She heard Kingsley’s voice, the team leader in charge of retrieving JaKheel.
“We have a visual. Target is with two men in a car heading west. We’re in pursuit.”
All three went silent, their coffee completely forgotten.
The other teams dimmed in her mind as Frida’s body lurched toward them, toward one man.
The team retrieving JaKheel were divided between two vehicles: Kingsley and Malco in the first, Mercy and Nicholas in the second.
Kingsley’s voice came over the speakers once more. “We’re turning away from them, we’re too visible and don’t want to spook them. Team Two, come forward and take over. We’ll detour and get back behind you in a moment.”
Silence again, except the faint sound of the engine. This time, it was Mercy’s voice that came through, low and stern. James moved forward as she spoke, his body tensing.
“I have them in view. They just parked in front of a gas station. I think we have our opening. One suspect is at the tank, the other is heading inside. The target is outside, leaning against the car about to have a smoke. The doors are closed, there’s no one else in sight—requesting approval to launch extraction.”
Frida’s heart stopped at the request. Everything was about to go down now, it seemed.
“We’re fifteen seconds away. Launch extraction.”
From that moment, Frida was unable to breathe. Surprisingly, everything was silent at first. The team had discussed various methods of extraction and had decided on strong tranquilizers and guns as a last resort.
It was difficult to see anything clearly through the body cams as everything became blurry and started spinning as they rushed out of the cars.
As he’d said, Kingsley announced their arrival fifteen seconds later. Malco remained as silent as Nicholas, although Frida believed she could hear him breathing.
His bodycam shook and jerked, and through the semi-darkness, she saw two shadows to the side and another one to the left. In front, the light revealed the car and the men as Mercy had said.
The air gun sounded, and JaKheel fell to his knees. Malco and Nicholas immediately caught him, returning him to their vehicle.
Frida searched for Mercy’s and Kingsley’s body cams, and then she heard gunshots. The second guy by the pump wouldn’t let them get away with their friend without a fight. With a calm voice, Kingsley ordered Malco and Nicholas to get away while he and Mercy took care of the situation.
James and Frida jumped to their feet, and Cleo gasped. The situation had deteriorated, becoming dangerous.
It was obvious Mercy and Kingsley were holding the two gang members back, giving Malco and Nicholas time get as far away as possible, securing their mission.
“King, fall back. I’ll cover you.”
It was unclear where Mercy or King were. The conference room was filled with the shouts of the two gang members and continuous gunshots.
From what Frida could see from Kingsley’s point of view, Mercy was hunched behind a parked car as she was rained with bullets.
“Mercy, I’m not in a position to cover you. Hang in there.”
James cursed, his eyes glued to what was happening on the screen. Cleo was grasping her chest.
“We need to leave, King. The police have been called by now. You have a clear path to the car. I’ll cover you.”
James cursed as if Mercy could hear him from beyond the screen. “Don’t do that, Mercy. Please, don’t,” he hissed, and Frida realized that for the first time, he was coming undone. What was between him and the wild Mercy?
“Get the damn car, King, so you can come get me. Understood.”
“Understood. Hang in there, Merc.”
Everything happened fast and intensified as they partially lost visual. From the noise, they could only guess what was happening. With the engine roaring to life, Frida guessed Kingsley had finally reached the car to save Mercy.
“Damn it, Mercy, stay down! I’m coming your way.”
The woman shouted. “One down. One to go.”
The screech of tires made it impossible to hear what was going on.
With a cry of victory, Mercy came back online. “Second shooter is down. Come and get me, King. Let’s get out of here. I can hear sirens.”
The palpable tension in the conference room melted immediately. Cleo let herself fall on the chair, and Frida followed her. James pushed his hair back with a deep sigh.
A gunshot tore through the speakers, followed by Mercy’s unmistakable cry and Kingsley’s furious shout, followed by a second shot.
There was a scramble and whimpers before the engine drowned everything else.
Malco’s voice came on as the four of them were still on the comms together. “Sitrep, King. Do you want us to come back?”
It took some time before Kingsley answered, making the wait almost unbearable for everybody on the line.
“We’re on our way back. It was a close call, but Mercy took a hit to her body armor. Stick to the plan. Over.”
Close call. Frida hoped she’d never hear those two words again when Malco and his team were facing such a dangerous situation. The second team had been successful, too, with their extractions going much more smoothly. In fact, they now had Tycen safe and sound.
Cleo shut off the screens and gathered the cups with shaking hands.
Unable to move, Frida sat down to take a breath and steady her nerves.
James didn’t say anything, but punched the wall, leaving a gaping hole before exiting the room.
Alone, Frida took deep breaths, calming her heart and pushing aside her dark thoughts. So much could’ve gone wrong, and Mercy could’ve died because of her plan. Her plan. Her crazy suggestion to shut down police corruption and protect a group of teenagers. Could she have lived with the death of one of
