42. Chapter 42

42

" A fter we get past the gate, all of you except for me, Rowan, and Elowine, will enter the building through these doors." Soren pointed to the spot on the floor plan of the warehouse. Rowan had called in a favor to a local contact at the planning office and got an official floor plan of the building.

The team was convening in an alley two blocks away from the warehouse. Galen had also arrived, chartering a flight for himself and ten extra MacGregor soldiers. All of them were dressed in SWAT gear: black fatigues, bulletproof vests, headgear, earpieces, and automatic rifles. They all huddled around Soren as he broke down the plan.

"Rowan, Elowine, and I will go in through here," Soren pointed. "Ilaria will probably be in one of these back rooms, so we'll head there first. This area—" He indicated the large open area behind the loading docks. "—is probably where the employees are manufacturing the drug. Assuming they aren't armed, Lyle, Doug, and Finn will round them all up and take them toward the loading area so they're not in the crossfire. Anyone who is armed is fair game, except Vincent." He pulled out a picture and passed it around. "Capture him alive. Only after the situation is contained and Vincent is captured will Galen come on scene. Everyone got it?"

They all nodded.

"One more thing," Soren added grimly. "Keep an eye out for twenty teenage girls. They're being used as test subjects. They could be held in a room somewhere. If they're not out in the open, leave them where they are and we'll get them afterward."

Tense shoulders and grim expressions were evident on the soldiers.

"Safety first," Soren reminded them. "Let's go." He'd be damned if any of his soldiers got hurt tonight because of what Vincent did.

As the soldiers all piled into the rented box truck, Soren clapped his uncle on the shoulder. "I'll call you when it's safe for you to come in."

Galen nodded. "Stay safe." He got back into the black SUV, along with one soldier, to wait.

Soren climbed into the front passenger seat while Rowan got into the driver's seat. Both pulled on a white T-shirt over their battle gear and a baseball cap over their heads. At Soren's nod, Rowan pulled out of the alley.

Ilaria, we're coming.

The white box truck looked exactly the same as the ones they'd seen repeatedly being admitted through the gate. As Rowan turned onto the property and slowly approached the security gate, the guards—one in front of the gate arm, one behind, and one in the booth—didn't show any alarm. They waved Rowan forward.

Rowan rolled down his window. "Delivery," Rowan said, handing him a fake ID card. When the guard automatically looked down at the card, Rowan lifted his rifle and took him out. He then immediately swung back and took out the guard behind them, while Soren poked his rifle out the window on his side and shot the guard on the other side of the gate arm. It had taken all of three seconds.

Two guards who were patrolling in front of the building came running over. Soren gave fire, taking both down, while Rowan gunned the engine and ran the truck through the gate arm. He pulled to the designated spot as they had planned, and Soren turned to the back where the rest of the soldiers were waiting. "Everybody out!"

None of the other guards had been alerted yet, so nobody came running. Elowine flung open the back doors of the truck, and they all spilled out, guns ready. Everyone moved to their designed spots. Soren, Rowan, and Elowine by one door closest to the back rooms, while the rest by the door into the main manufacturing area.

"Three, two, one," Soren counted down into their ear pieces to coordinate entry.

Soren heard through his earpiece Lyle burst through the other door, and then gunfire from his team and the guards, and shouts coming from the manufacturing employees.

Chaos ensued, as the employees ran for cover and Vincent's guards were taken down one by one.

Ninety seconds after the others went in, Rowan opened the door in front of him, with Elowine and Soren on his heels. Due to the commotion, most of the guards had gravitated to the main area, leaving this side area, and the path to the back room, relatively clear.

But not completely clear, as a group of guards came streaming toward them. This section of the warehouse was dim, making it more difficult to see threats. It was also empty of furniture, with nothing to hide behind.

Rowan and Elowine stood on either side of Soren, taking fire first. Each of them took out two guards with as many shots, their expert marksmanship evident.

A bullet whizzed just to the outside of Soren's right ear. Annoyed that the guard had gotten off a shot, and not about to let him take another one, Soren hit him in the middle of the forehead.

The rest of the way was clear. Soren, heart pounding not from exertion but from terror for Ilaria, ran to the mouth of the hallway. The entrances to the back rooms were down this hallway, which was unlit and almost pitch black.

