Chapter 21
There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. ~Unknown
Axel
Babe, stay strong. I’m coming.
Crablike, on my inner knees and elbows, I inch through the muddy steel tunnel linking Lithuania to Belarus. The men ahead of me grunt, their sweat adding to the slick layer of grime. I’ve never been claustrophobic, but in this instance, I may make an exception.
Thoughts of Gwen cause renewed courage to race through my veins. She’s waiting for my rescue. If Ledbetter touched her, he’ll wish we'd put a bullet in his brain. My wrath will have no mercy.
As my backpack bumps into the overhead metal, I flatten further and lift my chin. “How much longer?”
Suds, the ex-Seal, calls back. “Five minutes, max. Scared the pipe might flood?”
“Bugger off, mate. It’s not the water that’ll kill ya, it’s the fuckin' rats.” The Australian chuckles.
Not to be outdone, Wheels, somewhere behind me, adds his two cents. “I just saw one the size of a cat. He’s heading your way. Give it a kiss for me.”
“Already seen it. Reminded me of your mother.” His brother-in-law, Hands, guffaws, and the rest of us groan.
The insults grow worse until a whisp of a breeze wafts over our damp backs. Exhaling an hour’s worth of oxygen-depleted air, I take a deep, cleansing breath.
Pitch black fades to gray. When the pipe tilts upwards, I press my boots to the metal wall to prevent them from sliding.
At the tunnel’s end, Lucky grabs my hand. “Watch out. The pipe’s sharp edge will take your arm off.”
He tugs me into what appears to be the bottom of an ancient well, then disappears up the hole. After I do the same for the man behind me, I grab the dangling rope in front of my nose and, Batman-like, climb up the narrow cylinder.
At the top, I throw a leg over the ledge, step over a horizontal millwheel, and join the others in the single-room stone structure. With the whole team now above ground, we gather around the taciturn Patten lead. He removes his tablet from inside his jacket to illustrate our location: the intersection of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
“Our drones have spotted Guinevere, here.” He points to a spot twenty-five miles to the east.
Four hours, sweetheart, and I’ll be there.
Seeing me grimace, Lucky pats me on the shoulder. “She’s a brilliant sheila, mate. Nah worries.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” If only she had more street smarts. Weapon ready, I trot out the door and into a cornfield.
From there, we empty onto a dirt road leading to a thick forest. About ten miles in, we pass a camouflaged airfield.
Trever gestures to the jet hiding under a green hangar. “That’s Ledbetter’s Lear.”
Thank fuc k. Taking the lead, I up our pace and gasp for breath at the prison-like wall surrounding our destination.
Under a pine tree, hand cupped over his ear, our resident geek squats as he speaks to a drone pilot stationed in Warsaw. After a minute, he trots to where we rest, places his tablet on the ground, and pops open a thermal overhead view of the complex.
“Poland's intel bureau believes the scientists are here, in the cement bunker.” His finger hovers over twelve red blotches, then slides across the screen to a larger building.
“This ancient castle has a kitchen on the bottom floor. According to them, the researchers come and go freely. Our best bet will be to grab her on the lawn.”
“Will we continue to have Polish air support?” The ex-SEAL, Hands, scratches his beard.
As he glances up at the cloudy sky, my analyst shakes his head. “No can do. Ledbetter has a half-dozen reconnaissance UAV’s circling the compound at any given time. If one of his spots ours, the element of surprise is lost.”
Fuck. We’ll have to wait until dark and go in blind. I should never have agreed to her zany scheme. What if the fucking terrorist or one of his slave-traffickers took advantage of her? I’d rather face the death penalty than see her harmed.
I bite down on my cheek until the pain there replaces the one in my chest. Please God, let us be in time.
Emotions locked down, I focus on the mission. The first one to breach the front gate might not survive. That’s why I volunteer to lead the charge. No one dares argue.