He wasn’t scared. If anything, he was the safest of them all. The others’ marks had been covered with something that was supposed to last, but in case it didn’t and something went wrong, he’d be the one to return home and report about the troubles. The biggest question was the way the Commandos operated and the tools they had at their disposal, so Peter’s plan was only as good as the intel they had. But the others were surprisingly calm, and Chad drew from their confidence, focusing on his breath and clearing his head of worries.
After twenty minutes, he felt it just as Luke did—the bus was going underground. It craned and slowed down, as if trying to fit in somewhere narrow. A short time later, the bus lurched and stopped, and people started to get up and move to the door, still in that creepy silence.
He shuffled out, disappointment filling his chest at the sight of another door just a few feet away from the bus. Nothing visible in the dark. Whoever was behind this, they weren’t taking any chances.
“Bus three here!” Chad jumped at the loud voice. The guards pushed them in the backs, impatient to get to the end of the long, dark corridor, but the crowd was moving at a snail’s pace.
Bus three, Chad thought, adding up the numbers in his head. Another one must have just arrived, hence the traffic. In other circumstances he would be glad to have more time to look around, but there was nothing, only the stifling darkness and the concrete walls.
“Look.” An elbow stuck in his side, and Chad looked at Luke. To their left was a dark corridor, ending with a gleaming steel door.
They walked for two more minutes before Chad got a glimpse of another corridor, this time to his right, with the door left carelessly open as another masked man walked out of it. Glowing monitors lined the wall—a control room—and papers were strewn on a table.
He tore his eyes off it and looked forward before anyone saw him staring. They were approaching a big room filled with blue light. The moment he stepped inside, he saw that the source of light was a big screen mounted on the wall to his right. The room was large enough to host two hundred people, and he could easily slip closer to the front without attracting anyone’s attention, but someone grabbed his arm.
“Let’s keep to the back,” Luke said.
“I can barely see anything from here,” Chad whispered back.
“Well, then you’ll just have to listen.” Luke locked his gaze with Chad’s, his eyes stern.
Chad stared at him for a moment but gave up the argument. And then it didn’t matter anymore, because two people climbed onto the podium under the screen, one of them a woman.
Victoria. Chad’s heart picked up pace.
“Evening, gentlemen,” a creepy, distorted voice filled the room from the speakers, clearly coming from a voice-altering device. A mask hid her face, and her baggy uniform covered her feminine shapes, but it was clearly a woman. “As you’ve probably already guessed, we have a new task for you. A task of utmost urgency.”
And then Chad forgot all about her, because up on the big screen, Dave’s face appeared, eyes closed, head resting on a steel gurney. A wave of hatred washed over Chad, making him clench his fists.
“This man,” Victoria said, “assaulted and killed the guards, then escaped our top-secret facility forty-eight hours ago. He’s extremely dangerous, and on top of that, mentally unstable.”
What? Chad was grateful his mask covered his incredulous grimace.
“We’ve spent two nights searching for him, but we haven’t been able to cover enough ground. Some of you have participated in the search, and others will join in tonight, in order to capture this individual and return him to his ward, where he belongs.”
Ward? The lie she was weaving for the gullible men around him turned Chad’s blood cold, and he had to force himself to stand still.
“Once again, remember that under no circumstances are you to attempt to capture this man on your own. If you discover him, all you have to do is report it to one of the officers and to follow him inconspicuously, until our specialists arrive and take the matters into their hands. Here’s the area where we suspect the perpetrator can be found.” She pointed up at the screen, where a detailed map of Brooklyn appeared. A big circle was highlighted in green, and Chad narrowed his eyes at the center—headquarters.
“We’ll proceed as usual. Please split into groups of three to five people and stop by the table in the back, where you will get detailed instructions and will be assigned a sector of the search area. If you have any questions, please save them for the officers who will be giving out the instructions. Good luck.”
Chad’s heart gave a protesting jolt when Victoria stepped off the podium and disappeared in the dark. That’s it? There’s nothing else we can do? He watched the other Commando, the man who had been standing silently with her, cross the room and join another officer at a big table by the exit.
“Bus three, to the table! Bus three leaves first!” one of the officers raised his voice, causing a few annoyed mutters in the crowd. People stepped back, allowing others to approach the table.
They were among the first ones to grab their papers. Chad’s eyes widened at the list of Dave’s cars—the Commandos had done their homework—and he headed to the exit. He’d only made a few steps when the familiar room with the open door showed to his left. There was still no one inside.
Before he could stop himself, he grabbed the
