Adrenaline
By - TempestRaces
Chapter 73 – Bleed into One
Let's do this thing…
They left the house and walked out into the driveway, all clad in black clothes under black body armour. While some headed for their cars Kat and Connor headed for their bikes. Kat tossed her leg over the powerful machine and adjusted her position on the seat for comfort. She started to pull her helmet on over her head in preparation for taking off.
"Can you take someone on the back of that thing?"
The question shocked Kat out of her own world. She looked up. "Yeah, I guess so, if I take the cover off the cargo hold and put the extra seat on. It's not very comfortable and not everyone is good at riding a sport bike as a passenger. Why?"
"Curious. Be careful."
"I will be. I'll catch up with you there." She reassured Leon as he walked toward Dominic. He nodded in response to her statement.
With Kat and Connor on their bikes the remaining eight split up into two vehicles with Dominic, Letty, Leon, and Vince in a nondescript black BMW they did not want to know the origins of and Brody, Mike, Trey and Stacey in an equally mundane silver Mercedes. Of course, nondescript and mundane were relative terms. They were very nice cars but they would also be commonplace in the areas they were going into.
In a last minute decision Kat's brothers were split up and sent one in each car. Both cars had simply materialized and had either been stolen or provided by the LAPD. It was important for their plan that they be in vehicles that would blend into the affluent neighbourhoods they were venturing into. It wasn't as important with the bikes. The rich often had their toys, and the bikes wouldn't be in one place long enough for anyone to get a good look.
Kat paused again with her helmet under her arm. "Are we all clear where we're meeting? It's going to attract less attention if we all make our way down the access road separately and meet down there."
"I know where to go." Dom answered. He was going to be driving the BMW.
"I'm clear." Stacey added before sliding behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
"Ok, than it sounds like we're ready. It's starting to get dark so we may as well start down there." Kat put a finger on the clear apparatus in her ear. "Mike check, one, two. One, two." She fought giggling, finding the communication device novel, despite knowing the situation was nothing but serious.
"I hear you fine." Miles answered back directly into her ear.
"Damn, that shit's pretty cool," she said to her self as she pulled her helmet on at last, tucking her braided hair down inside the back of her jacket to keep it hidden. When Miles chuckled in her ear she realized that she could no longer say anything to herself. Until they all took off their comm. devices they could all hear every word any of the others said. Not to mention agent Miles. He was the only one who had any control over keeping his words to himself or sharing them with the group.
She kick started her bike and it turned over with a roar, the 1000cc v-twin engine vibrating enough to transmit a feeling of power to the rider, yet using a sophisticated vibration dampening system to prevent her teeth being rattled out of her head. She twisted the throttle, causing the engine to rev with a growl. Using her heel, she kicked the stand up and started to walk the bike backwards down the driveway. Connor instead turned his around and coasted down.
Both cars started up with highly refined murmurs. Each car ran like a well educated lady spoke, quietly, properly, but with power and distinction. The tamed lion act was all for show. Both used their classic exteriors to hide hearts of pure race bred decent, ready to run free at the slightest indication of trouble. Each of the vehicles could 'haul ass' if the need arose, though no doubt if the classy German cars could speak they would have a less crude way to phrase it.
At six pm the traffic was still thick as people left work and headed home for the evening. It was particularly thick when they got out of their own neighbourhood and started to move through the business areas of town. The wealthy business people were heading for home in the very areas that Kat and her friends were about to infiltrate. Perhaps some of the doctors, lawyers and other professionals headed out of Los Angeles were even neighbours of Sergei. Perhaps they knew what he did. Some likely only knew that there was something 'not quite right' about him. Still others likely had no idea what kind of person he was. And of all of the above, likely three quarters, no matter which way they felt about Sergei, wouldn't have cared less either way as long as he stayed out of their lives and business.
Kat and Connor dodged in and out of traffic, the jams and bumper to bumper traffic not slowing them down in the least. They were easily able to manoeuvre around the crawling vehicles, using them as poles to slalom around. It was orchestrated to separate them from the cars. It was of vital importance they not arrive in a large group. It would be too easily noticed by anyone who happened to be watching. Better for the two bikes to be seen 'hot dogging' it down the freeways and the two cars to make their separate ways. That way they would look like two spoilt children racing their toys, while the cars would blend in like two separate parties of commuters on the way home.
