Chapter 31
The elevator door opened, and Nate filed out.
He knew where every single person was in the immediate area.
Sally had mapped it. What he didn’t know was who was a Conglomerate spy.
She counted five confirmed targets who had infiltrated the complex that morning and ten more who had shown themselves as enemies after Victor called for the attack.
Unfortunately, there could be more. The team would only find out after they made their move.
At this time, the entire atrium was being held hostage.
With the lockdown, no one could leave the immediate area.
The Conglomerate could attempt to shoot through the beautiful glass that made the space feel open, but the shit was insulated ballistic glass.
If they wanted to leave, they’d end up bringing the whole place down with explosives.
They could try and explode the doors, but those things were thick as hell: not quite bank vault doors, but close.
As Nate exited the elevator, he noted it was impossible to leave quietly.
The damned thing dinged, and a guard’s station was positioned next to it.
Victor had been smart to position a guard there.
Nate had been expecting that. He knew exactly where the guy was, so even though he turned to meet Nate’s arrival, it was game over for the bastard.
Nate went in for a hand-to-hand takedown.
He needed this done quietly, and a suppressor (despite what movies and books made it look like) does not make a weapon silent.
It makes it quiet enough that you don’t have to wear hearing protection.
Nate could use the momentum and weight of his suit to slam into the unsuspecting guy, and that’s exactly what he did.
The man fell with a grunt when Nate charged him from the elevator. A few well-placed punches to the face, and the man was down.
“Chances of this man reviving in the next hour are 9.43 percent,” Sally told him.
“Great,” Nate said. “Time to move on.”
“You have two more targets around the corner by the entrance to the guard’s station, where the stairwell connects. Mr. Hunter is making…progress.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He may be tired once he gets up the steps. He seems winded.”
“You’re saying that because you don’t like him.”
“He punched you.”
“Because he thought I was a bastard.”
“Hmph. Take fifteen seconds and attack the man nearest you. I’m coordinating with Mr. Hunter as well. Do this quietly, or you will alert the men in the Atrium.”
Nate did as he was told, and just like Sally had said, Hunter burst out the stairwell doors, a little winded. However, he was still able to intercept the other man. Together, they were able to subdue the men before they reached their weapons, although one of the men gave a short yelp.
“Damn it,” Hunter growled.
“The nearest Conglomerate agent is alerted,” Sally told them. “He is walking over. Mr. Hunter needs to eliminate him. I have a schematic of every other enemy target in the Atrium. You have one shot at this. You have 14.5 seconds to shoot four more targets once you’ve shot the first.”
“I can do it,” Nate grumbled.
Hopefully.
“Ready?” Hunter whispered.
“On three,” Nate said. “One, two…”
And they were off.
Nate didn’t worry about Hunter. He was too busy with the targets Sally was highlighting on his screen.
Nate moved into view, aimed, and fired. The man hadn’t known what was coming.
There was a reaction from the room, though, since the sound made a thunderous echo.
As soon as the man dropped, Nate turned to the next person and fired, continuing until all his targets were down.
“You were three seconds late,” Sally said.
Nate ignored her; he could only focus on the screams from the bystanders who had been huddled around the Atrium. He had assumed it was from the rapid succession of enemy deaths, but he soon realized it was because of his suit. There was pointing and yelling at him as people backed away.
Ah, shit, he thought. I look like a damned nightmare.
Before panic escalated, Hunter waved his hand and talked into a mic that projected in the room.
“This is Jack Hunter, your Head of Tactical Operations here at Gray Tower. I need everyone to stay calm. The scary guy is one of ours. We’re here to get you home safely today.”
Suddenly, Hunter turned into a considerate, professional guy instead of the cocky bastard he usually was. The crowd immediately calmed at his reassurance.
“I need all visitors and Class D and E level employees to this side of the room.” He gestured toward the area by the doors.
“I need Class C employees, including security associates, to assist. We will be getting you out of here a group at a time and taking you to a secure location. Don’t worry about your stuff. It will be here when you get back.”
Hunter rattled on. Nate wasn’t exactly sure what type of employees were which “Class,” but it seemed like the less dangerous your job, the lower you were in the alphabet.
