Chapter 8

EIGHT

Declan’s heart stopped when he heard the gun go off.

Not just once, but four goddamn times.

He’d been trailing Meg and had come upon the scene just as the suit fired on her.

Debris flew from where the bullets embedded themselves in the wall.

Declan raised his own weapon, bringing the butt down on the back of the man’s head.

The suit slumped to the floor, unconscious, and he had to calm the rage he felt so he didn’t put a bullet in the man’s chest.

It wasn’t his fault; it was the Black Swan leader curled into a ball on the floor. Declan rushed to her, scanning for wounds.

Not a drop of blood marred her skin or clothes. Just a healthy amount of dirt and sweat. She shoved his roving hands away as she sat up. “Nice timing.”

“He could have killed you. Where are your weapons?”

She brushed at the dusty fragments, adding a layer of grime to her already dirty self. “He was scared but not dangerous, as evidenced by the fact he fired into that wall and not me.”

In his ear, Flynn demanded an update. The camera in the upper corner was lights out, so they didn’t have eyes on this area.

Meg responded, shooting Declan a glare. “This is Swan One, over. Swan Two has joined me, and we’re on our way to the safe.” She gestured for him to follow, and he had to stuff down all that rage, making his nerves tingle. This was no time for hurt feelings. “Is Marchetti’s office locked?”

Dell came back with an affirmative, but also reassurance. “It’s open. Although the Chief of Mission is out of town, someone has entered his office. Could be the DCM.”

Marchetti’s deputy chief. Whatever he said next was dampened by static.

“You fucking left me,” Declan snarled.

Meg muted her comm and signaled him to do the same as she headed for the office. “I made a decision. I could fit through the opening, and you couldn’t. Time is slipping away, and I knew you would catch up with me as soon as you could clear the mudslide. It wasn’t personal.”

Like hell it wasn’t. Reinstating his comm, he marched past her, finding the Chief of Mission’s corner office and flinging open the door. Seething. He was seething.

This was what she fucking did to him.

A grizzled man, whose white shirt and tie were rumpled and stained with sweat, whirled from a spot behind the desk, papers in hand. The sound of a shredder droned as it ate up documents.

His eyes darted between Meg and Declan, suspicion etched deep in his wrinkled face. “Who the hell are you?”

Meg scanned the room, dismissing him. Her comm was now active, too, but all they were getting was more static. “Where is the safe?”

Declan looked for the man’s ID. It was missing. “You the Deputy Chief?”

“I doubt that’s any of your business.” His nervous gaze took in Declan’s size and the weapon on his waistband. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“What are you doing in here?”

“Cleaning up this goddamn mess.”

Del’s voice cut through the static. “…Hagar…to breech…front…”

“Finish what you’re doing,” Megan instructed. “And hurry. Time is running out before the terrorists overrun this place.”

“Terrorists?” the man sputtered. “What terrorists?”

“State sent us,” Declan told him. “We’re here for a USB that’s inside the safe. We need access, and we need it now.”

The man’s attention flickered to a large painted picture at the far end of the room. It looked like he was about to deny knowing anything, but the sound of gunfire erupted outside, echoing like thunder in the room. He ducked behind the desk.

“Got it.” Meg marched to the credenza, removed the framed pictures, and surveyed the electronic box behind it. “Loch Ness, are you there? A retina scan and thumbprint are required for the safe.”

This time, it was Tessa who came across the comms. “Nothing to worry about. Loch Ness told me your Eagle Eyes are programmed for the retina scan, and Swan Two has a glove with the required thumbprint.”

Declan joined Meg, fishing out the glove. “Well, what do you know? All right, eye scan first.”

“Tap in this combo of numbers,” Tessa said, reeling them off, “Then hold still.”

Meg followed her instructions, and they both froze as the scanner did its thing. The light switched to green, and a soft automated female voice said, “Retina scanned confirmed. Hello, Deputy Chief. Please place your thumb on the indicated scanner.”

The man popped his head above the desk’s hiding place. “I have a bypass key.”

“Now you tell us,” Declan growled.

He stood, crinkling paper in his fists. “I had to be sure you’re who you say you are. You haven’t even shown me any ID.”

