Kill Shot (28 page)

“That sounds ostentatious enough for me,”
Gabe said. “What about Sloane’s staff?”

“I’m getting there. Geez. A little praise
every now and then wouldn’t kill you.”

“Ethan,” Gabe growled.

“Yeah, yeah. Screen two.” He flicked his
fingers across the keyboard again and a picture of a man in formal
attire came on the screen.

“This is Nigel Peters,” Ethan said. “His
background includes the Royal Air Force as well as extensive
training in London’s premier school for butlers. He’s an expert
marksman, and the Royal Family used him for his bodyguard and
butler skills for several years before Sloane lured him away.
Peters landed in Morocco ten days ago, according to his passport.
Several of Sloane’s household staff followed Peters.”

“The auction begins in three days’ time,”
Gabe said, pacing back and forth in front of the wall screens, his
mind racing with possibilities. “How long did it take Sloane to die
after his initial collapse on stage?”

He heard Ethan tapping and turned to face
him. Ethan chewed at his lip and pushed his glasses repeatedly up
his nose as he searched for the answer. “It looks like it took a
little over forty-seven minutes from start to finish.”

“We need to find out who Kimball would use
for his demonstration,” Gabe said. “It’ll need to be someone of
importance, or it won’t have meaning.”

“It’ll be one of his guests,” Grace said.
“Kimball will want to let them know that he has power. He’s not
auctioning off one weapon. He’s auctioning off a formula that can
be recreated at any time as long as they have the proper
components. He’ll make sure everyone at that meeting knows he will
have the ability to control their actions and their own use of the
weapon. He’s just put himself in the position of being the world’s
number one enemy.”

“Okay, so you have to assume that none of
the guests will arrive more than twenty-four hours before the
auction,” Jack said. “They’re not a trustworthy group of people,
and they’ll want to arrive in time to see the weapon work, and then
they’ll all plan to leave immediately following. It’s how auctions
like this normally go.”

“All the guests will have to arrive by
ferry,” Ethan said. “Remember the house is surrounded by
water.”

“Over the open water is the perfect place to
release the formula into the air. They’ll all be on deck, and
Kimball’s done business with all of them before, so he’s had plenty
of opportunity to get DNA samples. Hell, he probably has a whole
arsenal of DNA samples.”

Gabe thought of the painting and the bag
he’d handed off to Kimball and knew without a doubt that Kimball
had his own DNA. Grace’s, too.

“We can’t fail,” Gabe said. “We can’t let
the weapon go live, even if the target is a terrorist. We still
don’t know enough about The Passover Project to be sure it won’t
have residual effects on others in the area. Our mission is to stop
the launch and take out Kimball before the formula changes
hands.”

“So Kimball isn’t to be spared?” Grace
asked.

“We take him out. And we take out Kimball’s
scientist. He’ll have him close by. All traces of the Passover
Project must be destroyed. Logan will help us with that.”

Gabe recognized the look on Grace’s face. It
was the look she got when she’d run every possible scenario in her
head and come up with the best solution. He knew what she was going
to say before she opened her mouth because it was exactly the
conclusion he’d come to.

“How big is the island, Ethan?” she
asked.

“A little over two miles in all directions,”
he answered.

“I can take the long shot and get Kimball.
Whoever launches the weapon will have to be taken out up close and
personal to make sure The Passover Project is properly neutralized.
But Kimball is too dangerous to engage with one-on-one. I can take
him out.”

Silence filled the room, and Gabe stood
ready to interfere if things got out of hand. He still had the
safety of the mission to consider first and foremost, but he also
had Grace to consider. He’d asked her to join the team because she
was the best at what she did, even though Ethan and Logan had never
seen her skill. He was more than prepared to remind them.

“I disagree,” Jack said.

Gabe tightened his fists at his sides out of
pure reflex but decided to let his friend have his say before he
beat him to a pulp.

