Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
“ S o here are the images we gathered.” Cowboy said as he set his laptop on the coffee table for the others to look at. “In the building, we found two heat signatures on the far west side of the building. One of the signatures is smaller than the other and gives off a powerful reading.”
“It’s incredibly hot here. Gabe’s body wouldn’t be used to it whereas the other guy would be, right?” Leo asked as he studied the pictures. He wasn’t going to lie. This was cool as shit.
“Yes, which is why we believe it could be Gabe. If he’s not being fed or given water, it will cause his body to have a heat stroke.” Cowboy said softly.
Leo ran his fingers over Torres’ clenched ones. “We’ll get him.” He whispered into Torres’ ear and breathed a sigh of relief when he calmed slightly.
“Cowboy, you will stay here with Leo and be base. Sniper, you’ll be with Jett. He’ll spot you can you handle that?” Kade asked, raising a brow in Sniper’s direction.
Sniper could feel his cheeks heat as all the eyes in the room turned to him. He cleared his throat. “Yes, I can. I promise Torres I won’t let you down, brother.”
Torres nodded. “Thanks, brother.”
“Torres you’ll be with me. Sniper and Jett will be stationed at the building across the street. Everyone is to wear their gear and comms at all times. Do I make myself clear?” Kade said loudly in his drill sergeant voice.
“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison, even Leo, who just couldn’t seem to resist that powerful voice that commanded his answer.
“Good, let’s go get Gabe.” Kade said, slapping his knee and rising to go get his gear.
Leo followed Torres into their bedroom and sat back to watch his man get dressed. Tactical gear had never done anything for him before, but now he really just wanted to strip Torres out of it.
Torres counted every bullet and every snap and rip of velcro he heard as he donned his gear. It was a ritual he did before each mission. It helped him focus on what was coming. “You gonna be okay here?” He asked without looking up.
“Don’t worry about me, baby, I’ll be fine. Just focus on you and Gabe, although if you let anything happen to Kade, you’ll have to answer to my mother.” Leo shrugged helplessly.
Torres grimaced. “I know. I would never let anything happen to him if I could help it.”
Leo winced. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m just nervous.” He wrung his hands as he studied Torres. He was kind of freaking out and he had no idea how he was going to be able to handle Torres putting himself into danger on a daily basis.
Torres could see the war raging behind Leo’s expressive eyes and pulled him into his arms. “You know I’m trained for this, right? I will always do my best to come home to you, Leo, that’s all I can really promise you.”
Leo sighed and carded his fingers through the hair on the back of Torres’ head. “I know, baby. I would never ask you to choose. I’m just having trouble processing it.” He pulled back. “But it’s not me you need to worry about. Go get Gabe and then we’ll talk.” He gave Torres a brittle smile he had hoped would fool him, but judging by the unease in Torres' eyes, he failed.
“You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” Torres asked, swallowing hard, as Leo’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Oh God, no,” Leo smacked his own forehead. “I just meant we’ll talk more about work after this.” He rolled his eyes heavenward, asking for patience because if he was given strength he’d beat someone to death.
Torres snickered, “You good?”
Leo grumbled under his breath. “Yeah, I am. Now go get your baby, I’ll be here behaving myself like a good boy.”
Torres laughed. “Please do and don’t give Cowboy too much shit, alright?” He ruffled Leo’s hair before he kissed his forehead. “I’ll let you take your frustrations out on me later.” He promised.
Leo growled and threw his hands in the air. “Get out of here before I jump you.” He pointed towards the door and smacked Torres on the right butt cheek as he passed.
Back in the living room, Torres set up his comms and helped Kade make sure all his gear was on right and tight enough, before wiring Kade up with comms as well.
“Alright, I can hear you.” Cowboy said from his set up at the kitchen table. “I’ll be watching you as closely as I can. Does everyone have their GPS on?”
“Oops,” Sniper made a weird face as he turned his on and leaned over to check that Jett’s was on as well. “Yup, we’re good.”
“Good, see you guys when you get back.” Cowboy waved before looking back down at his laptop.
“Be careful.” Leo whispered as Torres kissed him.
“Will do baby.” Torres grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Leo, making him laugh before he headed out into the heat, following Kade to the car.
“You ready for this?” Kade asked softly as he and Torres sat side by side in the back while Jett drove and Sniper navigated from the passenger seat.
Torres sighed. “Yeah, I am.” He was, but he wasn’t if that made sense. He had no idea what he would find, and that made his heart give a painful pulse at the thought that he could never see his son again. He blinked furiously to hold back the tears. “I have no idea what I’m going to do if I lose him, I’ll lose Leo too.”
Kade grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Why don’t we focus on getting Gabe back? According to the pictures you got, he’s still alive. He’s been missing less than forty-eight hours. You know there’s a good chance he’s still alive. Focus on that brother, nothing else. Also, you’re fucking crazy if you think Leo would leave you over this, and I hope he kicks your ass for thinking so.”
Torres snorted. “Thanks, brother, I feel the love.”
“Good. You know I suck at mushy shit.” Kade said, grinning.
Torres chuckled. It was true. Kade had no idea how to comfort or just be around another person; it always put him on edge.
“We’re here boss.” Jett said in his soft, accented voice.
“Good, go and get set up, me and Torres will go through the back door. It’ll help us map out an exit plan if all else fails.” Kade said, sitting up straight.
“Got it, boss.” Sniper said and both he and Jett got out of the car and disappeared within seconds.
