Page 83 of The Knight
“Copy that.” Fox lifted his night vision goggles. Ahead of them, security lights flooded the landscaping, creating a gauntlet of exposed ground. “Getting mighty bright out there.”
“Agreed.” Abe removed his goggles and blinked, giving his vision time to adjust. “Too much open ground.” A row of ornamental bushes offered a natural corridor to the house. “Those shrubs give us cover.”
He led off, tracking through the bushes, their mop flower-heads dumping cold water and soaking their legs as they brushed past. The water chilled his skin, but the discomfort was irrelevant. All that mattered was each step took him closer to Freya.
Large double doors emerged from the gloom ahead. Abe dropped to one knee beneath a cascade of dripping foliage. “East entrance, acquired.”
He checked his wrist. A red blip.Finally.“Zak. I have a lock on Freya. Do you have a location?”
His earpiece crackled with Zak’s voice. “Security feed accessed. Visual confirmation. Third floor study. Approaching main gates now for planned distraction.”
“Acknowledged.” Abe turned to Fox. “Time to split up. I’ll work the east wing. You take the west.”
Fox drew a circle in the air. “We clear ground level from opposite approaches, rendezvous on the second before pushing to the third floor.” He bumped knuckles with Abe before taking off and blending into the night like a wraith.
Abe blew out a breath and hustled to the double doors. Using the specialized pick set from his vest, the lock surrendered in seconds. He slipped inside and pressed the door closed behind him. The stink of motor oil and leather assailed him as he hurried across the room.
The garage was a shrine to automotive excess. High-end machines crouched, sleeping in the darkness. Abe skirted aBMW, an Aston Martin and a modified Audi RS7, because apparently Korolov couldn’t leave well enough alone.
His breathing measured, he reached the door to the main house, where he stripped off his glove, pressing his palm against the cool surface. He held his breath, waited.No vibration. Nothing but silence waiting on the other side.
Time to move.
He turned the door handle and edged into a dark hallway.
Shouts erupted on his comms. Then the distinctive chitter of multiple automatic weapons.
Shit.
“Fox, status?”
“Jesus Christ.” Fox hissed. “At least six visible, moving in coordinated fire teams. This isn’t security. Looks like private military contractors.” More gunfire crackled through the feed. “I’m pinned down hard.”
A grunt of pain carried through the static.Zak. “I’m at the gates. Full tactical team moving on my position.”
Ice ran through Abe’s veins. All intel had shown private security. But a small army of elite operators? This wasn’t unexpected resistance. This was a trap. They’d been lured into a prepared kill zone.
Fuck.
The tracker on his wrist pulsed, but now the signal mocked him. If Korolov had this level of protection, if he’d been expecting them, was she even there?
The staircase at the corridor’s end beckoned. He needed to go up, to complete the mission, to find Freya, but ahead, a shadow shifted.
With a breath, he became still, pressing against the wall.
They know I’m coming.
Fox was trapped by professional operators. Zak too. The entire operation was unraveling.
Freya only had this one chance. If he failed her?—
He couldn’t think about that. Clean extraction required precision. And sacrifice.
Pain lanced through his temples as he grimaced, knowing what had to be done. He kept his voice to a whisper. “Fox, what’s your exact position relative to the target?”
“Northwest corner, second floor landing. They’ve got marksmen covering my approach.”
A sniper round cracked over the comms. Abe winced, rubbing his ear.