“We’ve got the perimeter secured,” said Andrey. “The guards on patrol were shot on sight. Perimeter’s clear.”
“Distraction team going in,” Giovanni whispered through the comms.
It was happening. The plan was going exactly as we wanted, and for the first time that night, I felt the edge wear off. I knew we weren’t out of danger, but I was foolish enough to think that maybe things were smooth sailing from then on.
How fucking wrong I turned out to be. For fifteen minutes, everything was fine. But then, out of nowhere, an explosion rocked the front of the building.
“Arko?” I asked, scrambling to my feet as panic filled my chest.
Shouts erupted through the comms, something about Caspian’s team engaging with unaccounted-for guards at the front.
Gunfire erupted, feeling closer than I thought they’d be. I flinched, pressing the headset tighter around my ears to make sense of what was going on at the other end. The boundary wallswere too high, and I couldn’t see a thing inside. The comms were filled with overlapping voices, shouts, and the sounds of war.
“We found Anton,” Arko whispered. “Heading to extract—”
Just then, another massive explosion shook the building, and all the comms went dead.
“Arko?” I called, frantically trying to adjust the frequencies. “Arko, are you okay?”
The static gave way to a dead signal, and I hissed, looking around for one of the guards. I needed them to escort me to the comms vehicle parked half a mile off, so I could go in there and ask what the hell was going on.
But every minute that passed by felt like agony. The guards were taking longer than I thought they would, or maybe time flew more slowly, but I knew it had been too long to not hear from Arko.
If they had Anton, why the hell weren’t they out?
My eyes were preened on the walls, but no one seemed to be making an exit. Arko and our families were inside, and there was no sign from them, no communication.
I couldn’t just sit out here and pretend they were okay. What if something was seriously wrong? What if they were shut in that tunnel with no escape? Maybe the cover over the weld fell back into place, so I didn’t need to move it.
Without thinking, I ran to scale the wall.
Chapter 23 - Arko
The explosion came out of nowhere, and the blast tipped me off my feet. I lay on the ground, curled up into myself, and made sure to keep my face and head covered to protect myself from the falling debris.
The heat felt like a furnace, and the smoke felt like it was choking the air out of me. Behind me, Anton was tied to a chair, and I’d been on my way to release him when the godforsaken blast happened.
I coughed to clear my lungs as I rose to my feet, feeling dizzy and sick, and I ran to get Anton. His eyes were wide, and he was twisting to tie himself free as the fire spread behind him.
“Come on, I’ve got you,” I said, as I took a knife to his binds and set him free. Anton jumped to his feet, swaying just a little, and I wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him steady. He ripped off the tape from his mouth, wincing in pain.
“What the hell happened?” he wheezed.
“I don’t know,” I said, worry gnawing in my chest. “But we’d better get you out of here. Caspian and the others have cleared the route out.”
“Caspian?” Anton sounded shocked.
“I know, long story.”
We were almost out the door when Artyom came running around the corner.
“Comms are down,” he said, gasping for air as he pointed down a dark corridor. “Come on, let’s get you out of here before the fire spreads.”
Anton was weak and struggling to move, so Artyom helped from the other side, forcing Anton’s arm around his shoulder.
“I have no idea where everyone else is,” I wheezed. “What the fuck happened?”
“I overrode the commands for the explosives around the doors,” Artyom bellowed at me through the roaring fire. “But one of the men manually set one off that wasn’t linked to the central line.”