The latex glove felt too tight against Declan’s skin, even though it was as thin as his epidermis. He adjusted the fit before placing his digit in the slot. “Go back to your shredding. We’ve got this.”

In unison, he and Meg held their breath until they heard the voice say, “Thumbprint scan accepted.” A click sounded, and Meg grabbed the handle.

A fresh burst of gunfire echoed outside the room. The man dropped the last of his papers and ran.

The safe was as tall as Declan and twice as deep. Too narrow for him to comfortably walk inside, but big enough for Meg.

She ducked into the interior, a motion sensor turning on a single LED light. Shelves lined the walls, filled with boxes and metal cases that appeared meticulously organized.

Empty spots revealed certain items had been removed. By the chief?

Declan knew she was asking herself the same question. “Why didn’t he take that?” she asked softly, pointing to a leather pouch on the second shelf marked classified.

Their red bag.

Stripping off the glove, he jammed it into his pocket. He needed more light. His phone once more did the job, and he ran the beam over everything, catching her in it. “Check the contents.”

She snatched it up and unzipped it. Her face fell. Opening the pouch wide, she held it up for him to see. His gut sank when he spotlighted the interior.

The empty interior.

A string of curses flew from his mouth.

They began to rifle through everything else on the shelves. There were other pouches to unzip and search, boxes of paper files, and a metal box with a flimsy lock that Declan busted using the butt of his gun. It contained stacks of various currencies.

A collection of metal cases for transporting handguns and various tech equipment came next. One of the guns was gone, the outline of it in foam inside the case, suggesting the chief had also taken the silencer it came with. All the equipment was still there—listening devices, two-way radios, military-grade night vision goggles. On the top shelf rested a rifle in its gun case.

But not one goddamn USB.

From the front of the building came an explosion and hysterical screams. Plaster rained down from the ceiling, and pictures fell from the walls, crashing to the floor and adding to the already ravaged office. The rifle fell, hitting Meg in the head and knocking her off balance.

He grabbed her as she stumbled into him. “That came from the main lobby.”

She rubbed her head and looked sick. “Hagar has made it past the gates, brick walls, and blown the front entrance.”

“We’re about to have company. Time for us to bail.”

Their eyes met for a brief moment. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought there was gratitude in hers. It was probably just the lighting.

Or his desperate imagination.

She drew away. “Someone knew what was on that USB. They took it and that gun with the silencer, but left the rest. Even the cash.”

“They were in a panic,” he said, considering the motivation behind such a move, “and they needed to move quickly. Couldn’t carry too much and felt threatened enough to arm themselves.”

“And it was someone who had access to this safe.”

“The chief or deputy chief.”

Her chin cocked in the direction where the man had exited. “Or that guy, whoever he is.” She tried to raise Del. Got nothing but static.

He looked toward the open door, wondering how far the guy had managed to get.

Intel could be used to bribe, coerce, and threaten. To blackmail and to intimidate. “What if our thief took it for another reason?” he asked.

“Like what?” As if reading Declan’s mind, Meg sucked in knowing breath. “You think Marchetti is a traitor?”

“Not the chief.” Declan motioned for her to follow him. “The man doing the shredding.”

Tessa suddenly joined in the conversation. “What the hell is on that USB?” she muttered.

Meg followed him across the room and hit her comm. “Loch Ness, we have a problem.”

Flynn’s voice cut through the static. “Then solve it.”

“I can’t.”

Declan sent her a look suggesting she remember they were a team.

She corrected herself as she waited for him to scan the hall before they went in pursuit of their target. “ We can’t.”

“Why not?” Flynn snapped.

“Because, sir, the bag is here, but the USB isn’t.”

“Loch Ness, this is Swanny Three,” Spence cut in. “We have more problems than that. Are you getting this on your feed?”

“What is it?” Declan demanded, ignoring radio protocol.

“The front entrance is wide open,” Spence told them. “The police are nowhere in sight, and Hagar and the death squad are swarming the building.”

He knew it took all Meg’s willpower to ask the next question. “Orders?”

Nothing but silence followed.

Until…

“Get out,” Flynn ordered. “Abort now.”