the dash and blasted across the parking lot, aiming for the entrance.
The guards opened fire. Bullets slammed through the windshield, spraying tiny glass shards across the cab’s interior.
Cate and Marta sprawled on the floor with Draco’s body lying on top of them, shielding them.
The guards standing in front of the gate stood firm as Crusher aimed the truck straight at the gate. At the last moment, they dove to both sides.
Crusher drove the truck straight into the gate arm, sending it flying off its hinges.
A black SUV skidded sideways as it swerved out of the parking lot and chased after the truck. Armed men leaned out of the side windows, firing at the truck.
Crusher charged forward, barely slowing as he came to a corner.
The rental car the other members of the team had taken shot out of a side street, driving between the truck and the SUV.
The SUV driver slammed on the brakes and swerved onto the sidewalk to go around the vehicle but then struck the corner of a building. The gunmen who’d been hanging out the side windows went flying.
“Get to the airport,” Phantom’s voice sounded in Crusher’s ear. “We’ve got this.”
Draco sat up and helped Marta and Cate into their seats. He pulled up the address for the general aviation section of Zurich airport and helped guide Crusher through the streets of Zurich.
When they arrived, someone was there to open the gate for them. Once through, Draco pointed at the line of aircraft. “There’s Hammer. He’s waving for us to drive out to him.”
Crusher drove to where the former SEAL stood near the tail of a small jet.
Hammer smiled at Marta. “Glad they got you out. Were you able to get the antiviral?”
Marta held up the pouch. “I did.”
He waved her toward the plane. “Find a seat. We leave for Vienna as soon as everyone’s aboard.”
“What about me?” Cate asked and shot a glance from Hammer to Draco and back.
Hammer nodded. “Cate Marsh, I presume?”
She lifted her chin. “That’s right.”
“You can stay in Zurich with my team,” Hammer said.
Cate shook her head.
Marta stepped forward. “Cate has been working with me for the past forty-eight hours. She has a stake in this game Vasquez and Teuling are playing.”
Hammer nodded toward the gate they’d passed through moments before. “Or you can come with your father to Vienna and see this through. But there are risks.”
“I know,” Cate said. “If that virus gets loose, we could all be infected and die a grizzly death. I still want to go.”
“Are you sure?” Marta frowned. “As much effort as we put into recreating the antiviral, it might not be enough. The virus Krauss has been working on could already have mutated.”
Cate squared her shoulders. “Then we all have to make sure that virus doesn’t get out.”
A vehicle pulled through the gate and came to a stop beside the truck.
The front fender had a deep dent and scraped paint, and the front headlight was broken. However, the people inside emerged uninjured.
Fearghas, Catya, Phantom and Marsh joined them beside the plane.
“We lost them,” Phantom announced with a grin. “It helped that we smashed them into the side of that building. Apparently, it bent the axle, and they couldn’t catch up to us.
Devon Marsh folded Cate in his arms and hugged her tightly. “Thank God,” he murmured over and over.
Cate wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m okay, Dad. Thanks for coming for me. Next time, don’t trade someone else for me.”
He leaned back and stared down into her face. “I couldn’t lose you. You’re all the family I have left.”
She hugged him and said into his shirt, “Because it worked out all right this time, and I got to meet the great Dr. Hale,” she shot a smile toward Marta, “I’ll let it slide. Just don’t do it again.” Cate stepped away and held out her hand to Draco. “And thanks for coming in after us.”
Draco dipped his head.
“We need to go,” Hammer said.
Crusher reached for Marta’s hand and helped her up into the plane. He found a seat for her and sat beside her. After they buckled themselves in, he reached for her hand again, not wanting to let go. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
She squeezed his hand. “For what?”
“For sending you with Marsh.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
Crusher shook his head. “My gut told me it was a mistake.” He lifted her hand to press a kiss against her knuckles. “I didn’t listen.”
“You came for me,” she said. “That’s what counts.”
His lips pressed together. He wanted to say so much more, but he couldn’t. Not until this was over, she was safe and then he could tell her how he really felt. Until then, he’d hold her hand and revel in the fact that she was there. With him. Safe. Well.
Alive.
What happened in the next twenty-four hours could change all of that.