Cade and Hale were coming with a convoy to try to get as many people out as possible.
Meanwhile, anyone at the beginning of the alphabet would stay and secure the facility.
The Conglomerate had surprised Gray Tower with how they had struck.
The moles in security had allowed them to quickly take over a few areas and grab civilians.
However, there were people all over the complex, and even though there may be more Conglomerate moles, they outnumbered the intruders.
The only problem was the hostages. The Atrium was cleared, but Victor had taken over the cafeteria.
When Hunter was done, he glanced at Nate and said, “We should be good. Mercer and Ryan are almost here, and I have a couple of level-headed analysts and two security guards in charge. Do you want to continue?”
Nate nodded.
“We need to. Victor’s going to know something is up soon if his guys don’t report in soon—if he doesn’t already.”
They made their way toward the cafeteria. The doors had been locked by Sally. Victor and his men were trapped.
“How many enemy targets?” Nate asked Sally.
“Eight,” she replied. “However, Mr. Yegorovich has begun to eliminate security cameras.”
“Shit,” Nate grumbled. “I wonder why he didn’t do that earlier?”
“I’m assuming he wanted to let us know he had hostages,” Hunter said. “I can have Joel come down from the residential section, but that would leave the whole section defenseless, except for a few security people.”
Nate winced. There were a lot of people—including Alex—huddling in their apartments currently. They needed Keller there.
“Leave him,” he said.
“We have ops guys coming from the other end of the building,” Hunter continued. “But I don’t know how much I can trust anyone with what’s going on.”
“Let’s just go,” Nate said. “Stick to the plan. Between the two of us, we can do it, even with Victor shutting off the cameras. I can still see his ass just fine.”
Hunter nodded and said, “Sounds good to me.”
? ? ?
“The armor was spotted, sir.”
Victor turned to one of his men and nodded.
Everything was going better than expected.
Nathan had taken out his men quickly, but that had been part of the plan.
His men were expendable. That suit was not, especially now that a large portion of the X-suits were destroyed.
Victor could get more men. He couldn’t build any more suits.
“Good. Prepare for the next phase.”
The man nodded and went back to his position.
Opening the bag he had brought with him, Victor dug out the device that would get him out of this area.
He had anticipated a lockdown and was able to get it through security with help from his people on the inside.
The fabric of the bag itself was its own Faraday cage, so it wouldn’t show up on scanners.
The device was experimental technology that would send out a direct magnetic pulse, frying the locks’ electronics and, hopefully, allow him to trigger the failsafe on them to open. The goal was to slip out and get Nathan cornered in a secluded area. There would be a surprise waiting for him.
It would be the end for Nathan; Victor would guarantee it.
? ? ?
“He’s in position,” Sally told Nate, referring to Hunter, who was at one of the locked cafeteria doorways. “Victor has eliminated all the cameras. We will only be able to use infrared.”
“That sucks,” Nate grumbled. “I wonder why he didn’t do that initially. Does he know the suit is here? I can still see where everyone is located.”
“Unclear,” Sally said. “Reviewing Gray Tower footage, he did have a bag with him, but I cannot see what is inside.”
“Gray Tower doesn’t have scanners for that?”
“Yes, but I cannot see what is inside.”
Nate began to feel uneasy. Something was wrong.
“How big is this bag?” he asked.
“Average-sized duffel bag. He didn’t pull it out at weapons check either.”
“His men were covering for him,” Nate said uneasily.
“It will be all right,” Sally told him. “You will defeat him.”
“I hope so,” he muttered. Blowing out a deep breath, he told Sally, “Time to get moving.”
“Absolutely.”
Within a few tense seconds, Sally had Nate’s and Hunter’s doors unlocked. Both men came barreling through from opposite sides of the area.
However, when he barged in, Sally immediately said, “Abort plan! All enemies have lowered their weapons and are in a surrender position.”
Nate scanned the room and realized she was right.
“What the fuck,” he stated, which was exactly what Hunter said when he trotted over to Nate.
“I don’t get it,” Hunter said. “Why didn’t they put up a fight?”
“Because I have the suit?” Nate theorized.
