Keri sat quietly between Lewis and one of the soldiers, a youngish blonde named Stephen. She was craving more physical contact with Lewis, but he was very…wired, and she could tell that it would most definitely not be welcomed. She also suppressed a sigh. The armored Mercedes ate up the miles with a feline grace; the engine actually seemed to be purring. Every so often she would catch a glimpse of one of the other vehicles in their group. They had started out in staggered intervals so as not to be so obviously together. Lewis had spread the group's leadership among the different vehicles. Each had all the operation details and the codes for contacting the others. The humans in the party had been relegated to guarding the medical vehicle, an oversized cargo van, under Alexa's command. Sloan was riding in the van with Ed and Carla. Keri had been surprised to see Sloan climbing into the Step van, and in fact would have missed it if not for Anja's disgusted comment about taking a bimbo into combat. Keri had been floored when Lewis had rounded on the young woman, telling her to stand down and learn discretion before he found it necessary to teach it to her. Anja had paled, said 'Yes sir!' and retreated to her assigned vehicle.
Keri was still very curious as to why they had brought Sloan. She looked at Lewis…he seemed calm enough now… "Lewis, can I ask a question or should I save it for after?"
He glanced at her and nodded. "Go ahead, ask."
"Why are we bringing Sloan?"
"A good question; and I don't mean that sarcastically," he said. "If Tom is injured or ill, he will need to see someone he trusts implicitly. And as much as it galls me to admit it, the good doctor is the only one who fits that description at the moment."
"Oh. He doesn't trust the others? I thought they were his friends?"
"The key is implicit trust. The others have been wary of him, with good reason. Dr. Parker, for some reason, has trusted him since she met him. I think perhaps it was that trust that broke the already fractured mission programming."
"I don't understand this programming thing…"
"That is a question for later," Lewis interrupted.
She settled back in the seat.
He looked at her again; she could feel him reading her, then he put an arm around her shoulders to draw her close. "Behave yourself and do not distract me, hmm?"
Keri smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.
... ...
Anja was not a happy camper. Lewis was pissed at her, Mark was unhappy with her, and the bimbo was along for the ride. The only bright spot was that Sloan was hidden away with the medical team while Anja would be part of the actual infiltration. At least the sapiens would not be in the way.
She checked her weapons and ammo again then looked out past their driver at the road ahead. In a way she was glad her car had not been chosen for the trip though she would have been more comfortable with its speed and maneuverability. While this would be no trek through the war zone in Bosnia, nor was it going to be a walk in the park. Vehicles and personnel would likely take damage. Anja was glad her vehicles were safe in the garage.
... ...
Walter Attwood checked the time and pulled out his cell phone. After punching in the number he waited until they had merged from Highway 152 onto Route 101 before pressing the send key.
"Hello, David. I'm in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by with a few friends," Walter said.
"Good to hear from you, old buddy. Perfect timing. Starting tomorrow I'd be far too busy for guests," the voice on the other end told him.
"Timing is everything. I'll see you in about a half hour." Walter shut down the phone and put it away. He looked up at Sloan. "Tom's still okay, but we've cut it a bit close. They were going to start invasive experimentation tomorrow."
"Oh God." Sloan shuddered and leaned back against Ed.
"Sloan, it's okay. We're going to get him out of there," Ed told her as he held her close. "Tom will be just fine."
Walter reached over to give her arm a comforting squeeze. "We're in time, Sloan. You'll have Tom safe and sound tonight."
She smiled. Her tears enhanced the green in her hazel eyes. "I know. I guess I just can't believe it yet."
"Believe it," Walter told her with a rueful grin. "This operation was planned by a master. Whatever else I may think about Lewis, he is a genius at this sort of thing."
"Just wish we could trust him," Sloan grumbled. "I'd feel a lot better if I thought he'd let us have Tom. I'm afraid that he'll get him and then take off with him."
