Mark Young - Off the grid

A burst of automatic fire opened up to his right. The muzzle flash gave him a glimpse of Alena coming through broken windows.

The second gunman fired wildly in the air as he fell back.

Four men down.

Alena crept toward him, rifle at the ready. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I was worried. Heard all that outgoing firepower and didn’t hear you firing back.”

“I knew they were firing wildly. Held my fire until I could get the flash-bang set up to cover you from the roof.”

“Thanks for having my back. I was a second too slow for that last guy.”

“Yeah. Saved by a woman. You will never live that down.”

He smiled. “I could get used to this…partner.”

Alena returned his smile for a moment. Then she frowned. “Do you think we have any more to deal with here?”

“Don’t know. Our thermal imaging showed these four. We need to take the elevator to the lower floor to check on any others and see if…”

They both knew he was thinking of Joe. She whispered, “They could be waiting down there. That elevator might be a kill zone they set up knowing we’d come for him.”

“I know. But we don’t have a choice. It’s where they might have Joe.”

They moved toward the elevator. Alena said, “How are we going to access the code?”

Gerrit held up a card. “Searched one of the dead guys on the roof. Same card I saw Kane use the last time I was here.” He slid the card through the reader, and the elevator door slid open. He entered and used the butt of his rifle to shatter the light bulbs in the ceiling. Darkness enveloped them as the elevator door closed.

They descended to the lower level. Gerrit tapped her on the shoulder. “I’ll go first. Let’s crisscross. I’ll move to the right, you to the left. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

The elevator shuddered to a stop. “Ready?”

“Hit it.”

He gripped his rifle, hit the Open button. He shot through the half-opened door, the tip of his weapon following the direction he scanned as he pressed himself against the wall. Alena moved to his left.

Only silence and darkness beyond. All lights have been extinguished on this floor.

“Stay put,” he whispered. “I’ll find a light switch.”

He worked his way along the wall until he came to a panel of switches. “Got ’em. Get ready.” He began to switch one after another. The entire lower floor burst with light. It took a few second for his eyes to become accustomed to the brightness. He scanned the room.

Not a soul in sight.

He crept forward, clearing one cubicle after another. Each desk was cleaned off. Not a scrap of paper left behind. Together, they moved in unison through the room, clearing each spot before going forward.

Still no one.

They came to a doorway. He swung it open and saw it led to a darkened hallway, with more doors leading off from the hallway. He groped on the wall and found another panel of light switches. Turning these on, he saw an empty hallway.

Each room they examined stood empty.

At the end of the hallway, one more door sat barring their way. Peering through the door’s window, he saw a much larger room beyond, bigger than all the others. In the center of that room was a metal table equipped with metal rings where victims could be tied down.

Gerrit’s gut tightened. He knew how they used this room-to torture and interrogate prisoners. A chill swept through him as another thought came to mind.

Where is my uncle?

If Kane brought Joe here, this is where they must have tried to make him talk. The place was empty and spotless.

“No one here.” Gerrit glanced at Alena. “Except for the four upstairs, this place is a ghost town.”

Alena looked around her. “And where is Joe? This is where I thought Kane would take him.”

“Maybe he was here at one time. But Kane must have moved him. So, where do we start looking?”

“Let’s get back upstairs and check in with the others.” They rode the elevator and just stepped out when Stafford approached them. “What did you find?”

Gerrit shrugged. “Nothing. Everyone’s gone.”

Willy’s voice came over the radio. Excited. Urgent. “Mr. G., can you copy?”

Gerrit keyed his mike. “Go ahead, Willy.”

“Got another bogey you guys overlooked.”

Gerrit looked at Stafford and Alena. “Where?”

“About a hundred yards west of your location. And she’s armed.”

Collette.

“Can she copy our transmissions?”

“Of course she can’t.” Willy sounded hurt. “After I got these radios from Stafford, I encrypted our system myself.”

Stafford frowned. “They were encrypted, Willy.”

“Sorry, Spy Man. I had to make sure.”

Gerrit cut in. “Well, we’ll-”

“Get out of there now. Now!” Willy screamed into the radio.

Gerrit sprinted to the door, yelling at the others. “Follow me.”

He cleared the front door, sprinting toward the nearest tree line, Alena and Stafford a few feet behind. A split second later, he and the others were hurled across the grass like limp dolls as an explosion rocked the mansion.

Gerrit felt himself land on the ground. The only sound he heard after the blast was an incessant ringing in his ears. Alena and Stafford lay nearby. Both were moving.

Alive.

He looked back at the building and saw rubble piled up where the house once stood. Fires broke out among the debris. They had to get farther away in case of secondary explosions. Gas. Explosives. Who knows?

He helped Alena to her feet and they sprinted toward the trees about a hundred yards away.

“We’re okay, Willy. Copy?”

“Oh, thank God.”

Gerrit keyed the mike again. “Give me a fix on this fifth person. Maybe a spotter?”

“Mr. G, I think she is the one who triggered the explosion. And she has a sniper rifle aimed at your position. Take cover!”

Gerrit and the others zigzagged a path beyond the first row of trees. Collette must not have a clear shot and didn’t want to give her position way. That bought them a few minutes.

All three caught their breath before Gerrit spoke. “Okay, you guys stay here. I’m going to break off and work my way around her with Willy’s help.”

Alena placed her hand on his shoulder. “No, Gerrit. This woman is mine. You guys provide a distraction.”

“No, Alena, I can’t-”

“Because I’m a woman?”

“No, I-”

“There is a lot you do not know about me, Gerrit. This is something I am good at. Trust me.” Without waiting, she melted into the darkness.

He glanced at Stafford. The agent just shrugged. “I think she knows what she’s doing, O’Rourke. Let’s try to take the heat off her.”

Gerrit activated his mike. “Willy, feed us any information on the target. Al’s going to take point. My partner and I will be the bait. You’ll be Alena’s eyes and ears until this is over.”

“Gotcha, Mr. G.”

Gerrit turned to the agent. “Well, let’s keep Collette busy.”

Alena moved from tree to tree through the shadows. “Willy, guide me in,” she whispered into the mike. She heard several clicks. After activating her night-vision glasses, she worked her way in a wide circle around where she believed Collette lay hiding.

“Alena, you copy?” Gerrit’s voice seemed like a scream compared to the quietness surrounding her.

She responded with two clicks.

“Be careful.”

She smiled to herself, suspecting that Gerrit did not think she could take care of herself. In a way, that was sweet. If only he knew half the operations she’d been in, he would not have to worry as much. But her past she tried to keep locked away. Only Joe knew most of her history. And that was one person too many.