They all knew it wasn't likely that anyone in the target house would see them coming. It had a privacy fence and was set well back from the road to begin with. But it would not have surprised Kat to find out that at least one of the neighbours was also involved in Sergei's world and was keeping an eye out for trouble. The Russian man no doubt had his ways to be persuasive. He had certainly found a way to make Kat do as he said. It had only been her friends who had talked her into fighting back. To her way of thinking things had been hopeless and she had been ready to give up.
After about half an hour of driving they took the exit which carried them into the upscale neighbourhood of Long Beach. After a few turns they reached the private road Ivan had indicated on the map and turned down it. Each parked their bike in the underbrush off the side of the road and left their helmet hanging off the handlebars. Each made sure to point the bikes out toward the road just in case a quick getaway was needed.
"We're here," Kat said out loud, feeling more than a little stupid. It felt like she was talking to herself even though she knew that all the others could hear her via their comm. devices.
"The freeway was a little more challenging for us, we're likely another ten minutes out." Stacey's disembodied voice came back into Kat's ear.
"We're right behind him," Dominic added.
"We'll wait here in the trees at the corner of the fence," Connor said and offered his hand to Kat to pull her with him into the stand of leafy trees. The dusk was over under the thick foliage, and night had fully taken over. It was dark and cool in the full shade.
It was hard for Kat to get use to the fact she couldn't say anything to Connor if she wasn't willing to allow the other eight people with earpieces to hear it as well. There were things she wanted to say to him but they were things she wasn't ready to share with the group so she kept them to herself.
Just as she thought she was going to have to start pacing in the slowing decomposing leaves like a forest animal she heard the crunch of gravel under tires and leaned out from behind the tree she was standing behind to see who it was. Finding the black BMW she stepped out onto the road.
"Did anyone follow you?"
"Just Stacey," Vince answered as he alighted from the car. "What about you?"
"There's nothing that could keep up. Well, nothing inconspicuous enough to miss."
"So now what?" Letty asked, a hand on her hip.
"We wait for Stacey and the rest and then we go get this done," Kat answered. She was inpatient for things to get underway as much as anyone. She tromped back over to the woods and took a few steps in before trying to peer through to what was on the other side. "It's so dark I can't see a damn thing."
"There's nothing to see but trees anyway Kat," Josef answered. "The tree line is thick, especially at this point. We will have to cross down to the beach, across the neighbour's land and up through as second area of trees before we will reach father's land."
The second car rolled up. "Were you followed? Any problems?" Connor asked Stacey as he climbed out of the silver car which he had parked beside the BMW.
"Not followed, no problems."
"Ok then, I guess we're ready to get started," Kat said. They all started to make their way through the trees as quietly as possible. From what they knew there would be no guards so far from the house, no one expecting an assault team to spring up from the bush. They also knew they couldn't be too careful at this stage of the game. One false move, one wrong person seeing them and all would be lost.
After about ten minutes walking they came upon the edge of the thicket of trees. They left their cover and walked low across the beach, hoping the edge of the lawn would offer them enough cover that no one in the neighbouring house would see their travels.
After a further ten minutes of trudging through the dry sand they reached the second line of trees. It only took a few minutes for the group to dash single file up through the trees toward the house, along the length of the back lawn. The house became visible from their vantage point about half way through the length of the fence, but it was up a considerable expanse of lawn. The tree line continued up the fence another good distance. They were hoping the twilight hour, darkness of their clothes, and the element of surprise would keep them hidden.
Kat knew better than anyone that people most often didn't see what they weren't looking for. No one had ever seen their way to the real her, because no one was ever expecting to see it. It was far easier to see what you wanted to see, or what was obvious on the surface, than to look deeper and delve for the truth. Of course, that same characteristic of people was going to work for them tonight, or at least she hoped so. The Russians in the house and around it would not be expecting to see a swat team in the trees, so with any luck their mental schemas would prevent them from seeing one. Whether one was there no not.
When they had gone as far as the trees were going to take them they had a decision to make. They could dash as one group across the lawn to the side of the house with the basement window they needed, or they could go in groups of one to three and dash until they were all in the darkness at the shady side of the house.
"I think we should go in shifts," Kat started. "That way the people who wait in the trees can give cover to the people running across in the open."
"Makes sense," Vince agreed.
Everyone took a moment to check their weapons. One by one they all tucked their guns back into their holsters and stood at the ready, waiting to carry on.
"I'm going to go first. Letty and Leon you can come with me. Connor, you should wait until the last group. I want each group to have one person with good marksmanship in it. After the second group clears the lawn I'll start working on getting the window open. The three of us will get into the house while the rest of you keep cover. Then, you'll need to give us about ten minutes to get through the house to the back door to let you all in," Kat said. She was trying to organize things so in her mind everyone would be as safe as possible.
