Christine Feehan - Night Game

He snapped his teeth together, biting down hard as the sounds welled up, demanding release.

Maudit! What the hell is taking so long? I’m not going to be able to hold back.

Damn it, Gator. Have you even thought about what you’re doing? You could be blowing your entire career.

I’m taking out his army. I can’t get him, but I can hurt him, put him back several years. I don’ care how much money the bastard has, it takes time to build up manpower.

The general isn’t going to be happy about this. Kadan gave it one last try.

Where the fuck is the seal?

The soldiers are clear but the seal isn’t finished on the street. A couple of innocents driving by. We can’t take the chance. You have to hold. Kadan’s tone said he expected it, didn’t like it, but knew he couldn’t stop the inevitable.

Ian’s voice broke in. I’m taking out the four in the front.

Wait for backup, Ian, Kadan instructed. Tucker’s on his way to you.

Gator’s gut churned, knotted, the rage moving through him like a living entity. It was rising, much like lava needing to spew forth, impossible to contain. It was all there, swirling like a tornado inside of him. Flame believing he’d betrayed her. Whitney’s atrocities. The terrible deeds done to Joy. The dead soldier.

You have a go.

The note burst out, a low-level wave of infrasound invisible to the human ear. It traveled the corridor along the north side, slamming into everything in its path. It traveled through a small structure, flattening it as the sonic wave struck. It hit living tissue, vibrating internal organs. The wave remained at seven cycles per second, corresponding with the median alpha-rhythm frequencies in the brain.

They’re down. They’re down. Back off.

Like hell. I’m going to the south side. Eight came in that way. Let me know if our soldiers are in the clear.

Gator took a breath and let it out, trying to calm the seething rage as he surveyed the downed targets. Infra sound waves stayed close to the ground. They traveled long distances through just about anything in their path and were considered unstoppable. As the GhostWalkers had discovered in earlier field tests, without Kadan’s shields, the sound waves continued to travel, destroying everything in their path.

There were eight downed targets with eight more on the opposite side of the building. If the other Ghost- Walkers were able to take down this sizable force, it would be a significant blow to Whitney. Even paying for an army meant finding good men and if Whitney was enhancing some of them, that took time.

Gator began moving around to the other side of the building. Moving through the front area. Don’ mistake me for a target. He crouched low, rifle in hand, and eased his way through the wide row of trimmed bushes.

Go in close to the building, Tucker advised.

Gator worked his way to the southern corner of the building where the other eight mercenaries were closing in. I have a visual. I count eight You have a shield up?

It won’t work on this side. The opening is too large and the sonic wave will break through. You have to narrow the corridor, Kadan answered.

Gator studied the layout of the buildings and fences. It looked like a maze and Kadan was right. He not only would flatten several buildings, killing anyone inside, but they would be unable to contain the infrasonic wave. It would travel through the streets smashing everything in its path with the force of a volcanic eruption. He pushed back the need to strike, to neutralize the threat against Flame instantly, and forced his mind to think logically.

The best bet is to push them toward the maintenance yard. We’ll have to go in and take them out.

Gunfire erupted around the front of the building. It acted as a signal and immediately the eight men on the south side began spraying the area around them, moving in a much tighter and faster formation toward the building. Four gained the wall and flung what appeared to be grenades into the bank of windows Gator knew were offices. The explosion blasted the smoke into the air, obscuring vision.

Ian? Tucker? Check in, Kadan demanded.

Two down in the front. Two to go, Ian reported.

Tucker interrupted. He’s hit.

I’m not hit-well, maybe a little hit, but no problem.

Gator swore under his breath. He’d been the one to pull the soldiers back. He had eight men swarming one side of the building with at least six more front and back. Ian was hit and there were men on the roof. For one brief moment insanity rode him hard and he contemplated wiping them all out. One long pulse would do it. Whitney’s army would be gone and Flame would be safe, at least for the time that it would take Whitney to rebuild. In the meantime, the GhostWalkers could actively search out their enemy.

He brushed away the idea, refusing to give in to temptation. He couldn’t hurt innocent people, not even to keep Flame out of the hands of a madman.

Tucker, stay on Ian, take out the other two and get around to the back. Gator and I will work our way to the southern side.

The four men at the windows, threatening to gain en trance to the building had to be removed. Gator moved like a silent wraith through the tall hedges, utilizing the cover to get close to the first of the two-man teams. One man dressed in black signaled his partner to come forward to use him as a human ladder to gain entrance into the building. Gator took them both, two shots, two kills. A bullet spit into the wall next to his head and he spun around, spraying covering fire as he dove toward the ground behind a two-foot wall of cement.

Corning up behind them, Kadan informed him.

Gator held his fire, afraid of hitting Kadan. He waited, eyes searching out the second two-man team nearest the building. They’d gone to ground at the first gunfire, but at least they hadn’t gotten into the building.

Kadan moved like a phantom, so fast, so silent, he was a blur as he crossed Gator’s line of vision. Gator blinked twice wondering if he’d really seen him.

You’re clear. Two down.

Tucker reported in. We’ve got two more down here and are going around to the back. Ian’s bleeding like a stuck pig.

It’s a scratch.

Tie it off, superhero, Kadan ordered.

Gator crawled through the shrubbery, careful to keep from moving any of the foliage. He could just make out a boot and part of a leg. In the shadows it looked like a fallen log. The leg moved as the enemy propelled his body forward toward the building. Gator heard the whisper of an order on a radio. He only caught three disjointed words, but it was enough to have him rolling to his right. Bullets thudded into the ground right where he’d been. The shots came from above and the fire continued, pinning him down.

They’ve got a sniper on the roof of the laboratory. He warned the others. He’s using infrared.

I’ve got him, Ian said confidently.

A single shot rang out and Gator saw the sniper fall. As the noise cleared away, he heard another sound and his heart nearly stopped. Maudit, Kadan , I hear them going into the vent. Warn Flame. I’m going in after them.

Flame. Kadan reached for her immediately. Gator hears the enemy in the vents. Can yon hear them?

Yes. We’ll take care of it.

Gator’s coming in after them. Don’t shoot him, no matter how angry you are with him.

I can handle this myself. She didn’t want Raoul risking his life for her. She didn’t want any of them to do that. Flame turned to Nonny. “I want you to get into the bathroom and lock the door. Don’t open it unless you hear either Gator or me tell you to, understand?”