which intersections are monitored.”
“We got these images off a couple of bank ATM cameras. The picture on the left was taken three blocks from the restaurant where Dr. Cummings vanished. The second crossed a bridge about four blocks from the clinic.” Jason faced him. “They’re the same vehicle.”
Painter countered skeptically, “There are a
“Not that match the
Painter leaned closer.
The expanded view peered through a back window. The shadowy figure of a man could be seen-and beside him a woman. Though the features were far from clear, she was definitely light-haired, similar profile-but it was more the way she carried herself, the way she moved, that made Painter’s breath quicken.
Hope surged in him.
“It’s Lisa.”
“I wasn’t sure,” Jason said.
“What about Kat?” Painter asked.
Other figures were in the car, but they were just indistinct blurs.
“I can’t say for sure,” Jason admitted. “And unfortunately we never did get a clear take on the license plate. If they’d gone through a traffic cam…”
It was unfortunate, but it was also a start.
And, more important.
He took a deep breath, not letting his relief overwhelm him, knowing matters could change at any moment. Painter only had to look at the neighboring monitor, at the fiery ruins of the clinic, to remind himself again of the Guild’s scorched-earth policy.
The bastards would not leave loose ends.
And right now that was the definition of Lisa and Kat.
The same could be said of Gray’s team. They were penetrating the latest Guild stronghold, on the trail of the president’s daughter.
Painter watched the last of the clinic buildings crumble into flame and smoke. It was a fiery warning for Gray, too.
27
July 3, 3:13 A.M. Gulf Standard Time
Off the coast of Dubai
“They took Amanda into this elevator,” Tucker said.
Gray stood with his hands on his hips. He watched Kane sniff along the floor, the shepherd’s tail wagging vigorously. He didn’t doubt the dog’s nose, but he still hesitated.
The lobby bay had a dozen elevators banked in a semicircle. He stared up, following the spiraling curve of the translucent staircase. Both the elevators and the stairs ascended the central shaft of the Burj Abaadi. Each floor revolved around this stable core.
“Fifty floors,” Kowalski said. “At least we don’t have to climb each one.”
“But we’ll need to
Gray’s three teammates looked to him for their next step. Even Kane stopped his sniffing to glance in his direction. Gray ignored them for a moment longer.
Gray had studied each of the floors on the security cameras. He saw no evidence of life up there. But he had to trust Kane. The dog had gotten them this far. Settled, he reached and hit the call button for the elevator.
The doors opened immediately. They all stepped inside the posh lift, appointed in rich exotic woods and crystal lighting.
“So should we start at the top and work our way down?” Tucker asked. “Or the other way around?”
“Neither,” Gray said, an edge of certainty hardening inside him as he bent down toward the elevator’s controls.
He pointed to the rows of buttons lined along a flat touch-screen display. Illuminated numbers designated each floor. As he watched, each numeral slowly transformed and rotated through various characters in other languages: Chinese, Japanese, Arabic.
“I don’t get it,” Kowalski said. “If we’re not going up, then where are we going?”
Gray watched the lowest button glow in Arabic.
Then it shifted to the English equivalent.
“There’s a lower level,” Seichan said.
Kowalski looked to his toes. “Wait. How could there be a basement on a floating island?”
Gray knew this tower had been built in conjunction with the island’s construction. The
“Must be a service level for the tower,” Seichan said.
“And maybe more,” Gray added, pressing the button.
The letter flashed green, and the cage dropped silently, so smoothly it was hard to tell they were moving at all.
“Be ready,” Gray warned.
Weapons appeared in hands. Tucker signaled his dog, who lowered his haunches, readying to spring.
It felt like the elevator dropped much farther than just one floor, but at last, the doors opened. Gray took a shooter’s stance and quickly inspected a small, utilitarian lobby, dimly lit and drab. He searched for any guards, but it appeared empty.
He stepped out cautiously, leading the way. Hallways branched off, with color-designated lines painted on the floor, likely to direct the hotel staff toward kitchens, laundry facilities, maintenance closets, and storage spaces.
It looked like a maze down here.
Gray waved everyone forward. “Tucker, have Kane hunt for Amanda’s trail. She could be anywhere.”
Tucker set to work with his partner.
Gray noted that two other elevators flanked this one. It seemed only three of the twelve elevators came down to this level. He had Kowalski hold their door open, in case they needed a fast exit.
A tall set of windows along one wall drew Gray’s attention. He moved closer and stared into a cavernous neighboring space. The room was encased in concrete and climbed two stories high. Inside sat a row of massive turbine generators, looking like oversize metal elephants. Control panels covered another wall.
“The building’s power plant,” Seichan said, joining him.
Gray remembered Jack Kirkland’s description of the tidal turbines that powered this building.
Tucker came back after only a minute. “Nothing,” he said.
