“Put these on.” This voice belongs to Graham, I think, who hands me a pair of NVGs, then shoves a comms unit into my right ear. As soon as I get the goggles situated, my surroundings come into focus, and I can see Dani between Austin and Graham.
“Eyes and ears, ready to go,” I say.
“About to have company,” Ronan says over the line, and if I wasn’t certain we were going to find trouble at any minute, I’d have some words for him. Like how much more training he needs before coming on a mission like this. “A dozen hostiles breaching the exterior doors.”
“This is gonna get messy,” Ry mutters.
He’s about to say something else when emergency lights start flashing, the sudden brightness burning our eyes through the night vision. Almost as one, we tear off the NVGs. A pained whimper escapes Dani’s lips, and she grabs onto my arm. We’re all blind, and we’re sitting ducks.
“Move!” Ry orders. “Get Superman and Lois back up to the second level. Donotgo any higher. Not with all the hostiles headed right for us. Base, what can you do about those goddamn lights?”
“Working on it,” Wren says, tension lacing her tone.
The elevator starts to whirr, and in front of me, I can feel Ryker tense. “Go. Now!” he says and slaps Austin on the back as he and Graham raise their rifles and advance on the elevator.
The door to the stairwell closes behind us to a burst of gunfire, and we double-time it up the stairs. My legs are still screaming in agony, but Austin supports much of my weight, and each step is easier than the last. By the time we reach the second level, I think I might be able to stand on my own.
Austin passes me off to Dani, then cracks the door. Her arm tightens around my waist, and fuck, it’s the best feeling in the world to have her next to me again. “I can manage, baby,” I whisper in her ear. “As long as you’re safe, I can do anything.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” she hisses back.
“Clear,” Austin says. “Let’s go. We’re headed for the security room. If base can’t cut the power again, at least we’ll be able to see what’s coming for us. Plus, that door should be reinforced according to the blueprints.”
We don’t make it three steps before a barrage of gunfire erupts from the other end of the floor. I pull Dani against the wall while Austin starts to bob and weave, returning fire as he heads for the cadre of soldiers fifty feet away. “Go!” he shouts.
My quads strain as we rush forward, and those damn flashing lights make it almost impossible to get my bearings with any certainty. Dani pushes through a door and freezes as the overhead lights flicker to light and flood the room in sudden brightness.
“Drop the gun, Daniella,” Ochoa says. His pistol is aimed directly at Dani’s head.
She doesn’t move, and I squeeze her shoulders before letting her go. We need to keep Ochoa occupied until someone hears we’re in trouble or I can find a way to disarm him. “It’s okay. Just set it down gently.”
Dani inches in front of me, putting herself between me and Ochoa. “It’s too late, General. I was lying when I told you the news article about you was coming out in two days. Part One went out two hours ago. And there’s a hell of a lot more in it than just a few incriminating text messages.”
“Gun. Now,” he says, but there’s fear in his eyes. Behind him, on the monitors, I can see Ryker and Graham moving through Sublevel Four, firing the occasional shot and dropping soldier after soldier who stands in their way. And then, one who holds up his hands in surrender and gestures something I can’t understand.
Dani hasn’t moved. Her right arm is down by her side, the barrel of the gun pointed towards the floor. She’s not a threat. Not when the general is ready to fire. But she’s not giving in either.
“Aren’t you interested in what else I found?” she asks sweetly. “Because you might want to consider running far away from here. Presidente Farías won’t be too happy with you when he learns you’ve been siphoning off a portion of the moneyhe’sstealing from the Venezuelan people.”
“Puta,”Ochoa growls. Striding forward, he grabs Dani’s wrist and wrenches it hard. She cries out in pain and drops her weapon while he jabs the barrel of his pistol against her side.
On one of the monitors, Austin heads straight for us, and the look in his eyes? That’s the most controlled man I’ve ever met about to blow his stack and burn down the world.
“Call me a bitch one more time,” Dani manages as the general pulls her away from me, “and you’ll be sorry.”
“I do not think so,puta. You will regret ever coming here. So will your CIA spy when he has to watch me have my way with you.”
“Ready to breech,” Austin says on comms. “Distraction coming in five, four, three, two, one.” Multiple shots right outside the door pull Ochoa’s gaze away from Dani, and she grabs the barrel of the gun with one hand and the general’s wrist with the other, twisting sharply. He’s caught off guard, and I surge forward, dropping my shoulder and catching him under his right arm. The three of us go down in a heap as Austin kicks the door in.
“I can’t get a shot!” He’s pissed as hell, but this bastard’s mine. Dani wrestles the gun away from him, but Ochoa uses his free hand to punch her in the face, and she yelps, losing her hold on the weapon.
“Get Dani,” I grunt as I ram my fist into the general’s back, landing a hard strike in the vicinity of his right kidney. That gives me enough time to snatch the gun from the floor.
Austin grabs Dani around the waist and pulls her off of Ochoa, and as she sputters a protest, I hold the bastard’s gaze, the gun pressed to his heart. “You should have known, asswipe. I don’t break promises,” I say, then squeeze the trigger.
* * *
Dani