Soren, Rowan, and Elowine stood at the entrance of the hallway, around the corner, ready to send down a flash grenade to disorient any guard who might have been standing at the other end.

Just as Rowan was ready to pull the pin, a door at the end of the hall banged open. Soren heard a forceful bodily contact, a male grunt, another contact to a soft body part, and then finally a crash to the ground.

Soren held up a hand to Rowan, telling him without words to hold. The person at the end of the hallway had picked up the rifle, and the footsteps were heading their way.

But these were not the usual soft, near-silent sound of rubber boots on linoleum. The clicking of the heels sounded more like a woman's boot.

Elowine came to the same conclusion faster than Soren did. She met Soren's eye and pointed to her flashlight and then pointed down the hall.

He nodded, holding his gun at the ready. In one smooth move, she turned on her flashlight and shone it into the face of the approacher.

Ilaria held up the rifle but squinted into the light.

"Ilaria!"

Elowine moved the flashlight to her own feet, allowing Ilaria to see them.

"Soren!" Relief was evident in her voice. "Rowan! Elowine!" She laid the gun on the ground and ran to Soren, who wrapped his arms tightly around her. Relief and fear mixed together and coursed through him.

Soren pulled himself back to get a better look at her. "Are you hurt?" he asked roughly.

"No, but we need to go," she said as she pulled away, picking up the gun again. "Vincent left out the back."

"Ilaria, no, I'm getting you out of here," Soren demanded.

"There's no time!" She ran to the end of the hallway, jumping over the unconscious guard on the floor. "He's getting away."

Gritting his teeth, Soren had no choice but to follow her. Rowan and Elowine took up the rear.

As he jumped over the unconscious guard, he saw a nasty welt on his temple. He felt both pride that she had partially fought her way out of that room and terror that she would have run into a dozen more of those guards if he and his team hadn't shown up when they did.

After this was over, he was going to lock her at home, maybe even tie her to the bed, and not let her out of his sight.

Ilaria waited at the exit door that led behind the building.

"Ilaria, stay behind me," Soren instructed.

She made a face but got behind Soren. He was also going to give her a long lecture about playing the hero while being only partially prepared.

"Ready?" At Soren's nod, Rowan pushed open the door, rifle cocked and ready. Soren thanked the stars that there was a burgundy sedan with rusted paint and two flat tires parked ten yards ahead. Something to use as a shield. They all stayed low and ran behind the vehicle.

"There he is!" Ilaria said in a loud whisper as she ran low behind Soren. "He's going for that car."

Vincent was limping toward a silver Mercedes parked another twenty yards down from them. Two guards were jogging with him.

Not if I can help it.

"Elowine, run a route to the left," Soren said. "Rowan, to the right. Circle and trap. I'll come down the middle."

He gave Ilaria a hard look. "You're staying here." She opened her mouth to object. "You don't have bulletproof protection," he growled, "and I can't catch Vincent if I have to worry about you." He gripped her chin. "If the car gets past us, you can shoot. But stay down and stay behind this car to shield yourself."

Mollified, she nodded.

On Soren's count, the three of them headed toward Vincent, who had climbed into the backseat. The headlights turned on, the engine gunned, and the car headed straight for Soren.

On cue, Elowine and Rowan started shooting from the side. The side windows shattered, and bullets riddled the doors, but the car didn't stop.

Soren took aim from the front, holding his ground as the Mercedes speeded toward him.

"Soren!" He heard Ilaria scream.

He took one last aim, saw that he shot the driver in the head, and then jumped out of the way, toward the building, tucking in his body and rolling sideways. Still, he landed awkwardly on his left shoulder, and he grunted and winced.

The Mercedes' tires screeched past him, the dead guard's foot still on the accelerator. Heading toward Ilaria.

Fear flooded him, and he ran toward her.

"Ilaria! Get out of the way!"

Her head poked up from behind the burgundy car. Her eyes widened at the Mercedes racing toward the burgundy car. If the Mercedes hit the parked car, the car would hit her.

He started shooting at the back of the Mercedes, trying to aim for the tires to slow it down, but it was already too late..

Ilaria leapt to her right, while the Mercedes plowed into the parked car, narrowly missing her.

Elowine and Rowan opened the back door of the Mercedes and trained their guns at Vincent and the second guard.

Soren raced to Ilaria, who was still on the ground and wasn't moving. He fell onto his knees, bending over her. "Ilaria!" To his utter relief, her eyes were open, and she was breathing. She had the wind knocked out of her.

