The Operator
Page 28
The jet was jostling in the unsettled air to make Allen grip his armrest. “Now?” he blurted, suddenly pale. “I thought we weren’t going to be on-site until two in the morning.”
“In and out.” Harmony checked her hopper before sliding the weapon away. “Bill changed his plans. We adapted. The locals won’t even know we were ever there.”
This was getting better and better. Peri eyed Allen for his opinion, but he was too preoccupied by the jostling. “Why did Bill change his plans?” she asked, and when Harmony shrugged, Peri’s unease strengthened. “We need to take a step back and find out.”
“There’s neither the need nor the time.” It was quick, and Harmony looked ticked. “We go now. I’m sorry we can’t check in and get a nice meal and a swim first.”
Peri’s lips parted. “Meal and a swim?”
Harmony eyed her past Allen clenching the armrests. “You want to stay in the jet?”
“You want to get shot?” Peri snapped.
“One more word and you don’t leave the airfield,” Harmony said, interrupting her.
“This is a mistake.” Peri pushed back into the seat as the jet kissed the tarmac and Allen sighed in relief. If Michael’s jealousy didn’t kill her, then Harmony’s pride would. And needing to draft to come back from that would really piss her off.
CHAPTER
NINE
“How many people are out here?” Peri slung her dart rifle, cold fingers brushing her Glock to reassure herself she had it. January in St. Louis wasn’t warm. At night in an open field dotted with industrial buildings, it was positively frigid. Her frown deepened at the government van parked in the shadows behind the warehouselike building. It was disguised as a local furniture mover, the panels caked with too much dirt to not be suspect. Should have used salt and grime, not mud. “Eight.” Kevlar vest showing, Harmony handed her a radio and earpiece. She was little more than a voice in the freezing blackness. “We’re on channel B.”
“Eight?” The cold from the cinder-block wall Peri was pressed against was seeping into her. “Why are eight people out here?”
“Because that’s my team.” A glow blossomed as Harmony fiddled with her phone, clearly the medium the radios were working through. Shadow heavy on her face, Harmony glanced at the radio still in Peri’s hand. “You know how the radio works, right?”
“I know how a radio works.” Peeved, Peri dropped the wireless receiver in a pocket and fitted the earpiece. Satisfied, Harmony closed out the app, and her phone and her face went dark.
It was nearing midnight, the night cloudless and gripped with a cold too bitter for snow. Traffic had slowed on the adjacent expressway. And whereas Peri would usually say midnight was too early for a B and E, the place was deserted, nothing but open flat land spotted with light manufacturing and service roads rimed with salt reflecting back the moonlight.
Peri eyed Harmony’s Kevlar vest, wishing now she’d taken one if for nothing more than another layer. Allen looked warm enough in his. “Do you seriously expect you can have eight agents out here and not alert Michael to your presence?” she grumbled as she blew on her fingers, and Harmony’s posture stiffened. “You don’t think Bill has the guard on his payroll? That your men have been spotted and word sent back? Good Lord, you don’t leave a multibillion-dollar piece of equipment in a manufacturing facility with a three-hour security window. This is a setup. They know we’re here. They moved the timetable up to put us off balance.”
“Thank you, Agent Reed,” Harmony said, then louder to the agents already on-site, “Can we get inside, maybe?” and one jogged away.
“Agent Reed” echoed in her ear, and Peri started. “This is Steiner. I’ll be monitoring the airwaves during this task. I trust you can keep the chatter to a minimum. I remind you that this is Agent Beam’s task. Understood?”
Peri took the piece out of her ear and dropped it into her pocket. “I’m not questioning your methods,” she said. “But thinking that Michael doesn’t know you’re on-site is ridiculous.”
“I expect that he does,” the woman said as she touched her earpiece. “Try to not let him kill you.” She thumbed a button on her radio. “Viper moving in.”
“Viper?” Peri muttered disparagingly. “I’ve never needed a code name.”
Allen’s slim hand landed warm and heavy on her shoulder. Leaning close, he pushed her to the fire door now propped open by an agent. “You’ve never worked with more than one other person before,” he said, looking eager behind his thick glasses and faint stubble.
This was not how she did things, but she followed Harmony into the hangarlike building, appreciating the warmth. She couldn’t help but feel as if she were shooting a lion who’d been tied down the evening before, all the while the lioness circling behind her.
Peri halted at the outskirts of the small group, hands in her armpits to warm her fingers as she scanned the heavy machines in rows and the cranes silent above them. A squatty mushroom-shaped container the size of a bus sat under a spotlight, and she figured it was the carbon condenser. There were too many people here. She liked her tasks simple. Fewer moving parts meant the less that could break.
“Allen?” she whispered, and he sidled up to her, squinting in the dim light.
“Just go with it. You might like this new army.”
Doubt it. Not happy, she pulled him aside as Harmony stood with another agent and looked over the latest info on their tablets. “Michael is sitting somewhere, laughing at us.”
“You want to ditch the posse and find him?” Allen asked, and she nodded, eyes flicking to Harmony. The woman would be pissed, but they were underestimating Michael. Badly. They were treating him as if he played by rules, and it was going to get them killed.
Peri straightened when Harmony came up to them, eyes bright. “Offices are through the double doors at the far side. Heat map indicates that’s where he’s at. Let’s go.” Peri didn’t move, and Harmony jerked to a stop after two steps. “You want to show me how good you are?”
