Page 63 of Deadly Sins
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Despite the powerfulheater in Rog’s snowcat, the thought of Kate, trapped and at the mercy of her former fiancé, chilled Fenn to the bone. A man like that wouldn’t hesitate to use her as a bargaining chip, or worse, if it served his purposes.
With the exception of Rog, his posse was a ragtag bunch. He deeply appreciated their willingness to help, but these men were more accustomed to wrangling heavy machinery and downing beers at the local watering hole than engaging in high-stakes asset retrieval.
Rog reached down next to him and pulled a night vision scope out of the backpack at his feet, holding it out to Fenn as he wrestled the big cat over a rut in the snow. “The latest photonics with digital enhancement. You’ll be able to get a read on the station from over a mile out under clear skies like this. We’ll stop at the base of that next rise.”
In the glow of the dashboard lights, Fenn studied the fine piece of equipment. This new scope wasn’t even on the market yet. Tai would be seriously jealous.
“Excellent.”
As the rise neared, Rog slowed his speed. Their posse followed suit, everyone cutting their engines and climbing offtheir machines to stretch. Fenn hoofed it up the small hill and laid on his belly, dialing in the scope to survey their target. Four snowmobiles sat out front, one each for Kate, Steele and probably Jimbo, and his abandoned rig.
There was no visible activity. A powerful heat signature came from inside the opening. The industrial generator, most likely.
No guards that he could see, but that didn’t mean Steele didn’t have cameras set up. No way they’d be able to glide in undetected.
Kind of a huge problem.
Bile rose in his throat. Steele would know he was coming. Probably already did, depending on the quality of his own equipment. Heat signatures from engines—or bodies—weren’t hard to read against subzero background temps.
He bit back a cry of fury, heart clenched as he thought of Kate at Steele’s mercy. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Rog, his eyes filled with determination.
Something would occur to him. Some fantastic plan. A Hail Mary pass to save the day. Something. Anything.
Ice crunched behind him. Rog lowered himself down next to Fenn with a hefty grunt. “How’re we looking?”
He handed the scope to the other man. “Not good. There’s no way to surprise them.”
“Yeah, no. I figured as much,” Rog said, his voice low and steady from behind the scope. “Steele’s been in town a couple weeks. Had plenty of time to set up his little shop of horrors out here. Probably already knows we’re here.”
“No doubt.”
Rog rolled on his side and considered Fenn. “Preparation isn’t everything.”
“It’s a lot.”
“Eh.” Rog raised an eyebrow, his voice low. “What’s the plan?”
He turned to Rog, his voice barely a whisper. “We need to move now, before Steele tries to move her.”
“Or gets reinforcements.”
“Or that.”
Fenn held out his hand for the scope and trained it on the facility again. Steele would have Kate in that little cell in the back of the bottom floor. It would be the most easily defensible spot. He pictured the ingress: crossing the large main floor, then a deadly funnel at the ruined staircase in the back. Then having to pick his way through the minefield of discarded furniture and lab equipment to the very back corner…
Game over before he even made it to the stairs.
But there had to be a way to get past Jimbo and Steele. They wouldn’t kill Kate. She was the one the Consortium wanted, though he had no idea why. Any rescuers? Not so much.
Rog’s eyes narrowed, a glint of mischief in his gaze. “What we need is a distraction. You figure there’s just the two of them, right?”
“Steele and Jimbo. Copy that.”
“Getting at least one of them outside would even our odds.”
That it would. Fenn grunted his agreement, his mind already whirring with possibilities. “Divide and conquer.”