Carla's voice startled them all. They'd forgotten she was tucked in a corner of the cargo van, meditating. "For this, you can trust Lewis. He has plans for Tom and he'll need me to help with some of them. Tom will go back to Fresno with us. I can guarantee that much."
"And after that?" Sloan asked.
"I think," Carla said cryptically, "that will be up to Keri."
... ...
David Bowman cursed as he saw the brake lights flash on the limo that had just passed him going in the other direction. It was Ashton. It had to be her. He floored the accelerator. The limousine had a lot more power than his Taurus, and he had to beat them there. Walter's rescue team had to be warned.
For that matter, so did Caryn. He grabbed his cell phone and used the speed dial. This wasn't the phone Ashton had provided him with; he had received it from Walter via FedEx a week ago. And Caryn was now using a phone one of her friends had rented for her. Hopefully that meant their conversation would be private.
"I think the boss is coming in to check on us," he said without identifying himself.
"The boss just left," she responded.
"Well, I guess the boss had a change of plans."
"Oh. What should I do?"
"Get ready to party in about a half hour, maybe less."
"We're having the party? Wonderful! Okay, I'll be ready."
David put the phone away and sighed. He should have taken that job at Washington State University last year, he thought.
... ...
Lewis watched the teams fan out around the building, so far so good. He glanced down at Keridwen. She had taken his order to remain close by his side very seriously, though he'd have felt better about that if he didn't suspect she wanted to be able to protect him should it be necessary. He was the one who should be doing the protecting…he gave himself a mental shake. Concentrate on the operation, he told himself harshly. Deal with your mate once all is secure. He moved to the targeted entrance. The infiltration specialists had dealt with the alarm and were now working through the various locking devices. It opened just as he arrived. Lewis allowed the team to enter first. Securing the route was their responsibility. As the only one of them who had inspected the site personally, Robert had taken point. Lewis pushed Keridwen back into an alcove that held a fire extinguisher as Robert stiffened. Someone was coming.
The guard's jaw dropped in shock as he rounded the corner and saw the intruders, but his weapon came up immediately, a credit to whoever had trained him. Had his foes been sapiens, he would have been able to fire and raise an alarm. As it was, the weapon was confiscated and his neck broken before he could squeeze the trigger and Robert was lowering the body carefully to the floor.
Lewis tried to block his mate's view of the body. A mistake, he learned as she pinched his arm. He looked down at her frowning face. Through the bond he felt her sorrow that the man had died, but no anger or remorse. She had accepted it as necessary. He nodded in approval and touched her cheek before moving on.
... ...
Keri winced as her soft-soled boot squeaked against the waxed tile floor. No one else was making a sound. What was worse was that the sound could have been avoided. She had forgotten to lift her feet completely and instead had half shuffled.
Lewis glanced back at her and she could feel that he was amused at her embarrassment. That was a relief. If he was amused then the sound wasn't loud enough to be a problem.
If she remembered the map correctly, the main guard station should be around the next corner. The layout had surprised Lewis and the chameleons until they had received the information on the outside of the building from Walter and Ray. Then it had been obvious that the security staff had little choice over the location.
Yes, Robert had stopped and Anja, along with several other members of the team were taking items from their backpacks. Keri knew that the devices they were preparing would have collapsible semi rigid tubes attached that would slide silently down the corridor and dispense a colorless, odorless gas.
At first Keri had been told it would only make them sleep. She'd glared at Robert for lying to her; then Lewis had sighed and admitted that it would make them sleep at first, but without oxygen being administered within a few minutes, it would kill them.
The others were putting on the state of the art gas filters they'd been issued. Keri pulled hers out and put it on before Lewis could check on her. When he did turn around she smiled at his approving nod. She would not make him regret bringing her.
They waited silently for what seemed like forever until they heard the bodies begin to drop. Then Anja eased up to the corner and used another tube, a miniature periscope, to look around it. She pulled back and nodded. Their advance was a go.
... ...