Just as she, Letty and Leon were preparing for their dash across the lawn Dominic stopped them. "Wait," he waited while they complied and returned to his side. "Are we supposed to shoot to kill any of the guards we come across? I'm not clear on this. Are we tying them up and knocking them out or killing them?"
"We're just going to have to play it by ear. We need to be quiet at all times. We can't afford to do anything that will bring the lot of them running to see what's up. If that means killing them than that's just what we'll have to do. If there are some we can subdue and leave for Officer Williams to collect than we'll do that too," Kat shrugged.
"Some of us don't have an instinct for when to kill and when to fight," Mike answered. "Where we come from if you're threatened you just shoot."
Kat tried to keep her calm. Mike had joined Connor after she had left so they weren't acquainted. She wanted to scream at the dark man that she was well aware how things were where 'he' came from because she'd grown up there. She wasn't just some Johnny-come-lately to the gang, that she'd been raised that way. She just didn't see how a fight with Mike was going to help them in the long run. He wouldn't see it her way no matter what she said. She became worried that Mike was a hotdog and was going to make trouble for them.
"Listen, it's not like I have some huge soft spot for Sergei and his hired goons, ok? I just don't see where it makes sense to kill everything that moves. When you fire a weapon at someone you don't know, you always have that slim chance that you're firing it at someone who's on your side. If anyone is threatened and you don't see another way to get out of the situation than shoot the guy. But if you could knock him out and leave him for pickup that would be the way to go."
Everyone nodded their understanding.
She decided that they were as organized as they were going to be with that decision out of the way. She looked at Letty and then Leon. They both looked nervous but resigned.
"Let's go," Letty growled impatiently.
Kat nodded. There was no sense putting it off any longer. She moved to the edge of the trees and heard Letty and Leon follow her there, their footsteps crunching in the twigs and leaves coating the ground. Without looking around to confirm their presence she dashed out of the shelter of the trees, streaking across the lawn to the side of the house. When she reached the darkness in the lee of the hulking home she turned back the way she'd come.
Letty and Leon stopped beside her seconds after. There were no shouts to herald their discovery. Kat's eyes scanned the tree line intently, seeking any evidence of the seven people who still waited there. They were well hidden, she couldn't discern anything out of the ordinary among the trees. Letty made a waving motion with her hand and the next group left the trees.
Kat was hardly surprised to see Dominic leading the charge. She hadn't expected Dom to allow Letty out of his sight for long. Joining Dom were Mike, Brody and Vince. As soon as the four men were hidden with them at the side of the mansion Kat hit her knees and took the glass cutter out of her pocket. She cut a half moon circle of glass out of the pane by the lock and snapped it with her finger, hoping the noise it made when it hit the cement floor of the basement room wouldn't be too loud.
The glass shattered with a soft series of tingling noises. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see if there would be fallout from the noise. There was no sound of running feet, no calling from one man to another for backup. Dom waved his hand, sending the next group of people running for their position while Kat pushed on the window and felt it swing open under her push.
"I'll go in first," Leon said, moving forward to lower his feet through the gapping hole in the side of the house, which showed nothing but a pitch black cavern.
"Its fine, I'll go first," Kat insisted.
"I'll go first so I can help you and Letty down. I'm taller," Leon stated and moved closer to the window. It was clear he was not going to be dissuaded.
With a shrug Kat allowed him his chivalrous sentiment, unwilling to fight about such a trivial thing as who stumbled around in the dark room first, waiting to help the next two people into the hell next. When she heard Leon's feet hit ground she motioned Letty to precede her. After she watched Letty's head disappear she turned to the group. "Give us a ten minute head start before you meet us at the kitchen door and we'll let you in."
"Got it," Connor answered. "Take care'a you."
"See you soon," Kat replied before sitting down on the due dampened grass and kicking her feet into the window. She felt Leon's hands grab her legs, his thumb sliding over the delicate yet strong bones of her ankles where they were encased in supple leather before grasping firmly and helping her slide down into the room with him. He held her close for a moment, during which she couldn't stop herself from burrowing her head against his chest, before he released her and she moved away.
"Can we have some sort of light?" Letty asked in a whisper.
"No," Kat whispered back. She was scared that any illumination in the room would show outside and have the potential to attract attention. "Not until we've left this room. Let's start feeling for the door."