He scanned down her body. No blood. "Did you break anything?"

Ilaria panted. "No, I don't think so." She tried to sit up and look around. "Did we get him?"

He huffed a laugh and pulled her to standing. "Yes, we did." He turned to the backseat of the car and peered in at Vincent. "Get out."

Both the guard and Vincent slowly climbed out of the car.

"On your knees."

They obeyed. Elowine secured their wrists and ankles with zip ties.

Soren spoke into his ear piece. "Lyle, is the front secure?"

"Affirmative."

"Finn, is the interior secure?"

"Affirmative. All employees are weapons free and contained in the loading area. We also found the girls."

"Okay. Boss is coming in."

Ilaria gasped under her breath. "Galen's alive?" she whispered to Soren. "Thank God. Vincent told me he was dead, and I was devastated."

He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "He's still alive. And right outside."

Soren called Galen to give him the green light. Throughout all this, Soren's gaze bore a hole into the back of Vincent's head. As they waited for Galen to arrive, Soren moved to stand in front of Vincent.

The older man stared up defiantly at Soren. Soren couldn't muster any sympathy for him, but neither did he feel anger. He had been feeling a combination of anger and fear, or alternating between the two, for months now, and he was just tired. Tired of the havoc that one man who had a twisted sense of justice created for everyone he cared about. Weary of being weighed down by constant negative emotions.

And in Vincent's eyes, he sensed the same tiredness. The same weariness. For Vincent had been living with anger, fear, and the need for vengeance ever since his family was killed. And in that realization, Soren was able to feel a tiny bit of compassion for the man. He could understand what it felt like to be so consumed by a belief so strong that it took over his whole life, such that nothing else mattered, not even his own happiness.

The black SUV carrying Galen drove up. He got out of the car and walked slowly toward Vincent. Rowan and Elowine still had their rifles pointed at Vincent and the guard. Soren put a hand on Galen's arm to keep him from getting too close, but Galen patted his hand and walked closer anyway.

Vincent's chin pointed up the instant Galen got out of the car, but as Galen walked closer, he couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.

Galen also looked tired as he studied Vincent for several long moments.

Vincent finally broke the silence. "Well, just kill me then and get it over with," he spat.

"Tell me why," Galen said quietly. "I want to hear it from you."

Anger lit Vincent's eyes all over again. Here was his chance, a final chance, to confront the man who was the source of all of his anguish.

"My family was killed by your family," Vincent hissed. "Due to their carelessness. Negligence. And instead of making an example of them, you let the authorities give them no more than a strike on the hand. Were they even sorry? Were you ? Those boys didn't even apologize to me. Neither did you. Whatever happened was nothing more than a nuisance. A community service inconvenience, and then all was forgotten. Everyone moved on, living their lives, chasing after their dreams. Everyone except me ." Tears were streaming down his face.

Behind him, he heard a sniffle. He turned to look at Ilaria, whose face was also wet with tears.

Galen took in a deep inhale. "Vincent, I'm an old man, and as much as I wish I can say I've learned every lesson I could ever learn, it appears that there is still more to learn. While I don't think I should have given those boys harsher punishment, I do wish I had them apologize to you in person. I wish I had spoken to you myself. Whatever reasons I told myself at the time why I shouldn't contact you—that you were grieving, that Stefano had already talked to you—were just rationalizations to avoid confronting you."

His voice caught. "And for what it's worth, I really was truly sorry about your family, and so were the boys. I still am sorry. And I regret that you've been suffering for so many years, and that I let it get this far."

Vincent watched Galen as he spoke, the anger slowly fading from his face. He nodded. He seemed at peace, resigned to his fate. "Is Ilaria here?"

Ilaria stepped forward and wiped her face.

"Take care of the family," Vincent said softly. "I know you'll do just fine. Your father would be proud of you."

Ilaria let out a soft sob. Soren pulled her into his chest.

Vincent looked back up at Galen. "If you are truly sorry, will you do me one last favor?"

Galen watched him, seeming to know what the other man would say.

"Put me out of my misery."

Galen dipped his chin in agreement. He pulled out his gun and cocked it. He looked at Ilaria, who nodded.

Vincent closed his eyes.

Galen pointed the gun at Vincent and pulled the trigger.