We pull our skull balaclavas down. Then we breach— two men work in tandem to pick the locks and open the front doors. The first wave moves in.
“Where in the building is she?” I ask Lev, knowing he’s already got her chip location on the screen.
“Third floor, last room on the left,” he responds.
Our dads make their way to us, and Lev puts his phone away. “We’re going to go in before you boys. Get Ariah and detain Elise. We need her alive— she has all the answers,” Wes’s father instructs.
We nod and watch Mr. Bradford and Thomas lead our dads into the building.
“Antonio is mine,” Wes seethes. We grunt our agreement and head inside.
Ignoring the fighting around us, we creep toward the stairwell.
“Gas masks on,” Sebastian directs, then kicks the door open, tossing in the smoke bomb.
With our masks in place, we pick off the choking men. Owen chops a gagging man in the head clear to the bone and leans over, dragging his blade across his jugular. Lev and Wes shoot three men between the eyes with quick successive pops.
I ascend the first three steps, my rifle aimed and ready, clearing the path. “First floor cleared.”
We make it to the third floor with no hiccups or resistance.
“I’ll breach first,” Sebastian states, moving to the lead position.
We can’t use the gas on this floor because we know Ariah’s here and won’t risk hurting her.
Before Sebastian’s gloved hand grabs the knob, gunfire rings out— bullets pepper the door.
“Shit,” I growl when a bullet zips past my face.
“How the fuck are we supposed to get inside?” Lev snaps.
Owen slides past us, heading for the stairs, “On it,” he says, running up the stairs.
“Crazy fuck,” Wes groans, chasing after him.
Sebastian signals for us to move back down to the second-floor landing.
“What do you think they’re up to?” I ask after twenty minutes pass.
I don’t have to wait long for the answer when I hear screams and shots before the third-floor door opens. “Clear,” Owen shouts, and when we climb the stairs, Owen’s standing there covered in blood.
“Is that— is that a piece of skin?” Lev asks, pointing to something hanging off Owen’s shoulder.
Owen shrugs. “Maybe, I didn’t really take the time to look,” he says, before wiping his Katana on the dead man missing a chunk of his face, and sheathing it.
Wes steps through the door. “Let’s go,” he commands, reloading his side piece.
Sebastian takes point, and we move down the hall.
We’re coming for you, Riri. Just hold on.
61
ARIAH
An annoying sense of déjà vu sets in at the cotton feel of my mouth. The only difference is, this time, I remember every fucking thing that’s transpired.
“Oh good, you’re awake. I made sure the dosage wasn’t as strong this time. We have a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to do it,” Elise begins.