They split up reluctantly, forced by necessity. Each felt their way through the room, reaching the wall and feeling their way along. Letty found the door, calling softly that she had done so. Kat and Leon followed her voice from opposite sides of the room, joining her at the still closed door.
Kat pressed her ear to it, listening intently. "I don't hear a thing."
"We've only got about five minutes of your ten left. We should get a move on."
"Ok," she slid her hand down and across the door until her seeking fingers found the knob. She turned it slowly and stepped backward, bringing the door with her. There was no light to speak of in the hall either yet all three stepped through the doorway into the unknown world beyond. Each had only a perfunctory idea of the layout to expect from the floor plans they had studied.
As their eyes adjusted to the lack of illumination, a line of soft light stood out. Seemingly floating high over their heads, it could be only one thing. The small amount of light allowed to pass under the bottom of the door at the top of the basement stairs. "Do you see?" She asked of the two people with her.
"Yeah," Letty answered. "Let's go."
Kat didn't answer. Rather, she started toward the light. Her booted feet made soft noises on the concrete. Her training in dance had taught her to step lightly and she put the skill to good use now. Letty and Leon's steps rang slightly louder, yet she still didn't think it would be detectable to anyone not in a very heightened state of alertness, not waiting to hear something just the same.
They started up the stairs single file, each with a hand on the rail to guide their way. From her place at the head of the line, Kat again pressed the side of her face to the door and listened for foot traffic. Hearing none she grasped the doorknob and pushed. The door opened on silent hinges. The door let out, as they knew, into a hall just beyond the kitchen where they had to be.
"The kitchen is a right turn from the basement stairs, right?" Kat asked.
"I think so," Letty answered. Under pressure, none of them wanted to be the one to make the wrong choice, to remember the wrong thing.
"The kitchen is a right hand turn from your current position," Miles answered over the wireless headsets they were all wearing. "The keypad for the security system is next to the back door."
"Understood," Leon muttered back and they all headed for the kitchen through the gloom. "We can't forget the security camera. We only have twenty seconds at a time where the damn camera can't see us."
"Assuming he's watching that camera," Letty answered.
"We have to assume he's watching that camera," Kat reminded the other girl. "We can't know if he is or isn't so we have to assume he is."
"The system is stand alone so I can't help you. You're going to have to figure out on your own where the camera is and when it will sweep back your way. I'd advise only one of you go to the keypad. The other two should remain out of sight of the camera but in a place where they can still offer protection and information. One person can hide easier than three."
"Understood," Kat whispered back. "I'm going to the keypad. You two can wait here. One of you watch the camera."
Before either of them could neigh say her decision Kat moved out around the corner and looked at the camera. It was pointed the other way so she dashed out of her hiding place and ran for the panel. She flipped it open. "I'm ready," she told Miles over the comm. link.
He fed her the numbers to push and she did so quickly before dashing back to where Leon and Letty waited. She made eye contact with Connor and held up a hand to hold him steady while the camera could see him.
Leon asked Miles where they were to head to after everyone was inside. He was given the directions to the security monitoring room on the first floor. "You haven't seen any guards yet?" Miles asked.
"No, no one. The place is quiet, but there are lights on here and there," Leon answered.
"Perhaps the house is less guarded than we even thought. Even still, you're going to have to scout the whole place and ensure you don't leave anyone alive there that can cause trouble for the rest of the mission."
"Understood," Kat answered and motioned Connor in. Everyone made a quick single file entrance and Leon motioned them down the hall. The waited until Dom brought up the rear of the group before joining the line, Letty moving in step behind Dom with Kat behind her and Leon in the rearmost position.
"Half of us might as well start searching upstairs," Connor said. "We can't all fit into the security room."
"Just don't let anyone see you," Mile's voice came back over the wireless connection.
"I get it already," Connor muttered.
"There's another camera in the dining room. There is one in front of the master bedroom as well. Stay to the left end of the hall until the control room is taken."
With a motion of his hand five people broke off from the group and followed Connor up the stairs. Kat watched him go before looking around to see who was still with her. Brody, Leon, Ivan, Josef, Vince. The security felt way too lax to her. Perhaps it was just that she was paranoid but she thought someone like Sergei should always be expecting trouble-even if he wasn't expecting it from her-and have tighter security. Yet they were all in his house and hadn't even encountered a single person.