“I think Kimball will expect you to be
there,” Jack continued. “He’ll know what your strengths are.
There’s no way he’s going to make himself an easy target for you.
He’ll have someone like Peters launch the aerosol, but he’ll stay
indoors and force us to come to him if we want him. You can be
cleanup if we run into trouble.”

Gabe relaxed completely and nodded in
agreement at the logic behind Jack’s argument. A position like that
would take the pressure off Grace in case she worried about having
another breakdown, but being given a job had also saved her pride.
Jack was probably the most insightful of all of them when it came
to other people’s feelings, and he was grateful to him for
recognizing that Grace needed to be a part of the team right
now.

“Do you have an aerial shot of the island?”
Logan asked.

“Hang on a sec,” Ethan said. “Screen
three.”

“He’s got a helipad and the ferry,” Logan
said. “I can make sure there’s not a way for him to get off the
island.”

“And I suppose I’m going to be stuck here
with my thumb up my ass,” Ethan said sourly. “I never get to have
any of the fun.”

“You’re coming with us,” Gabe said. “You’ll
run security from the boat.”

“What boat?” Ethan asked.

“I hope you don’t get seasick, kid. We’re
sure as hell not making our entrance on a luxury cruiser.”

Tangier, Morocco

Three days later…

It was well before dawn when they arrived
just outside of Kimball’s island villa, and Grace could feel the
anticipation in the atmosphere—from the whole team. This was their
last chance to get Kimball. Failure wasn’t an option.

The only way they could gain access to the
island was by water, and they’d taken a Zodiac that was as black as
night into the choppy waters. It was designed for easy travel—an
inflatable craft that held six comfortably but also had the
advantage of having a motor so they could move quickly if needed.
It was a little cramped with Ethan’s computers and the diving gear,
not to mention the cache of weapons Gabe had put in the specially
built compartment at the bottom of the craft.

A storm had passed through only hours
before, and it looked as if another could hit at any time. Not even
a sliver of moon could be seen in the cloudy sky, and the waves
rolled beneath them, rocking the boat up and down and side to side.
Even as she had the thought, fat raindrops slapped against her
wetsuit and seemed to bounce off the waves.

Grace wasn’t sure if Ethan was going to make
it after all. He was so pale she could see his reflection and the
whites of his eyes in the dark, and he was holding on to the side
of the Zodiac with a death grip as his backside bounced in
uncoordinated rhythms against the seat.

“The GPS shows we have about fifty meters
until we reach the perimeter of Kimball’s security,” Jack said.
“The Zodiac will have to stay there, and we’ll need to swim
ashore.”

Gabe steered the boat so it was hidden
behind a large outcropping of rocks—so no one would be able to see
Ethan once the sun came up—and he turned off the motor. The rocks
would also act as an anchor since the rough water was likely to
make Ethan drift out further to sea if he wasn’t tied down.

Ethan fumbled with his laptops and satellite
imaging, finally getting everything in place. The computers were
all protected from the water by the special casing Ethan had built
around them. The computer screens were all set to night vision so
they didn’t give off any light, and they could only be seen with
night-vision goggles.

“Equipment check, Dragon,” Gabe said through
his com link.

Ethan took a big gulp of air and looked like
he was about to start gagging, but he held it together and croaked
out, “All satellites are up and running. Heat sensors are a go.
There are a good twenty people on the island, assuming that’s only
Kimball’s staff and security team. I’ve got his electronic security
system online. He’s got radar that reaches out to just on the other
side of this rock. Jesus, I’m going to be sick.”

“Aim for the side,” Gabe and Jack both
called out, each of them completely comfortable on the rough
water.

Grace handed Ethan a bottle of water to
rinse out his mouth and put it in the elastic pocket by his side,
figuring he’d probably need it again soon.

“I’m good.” Ethan panted as if he’d just
swam the distance from shore. “I’m all right. Let’s do a com
check.”

“Renegade.”

“Grim Reaper.”

“Ghost.”

“Kill Shot.”

Ethan gave the thumbs up, and Grace pulled
the hood of her wetsuit over her braided hair. She tested her
rebreather—a device that would let them all swim to the island
without bubbles giving away their location—and she gave Gabe the
thumbs up that her equipment was in good shape.