Caryn paced in the holding area. She was waiting for the combination to change. Tom was lying on the bunk, tossing and turning for the benefit of the camera. The tumblers clicked as they reset.
A few minutes later, Tom rolled from the bunk and staggered to the commode and did a convincing display of vomiting. He rinsed his mouth at the sink, acting as though he could barely stand then staggered back towards the bunk, falling halfway.
Caryn took her cue and ran to the main door and pounded on it. "Help!" she yelled. "Something's wrong with the subject, I need help in here!" She stepped back as the door opened and the guards rushed in, weapons ready.
They weren't fools. All of the guards had been briefed on what had really happened when Lewis had escaped. The weapons were trained on her as well as on Tom. But that wasn't a problem; they had no intention of attempting escape on their own…not when it was almost time for the party.
She made a show of checking Tom's pulse and respiration and looked up with a frown. "He seems to be all right. I don't know what happened. Maybe something was wrong with his dinner." Caryn bent over him. "Tom? Tom, can you hear me?"
"Whaaa… Doc?" He blinked a few times. "What happened?" he asked, making his voice sound groggy.
"You passed out. Can you sit up?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Tom sat up, holding on to her, apparently for support. "Here, let me try to get off the floor, okay?"
"Okay, ready?" Caryn asked as the guards backed up and raised their weapons. "Here we go." They got to their feet and she 'helped' him back to the bunk.
"I'm fine, Doc, really. Just nauseous."
"Try and get to sleep then, if it gets worse, say something, okay? I'll be right out there."
"Okay."
She walked to the door ahead of the guards. They might not have released the information to the papers, but the guards were not going to make themselves vulnerable to anyone drugging them from behind. Caryn exited without incident and settled herself back in 'David's Chair', repeating the door's combination over and over in her mind.
... ...
Ray started as the Ford Taurus careened into the parking lot and headed directly for the van. He raised and leveled his weapon, pulling it up as he recognized David Bowman from the photo included in everyone's briefing materials. Beside him, Alexa lowered her own weapon and signaled the others to let the man advance unharmed. Ray opened the partition and called Walter.
... ...
Walter opened the back and helped David in. "David, what's wrong?"
"Ashton," he gasped. "She's on her way here; just saw her turn around on the highway…probably no more than a few minutes behind me." He took a deep breath and continued. "I warned Caryn, she's waiting for us…uh, you."
Walter grabbed the radio handset and clicked it to signal the infiltration team. The appropriate number of clicks came back to indicate it was safe to send a voice message. "Boss is back and bringing executive staff." He listened for the acknowledgment signal before he replaced the handset. "Ray, get everyone out of the lot, now. David, we'll leave your car there so she'll think you went in."
"Okay, I've got my stuff in the storage locker as you suggested. Some of Caryn's too."
"We've someone on the way to pick it up already," Walter smiled. "Have a seat." The van started to move to their beta position as they dropped onto the narrow bench seats that lined the one side.
... ...
His mate winced each time she heard a neck snap and sighed at Anja's gleeful expression, but otherwise made no comment or protest as his team disposed of the unconscious men who had manned the main guard station. They wouldn't wait for the gas to finish its work and chance someone recovering spontaneously. Keridwen swallowed, stepped over the bodies, and examined the blinking lights on the security console.
Lewis felt her call him through the bond and joined her at the desk. She pointed at one of the lights. "Incoming phone call," she whispered. "If it rings too long…"
He motioned to Stephen to join them and explained the problem in a few terse words. Stephen nodded and checked the ID of the man who had been sitting at the desk then answered the phone.
"Security one," he said in a normal tone then waited for a response. "Yes ma'am, this is Donnelley. Code red. Absolutely, I'm on it." He looked at them and shrugged.
"You've got to do it or she'll know," Keridwen whispered. "Code red sends a page to her cell phone."
"Unless the alarm system has been breached. Report that to her," Lewis suggested. His mate nodded in agreement.
