Out of reflex, she looked toward the part of the house the noise had come from, the part where the container was.
Rather than fading away, the sound continued. Whatever it was, it was scaring the hell out of her.
Not her voice. Rodrigo’s or maybe Uncle Hector’s. Maybe both.
She pulled herself up onto the beams, no longer concerned about the noise she might make. She needed to get out of there. That’s all she knew. She needed to get out of there
She forced her fingers into one of the cracks near the bottom of the sag in the roof, and pulled with all her strength. The ceiling groaned and cracked and protested for as long as it could, then broke free.
While Patricia had tried to position herself as best as possible, part of the roof glanced off her arm. She fell backward toward the hole she’d had just climbed up through. The only thing that kept her from falling all the way to the ground was the beam she caught with her arm.
As she pulled herself back up, she could feel heat coming from somewhere in the house.
With renewed horror, she scrambled to the break in the roof and climbed outside. She couldn’t see the fire, but she could smell it now. There was an unfamiliar tang to it that was repulsive. She gagged and nearly threw up as she slid down the slope of the roof to the eaves. The second she got there, she took a quick look at the ground and jumped.
Safely away from the house now, she glanced back. Smoke had begun to billow out of cracks in the building, but that was nothing compared to the heat. It almost felt like she was walking on the sun.
Patricia ran.
18
I.D. MINUS 7 DAYS
Richard Heath heard shoes echoing off the concrete floor, heading in his direction. As much as he wished it was another member of the depot’s security team, he knew it wasn’t. No, it was one of them. Because, unless he was completely mistaken, he was the last one of NB328’s detail left alive.
What he couldn’t understand was how the attackers had snuck into the facility without sounding any alarms. It shouldn’t have been possible, and yet it had happened.
Initially, he and his colleagues had thought it was simply some kind of raid to steal whatever could be grabbed. That was the type of incursion the security team had prepared for and been told by those above them in the Project to expect, but it quickly became clear that this wasn’t a group of local thugs just looking for something they could sell. The people who snuck in were professionals who worked silently, and they had eliminated most of the security detail with single shots from sound-suppressed weapons.
Heath had no idea why he was still alive.
Luck? Not hardly.
If he’d been lucky, he’d already be dead. One against God-knew-how-many? He didn’t have a chance. He checked his gun. Only five shots left. The way he figured it, that meant four for them, and the last for himself.
The steps were much closer now. Surprisingly, he realized it was only a single pair. Did they not know he was here? Or did they think he was already dead? Whatever the case, the person walking in his direction didn’t seem to be concerned that he might put a bullet through their head.
He leaned against the crate closest to the end of the aisle, and wrapped both his hands around the butt of his gun.
The warehouse was as big as an American football field, and, full or not, the sounds inside were deceiving. Though the steps were still headed in his direction, he couldn’t be sure if they were thirty feet away or seventy. He should be able to hit the target at both distances, but he wanted to ensure that he didn’t miss, so the closer the other person was, the better.
With a suddenness that surprised him, the steps ceased.
“Hello. You hiding back there. I know you can hear me.” The voice was female, coming from where the steps had stopped. “I’m sure you realize there’s no way you’re getting out of here, so I’m guessing you’re probably trying to figure out how you can do the most damage while you have an opportunity. It’s the way I’d be thinking, anyway. I should tell you, though, no matter what you try, you won’t succeed.”
Knowing it was now or never, the guard twisted out from the cover of the crate, and brought the barrel of his gun around to point at the spot where he knew the woman would be. His first shot left the chamber before he registered what he was seeing.
Rather, what he was
He swung the gun left and right, looking for her, ready to pull the trigger at the slightest movement.
“Sorry to disappoint,” she said, far closer than he expected.
Even before he could respond to her voice, something hit him in the chest, and his whole body seized in uncontrollable spasms. His gun flew from his hand as he fell writhing to the floor.
Finally, the source of the pain stopped.
A Taser, he realized, his mind able to focus again.
He lay panting on the floor, every muscle weak and tingling from the massive jolt of electricity. Though his mind was screaming at him to get up, he knew that was impossible.
He heard movement, then footsteps walking right up to him.
It was over. His end was coming. He trembled as the woman stopped beside him. She had short blonde hair, and what he would have called an Eastern European face-high cheekbones, slightly Asiatic eyes, and full lips. He had never seen her before.
“Go ahead. Do it,” he said, his eyes glancing quickly at the gun in her hand.
She leaned down and touched something near his waist. When she stood again, she was holding his security badge.
“Good. You have full access.” She smiled at him. “Relax. It’s not time for you to die yet.”
“Sir, we’ve received a message I wanted to make you aware of.”
The DOP looked up from this computer. Major Ross had entered the conference room at the back of the Cradle, and was standing just inside the door. “What is it?”
“An emergency signal from NB328.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“A break-in, sir.”
The DOP frowned. “Verified?”
“No, sir. It was the automated signal. We haven’t been able to reach the security team there yet.”
“Where is NB328?” While the DOP was familiar with their storage depot locations, he didn’t even try to remember what each had been designated.
“Costa Rica. Outside Carrizal.”
Carrizal. A basic storage depot if he wasn’t mistaken: food, clothing, fuel, some vehicles, and the standard weapons cache. Nothing particularly special about it.
