The server room was larger than he’d expected, filled with row after row of humming equipment. Perfect for hiding—butalso perfect for ambush. Reed moved in a low crouch, his weapon drawn, clearing each row before advancing to the next.
“Elena,” he breathed. “Where are you?”
“Northwest corner,” came her whispered reply. “Behind the backup power units.”
Reed adjusted his course, moving silently through the maze of servers. He could hear voices in the corridor outside—guards discussing search patterns, debating whether the fire alarm was a diversion or a genuine emergency.
Keep talking,Reed thought grimly.Stay distracted.
He found her exactly where she’d said she’d be—curled into a ball behind a massive UPS unit, her Glock clutched in both hands, her eyes wide with fear and relief when she saw him.
“Reed.” His name came out as a sob, and she launched herself into his arms before he could stop her.
He caught her automatically, one arm wrapping around her waist while the other kept his weapon trained on the door. She was trembling, her whole body shaking with the aftereffects of adrenaline and terror. Reed held her for a moment—one precious moment when the world narrowed down to the feel of her against his chest and the rapid flutter of her heartbeat.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured against her hair. “I’ve got you.”
“The virus,” Elena gasped, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. “It uploaded. It’s in their system. But I couldn’t figure out how to get out. Every exit was blocked, and I could hear them in the corridor, and I didn’t know if you were coming or if?—”
“Hey.” Reed cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to focus on him. Even with the prosthetics distorting her features, he could see the Elena he loved underneath—terrified but determined, shaken but unbroken. “You did good. You accomplished the mission. Now we get out of here together.”
She nodded, visibly pulling herself together. The trembling subsided, and when she met his gaze again, there was steel in her eyes. “How?”
“Same way I came in. There’s an access panel on the east wall that leads to the mechanical room. From there, we can reach the maintenance shaft and exit through the north side of the building.”
“What about the guards?”
As if in answer, gunfire erupted somewhere in the corridor outside—the sharp crack of pistol shots followed by the heavier boom of a shotgun.
“Walker and James are handling the guards,” Reed said grimly. “We need to move. Now.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the east wall, keeping his body between her and the door. The sounds of combat grew louder—more gunshots, shouting, the unmistakable thud of bodies hitting the floor.
“Reed.” Walker’s voice came through the comm, strained but controlled. “Corridor’s getting hot. Four hostiles down, but reinforcements are coming from the upper levels. You need to extract now.”
“Copy. We’re moving.”
Reed found the access panel and pushed Elena through first, covering her retreat with his weapon trained on the server room door. She scrambled through the narrow opening, and he followed immediately, pulling the panel shut behind them.
“Terrel,” Reed whispered. “We’re in the mechanical room. What’s our exit looking like?”
“Maintenance shaft is still clear, but you’ve got hostiles converging from multiple directions. I’d estimate you have about ninety seconds before they expand their search to your location.”
Ninety seconds. Reed grabbed Elena’s hand and moved.
They reached the shaft in forty-five seconds, and Reed boosted Elena up first, watching her climb with an efficiency that spoke to her years of training. He followed immediately, pulling himself up the metal rungs with arms that burned from exertion.
“Walker, James—fall back to the extraction point,” Reed ordered between breaths. “We’re coming up on the north side.”
“Copy,” Walker replied. “We’re en route. James is mobile, but he’s losing blood. We need to move fast.”
James.
Reed pushed himself harder, climbing faster, ignoring the protest of muscles pushed to their limit. His brother was hurt because of this mission, because Reed had asked him to help rescue a woman James barely knew.
They emerged from the shaft into a storage room on the ground floor. Reed could hear the chaos of the fire alarm still wailing, guests being evacuated, security personnel running in every direction. Perfect cover for their escape.
“This way,” he said, leading Elena toward a service exit that opened onto the north lawn.