"Ma'am we've got a situation. The alarm system is not responding."
"Tell her the diagnostics show there is nothing wrong with it," Keridwen murmured in his ear.
"Ma'am, I've run diagnostics, no system problems are showing. I'll dispatch a team to check on…No, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. We'll be ready for them." Stephen hung up and grinned. "She doesn't want them to go looking for the intruders. They're to wait and stand ready for attack and allow the intruders to be caught between them and her reinforcements," he told them.
"Hmm, sensible." Lewis stepped back as they moved to set Donnelley up in his chair. The dead man's head was pulled into place with monofilament attached to a rod pushed through his clothing and punched into the padded seat of the chair. His hands were arranged on the console, and the cap pulled forward to shadow his vacant stare.
Robert split his team up. Stephen and two of the other males took the clothing from the remaining dead guards and stood ready to secure their exit route. The bodies were stuffed under the desk as the rest moved on with Robert, Keridwen and himself. The infiltration leader picked up the pace; they needed to release Tom and retreat post haste.
... ...
Mark was sweating in the flack jacket the chameleons had insisted he wear. The early September weather was muggy, even for this part of the country. His team had settled in on the roof after checking it carefully to ensure they had all of the access points sealed off or covered. The snipers were in place with instructions not to fire on enemy personnel until ordered to do so.
Depending on the progress of the inside teams, they might allow them to enter; then pick them off when they retreated from the building to escape gunfire from within. The object was to concentrate any weapon sounds inside the building so as not to alert civilian authorities. The last thing they needed was to have local SWAT teams and the CHP called in.
Squinting, he thought he could just make out their 'distraction' gathered several blocks down on their planned escape route. James had them spread out on several streets and ready to move out in case they were forced to deviate from the initial plan.
The vehicles they had brought were all parked in the beta format. Even a trained observer that had not seen them arrive would not be able to differentiate between them and legitimately parked cars without going around and checking all vehicles in the area for warm engines.
Mark sighed. He was trained to be patient, but the urgency that had gripped him since the report of Danielle Ashton's approach was making him itch from the excess adrenaline in his system. He froze. A large vehicle had just sped off of the highway and was heading their way. Mark grabbed the handset and sent the silent signal.
... ...
Robert and Lewis both stiffened and reached for their belts at the same instant. Keri knew it must be the signal that her cousin or her reinforcements had arrived. Lewis reached back for her hand and reminded her to stay close. As if she needed the reminder. She knew that Dani wouldn't hesitate to kill her, let alone have her killed, and Keri very much did not want to die. She and Lewis had too damn much to live for.
There was a scuffle around the corner, the slam of a body against the wall, and then the first gunshot was fired. She waited with Lewis, shaking, until Robert's voice reached them.
"Clear," he said. "Anja, how bad is it?"
"I'm fine," she told him. "Just a stupid crease."
They turned the corner and saw Anja stuffing a field bandage in her pants over her hip. A guard lay before her, his face crushed and bloody from a blow to the nasal area.
"Didn't see his hold out…stupid," Anja was muttering.
"How far will that have been heard?" Lewis asked Robert.
"Too far. The cell block monitor station is just around the corner. They're probably calling the main station for instructions now."
"Then let's move. Frontal assault. Go! Anja, catch up when you can."
They began to trot down the hall, hugging the walls. Keri flattened herself against the wall and Lewis blocked her body with his own as gunfire ricocheted past them. He didn't have to ask her if she was okay. She knew he would feel it if she were hit…as she would feel any injury he received.
Robert was holding a guard by the throat as they arrived. The two monitor room guards were dead. "Last chance," he said. "Open it."
"No way. You're going to kill me anyway."
The infiltration specialists looked up from the lock and shook their heads. They were not going to be able to open it quickly.
Keri swallowed, coming to a hard decision. "Open it, and they'll let you live."
The guard looked up and then gawked at her. "Miss Ashton?"
