In Between Dreams (28 page)

“Hui said when Bai’s men come, all the guards will move to the front, believing they are getting hit by a rival gang,” Bailey explained. “They have a system in place to protect themselves from intruding Triads. Once this gets put in place, both Daniel and Mei should be left relatively unguarded. Prisoners are the last priority in a raid. Not to mention, most of the guards will be out doing their business. The 14K does most of their business at night, so they leave a lot of holes at their hideout between the hours of midnight and four in the morning.”

“So,” Halene started, “once Katherine gets back to the car, we’ll radio for you two to drop into the basement. You’ll split up, Sam will go to Mei, Bailey to Daniel. Right?”

“Right,” Sam said, and paused, looking at Bailey. He didn’t like that Bailey was going in at all, let alone going to Daniel. He pushed his emotions back as much as he could. Sam handed Halene the keys to the getaway car that Bai provided. “Please tell me you have your learner’s permit.”

Halene lit up. “Yes I do,” she said with a proud grin.

“You need to keep the car running,” Sam reminded her. “I’ll do the driving.”

“Why are you driving? I’m an excellent driver,” Katherine pointed out. “I’ll drive. I’ll be to the car before you.”

“Fine,” Sam said, his tone was icy. “Katherine is the getaway.”

Halene put her hands on her hips in frustration and looked in between Sam and Katherine. “Thanks for nothing,” she groaned under her breath.

“Keep your radios off in the building,” Halene said seriously. “You need to be quiet.”

“We have earbuds for our radios,” Bailey told her. “I think we’ve got this.”

The group got ready. Sam and Bailey changed into black clothing Bai provided for them. Bailey slipped on a form-fitting long-sleeve T-shirt and tight spandex pants. Sam wore dark jeans and a black thermal. He pulled on a black beanie over his blond hair, tucking all of his hair under the cap.

Katherine unbuttoned a few buttons on her revealing shirt. She poured a stiff drink on her jeans and winced at the wetness. She took a couple sips to make sure the men could smell the alcohol on her.

Halene checked all the radios, making sure they were all on the correct station. She connected the earpieces for Bailey and Sam’s radios and set out all of the weapons. Two Tasers, one for Sam, one for Bailey. A bottle of mace for Katherine. A small knife for Halene to keep in the car, as well a first-aid kit in case anyone was injured.

Half an hour later, everyone moved into position; Sam performed a radio check with all to make sure they were on the right channels and ready to go.

Sam took Halene to the car and got it running. Upon returning to the apartment, he saw Bailey chewing on her lip, leaning against the door frame.

Sam looked at the watch on his wrist. “All right, are you ready?”

“All set,” she whispered through her nervousness. He reached out and grabbed her hand. They descended the stairs quietly. They had been over it so many times; they knew what needed to be done. When they got to the first floor, Sam let go of Bailey’s hand and looked through the window that was next door. She missed the contact immediately. Feeling his hand in hers comforted her. And during this part of the mission, she definitely needed the comfort. He looked both ways. The hallway appeared to be clear. He waved for Bailey to follow him. He opened the door, listening to it groan lightly. He slipped through the opening and Bailey followed him.

They walked down the hallway, making as little noise as possible. They followed the hallway around the corner. Sam had forgotten to
peek around the corner before turning. He found himself face-to-face with a 14K member. The man was chubby, wearing a grungy, old T-shirt and baggy black jeans, and he smelled of smoke. The fear rose in Sam’s stomach. He reached for his Taser.

The man, his eyes glaring at Sam, pulled his gun effortlessly out of his pocket. Sam backed away from the man. He couldn’t think where he had put his weapon, and he knew Bailey would turn the corner any minute.

Then the man dropped. Sam’s jaw dropped as he looked at the pile of man at his feet. He looked at what had caused the man to drop.

Hui was standing behind where the man had stood his arms shaking in anger. He put his index finger to his lips. Sam hadn’t even had time to react. Bailey turned the corner and jumped at the sight of the man on the floor.

Her eyes met Hui’s in a panicked state. Hui motioned to the body in frustration. Sam wasn’t sure if Hui was mad at Sam for not being more careful or mad that the man had almost gotten to them. Either way, Sam was grateful that Hui was there.

“Thank you,” Sam whispered.

