Chapter 28 #2
“We’re approaching the back fence,” Todd whispered into his comms device. “Status report?”
“All clear,” someone immediately responded. “Security feeds are still looped, and I’m not detecting any patrol activity in your sector. You’ve got a clean exit.”
The chain-link barrier rose from the darkness, the moonlight hitting the geometric patterns. Sadie stood at the bottom and looked up. “Oh God,” she moaned softly.
Todd bent and created a step with his interlaced fingers. “I’ll boost you up. We’ve got this… together.”
She held his gaze as though seeking strength and then resolutely nodded. “Together,” she agreed.
Placing her foot in his hands, he knew she trusted in his strength despite the tremor in her limbs.
Todd lifted her smoothly, his muscles compensating for her compromised coordination as she reached for the fence’s top rail.
Her fingers struggled to maintain their grip on the metal mesh, and Todd could see the concentration etched in her features as she fought against her body’s betrayal.
“Take your time,” he murmured, steadying her legs as she swung them over the apex. “I’ve got you.”
Her descent was careful rather than swift, each movement calculated to avoid falling. When her feet finally touched the ground on the freedom side of the fence, Todd saw her shoulders sag with relief. Their eyes met, their connection filling his heart. “Good girl,” he murmured.
A slow smile curved her lips as her fingers still gripped the fence links. Shaking her head, she let out a long breath. “Why does your saying ‘good girl’ make me feel like grinning? I must be exhausted.”
He chuckled as he followed, hauling himself over the barrier and dropping beside her with the soft thud of boots meeting hard dirt.
He lifted his hand to cup her face, his thumb sweeping over her cheek, wishing he wasn’t wearing leather gloves and could feel her skin.
“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “Maybe because you’re not just a Keeper to me.
I hope it didn’t sound derogatory because I sure as hell wouldn’t have said that to one of the guys. ”
She leaned into his palm. “It didn’t sound derogatory. It sounded…”
He nodded in understanding without her having to label what they felt. “Good.” He wanted to say so much more, but knew it wasn’t the time. “Cole won’t be here for several hours,” Todd said, checking his watch. “We need to find concealment and wait for extraction.”
But instead of moving toward the rocky outcroppings that would provide shelter, Sadie turned toward the deeper desert, her expression carrying the kind of determined intensity that usually preceded her most dangerous decisions.
“I want to find the old mines,” she said, her voice steady despite the obvious effort required to form the words. “The place where they take people for rebalancing.”
Todd’s protective instincts flared, every fiber of his being rejecting the idea of taking her deeper into the desert and possibly dangerous territory at any time, but especially when she was impaired. “Sadie, you need medical attention, rest, and time for those drugs to clear your system—”
“What if someone’s still alive out there?” Her eyes blazed with the fierce compassion that made her willing to sacrifice everything for justice. “What if we find more proof of what they’re doing, evidence that could save lives?”
The plea in her voice cut through his objections. This was why he’d fallen in love with her. Not just her beauty or intelligence, but the unshakable moral courage that made her incapable of walking away when others might still be suffering.
“You can barely stand,” he said, though he could already feel his resistance crumbling. “If we encounter hostiles, if you collapse—”
“Then you’ll protect me, and I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she replied with the quiet confidence of someone who’d learned to trust his strength absolutely. “Please, Todd. I can’t leave knowing there might be someone out there who needs our help.”
The weight of her faith in him, combined with the righteous fury that burned in her eyes, finally broke through his protective hesitation. She was right. They couldn’t abandon potential victims simply because the rescue would be dangerous.
“Logan,” Todd said into his comms. “We uncovered evidence that there is an old mining building nearby where clients are taken, possibly to be dispatched. We want to go see if anyone is there needing rescue.”
After a few seconds of silence, Logan replied, “Agreed. I want no chances taken. Your safety is paramount.”
“Understood,” he agreed. Looking over at Sadie, he knew he’d get her away from danger at the first sign. “Casper, I need satellite imagery of mining operations near here.”
“Copy that,” Casper replied. “Give me two minutes to access geological surveys and cross-reference with current imagery.”
While they waited, Todd retrieved the night vision equipment they’d taken off to climb the fence. He fitted Sadie’s carefully, adjusting the straps to accommodate her smaller frame while trying not to think about how pale her skin looked in the starlight.
“Got it,” Casper announced. “I’m showing a cluster of abandoned mine shafts northeast of your position.
The structures include what appears to be a processing facility that’s been modified with recent construction.
A dirt road leads there from the north side of the resort.
I’m sending coordinates to your GPS now. ”
Todd’s device vibrated softly as the waypoints loaded, displaying a route that would take them through increasingly rough terrain toward whatever Dr. Selinski had established in the desert’s heart. He murmured, studying the topographical data. “It’ll take us about thirty minutes to walk.”
Sadie nodded, her jaw set with stubborn determination. “Then we'd better get started.”
They moved into the night desert, walking toward the unknown with the vast landscape stretching endlessly around them.
Through the night vision goggles, the landscape took on an otherworldly quality as silver sand dunes and twisted Joshua trees created an alien panorama that felt both beautiful and threatening.
He had been in similar environments when on missions but had a feeling this was a first for Sadie.
Todd set a pace that took into consideration her current abilities.
He constantly monitored her condition while scanning for threats.
The sounds of the desert surrounded them with the distant cry of a coyote, the wind through sagebrush, and the soft crunch of their footsteps on ground that hadn’t felt rain in months.
“How are you holding up?” he asked as they paused beside a cluster of weathered rocks that provided momentary concealment.
“Better than I expected,” she replied, though he could hear the breathlessness that spoke to significant physical strain. “The medication you gave me is helping.”
He was glad he’d eased her suffering, but the situation also highlighted how close they’d come to not getting to her in time. He was awed by how much courage she showed by insisting on this final mission when every instinct in her body told her to rest.
They continued without speaking until the mining structures finally began to materialize from the darkness. What had once served legitimate mining operations had been perverted into Dr. Selinski’s remote location for disposing of problems without fear of discovery.
“There,” Sadie whispered, pointing toward two buildings that squatted against the desert floor. “That has to be it.”
Todd studied the structures through his night vision, cataloging potential entry points and escape routes while his mind raced through dozens of scenarios that could get them both killed. But beside him, Sadie stood with quiet determination that reminded him why she was worth any risk.
“Together,” he said, the word carrying weight beyond their immediate mission. “We do this together, and then we go home.”
Home. But first, they had to survive whatever waited in those abandoned mines and hope that their courage would be enough to save whoever might still be trapped in Dr. Selinski’s vision of medical progress.