“The storm’s going to help us out some,”
Ethan said just as a slash of lightning seemed to spear up out of
the water only a few feet away. The smell of ozone permeated the
air and clung to the skin like residue. “It’ll give me the chance
to knock out different sectors of the security system so you guys
can get to your designated hot spots. The weather is supposed to
stay like this through tomorrow.”

Grace took out her rebreather so she could
speak. “Do you think the rain will interfere with the launch of the
weapon?”

“No, but it might narrow the range some,”
Gabe answered. “If it’s still raining when Kimball’s guests take
the ferry, then they’ll all stay under the enclosed area. Look for
them to launch the aerosol as they transfer from the ferry to the
island just to be on the safe side.”

Grace made sure the waterproof case holding
her rifle was locked tight, and she slung it across her body so her
hands would be free. One by one, they rolled out of the Zodiac and
into the churning water, and once they were a good distance below
the surface, Ethan check the com links once more so they could hear
his instructions. He was going to be their eyes for the next little
while.

They all gave Ethan the all clear signal and
then waited for his signal to let them know the outer security was
down.

“You’ve got five minutes to make it to the
next checkpoint,” he said. “On my mark.”

Grace swam between Gabe and Jack because the
power of their strokes allowed her to swim in their current and
keep the same pace. They stayed beneath the surface once they
reached the sandy slope that led out of the water.

“Hold tight for two minutes,” Ethan said.
“I’m turning off sector two on the other side of the island just to
confuse things a bit.”

Grace adjusted her position carefully, using
all her strength to keep near the shore. The waves were stronger
here and wanted nothing more than to fling her out to sea.

“Okay, sector two is back up, and you now
have guards patrolling in some kind of vehicle. They’ve also turned
the spotlights on and are circling the island. You’ll have about
thirty seconds where the outer perimeter and the sector you’re
about to step into will both be off.”

Grace waited for Ethan’s signal, her thigh
muscles burning with the effort it took to stay close to Gabe. As
soon as Ethan gave the go ahead, Gabe grabbed her arm and pulled
her with him to shore. There wasn’t time to catch her breath or
rest her shaking limbs. They kicked off their flippers—exposing the
neoprene shoes that fit their feet like gloves—and they all ran to
safety before the spotlights could circle back around.

The rain came down in sheets, and Grace
ignored the cold drops as they snaked beneath the neck of her
wetsuit. They dove behind a small inlet of rocks and waited for the
spotlights to move on before gathering all of the rebreathers and
fins and shoving them into the empty bag Jack carried on his back.
They’d leave the bag hidden behind the rocks.

Grace flexed her fingers and rolled her
ankles so her joints wouldn’t become stiff with the cold, and she
sat with her back to the rocks to conserve her strength. Coming in
and going out would be the most strenuous parts of the mission.

“The guards have gone back inside the
security tower on the south side,” Ethan said through the com link.
They’re tired of driving around in the rain, and I’ve made the
whole system go batshit, so they think it’s an electrical
malfunction.”

“Good work,” Gabe said.

Gabe’s eyes were cold and shuttered, and the
look of his face would have been terrifying to a normal person. She
knew what it felt like to have your humanity slide away as the
machine programmed to do this kind of work took over. She’d felt it
before they’d left the safety of the Zodiac.

“Grim Reaper, you’re up,” Ethan said. “I’m
sending the path you need to take to your GPS. It’s a convoluted
route that will mix up the sectors that get shut down, but the
guards won’t be paying any attention.”

Logan adjusted the bag of explosives he
carried with him and said, “On your count, Dragon.”

Logan took off at a run, disappearing
quickly in the rain and darkness.

“Grim Reaper has made target,” Ethan said
after a few minutes had passed. “Renegade is up. Sending your
coordinates now. Kimball’s scientist is staying in the pool house.
You’ll take him out first and then follow the second set of
coordinates up to the main house.”

Jack looked at the GPS in his hand. “On your
count.”