“Shh,” Hui uttered, and waved for Sam and Bailey to follow him. He headed in front of the two, checking around every corner to make sure no guards were making rounds. When they got to the door, Hui opened the door for them.

Bailey felt both anxious to get to Daniel and nervous that she wouldn’t be able to make it. She wanted to make sure he was safe, and felt in her heart that he was still okay. Sam on the other hand was worried about Bailey. He feared for Mei, of course, but he didn’t want to put Bailey in danger. But he knew he couldn’t stop her. This was their mission, and her determination, though it was something he admired, was also a force to be reckoned with. He couldn’t talk her out of it.

Sam and Bailey walked in quickly and Hui followed them in. He grabbed a towel from the ground of the small closet and put it over the vent they would soon be entering.

He spoke in rapid mandarin to Sam. “He says this is as far as he can take us,” Sam said to Bailey, gratitude filling his voice.

“Thank you,” Bailey said softly.

“Take care each other,” Hui said. He opened the door. As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone. Their humble savior.

“We’re in position,” Sam spoke into his radio.

“Copy,” Halene replied.

Bailey stood face-to-face with Sam in the small janitors’ closet, both listening intently to their headpieces.

A static noise filled their ears. “I’m going in. I’m going to turn this off,” Katherine said.

“Copy,” Halene whispered back. “Bailey, come in.”

“Go for Bailey,” Bailey murmured into the radio.

“Katherine’s on the phone with me, and I’m hearing the whole thing. Want me to turn it on speaker for you?” Halene asked. Bailey looked at Sam.

“No,” Sam spoke quickly into his radio, answering for Bailey. “Don’t block the line. Just give us updates.”

“Copy.”

Bailey and Sam waited for another couple moments. “She’s in,” Halene said quickly.

A man’s voice came over the radio speaking rapid Mandarin. Sam spoke back quickly. “He said they are two minutes away.”

Bailey’s heart was pounding. She looked at Sam, and he put his hand under her hair on her neck to feel her pulse. “Relax, Bailey. We’re going to make it through this.”

She looked down and grabbed his hand and moved it to her chest above her heart. “I think it’s beating faster than it was during my panic attack,” Bailey murmured. She took a deep breath to lower her anxiety.
Hold the line
, she thought.

“Doubtful,” Sam said. They continued to listen to their radios, but Sam’s hand lingered over her heartbeat. She leaned into him, pressing herself closer to him. Wanting to be comforted by him but not knowing why. Bailey’s stomach was in knots, her face tense from the nervousness she felt.

More words came from Sam’s radio, leading him to break the contact. He answered back quickly in Mandarin. He looked at Bailey. “They’re going in.”

“All of them?” Bailey asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Yin is going down today, Bailey. I promise you that,” Sam said. His anger of the situation turned to the need for revenge. Bailey couldn’t disagree that it felt good to know Yin was on the verge of being a fallen Vanguard, but there was so much more on her mind. Like Sam being real, like Daniel being in danger. Like being on the cusp of a very intense mission.

“Katherine executed it perfectly,” Halene chirped. “She’s on her way out.”

Katherine came on the monitor a moment later, her voice low and serious. “There’re about fifteen men standing outside.”

More words came from Sam’s monitor. Bailey watched his expression which was tense and leery. “Only five of the 14K men have came out,” Sam said apprehensively.

“That’s not right.” Bailey began to panic.

Sam continued to listen. His mouth dropped. “Bai’s going to show his face along with ten more men.”

It was all so shocking to her. Bai and Yin’s fighting was coming to a head because of Mei. Because of them. The minutes felt like hours while they waited until it was time for them to make their next move.

Sam looked at her after hearing another command come from his radio. “We’re going in, B.”

Bailey swallowed and echoed the same sentiment into her radio. She heard a quick “good luck.” Sam mumbled a couple more words into his and clasped it to his belt.

“I’ll see you soon,” Sam promised. His eyes fell on hers. The gaze was intense, filled with nerves, fear, terror, and something else. Something that felt so thick in the air of that tiny room she could hardly breathe. She was nervous for so many reasons, but a huge reason was the fear of losing Sam. It felt like she had just found him, she wasn’t ready to lose him. The something else was love.

Sam put his hand on her neck, pulled her in for a quick kiss. “We’re going to make it out, Bailey,” he whispered against her lips, and she wiped tears and softly agreed.