There was little that could be done about it now. In they were and there was no turning back. She stretched her hand out toward the knob and drew her gun. There was no option for the man in the control room. If he didn't die than he would have time to use a radio. Kat knew he would have to die on sight and since in her mind she was the one to get them into the predicament she felt the need to take his death onto her own shoulders.
Slowly her fingers curled around the knob. Flexing her fingers around the cool brass she took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting to turn. When she had the handle turned to the point she knew the door would fly inward with one good shove she paused, waiting to hear a cry of outrage or some other acknowledgement of her presence. None came. With a look at the other faces still gathered around her she nodded and with a violent thrust pushed the door into the room with a grunt.
As the man seated in a leather office chair started to turn with a startled yell and surprised look on his face Kat moved to pull the trigger. Before she could even take aim a small red dot appeared on the center of his forehead.
As though Ivan had known what she planned and didn't want to allow her to kill a man, he had gotten his laser sighed weapon trained on the man in a heartbeat. "Don't move," Ivan ordered in Russian. The watchman slowly raised his hands over his head.
"How many others are in the house?" Kat demanded, also using Russian.
The Russian guard sat silently, hands in the air. He didn't move to answer. Kat repeated her question in English. He sat there with the same stoic look on his face.
"He won't tell us shit," Brody said in discuss.
"Likely not, but he will not warn his comrades either." Ivan answered. He had Josef keep a weapon trained on the man and handcuffed him with a set of the cuffs they had been provided with by Miles along with the swat gear. They then tied up his feet and gagged him before they sent Brody off to carry him into the woods where he wouldn't be found.
They left Josef in the control room. Kat trusted him for some reason, where as she didn't totally trust Ivan. She wasn't willing to leave the very first part of the night's activities to depend on Ivan not betraying them. Brody went off with the man from the control room slung over his shoulder. He made it back quickly, unworried about being observed on a camera and giving the rest of the guards advanced warning. When he returned they searched the rest of the downstairs.
The found two guards, killing one and capturing the other, though not before he managed to kick Vince in the thigh. Though everyone knew the injury had to hurt they were all impressed with Vince's ability to ignore the pain and carry on. Once they had the whole downstairs secured they made their way upstairs and met up with the rest of the group.
"We didn't find anything but two more guards," Connor admitted, "but we only searched the left hand side like Miles said."
"We took the control room so we can search the whole upstairs now. How much is left?" Kat asked.
"Most of it," Connor answered. "We didn't want to get too close to the camera until we knew for sure that you were clear downstairs."
"Fair enough. Let's split up and finish the upstairs."
"I don't have a better idea."
They broke up into pairs and each took an unsearched room. Everyone understood the need to still be quiet as no one knew how many guards might still be present in the unsearched rooms and on the grounds.
Kat pushed a door open, aware of Leon right on her heels. Whenever it came time to go into groups he was never far behind her. She knew he was looking out for her in his mind but she was happy to let him think that way. It meant that he was close to her so she could look out for him. The relatively trouble free time they were having of it was nagging in the back of her mind but she didn't listen for too long. It felt too easy, but perhaps it was just also her turn to get a break.
As the door swung inward it let open into a pitch black room. "I can't see a thing in here," she whispered to Leon.
"There must be a light switch close to the door," he replied.
"But what if there's a guard in here asleep or something?"
"Use your flashlight to scan the room than," Leon suggested.
She listened, taking out the small penlight and flashing it around the room. Nothing was apparent. It was just a bedroom filled with ornate furniture including a four poster bed and an armour along with a high boy and a chest of drawers.
"There's nothing here," Leon said, disappointment colouring his voice.
Kat felt her shoulders sag in disappointment. She had been so hopeful of finding Sean in the room. Given that the room was empty she decided to walk in and look around anyway.
There was a muffled shot in one of the other rooms and a deep cry from a man as the shot found its mark. Both Leon and Kat spun around startled at the noise. The grunt had sounded an awful lot like Dominic. Without a second though Leon took off to investigate farther. Kat didn't follow. She walked over to one of the closed doors with a sigh. She was morbidly curious to see where the doors went. The first one opened onto an ensuite bathroom. It was plain and functional, just a bathroom. There was nothing else to be seen.
She backed out and left the door open behind herself. She vaguely thought of going to see if it had in fact been Dominic who had been shot, but decided that he had enough of his friends around him even if it had been. She walked over to the second closed door in the room and pulled it open.
