She turned to find him watching her, the same way he’d been watching her since they’d walked out of the office.
“You want to say something about what happened up there?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Really?” Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he stepped closer and took her hand. “So you agree with Peter that I should go?”
“No, I think you could do without the risk, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be good for you. Your whole training is already backwards, so what the hell. Some people train for years before they actually have to kill a man, and you killed before you knew how to hold a sword. I think Peter knows better than me what to do with you.”
Chad’s eyes widened, wondering. “Who are you and what did you do to my girlfriend?”
“Shut up.” Pain smacked his arm, chuckling, and turned away.
She caught Jane reaching for Ryan’s hand, only to remember where they were and pull back.
“Oh, you two are unbelievable.” Pain made a face. “You think all of HQ knows about you, but I don’t?”
Jane gave her a dirty look, as if she couldn’t care less what Pain thought, but instantly leaned into Ryan, who only chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.
Chad pulled her close with a smile. “Leave them alone,” he whispered in her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.
She opened her mouth for a retort but spotted Dave hurrying to them. His face tight with worry, he stopped abruptly a few feet from them, and she took a step away from Chad to give them space.
But Dave turned to her suddenly, and locked her in an awkward, one-armed embrace. “Don’t get shot,” he said.
She mumbled a reply into his chest and made to pull away, but he didn’t let go, his arm like steel around her.
“I never really thanked you for saving me,” his voice shook a little, as if he was surprised by his own words, “so thank you.”
She pulled back at last and adjusted her jacket, uncomfortable from all the looks pointed her way. “Sure. Let’s never do that again,” she said, covering her discomfort with a smirk. “Besides, you know I really did it for him.” She pointed her chin at Chad.
The corner of Dave’s mouth quirked slightly, and he gave Chad a quick hug, too. “Be careful.”
“Sure.” Chad smiled at him, but still Dave seemed uneasy, fidgety.
The elevator spilled light into the dim hall, and Peter’s large shadow fell over them. He carried his twin blades and scabbard in one hand, his gear straining over the heavy armor.
His eyes fell on Ryan and Jane, and his steps faltered, but he only threw a curious look at Pain as he went to the front door.
“Let’s go.” She followed her boss out to the parking lot, where Marco stood leaning against the hood of his truck, a scowl on his face. He didn’t wait for them, just hopped into the driver’s seat, as moody as the night Martin first showed up. Pain wondered what it would take to get him out of his funk.
Peter stopped for a quick count, then hollered at the last men still smoking by their cars, “All right, cowboys! Time’s a-wastin’.” He hopped into the car and nodded at Skull.
Pain got into Marco’s back seat after Jane, Chad right behind her, and looked out the tinted window as they pulled out of the lot. Somehow, she’d expected to see Dave standing there alone, watching them go. But it was only the scar-faced guard that stared back at her.
* * *
Dave pushed his chin deeper into his winter-gear collar, cursing the cold as he rushed through the dark city. His eyes were so blurry he could barely see where he was going, and his nose was about to fall off, even under the mask. Now he knew why the others had taken the road, wasting precious time stuck in traffic.
He’d had little choice though, with time working against him.
Zooming wide around a chopper, he kept going east, past the river and the bridge and the countless city lights, sprinkled over Manhattan like stars. It had occurred to him just as he left Peter’s office, what he had to do. What they both had to do. He didn’t realize the difference before, how Peter’s mission in all this was finding and destroying the Commandos’ lab, first of all. Finding and bringing home their lost men, and all the others who were suffering in there.
Meanwhile, the person who’d started all this might get away or not be there at all, and once the lab was gone, chances of finding him or her would be slim at best.
So Dave had to take care of it. And thanks to Peter’s discovery, Dave had found yet another proof of Philip’s—or rather, Recorp Holdings’—involvement. Because the abandoned hospital also belonged to it.
Somehow, he doubted Philip would be there on a Friday night. In fact, if Dave were the mastermind behind all this, he would’ve stayed as far away from it as he could, and kept his name and face hidden as well. Dave would be doing Peter a favor, making sure the Commandos didn’t resurface somewhere again, cutting the head off the snake while they were too busy taking the lab.
And if Dave was wrong, and Philip was just an unsuspecting civilian, he might end up in a whole lot of trouble.
Dave slowed his flight and peered at the sprawling houses below. The street blinked back at him with its Christmas lights and ornate lamps. Here goes nothing, he thought as he pinpointed Philip’s mansion. His flight was far from smooth still, his efforts having been focused on all the things he could do with his shield, but he