Allen jiggled her elbow to say something, and Peri took a breath, biting back her first sarcastic response. Then she turned and walked away.
“In and out.” Harmony checked her hopper before sliding the weapon away. “Bill changed his plans. We adapted. The locals won’t even know we were ever there.”
This was getting better and better. Peri eyed Allen for his opinion, but he was too preoccupied by the jostling. “Why did Bill change his plans?” she asked, and when Harmony shrugged, Peri’s unease strengthened. “We need to take a step back and find out.”
“There’s neither the need nor the time.” It was quick, and Harmony looked ticked. “We go now. I’m sorry we can’t check in and get a nice meal and a swim first.”
Peri’s lips parted. “Meal and a swim?”
Harmony eyed her past Allen clenching the armrests. “You want to stay in the jet?”
“You want to get shot?” Peri snapped.
“One more word and you don’t leave the airfield,” Harmony said, interrupting her.
“This is a mistake.” Peri pushed back into the seat as the jet kissed the tarmac and Allen sighed in relief. If Michael’s jealousy didn’t kill her, then Harmony’s pride would. And needing to draft to come back from that would really piss her off.
CHAPTER
NINE
“How many people are out here?” Peri slung her dart rifle, cold fingers brushing her Glock to reassure herself she had it. January in St. Louis wasn’t warm. At night in an open field dotted with industrial buildings, it was positively frigid. Her frown deepened at the government van parked in the shadows behind the warehouselike building. It was disguised as a local furniture mover, the panels caked with too much dirt to not be suspect. Should have used salt and grime, not mud. “Eight.” Kevlar vest showing, Harmony handed her a radio and earpiece. She was little more than a voice in the freezing blackness. “We’re on channel B.”
“Eight?” The cold from the cinder-block wall Peri was pressed against was seeping into her. “Why are eight people out here?”
“Because that’s my team.” A glow blossomed as Harmony fiddled with her phone, clearly the medium the radios were working through. Shadow heavy on her face, Harmony glanced at the radio still in Peri’s hand. “You know how the radio works, right?”
“I know how a radio works.” Peeved, Peri dropped the wireless receiver in a pocket and fitted the earpiece. Satisfied, Harmony closed out the app, and her phone and her face went dark.
It was nearing midnight, the night cloudless and gripped with a cold too bitter for snow. Traffic had slowed on the adjacent expressway. And whereas Peri would usually say midnight was too early for a B and E, the place was deserted, nothing but open flat land spotted with light manufacturing and service roads rimed with salt reflecting back the moonlight.
Peri eyed Harmony’s Kevlar vest, wishing now she’d taken one if for nothing more than another layer. Allen looked warm enough in his. “Do you seriously expect you can have eight agents out here and not alert Michael to your presence?” she grumbled as she blew on her fingers, and Harmony’s posture stiffened. “You don’t think Bill has the guard on his payroll? That your men have been spotted and word sent back? Good Lord, you don’t leave a multibillion-dollar piece of equipment in a manufacturing facility with a three-hour security window. This is a setup. They know we’re here. They moved the timetable up to put us off balance.”
“Thank you, Agent Reed,” Harmony said, then louder to the agents already on-site, “Can we get inside, maybe?” and one jogged away.
“Agent Reed” echoed in her ear, and Peri started. “This is Steiner. I’ll be monitoring the airwaves during this task. I trust you can keep the chatter to a minimum. I remind you that this is Agent Beam’s task. Understood?”
Peri took the piece out of her ear and dropped it into her pocket. “I’m not questioning your methods,” she said. “But thinking that Michael doesn’t know you’re on-site is ridiculous.”
“I expect that he does,” the woman said as she touched her earpiece. “Try to not let him kill you.” She thumbed a button on her radio. “Viper moving in.”
“Viper?” Peri muttered disparagingly. “I’ve never needed a code name.”
Allen’s slim hand landed warm and heavy on her shoulder. Leaning close, he pushed her to the fire door now propped open by an agent. “You’ve never worked with more than one other person before,” he said, looking eager behind his thick glasses and faint stubble.
This was not how she did things, but she followed Harmony into the hangarlike building, appreciating the warmth. She couldn’t help but feel as if she were shooting a lion who’d been tied down the evening before, all the while the lioness circling behind her.
Peri halted at the outskirts of the small group, hands in her armpits to warm her fingers as she scanned the heavy machines in rows and the cranes silent above them. A squatty mushroom-shaped container the size of a bus sat under a spotlight, and she figured it was the carbon condenser. There were too many people here. She liked her tasks simple. Fewer moving parts meant the less that could break.
“Allen?” she whispered, and he sidled up to her, squinting in the dim light.
“Just go with it. You might like this new army.”
Doubt it. Not happy, she pulled him aside as Harmony stood with another agent and looked over the latest info on their tablets. “Michael is sitting somewhere, laughing at us.”
“You want to ditch the posse and find him?” Allen asked, and she nodded, eyes flicking to Harmony. The woman would be pissed, but they were underestimating Michael. Badly. They were treating him as if he played by rules, and it was going to get them killed.
Peri straightened when Harmony came up to them, eyes bright. “Offices are through the double doors at the far side. Heat map indicates that’s where he’s at. Let’s go.” Peri didn’t move, and Harmony jerked to a stop after two steps. “You want to show me how good you are?”
Allen jiggled her elbow to say something, and Peri took a breath, biting back her first sarcastic response. Then she turned and walked away.
