Page 80 of The Knight
“Then we get wet. Again. Downstream exit confirmed.” Fox folded up his map with a flick.
Sounded simple.
If only.
Abe eased off the gas and pulled off the road. He brought the SUV to a halt under the cover of an ancient oak and wound down the window. Cool night air drifted in, laced with the earthy scent of decaying leaves. Somewhere nearby, a lone fox howled her pain at the night. You and me sister.
It was only a short walk from here to the river.
“Mother Nature’s on our side.” Out of the vehicle, Abe studied the murky sky. “Less visibility, more cover. We’ll be shadows out there.”
Fox materialized as Abe opened the rear door. Zak had transformed the trunk into an arsenal of cutting-edge gear—everything they needed to bring Freya home.
Ice diminished the heat in his veins. The clarity before the storm. His team had pulled off the impossible before. They would do it again.
Zak hefted one of the Diver Propulsion Vehicles, cradling it like a newborn. “MI6’s finest. Try not to use them as battering rams this time.”
“That was one time. And technically, it was more of a gentle nudge,” Fox deadpanned.
Abe checked the tracker on his wrist. Still dark and silent.Soon, Duchess.
“You know we’re bringing her home.” Fox squared his shoulders against the night, adjusting the zip on his dry suit. “Korolov doesn’t get a vote on that.”
Abe nodded, steel threading through his spine. His team was the best—and Korolov was about to find that out the hard way. “Time to show him how charming we can be.”
44
Abe’s bootssank with a squelch into the muddy riverbank as he hiked down to the water’s edge, his dive kit a reassuring weight against his back. Above, a sliver of moon peeked through tattered clouds, a brief respite from the unending rain, its pale light reflecting off the river’s dark surface.
Conditions are perfect.
He drew in a measured breath, letting the steady rush of the river flow through him, the way he had practiced thousands of times before night dives, but the knot in his chest refused to loosen.
Memories surfaced unbidden—years of SEAL operations that had taught him the importance of seamless coordination and unwavering trust. But tonight, a new variable thrummed through his veins, sharpening his focus to a razor’s edge. This wasn’t another mission. This was personal.
Freya.
He’d chosen a secluded entry point. Gnarled trees loomed overhead, their branches drooping under the weight of sodden leaves and tangled ivy. Nature’s very own camouflage in case Korolov’s men should patrol this far upriver, but given theearlier relentless rain that was unlikely. Even the most dedicated guards would be huddled in whatever shelter they could find, their attention dulled by the miserable night.
“You good?” Fox was indistinct in the gloom, smearing black face paint across his cheeks and forehead. In seconds, his beard seemed to dissolve into the darkness—another ghost in the night.
Abe rotated his injured shoulder. The pain had eased to a dull ache, but it was there. “Good enough.”
He ran his hands over his weapon. The Heckler & Koch MP5 was built for this. Water-resistant and suppressed, it would emerge from the river just as lethal as it entered. He cinched the straps on his air tanks, double checking each connection. The closed-circuit rebreathers were their edge—no telltale bubbles to betray their approach like amateurs. There was no room on this mission for equipment failure.
“Zak, signal when we hit sensor range.”
Zak’s face was all business. “Copy that. Abe?”
“What?”
“Watch your six down there.”
His grip hardened on his gun.Yeah. They better.
The river pulled at his legs as he waded in, freezing water rising past his thighs, his waist, threatening to pull him under.
He barely noticed. Each step took him closer to Freya. And that was all that mattered.