He surveyed the people. The hostages were still quiet and huddled in the middle of the cafeteria. The Conglomerate enemies were surrounding them but were all kneeling, arms behind their heads, guns on the floor.
“Any ops or security in the room?” Hunter asked the hostages. Only one guy raised his hand. “Help me out with securing these men.” The guy nodded, and Hunter turned to Nate. “I’m going to keep an eye on him, though. I don’t trust anyone. I’ll let Bryant know what’s going on. This feels strange.”
“Tell me about it,” Nate replied. He scanned the room and froze. “Where’s Victor?”
“He’s not here,” Sally told him.
“You could have told me that immediately,” Nate grumbled.
“I was attempting to locate him. I have no visual on him, but by the way the surveillance cameras are being taken out, I know where he’s going.”
“How the hell did he leave?” Nate demanded.
“Not sure,” Sally told him. “The lock on the doors appears to be fried. A magnetic pulse could do it, but he’d need specialized tools for that.”
“Which he probably brought in that fucking bag,” Nate said.
“What do we do?” Hunter asked. “I can’t leave the scene with the Conglomerate men here. Back up is on the way, but if this Victor guy can get through the locks, it’ll be too late.”
“I’ll handle him,” Nate said darkly. “This is my problem. I’m going to fix it.”
Hunter nodded and said, “Good luck.”
It was as simple as that. A few minutes of working together in combat, and they had developed a bond. Hunter trusted him.
This was probably a trap, but it was his only option. He had to deal with Victor once and for all.
Nate moved past the door with the broken lock, down a hallway, to another open area, and to a set of elevators.
“He’s in the residential area,” Sally said.
“Where?” Nate demanded.
“Floor Two.”
“And where is Alex’s room at?” he asked, his chest tight.
“Floor Two.”
“Fuck! What’s the quickest way up?”
“The elevator, but you’re going to take the emergency steps to your left. Victor used those. They are intended for residents.”
“I need to get up there now! Do you think he knows about Alex?” he demanded.
“Negative,” Sally replied. “But he’s up to something. Proceed with caution.”
Nate was up the emergency stairwell in a few moments. Sally had the layout projected, and he could see each of the residents huddled in their rooms from the infrared. There were a lot of them. This was not good.
“No one is in the hallway,” Sally told him.
“Did he leave the area?”
“Not that I can see.” She paused. “Wait. Scans show three people in a room that should have two.”
Nate’s heart sank.
“You’ve been keeping track of what people are in what rooms?” he questioned, hoping that Victor was not with two civilians.
“Not at a hundred percent certainty since I only have video footage of people coming in and out from today to rely on, but it is most likely him.”
Pushing, Nate asked, “How do you know?”
“That’s the room Alex and her friend Ashlen are in.”
“Fuck!” he growled and began running.
? ? ?
Victor finished disabling the last of the cameras on the second-floor residential hallway and found the room he wanted to hide in.
He specifically picked it because it was a guest suite, and no one was scheduled to be there, according to his spies.
It would be a good, private spot to wait for Nathan with minimal disruptions, and with Nathan’s X-suit, his prey would find him quickly.
Unfortunately, when Victor forced the lock, the room was not empty. This was something he could not afford.
When the door opened, two terrified young women stood there, eyes wide. It was problematic, but he could deal with it. They didn’t appear to be a threat, and he could eliminate them easily enough.
Both were beautiful blondes with blue eyes—one slightly taller than the other.
They looked like they could be sisters. Maybe they were?
They’d be perfect for the Conglomerate. It was unfortunate that Victor couldn’t take them with him.
He often kidnapped women for his men to use.
Of course, Nathan never knew. Victor had hoped he would end up changing, but he never did.
If it hadn’t been for the X-suit and Nathan’s skills, he would have been cut loose a long time ago.
“Wha—” the slightly shorter woman said, her mouth wide, but Victor cut her off.
“Quiet.” He drew his Kimber Micro 9 and pointed it toward her. “Neither of you is going to make a noise. Understood?”
The one who had spoken took a step forward, pushing the other woman behind her.
“You’re making a big mistake,” she said firmly.
Firey. He liked that.
“No,” he said, his voice low, as he moved toward her. “You’re the one who just fucked up.”