“We’re parked a block down the street, but I can see the building from here.” Torres told Kade.
“Are there any windows or anything facing us?” Kade asked, trying to picture the building. He didn’t want to walk into a trap. Those were bitches to get out of.
“No, the entire back of the building is just a stone slab. I don’t see any windows, but the roof has many places someone could hide.” Torres said as he shifted around to try and see if he could get a better angle.
“Both Gabe and Ali are in a room at the far end of the building in the front.” Sniper’s voice crackled through the static.
“Is he ok?” Torres demanded.
“Yes, he’s awake and is eating something from a bowl. He has water and seems to be talking to Ali. He doesn’t seem to be in distress.” Sniper assured him.
“Can you see if he’s hurt anywhere?” Torres asked as he got out of the car, Kade following close behind him.
“No, I don’t see any blood on him. He seems awake and alert and doesn’t have any problems using his limbs.” Jett replied, watching the boy stare at the man who kidnapped him with curiosity. God, this kid was definitely Torres’.
Torres breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank fucking God.” He mumbled.
“I told you so.” Leo snipped through the earpiece.
“Hush up.” Torres retorted and was graced with Leo’s deep laughter.
“Let’s get to the building and then we can regroup.” Kade said urgently, nudging Torres out of the road.
Kade easily followed Torres, holding onto the strap at the spine of his tactical vest and he stayed focused on his feet and counted his steps in case they had to make a run for it. “Sniper, can you tell me what we will encounter on the way to that room?”
“Nothing but hallways. There are other rooms but according to the blueprints you can easily access the room Gabe is in by just walking down a few halls.”
“Is there anyone else in the building?” Torres asked as he pulled Kade into an alley as they made a plan now that they were closer.
“No, the building is an abandoned factory that used to make candy. I believe all the machinery is still in there, so be careful. To get into the building, there should be a set of stairs to your left.”
Torres peeked out of the alley and spotted the staircase. “Got it.”
“The stairs will lead you into the basement. Gabe is on the fourth floor. When you get into the building, I will lead you to him,” Sniper assured him. “I’ll also send you a copy of the blueprints in case anything is different inside. There doesn’t seem to be any security in or around the building. I haven’t found any cameras or an alarm system.”
“Ok, good, thanks.” Torres pulled Kade over to the staircase. At the bottom was a door. He tried the knob and found it locked. “Kade, the door is locked. You wanna pick it?”
“Oh gee, thank you for making me feel useful.” Kade said with a dramatically happy tone.
Torres could hear Leo snort over the comms, and he rolled his eyes and moved out of the way so Kade could do his thing. It was quite interesting to watch Kade pick a lock with just his touch, skimming his hands over the door as he leaned in close to listen for the clicks.
Kade heard the last click and eased the door open, cringing a little as it made a loud screech. “Fuck, did they hear that?”
“I don’t think so.” Jett replied instantly. “Neither one moved when it happened. I’m pretty sure they’re too far away.”
“Thank god.” Kade sighed and stood letting out a silent groan as his knees screamed at him.
“Kade, you ok?” Torres asked softly.
“Yeah, fuck, I’m getting too old for this shit. Y’all quit getting kidnapped damnit I want to retire!” Kade grumbled.
“Yes, boss.” They all replied.
“Bunch of idiots.” Kade mumbled as he eased himself inside. “Torres!”
“Straight ahead Kade, it’s literally just a long, wide stone hallway. The floor is smooth.” Torres spoke softly as he entered behind Kade, not bothering to shut the door, afraid it would make too much noise and alert someone outside. He walked beside Kade, staying close just in case the white hallway was lit by large overhead lights that were so bright against the white walls and floors it immediately gave him a headache.
“Why is it so fucking bright in here?” Kade demanded, closing his eyes behind his glasses to help regain his balance. The brightness was so unexpected it was hard to gather his bearings.
“Bright overhead lights.” Torres grumbled.
“Fuck’en hell, who needs this much light?” Kade cursed under his breath as he stumbled, his arm shooting out as Torres grabbed him and kept him upright.
“Come on, let’s move faster, it’s darker up ahead.” Torres said as he half-carried, half-drug Kade forward, as the man rocked like he was dizzy. “You good, Kade?”
Kade cleared his throat. “Yeah,” now that he was in a darker area, he could somewhat regain his balance.
“Alright, guys keep going down this hallway at about the three-quarter mark. You should see another staircase that will lead you to the fourth floor.” Sniper said.
“After this, I want a vacation.” Kade hissed as he stubbed his toe on the bottom step.
Torres cringed. “Sorry man.”
Kade waved him off. “I’m good. I always wear Steel toed boots for this reason. You go first, I’ll follow.”
Torres nodded and moved up the steps. “Thirteen steps, Kade.” He called back softly and got a grunt for a reply.
“The door to the room is to your right.” Sniper said softly.
Torres took a deep breath. “What side is he on?”
“Gabe is on the right and Ali is on the left.” Jett replied.
“Kade, when I go through go to Gabe I’ll take care of Ali,” Torres said, silently pulling out his gun and flipping the safety off.
“Yeah, tell the blind guy to cover the victim. Don’t blame me if I miss, man.” Kade said roughly. This was a stupid idea.
“You won’t let anything happen to him man, I trust you.” Torres told him firmly.
Yeah, because that totally made everything better. Kade rolled his eyes and got down, ready to charge in and grab Gabe.