Sami swallowed. For two months she’d served as a soldier in the Vanguard territory, but she wasn’t trained as a soldier. Not really. She could fight, and she could hack . . . and that was about it. Mercy was more than a luxury to her—it was a necessity. Even heading back into hell, she’d hold on to that. But if it came down to Tace or mercy, she’d choose Tace every time.
“Stay at my side,” Tace ordered, his voice low and strong.
She glanced up.
He nodded. “I’m fine. Vision cleared.”
Good. “The labs are on A-floor.” She wiped a hand across her eyes. “If they’re still secured, I’m sure the scientists have changed the passwords, so I’ll need to hack before we can get to medicine or the cells.” She’d tried to warn them about what they’d find in the cells if the scientists had found more test subjects after she’d let so many free, but words didn’t do it. “Proceed with extreme caution if there are more experiments taking place.”
“Affirmative,” Jax said, eyeing his watch. “Go. Now.”
She ducked and followed Raze around the skyscraper, hugging the building. Deserted luxury vehicles, even a couple of limos, were still parked at the curb. Glass littered the sidewalks from early looters, and wires from a smashed ATM spiraled out from the corner.
A couple of one hundred dollar bills still hung out of the machine.
She passed the useless money, keeping low, her body on full alert.
Raze stopped and held up a hand. The squad halted, guns out and ready. He made another hand gesture, lifting his head to listen. Then he held up two fingers and slid his gun into his vest, reaching for a knife.
Without making a sound, he turned the corner with Jax on his heels. Tace edged to the side in case he needed to set down the launcher.
Several grunts sounded.
Sami dodged behind Jax and stopped short at the sight of two Bunker soldiers out cold on the ground. They wore the blue fatigues she remembered, but she didn’t recognize either of the men.
Raze searched the unconscious soldiers, securing three knives and four guns.
Then he gave the high sign, and they were on their way again.
They encountered two more soldiers and left them unconscious and tied up as well. Finally, they reached the Plaza building.
The windows reflected the moonlight, but still revealed the inside. The reception desk ran along the far northern wall, while a bank of elevators took up the entire south and west with a stairwell adjacent.
They just had to get to the stairwell and climb a few flights before trying to force open elevator doors.
The lobby had always been well guarded, so they planned to go in the back service door, hoping it wasn’t too well secured.
“You escaped out the front door,” Jax muttered, shaking his head.
Yeah, she knew exactly how lucky she’d been. “We created chaos and then ran. It was our only choice.” There had been six of them who’d engineered the escape, and on the outside, they’d all gone their separate ways toward family and home. Two of the women had been soldiers she’d barely known, the other two lab techs, both male and one studying to become a doctor, as well as a female doctor who’d just started her residency.
Sami had wondered about them through the ensuing months. Had anybody survived?
Finally, the group reached the back service door to the building. Tace set down the rocket launcher, his face pale beneath the moonlight.
Jax tested the door. “Locked.”
Sami nodded. Wasn’t much of a surprise.
Raze studied the metal. “A crowbar won’t do it.”
“Explosives it is.” Jax reached for his backpack. “Everyone get ready.”
* * *
Tace kept an eye on the surroundings, instinctively putting his body between Sami and the alley. His vision had cleared, but the toes on his left foot had gone numb. Death had stopped scaring him a while ago, weeks ago really, but the idea of leaving her alone pierced him like a frozen blade.
Sami had a softness to her, a vulnerability, that very few people saw.
