My brain was spinning from all of the information, but I couldn’t help but be excited. We finally had a lead. I wrapped my arms around Lennie and squeezed tight.
“Thank you!” I squealed, rocking her from side to side.
I immediately called Chief to tell him the good news. Lennie was now making contact with Sarah, posing as a buyer seeking a girl matching Lily’s description. It was vague enough not to put Sarah on high alert, but specific enough to ensure we got the right person.
Later that day, we all sat in the conference room with Chief briefing us on our mission and outfitting us with new state-of-the-art tracking devices to wear until this was over. He didn’t want another Arrow situation.
Machine stood in the back of the room talking with Kade, our newest member Monte, and Kade’s third in command, Bohdi. I felt his eyes on me before I even looked. Machine knew how much this mission meant to me. How everything I had worked for had come down to this.
I wanted to talk to him. But we had kept everything brief since the alley. I knew I hurt him, and I hated that. Seeing him sent a knife through my heart. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to be in his arms. But Lily needed to be my priority. I needed to focus on the task at hand.
I grabbed my tracking-device earrings and put them on so I wouldn’t piss off Chief. He gave me a pleased smile as he took in the diamond studs.
“They look good,” he praised.
I gave him a smile and grabbed my things. It was time to prepare for battle.
I was almost home when a blacked-out van pulled out in front of me. My hackles raised, knowing something was amiss. Four tattooed men got out of the vehicle and started coming toward me. I dropped my stuff and immediately went intoBadger mode. I kicked one of them in the face as another swung at me. One of the other men tried to grab me, but I ducked out of reach. I fought all of them off for several minutes before one of them got the upper hand on me, and I felt a pinch in my neck.
My body slackened, and everything went black.
FORTY-FOUR
MACHINE
I looked at my watch for the umpteenth time. Where was she? I watched as Badger’s teammates worked like an oiled machine as they got ready for the mission. Phantom typed away on her multi-screens as Chief gave soft instructions beside her. Buddha tightened his belt while talking to their new recruit, Monte, who looked like the love child of a WWE wrestler and a Viking.
Kade walked into the room and gave me a nod toward the shelves of the arsenal. I grabbed what I needed with him. It was clear we were only here for extra muscle, as everyone else had their jobs. The only one missing was Badger.
I put on the safety gear Chief had provided and was impressed by the quality of the material. I knew that the team was part of the government, but I didn’t expect top-of-the-line optics and bulletproof gear that felt light as a feather.
“Where’s Badger?” Phantom asked, looking around the room.
“There’s no time to wait for her; we need to leave. Kade, have the Hive start locating her. I have a bad feeling we will have two recon missions tonight. She wouldn’t miss this, and she left alone earlier,” Chief stated, cursing to himself.
Alarm bells were ringing in my head, but I’d have to trust the Hive to handle it. As much as it pained me not to go after Badger, I knew she would want me to ensure Lily’s safety first.
“Let’s roll,” Buddha said, walking toward the door.
If anyone else was concerned about Badger’s whereabouts, they weren’t saying anything, staying on task and focused on the mission. We all hopped into the inconspicuous van and rode in silence as Chief drove us to a dilapidated warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Phantom remained in the van and gave Kade a long kiss before he exited. I inserted my earpiece and heard Phantom giving us instructions.
“Take the first left when you enter the warehouse. There should be a large room.”
It smelled god-awful in the warehouse, reeking of body odor, human waste, and chemicals.
“Fuck, I’m going to throw up,” grumbled Buddha.
“You and me both, bro,” Monte agreed.
As we navigated through the dimly lit warehouse, I heard something— low voices, getting louder by the second.
Chief gave us the halt signal, and we stopped in our tracks. Chief silently looked in the doorway and signaled Kade to go to the furthest door. Kade and I moved in unison, having done our own missions countless times. We entered at the same time Chief did with Buddha and Bohdi, our weapons drawn.
“Well, that was quite an entrance,” a feminine voice said as the click of heels sounded against the concrete floor. “You are not who I wanted to see.”
The room was dark except for one light hanging from the ceiling, illuminating part of the decayed room. Sarah was flanked by two burly men, one of whom was holding a short girl in a white gown. They walked toward us, halting at Sarah’s signal.
“Where’s my sister? I knew it had to be her and her posse coming here,” Sarah snapped, her voice echoing off the walls of the warehouse.