She knew the man, but not well. This was still going to be hard. "Yes. Now open the door. I won't let them hurt you," she promised him, gesturing to the group that menaced him.
"Yes ma'am. If you say so." He moved slowly to the door and began punching in codes.
Anja limped around the corner and settled herself against the wall to watch. She was still bleeding, Keri noted as Lewis grabbed her arm. "You had no right to make that promise," he hissed.
Keri looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I didn't say I wouldn't hurt him," she whispered. He stepped back, his expression shocked; then reached out to gently wipe away her tears as the door to the observation area opened. She shuddered and raised her SW99.
Anja pushed off from the wall and covered Keri's hand with her own. "No," she said. "You didn't say anything about me not hurting him, either."
The others moved into the observation area, and a tallish woman with straight auburn hair greeted them and moved to open the cell door. While she was distracted, Anja moved. Keri covered her mouth with her hand as she heard the distinctive snap. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
... ...
Five cars had pulled into the lot and disgorged ten armed agents and one well-dressed woman. She took three of the men and headed to a second entrance. The others staked out the one the infiltration team had used.
Mark signaled the other teams. All responded to approve voice contact. He filled them in on the situation and then assigned targets to his snipers. They would wait until the men started to move, then take them out. The longer they were alive to respond to any phone or radio queries from their boss, the better.
He paced a sheltered area of the roof. Mark was really beginning to hate waiting.
... ...
Caryn nearly screamed when several armed men and women moved into the observation area.
"Robert!" Tom said as he rolled off of the bunk.
"You know him?" Caryn asked, thinking to herself that the question was a bit stupid, but not knowing what else to say.
"One of Lewis' chameleons," Tom told her.
"One of the coexistence faction's chameleons," Robert corrected. "Miss, do you know the code for this door?"
"Uh, yes. I'll get it."
"It's doctor," Tom said.
Robert shrugged. "Whatever."
"She comes with us, alive."
"Of course," Robert smiled. Tom stepped back, his expression suspicious. "Tom, relax. We're advocating coexistence. We aren't going to kill anyone that is helping us achieve that goal."
Caryn gave Tom what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's going to be all right," she said. "We're going to get out of here."
Tom nodded and moved to the door, then suddenly froze in place. "Lewis," he said. "I should have known."
... ...
Danielle Ashton led the way down a seldom-used corridor that led to a point to the right of the main guard station. She called the station, sighing with relief when Donnelley promptly answered. "Any sign of them?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am. They tried to put some kind of tubes down the hall. We're assuming they were trying to gas us."
"And?"
"We stuffed the tubes with cloth. A while later we heard some coughing and the sound of a few bodies hitting the floor. The tubes were pulled back, though, so it didn't get all of them. Hasn't been any sound since though. We're not sure what they're doing or even if they're still there."
"When did this happen?"
"Less than five minutes ago."
"Okay, if they try to get out, my men will take them down…if they miss any, they may come back your way. Prepare to intercept them."
"Yes ma'am. We're ready."
"I'll be there in a minute; we're coming through my private entrance."
"Got it. We'll wait for an attack or further instructions."
Danielle hit the end button and speed dialed Foster. "They tried to gas the guards, but since they were alerted it backfired. Some of their own fell, but not all. They're probably headed your way, possibly carrying bodies." She listened for Foster's acknowledgment and then hit the end key again and stuffed the phone in her jacket pocket.
She hung back at the exit to the main guard station just in case the dominants launched an attack as she arrived. Still, she was shocked when rounds were fired the moment the door opened. She was even more shocked when all three of her men went down, the last one barely managing to pull the door closed.
"Guards, not ours," he gasped, then choked on his own blood.
"Shit," she muttered and then ran back to the bend in the corridor. Once there she stopped and pulled a remote out from her purse. Danielle keyed in a code and waited until a panel slid back in the wall. It closed as soon as she stepped through into her office.