“Don’t recognize you.”
“New transfer from Boston,” Bryn replied.
Johnson frowned.“ID badge?”
“Left it in the locker room when the alarm went off,” Bryn said, injecting annoyance into his voice.“Look, I’m supposed to secure the perimeter.You want to explain to the boss why I’m standing here instead of doing my job?It’s my first day, man, don’t drop me in the shit.”
Johnson hesitated, then nodded toward the exit.“Go on.But get that badge situation sorted out.”
“I owe you.”Bryn stepped out into the open air, fighting the urge to run.He was in a parking lot, delivery trucks on one side, and cars on the other.Beyond stretched a perimeter fence topped with razor wire.The other side of it was where he needed to be.Easier said than done.No way am I get over that without shredding myself.He walked toward the employee lot, scanning for options.He either needed a vehicle or a way through the wire.
A short distance away, a maintenance shed stood near the fence, partially obscured by overgrown bushes.Bryn made his way toward it.He tried the door.It was locked and needed an old-fashioned key.Bryn looked around and spotted a window, small but possibly big enough for him to squeeze through.Using his elbow, he smashed the glass.The alarm sounding from the building masked most of the noise.He cleared the worst of the jagged shards and hauled himself through the narrow opening, cutting his arm in the process.The pain registered but it was muted by Frost’s drugs.Inside, the shed was cluttered with gardening tools, machine parts, and miscellaneous equipment.Something here has to be useful.
A pair of bolt cutters caught his eye.“Jackpot.”Bryn grabbed them and moved back to the window, scanning the area.The guard was focused on the building entrance, not the perimeter fence.
He slipped out of the window and pushed his way through the bushes to the fence.As fast as he could, he cut a line up the chain-link fence, just enough to create an opening he could squeeze through.He pushed through the opening, tearing his shirt and scraping his shoulder.He was beyond caring.Once through, he darted across an access road and into a stand of trees beyond.
Only when he was concealed in the underbrush did he pause to catch his breath.Where the fuck am I?The building he’d left had been a squat three story.Nothing special unless you noticed the beefed-up security.Through the trees, he could see a commercial area.It was a strip mall with shops, restaurants, and people going about their normal lives.If this is still Philly, it’s not downtown.
Bryn checked the cell Frost had left him.Two signal bars now, which should be enough to make a call.With shaking fingers, Bryn dialed the GCR’s emergency number while blood ran in a sluggish rivulet down his arm and across the back of his hand.
A familiar voice answered after a single ring.“Operations.”
“Emmett,” Bryn said, “it’s me.”
“Bryn?Where the hell are you?Everyone’s been looking…”
“I escaped the building Russo had me in but I don’t know where I am,” Bryn interrupted, keeping his voice low.“There’s a strip mall, I’m in the woods behind it.Can you trace the phone?”
“Are you hurt?”
“Nothing serious.But I need a ride.They’ll be looking for me and I’m not far enough away.”
“On it,” Emmett said.“Stay put and I’ll get someone to you.The driver will use the word ‘starling’.If he doesn’t, run like hell.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring…”
“Good to hear your voice.”
“Gunnar…is he?”
“The worst patient in the history of hospitals?Yep.Gotta go.”
The call ended.He’s hurt but alive!Bryn laughed, his relief tinged with hysteria.He slumped against a tree, breathing hard.Whatever Frost had given him was wearing off.His body ached and his head was fuzzy but none of it mattered because Gunnar was still breathing and from the sounds of it, well enough to be a pain in the ass.He forced himself to move, edging through the trees parallel to the commercial area, finding a position where he could observe the strip mall without being seen.
Every car that pulled into the lot made his heart race.Every distant siren sent a surge of adrenaline through his system.His hands wouldn’t stop shaking.Eighteen minutes after the call to Emmett, the longest eighteen minutes in Bryn’s life, a black sedan pulled into the far corner of the parking lot.Bryn watched as it idled there, positioned for a quick exit.A lone figure sat behind the wheel.
Bryn gathered his remaining strength.He scanned the area for any sign of Russo’s men.The parking lot seemed clear.He stepped out of the trees and walked toward the sedan, fighting the urge to run.
The driver’s window lowered as he approached.A face he recognized from Gunnar’s security team looked out at him.
“Starling,” the man said.
Bryn nodded then slid into the passenger seat.
“I’m Solomon.Ed Solomon.You look like hell,” the driver said, pulling away from the curb.
“I feel worse,” Bryn managed.“Thanks for coming.”
