“All good, we’re just waiting for ‘go-time’,” Nikos said, grinning as if he was about to have the fun of his life. And maybehe was, as he did seem like the type that enjoyed adrenaline rushes.
“Darren, you are go!”Barbara shouted over the comms a while later, gunfire and explosions audible on her end.
Darren snapped his attention to Nikos. “GO!”
“On it!” With a few commands issued by the device in Nikos’s hands, they infiltrated the factory’s network. “Charlie, surveillance and drones are down,” Nikos relayed to his team. “Move in.”
“Roger that,”the man on the other end replied.
Since security on this side of the factory compound was entirely automated, they didn’t have to wait for the clear from Charlie to go over the wall. In contrast to the adrenaline coursing through Darren, the surroundings were eerily silent and still. He was buzzing, but there were no drones coming at him or alarms going off, the entire thing somehow anticlimactic when his body was wound up so tightly and he was ready to roll.
Taking a few grounding inhales, he let that feeling pass and focused back on the task. The conduits were stored in one of the inner buildings, so he led Nikos and Aiden that way.
“Bea, we’re in. Head over,” Darren commed the Maine.
“Aye, aye. I’ll be at the landing pad in seven.”
“We’re just entering the first building,” he said, pushing open the heavy door. Aiden and Nikos went in first.
He clicked off and helped the other two search for the conduits. He took the first floor while Aiden and Nikos covered the two sublevels. All of them came up short so they moved to the second structure, which had a similar layout. They didn’t find anything there either.
By the time they got to the third building, Charlie checked in,“Guards are secured. They’ll be out for at least twelve hours. Where do you want us?”
“We are in building Six, and we checked Five already. There should be seven more,” Darren instructed.
There was a pause, which Darren assumed was Charlie’s team making their way toward the storage area.“We’ve got Three and Four here. I’ll comm you if we find the load.”
It took another building before they found what they were looking for. Darren felt a rush of relief. “Charlie, we found it at building Nine.”
“Roger and heading over.”
The six men that comprised Nikos’s team joined them and with the added help, they carried the four gray containers to the landing pad. The Maine was already there with the cargo ramp down and they wasted no time loading the boxes. As soon as the bay doors shut closed, Bea took off.
Darren left Nikos and his team to secure the containers in the cargo hold and ushered Aiden to the bridge.
“Yo, just heard from Barbara,” Bea said as the two of them joined her in the cockpit. “Things are getting pretty heated in Ontario.”
“Where are we picking them up from?” Aiden tossed, flopping into the co-pilot’s chair.
“Kingston is getting put under lockdown, but they’ve slipped out and are headed to Syracuse. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
To Darren’s relief, the extraction went smoothly despite the quickly escalating situation in Kingston. Barbara’s team had suffered mostly minor laser burns and bullet scratches. After quickly treating them, Bea took the Maine to the agreed drop off location. Nikos, Barbara and their teams loaded the conduits on the two shuttles that would take them to the Sinaloa.
“So, who’s staying?” Bea asked, her gaze bouncing between Darren and Aiden. “Other than me, obviously, and Darren so Marcus takes the bait…”
The two of them were all that was needed. There really was no point putting anyone else’s life in danger. That included Aiden, as much as part of Darren wanted him to stay on the Maine.
“You, Darren andIwill stay,” the man in question said just as Darren opened his mouth to send him away, announcing it in a way that didn’t leave any space for arguing.
Bea saluted him, fighting off a snort aimed at Darren. “Aye, aye!”
Darren’s heart raced. He cut his gaze to Aiden, unable to stop a wide grin. “You’re hot when you are bossy,” he said, this time making Bea snort.
Aidensmirked. “Is that so?”
Darren threw his head back and laughed. “I can’t win against you, can I?” he challenged and meant it.
He caught Bea’s sideways glance and as he waited for Aiden’s response, he was transported back to his old ship. She was his only crew and the two of them were throwing friendly jibes at each other on the way to some shipping job Darren had accepted. It was a little nostalgic, and he enjoyed that feeling for a few moments before he let his mind return to the present. Something fluttery warmed his chest and it grew as he took in the Maine’s sleek form, as he thought to all those people who were counting on him.
