McGuire looked over at Patch. “Well, buddy? See any viable way in that doesn’t involve either a transporter from theEnterpriseor a suicide run?”
“Screw the transporter. Just give me one of their phasers.” He tapped his chin. “And I see one possibility.” He looked over at McGuire, grinned. “You’re not going to like it, though.”
McGuire groaned. “I swear, if you say we need to swim with freaking gators…”
Patch rolled his eyes. “They don’t generally venture this far up the Mississippi. The current’s too fast, but no. Though, you might not like the fifty plus yards of exposed asphalt between us and those moorings. But if we can make it to the bollards, we can use the tethering ropes to access the stern, where the security seems to be the thinnest.”
“That’s a long stretch of nothing, brother.”
“Would you rather swim?”
McGuire coughed. “Did I mention it’s a great night for running?” He looked in the rearview when Stone’s lights cut through the dark. “Overwatch is here.”
He stepped out, the damp, night air instantly weighing him down like a bad decision. Rain drizzled from the sky, the muted gray tones reflected in the puddles. A mix of salty brine and industrial diesel moved around them as a navigational buoy clanged farther up the channel. Cross nosed his truck in behind their SUV, cutting the lights a second later. He and Stone jumped out, rifles in hand.
McGuire nodded toward the nearby infrastructure. “Think you can find a suitable nest?”
Stone winked, the ass. “I’ve already called dibs on the grain elevator. Cross gets the terminal building.”
“We’ll stick to clicks unless needed, just in case that RF receiver’s too twitchy.”
They nodded, disappeared into the dreary night a moment later. McGuire waited until they’d radioed in, given him the green light before drawing a breath. He looked at Patch and Riven, opened his mouth to say something meaningful, when she snorted.
“We know. Don’t die.” She stepped over, kissed him. “That goes for you, too.”
Then she took off, following the shadows over to the edge of the terminal building. She waved Patch ahead, sticking to the middle as McGuire guarded their six, focus divided between the open stretch of pavement and the darkness closing in behind them.
Patch stopped at the corner, weapon at the ready, muscles bunched. He clicked his comms once, waited.
Stone clicked in return. Code green.
Patch glanced back, then stepped out, moving into the lighted stretch without making a sound. Riven and McGuire followed behind him, staying in a low crouch as they hauled ass across the asphalt, boots crunching on the loose gravel, the scent of salt and rust riding the air. They hit the midpoint and picked up speed, the hum of the nearby lights vibrating around them.
They reached the other side when a double click sounded in their comms. McGuire didn’t even think, he just grabbed Riven, shoved her beneath him as he and Patch hit the ground. Voices rose off to their left, twin flashlight beams tracing the ground as two men climbed up from the lower level — started pushing toward them.
A whoosh.
Soft.
Dull.
Followed by another.
Hidden in the clang of metal from the barge. The distant squeak from the crane.
Cross sounded in their ears. “Two down. You’re cleared to the barge.”
McGuire answered with a click, then eased up. He stood, helped Riven to her feet before leaning in close. “Before you say anything, I know. DEA. Escaped from a cartel stronghold. Saved our asses. So, just consider that part of the payback.”
She snorted. “Just don’t make it a habit.”
“I…”
A low growl lit the air, the deep resonance drowning him out. He inched closer to the edge, scanned the water. “Shit. The tug’s moving. Those assholes must have been releasing the mooring lines.”
They booked it along the last of the pier, then over to the ladder that led down to the fender line at the stern of the barge. Patch slipped down first, hands and feet sliding on the outside. Riven followed him, boots slipping on the slimy rungs, but she made it, stepped back.
McGuire palmed the metal, hit the ground with a light thud. The starboard side of the barge bobbed in the river several feet away, a widening gap of gurgling dark water stretching between them.
