In that moment, Jamie did what Stanislav didn’t think he would do—didn’t precognitively see him do—because it was anathema to everything Jamie stood for and believed in, everything hewasat the core of himself.
Jamie shot Stanislav.
Straight through Kyle’s heart.
17
No Man’s Land
Alexei and Matthew’steam infiltrated the Supreme Court Building through the roof, bypassing the locked roof-access door and its bottleneck stairwell in favor of simply carving a hole through the damn thing. Matthew’s demolitions specialist used a laser to cut a circle in the roof wide enough for two people to drop through at the same time. Someone embedded a grappling line to drag the thick slab out of the hole instead of letting it fall.
Two Strike Force operatives covered their entrance into the building, with everyone except Alexei falling straight down into the basketball court on the fifth floor. Alexei borrowed someone’s grappling line to rappel down, trying to offset any injuries he would’ve received from falling nearly two dozen feet to the ground. The “highest court in the land” was empty, but it didn’t remain that way for long.
Alexei was just unhooking the grappling line from his belt when gunfire erupted from beyond the closed door to the basketball court. He dove for the floor to get out of range of the hail of bullets flying through the air, wrenching his AKR-75 around with him to bring it up and take aim.
Whoever was out there wasn’t prepared for the barrage of return fire from Matthew’s team. The wall facing the exit was perforated by far more bullets than had been directed at them.
“Hold fire!” Matthew called out.
Everyone stopped shooting, giving them time to gauge the enemy’s position even though they couldn’t see the people they were fighting against. When no further fire immediately came, everyone advanced toward the exit, staying low to keep clear of any surprise fire.
Alexei reached the door first and was getting into position to open it when a telepathic voice slid through his mind that wasn’t Katie’s.
The hostiles out in the hall are dead,Mercedes told him.
Was it you?
No. I’m working with Viper right now. Get to the third floor.
She dumped a map into his mind harder than Katie would have. Alexei winced as it branded itself in the center of his brain. No need for a HUD when telepathy worked just as well.
“Hostiles in hallway eliminated,” Alexei said as he yanked open the door, following his weapon out into the hallway. “Go to third floor.”
Between the fifth and third floor, Alexei and his fellow Strike Force operatives left carnage behind them. They took no prisoners on their way to the third floor that housed the law clerks’ offices, dining room, and the office of the Reporter of Decisions. So many places for the enemy to hide, but Alexei didn’t let them. He and Matthew’s team waged a vicious, close-quarters fight against Declan’s people—and they were winning.
These were Sons of Adam fighters, with their store-bought gear and playing-at-being-a-soldier mentality. The men and women fighting under Declan’s orders were ex-military, ex-special forces to be precise, but Strike Force was a step above even them.
“Where the fuck is Blanchett?” Matthew snarled over the comms as he took cover in a cleared office so he could reload.
Two rooms away,Katie said into Alexei’s mind so he could hear the exchange as well.
Where is the telepath?Alexei asked.
He’s in the room with her. We can’t break through his shields.
Katie sounded frustrated, almost desperate, something Alexei had rarely encountered from her in the middle of a fight.
“Right. Let’s finish this,” Matthew said.
Alexei let Matthew take the lead, the hard push down the last stretch of the hallway a brutal fight. Close-quarters wasn’t just about the fighting, but the dying. Two of Matthew’s men fell beneath the onslaught of bullets and a bomb thrown their way. Retaliation came with brutal force, and Alexei didn’t pull his punches.
When an enemy soldier ran out of ammunition and closed on Alexei with a yell, he broke the man’s neck rather than risk friendly fire. Nearly two dozen men and women were between them and their targets.
None of those fighters stood a chance.
Despite their lesser numbers, Matthew’s team was ruthlessly efficient in taking them out. Alexei was near the forefront of the fighting as they gained ground meter by meter. Some of the enemy dropped dead not from bullets, but from mental strikes delivered by Mercedes while Katie shielded Alexei and everyone’s minds on their side of the fight.
Kyle is here,Katie told Alexei a minute later.Stanislav has him.
