Chapter 9 #2
Pike came back on, a metallic snick-clink sounding faintly in the background.
“Six strays. Freshly released into the basin. Each one is wearing a collar keyed to my perimeter grid.” He paused, letting the truth settle.
“It’s a lovely piece of hardware — magnetic lock, concussive charge.
Designed to sever the spinal column. If one of them crosses the boundary before you disarm it, boom.
If I see a badge, a rotor blade, or a strike team creeping over my ridges, I trigger them all myself. ”
Tierney’s expression didn’t change, but Buck saw the pulse jump in her throat. “And you expect me to care.”
“If I thought you didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Pike laughed softly. “You do love playing rescuer.”
“Cut the bullshit and tell me what you want.”
“You and the big bloke enter the ring within sixty minutes. Alone.” Another beat. “Once you’re inside, I’ll send you the first set of coordinates. Find the prey. Get the collars off. Move them to your extraction lane before the clock runs out, or my clients finish the job.”
Buck leaned forward. “How many hunters?”
Pike ignored him. “You may have one medic and one teammate waiting at the southern exit to receive survivors. No one else crosses the line. No one else interferes. If they do, I start dropping bodies.”
Tierney glanced at Buck, then back at the phone. “And if we say no?”
“Then I shoot the first stray through the spine and stream it live before moving on to the next.” His tone stayed almost conversational. “You know I will.”
Buck believed him.
Tierney shifted her weight, face pale, eyes narrowed. “Weapons?”
“Can’t really hunt without them, pet. Bring what you can carry.”
“Is this your idea of a rematch?”
“No.” Pike’s voice sharpened into a harsh rasp. “This is me being generous enough to give you a chance. The crowd loved watching you and your… lover fight as a team.” He paused. “You are lovers, aren’t you? Regardless, I can’t disappoint the fans. This is the main event.”
A text chimed through on the burner.
Pike exhaled. “Coordinates are on the way. Bring the phone. You’ll need it for the disarm codes.” Another pause. “And Tierney?”
Her mouth pursed tight. “What?”
“I’ve waited a very long time to see how you perform when the odds are finally fair.”
The line went dead.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Buck looked at Tierney as she stared down at the phone, her hand tightening around it until her knuckles whitened, before she snapped it shut.
She turned, looked up at him. “I’m sorry he’s made you part of this.”
Buck scoffed. “Like I would’ve let you face this alone. Team, remember? Now, let’s see where this bastard’s hiding.”
Tierney rattled off the coordinates, waiting as Sloane launched the location on the monitor. They gathered around the screen, staring at the blip in the middle of nowhere.
Tierney grunted, shaking her head as she stepped closer. “Well, that sucks.”
Buck nudged her. “You’re familiar with the place?”
“Enough to know that trying to get anyone out other than at that choke point is futile without rigging a multi-pitch climb.” She pointed to the edges of the perimeter.
“You’ve got sheer, granite cliffs on all three sides.
We’d be picked off the face before we finished the first stage.
There’s also a large river that runs through the basin.
With all the rain and winter runoff, it’ll be a mix of white water and debris. ”
Nick gestured to the center. “Are those buildings?”
Tierney brushed some stray hairs back from her face. “It’s an abandoned logging camp. I haven’t been there in over a year. But there were some structures still standing. And where I bet my ass, Pike will be holed up.”
Bodie crossed his arms. “Greer? Avery? Thoughts?”
Avery breathed into the phone. “Yeah, I hate this game, including the odds. Any chance he’s bluffing? That I can just send in SWAT to take out the hunters?”
Tierney scoffed. “I realize I don’t really know him all that well, but I can assure you, for the time I was in that cell, he didn’t bluff.”
“Which is your way of telling us, you and Buck have to play this game, or Pike will kill those people.”
“I realize it’s not the best plan but…” Tierney crossed her arms. “We can probably sneak the rest of the team in a few strategic locations, but if Pike sees anyone other than our designated crew…”
Dalton coughed. “I’ll get inside his perimeter, and I promise you, Pike won’t see anything until it’s too late.”
Buck focused on Dalton. In all the time Buck had known the guy, he rarely let anything crack the stoic facade he’d built around him.
Looking at him now, nostrils flared, eyes narrowed, with every muscle locked in tight, Buck understood how Dalton had survived all those years in captivity.
Got a glimpse of the man who’d walked out — the one who hadn’t made peace with his past. Who was still fighting in the shadows.
Tierney merely nodded. “Which brings up the next issue. There’s no way we’ll drive there in time, which Pike knows. We’ll need Foster to drop us a few klicks back. We’ll hike the rest of the way.”
Wade cleared his throat. “I’ve already got Foster heading for the hangar. He’s got his full crew with him. Said Kash is itching to go in with Nyx, but he’s aware of the limitations. But he said they’ll stay within reach.”