“I know,” she whispered.

He broke their connection and took the towel off the vent. He pulled the door off as quietly as he could and got on his knees. Bailey waited for him to look back at her, but he didn’t. He kept going. She knew, partially, that if he looked back again he wouldn’t have left that room. And that wasn’t an option. He needed to get to Mei. She needed to get to Daniel.

Bailey took a deep breath and closed her eyes and counted to 100 like they had discussed.

1…2…3…

twenty.

9
9…100
.

Bailey took a deep breath and started her low crawl down the passage. The exhaust fan blared inside the vent. During the planning phase, Sam, Bailey, and Hui had hoped the fan would prevent the guards from hearing their approach. The decaying smell of smoke and unseen dead vermin in the exhaust vent was palpable. At Hui’s recommendation, Bailey and Sam had put some mentholated cream under their noses to dull the smell and wore tight leather gloves to prevent cutting their hands on the rusty metal. Unlike vents in the United States, it was constructed with tin and iron brackets. Bailey was careful not to put her full weigh on the panels. She balanced herself on the brackets which seemed sturdy. Each creak in the vent seemed amplified. It was about twenty steps until she got to the opening, using the optic scope she got from Hui, Bailey looked through the vent to assess the situation. The dark hallway looked empty.

Bailey attempted to gingerly pull off the vent. As she expected, the vent was screwed to a bracket. Taking out a screwdriver from her small pack she had on her waist belt, Bailey broke the rusty screws easily. When they snapped, the breaking click sounded like a thunder. She made a face, and her breathing hitched in fear. She held the grate in place, checking the hallway one more time with the scope.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped down, landing on her hands and feet. She stood up slowly and wiped her gloved hands on her pants.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a retractable metal pointer. She pulled some double-sided tape out of her bag and attached it to the end of the pointer. Bailey used the tape and pointer to push the grate back into place.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her Taser, holding it low against her thigh. As she went to turn around, she felt hands on her shoulders. She turned quickly and brought her Taser up and pointing to at her assailant. A short and stocky man with a handgun glared at her, he cocked the gun as Bailey fired her Taser. She pressed the button, and a white string came out of the device and attached onto the man’s skin. He screamed from the pain and yelled words in Mandarin. He fell to the ground and dropped his gun.

She didn’t know exactly what to do, but she knew she needed him to be quiet. She grabbed his discarded gun near her feet. Grabbing the barrel of the weapon, she struck the guard over the head. The screaming instantly stopped. She heard muffled voices coming toward her down the hall.

She pulled at her stun gun, but it was stuck inside the man’s skin. Bailey left the Taser on the floor next to the body, putting the revolver in the waistband of her pants. She ran on her toes toward the room she believed Daniel would be inside. Bailey looked at the hallway, noting all nooks along the way that they might use as a hiding place.

She found a door that led to a closet. She opened it, tiptoed in, and shut the door quietly.

The room was small and pitch-black. She grabbed at her bag for her penlight and turned it on.

The room lit up suddenly, she looked and saw it was Sam.
“Sam,”
she said loudly. He put his hand over her mouth.

“Turn out that light,” Sam said in a scolded whisper.

Bailey clicked the light off, and there was only darkness. All she could hear was Sam’s breathing and her own heartbeat. All she could feel was his body next to hers and his hand over her mouth.

Their bodies conformed together, breathing in unison. She felt his chest heave in and out. She was happy to see him, but her nerves shot through her body. She was ready to get to Daniel.

“I’m going to remove my hand. Don’t make a sound,” Sam quietly instructed.

He released her and moved past her toward the door. She knew he was probably listening for any movement.

After five minutes, Sam flicked his penlight on and whispered so lightly Bailey had to read his lips. “They’re that way.” He pointed the way Bailey was going to go. “I’m going to get Mei, and then we’ll come back for you.”

“No,” Bailey said stubbornly. “We’re doing this now.”

“Bailey,” Sam scolded. He breathed out in frustration. She was so stubborn. He had so much worry and fear for her. But there was one very large difference between him and Daniel. Daniel didn’t take into consideration her feelings, her needs, her wants. Sam certainly did. He knew she was too persistent, that no amount of arguing would change her mind. And unlike Daniel, Sam would not force her into doing things his way. He thought for a moment about arguing with her. But knew it would be of no use.