It lead to a walk in closet. She couldn't see anything inside the dark room. The light from the hall didn't reach this far through the gloom of the darkened bedroom. She figured with the closet being windowless, it couldn't hurt anything to turn on the light. With that decided she felt along the edge of the closet door, looking for the switch. Her fingers stumbled over it and she flicked it on. She was expecting to flick it right back off again and rejoin the rest of the group in the hunt.
Finding Sean in the closet was the last thing that ever occurred to her. Why was he tied up alone in a closet? She was so shocked that at first she didn't move and couldn't speak. Why wasn't he aware she was there? The light was on now and God only knew how long it had been since the light had been turned on. Shouldn't that have woken him up?
With a soft cry her state of inactivity was lifted. She rushed to his side and fell to her knees in the well under padded carpet. His hands were tied behind his back, his feet were tied to the legs of the heavy chair he was sitting in. He head was thrown back, not in relaxation but either in sleep or a state of unconsciousness. Kat reached around behind him almost franticly to untie his hands.
There was a blackness around one of his eyes that even his dark skin couldn't hide. There were cuts across both of his cheeks. When she got his hands untied they fell to his sides limply. She worked on his feet before kneeling in front of him and looking up into his dear face. The cuts on his skin looked so impossibly red on his dark complexion. "Oh Sean," she sighed. They were too late. Despite his promises Sergei had beaten her friend to death. She bowed her head forward, her forehead to his knees as she fought her need to break down into great sobs, as though she was five again and allowed to give way to unrestrained sorrow. She fought to keep it in, her shoulders shaking with the effort.
She was so involved in her own world that it took her a moment to realise that something was touching the top of her head, stroking her hair back with the lay of her braid. She looked up, expecting to find Leon or Connor attempting to comfort her in her grief. The last thing she was expecting was to find Sean's chocolate brown eyes open and looking down at her.
"What the hell are you doin' here?" He croaked.
Kat laughed out loud at the question. "Savin' your black ass from another ass whoopin', that's what," she answered with a grin.
"You shoulda run off, taken care of yourself."
"I ain't a quitter and you know it," Kat said, looking up at the still seated Sean from her position on her knees in front of him. "'Sides, we got more work to do tonight. Get your lazy ass outta that chair!" Kat stood up and waited for Sean to listen.
"What'd ya mean more work to do tonight?" Sean asked, still sitting. He didn't want to let on he was having trouble feeling his legs, they'd been tied in one position too long.
"Asshole took Jesse too. We got another stop to make before we go to his office building and finish this once and for all. And that doesn't even figure in that I heard a guy that sounded an awful lot like Dom cry out after I heard a silenced gun shot go off. Let's go."
Sean stood up and swayed on his feet. "I'm just goin' to slow you down Kitten. I haven't had much to eat in the last few days and I've been tied up to this damn chair for the last twenty four hours. I really gotta use the bathroom."
"There's one attached to the room your in. We'll get you something in the kitchen before we leave. I got your bike stashed right next to mine. Let's go check on the rest."
They left the closet. Kat sat on the bed while Sean used the washroom. He came out with his face and head glistening with beads of water. It was clear that he had doused himself hoping the cold would wake him up, help him become more conscious. They left the room arm in arm and followed the noises the rest of the group were making as the searched. The found Connor searching with Brody one room over.
"Look what I found," Kat called softly as she entered the room, a huge grin on her face.
The two brothers hugged in a manly fashion when they were reintroduced to each other. Each put up the macho act men were so fond of, the whole 'I knew you were fine' load of bullshit. Brody thumped Sean on the back and the four left the room again, finding the rest of the team in another room. They were helping Dominic keep pressure on a wound to his upper arm. There was a dead guard slumped in the corner.
"You ok?" She asked as she walked in.
"Does he look ok?" Letty snapped.
"I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound," Dom said as he tried to make Letty stop fussing.
"Do we have all of Sergei's men, do you think?"
"Yeah, I think we do," Ivan replied, "and that worries me. If this is all the staff he left here than he's gathering them for something big elsewhere."
"Well then, I guess we better get out of here," Kat shrugged off the dire prediction. "We've got Bel Air to take care of yet."
They radioed the location in the woods to Miles so that the FBI could pick up the men they'd managed to subdue before they made their way back through the woods, back across the beach and back to the access road. They were short Josef, but they had gained Sean. The bleeding had been stopped on Dom's arm and Vince and Letty had tied a bandage around it.
Kat tossed Sean his helmet, still smiling. With Sean back everything was bound to work out. The three of them got on their bikes while everyone else piled into their cars. They were off for the next stage of their great adventure.
TBC.