38. Angel #2
“An ‘isolated system’ means I need physical access to download the data. I can’t do it remotely. I know you told me to remain in the van because I’m too close to this, but you need me inside to retrieve the information stored on the server.”
“Gatekeeper Two can handle it,” Roger says.
There’s some unintelligible whispering before Owen says, “Negative, Jolly Roger. Gatekeeper Two is two weeks fresh off The Farm. He hasn’t set foot out of the van, and I’m reluctant to jeopardize this mission by sending someone who has never engaged in combat.”
“You’re approved, Gatekeeper One. Move into position.”
Chelsea’s words redirect my attention. “To my left is the dining facility. The six people currently milling about take special care to provide healthy meals for the trainees. If the schedule remains the same as when I was here, dinner will be served in about two hours. In the northwest quadrant up ahead is where you’ll find the combat tactics room.
From the sounds echoing down the hall, training appears to be in session. ”
A minute later, we hear Chelsea use a friendly voice. “It’s been a while, Dan! Last time I was here, you had me in a chokehold and rendered unconscious.”
“But you also learned to get out of it so it doesn’t happen again,” Dan retorts. “I often find that lessons learned the hard way are the ones that stick with you for the rest of your life. Good to see you, Chelsea. And do my eyes deceive me? Is that Eva behind you?”
“It is,” Eva says with far less enthusiasm than Chelsea. “Bennett is giving me the chance to be rehabilitated before feeding me to the wolves. This is my friend, Daisy. She’s going to be an asset and will be a guest here for some time. Think you can train her?”
Over my dead body, I think to myself.
Chelsea laughs. “As you can see, you’ll have to wait in line. He’s busy training five new recruits. Wow, Dan! They must be exceptional if you have two instructors to every trainee.”
“Nah. It’s still one-to-one. Half my guys are just bored and watching the sparring sessions to pass the time.
” Dan lowers his voice and adds, “We’re supposed to whip the ‘victim-ness’ out of these girls and fill them with a sense of duty, strength, and self-worth.
But that one right there, she had a warrior spirit from the moment she was brought here.
I’m not sure where Bennett found her, but Brit Larson should have gone home to her family when Dominion rescued her from the human traffickers. ”
It sounds to me like the training officers have no idea who they’re really working for.
Daisy’s voice becomes like a fire burning bright in the night.
Hot fury explodes forth as she exclaims, “Bennett Gray is the one who kidnapped her! And his real name is Logan Bloom! Dominion is the one who made her wish she was dead! Are you going to stand there and pretend that you didn’t know?
All of those girls should be at home with their families because the CIA should never have kidnapped them in the first place, nor turned them into an experiment! ”
Dan asks Chelsea, “Is it true?”
“I’m afraid so. I’ve always respected you, Dan, so I’m not going to lie to you.
I need your help to get the girls out of here before Bennett takes it upon himself to clean up the evidence.
He’ll do it too. Bennett will blow this place sky high to hide what he’s been doing, and he’ll take all of us with him, you included. ”
Dan whispers, “I really wish you hadn’t said that, Chelsea.”
Over the sound of footsteps, Bennett’s voice is pure evil when he says, “What makes you think they’re going to help you when Dominion has been paying us royally to protect the secret?
Chelsea, you and Eva are traitors, and Daisy is a lost cause.
Dan, take these three to a room and lock them inside. ”
“What about us?” a young girl asks. “Is what that woman said true? Are you the one who kidnapped us? I’d rather die than work for a liar!”
Bennett’s words are devoid of any emotion.
“That can be arranged. Dan, secure the trainees and put them with the traitors. In 15 minutes, there will be nothing left of this place nor any sign that we were here except a lower shoreline in the loch when this place implodes. When you’re done securing the prisoners, neutralize all non-essential personnel, and meet me at the abandoned quarry site in Australia in seven days. ”
I speak into my comms. “What are we waiting for?”
Roger, who is in a command vehicle with Ludlow a few miles away, says, “For the women to be secured because they’re unarmed. Once the women are congregated in the room, extraction will be that much easier. Gatekeeper Two has visual confirmation. Standby to breach.”
Ludlow gives a speech to his men, and I feel included in that even though I turned in my resignation.
Pride fills my chest when he says, “Use discretion. Capture if possible. The FBI is on standby to make the arrests for conduct unbecoming of a CIA officer. To my men, we signed up to protect our nation from foreign enemies who wish to shape our nation’s policies through threat, coercion, and fear.
We’ve done so in secret, saving millions of lives in the process, thwarting more terrorist attacks than I can count, and rescuing hostages from cartels and other organizations seeking to harm us.
We did all of that without seeking praise or glory for our efforts. ”
There’s a pause as we hear Roger tell him, “You have 45 seconds.”
“Yes. Thank you.” He clears his throat. “We’ve blurred the lines so we can’t tell right from wrong, justifying our tactics based on the end result.
Today, those lines aren’t just blurred; they’ve been crossed because the enemy isn’t foreign to us.
It’s our brothers and sisters who feel there is no cost too great to win a war that may never be won.
However, it’s time for us to redraw the line in the sand deep enough that we don’t make this mistake again. ”
Roger’s voice pierces the silence that follows Ludlow’s heartfelt speech. “Safe. Secured. Cutting power in—three—two—one! NOW! Breach! Breach! Breach!”
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I peer through the scope, watching the Vanguard team pop up from their prone positions in the grass only a few meters from where Bennett, Daisy, and Eva had trod earlier. They’d been hidden under Ghillie blankets, just like the rest of us.
They bust open the door and file down the stairs when Vinny says, “Nogs on at 15 meters.”
I switch on my night vision goggles so that when I reach the 15-meter mark in the stairwell, they’re ready to go. For now, I’m holding position.
There’s a soft pfft-pfft-pfft as several dart-gun rifles are fired. “Entrance secured. Sentinel teams, deploy. Gatekeeper One, deploy.”
Owen pops up from further away with a laptop case slung over one shoulder, a rifle in hand, ultra-thin body armor, and a helmet with NVGs attached. I hadn’t even seen him move into position, which impresses me more than I’d care to admit.
Then it’s time for the Southern Knights to deploy, and I can hear the tension in Roger’s voice as he gives the order. He’s cool, calm, and collected, but he is definitely worried for our well-being. “Knights, move to the north-east quadrant for extraction. Sentinel Four will provide cover.”
I’m the last to move when I hear sirens off in the distance. Police Scotland is moving in to provide cover now that we’ve infiltrated Dominion’s training facility. And if what I heard was correct, it’s not the only one.
“Hurry, Angel,” Scott says. “We have less than 12 minutes to get in and get out.”
As I pass into the void of the stairwell, flipping down my NVGs to see in the dark, I pray. “Dear Lord, please let that be enough time.”