Mercenary Trust (12 page)

A gallery of photos appeared on screen. Thad sleeping
around, pocketing money… There was even a photo of Thad looking on as his
bodyguards beat up a man. The worst thing to see were the many different videos
of Thad entering and leaving different hotel rooms from security camera footage.

“
The worst thing about this is that a lot of the photos have been
manipulated. The security camera footage lacks time stamps, too. This tells us
that all of this has been tampered with,” Captain Hennessey explained. “Thad is
being framed.
There’s also some evidence of Richard Durr being accessory to the
blackmail and coercion of Thaddeus Langham. That might not be enough for him to
be put under Unit Alpha’s radar, but it’s certainly enough to scare him
straight if we manage to accomplish your mission.”

“
I’m sensing there’s more to this story than what you’ve just told me,”
Nick said.

The captain nodded.

“
There is. Some of the threats Tobias made against Thaddeus were … let’s
just say for a lack of better word, not something a father should be making
towards their child. Revelations about his infidelity, even casual death
threats to the people around Thaddeus’s person, but only if he didn’t comply
with his father’s wishe
s
. He framed his own son, and then when he managed to coax Thad into
doing what he wanted, Tobias decided to make him a pawn. He then proceeded to
use his own son as blackmail fodder for quite a lot of businessmen, both male
and female, like some bad game of sexual espionage.”

“
I only thought there was one girl,” Daniel said after a few moments. “I
didn’t think there was a whole bunch of them. And I certainly didn’t think he
was being whored out by his own dad!”

Something about this entire situation felt …
uncomfortable. It was easier to hate on a person when you didn’t know what was
happening behind the scenes. It felt like what he saw and experienced when Thad
was cheating on him was only a partial view of what was behind the curtain, and
now it was blown wide open. Now, he still felt a twitch of sadness at hearing
all of this happen to Thaddeus, but it was different now. Maybe he really
was
healing from all of this?

“
I know it must be jarring news to hear. Unfortunately, this kind of
sociopathic behavior, along with a drive to be successful, can be a deadly and
potent combination in anyone. I’d imagine Tobias might have broken down his
son’s spirit before using him the way that he has,” the captain said, and that
felt a little bit more excessively descriptive than it should have been. It
made Daniel stare at the captain, who slowly placed his tablet back on the
counter and looked back at him calmly.

“
Jarring is definitely putting it mildly,” Daniel said underneath his
breath. “I’m sad that it had to come to this, but a little part of me doesn’t
think things would have ended up any different. Anyway, I think I’m in a better
place now. There’s no use looking back through all that.”

“
Definitely very adult of you,” Captain Hennessey said. “No matter what
kind of personal feelings we may have on the matter, it’s always best to look
forward. That’s why for this part of the mission, Castillo is going to be
extracting both Dr. Savard and Thaddeus Langham from the penthouse of the
Langham and Durr building. He’s the one with the requisite expertise.”

Daniel took a deep breath. This was all happening a
little too fast. Then again, when was he really going to be ready for all of
this?

“
So, Castillo, you’ll be infiltrating the Langham and Durr building
tomorrow at 0100 hours. You’ll be taking Guillory with you into the building as
back-up, moving from the lowest floor to the penthouse. Lockhart will be
providing supportive fire from a nearby building. Frost will be on standby on
evac. Turner will be in charge of communications. I’ll stay with him here to
watch the mission’s progress.”

“
Roger that,” Nick said, nodding. “I’m not sure I should be asking this,
but what happened to our old comms lady? The one we loaned from the CIA?”

“
What will I do?” Daniel asked. “Wouldn’t it be simpler to just have them
be dropped off at the penthouse?”

“
You stay here with us just in case. We don’t particularly know if your
life is still in any immediate danger, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,”
Captain Hennessey replied. “And as for Agent Evergreen, she requested a
transfer.
Also, that would draw too much attention. In fact, the pick-up might get
a lot of attention, too, but we’ve already infiltrated the building by then and
done what we need to at that point.”

“
This all sounds very official, and not at all what I expected,” Daniel
commented as he looked around at the guys sitting by kitchen counters, or on
small couches, all tapping on tablets or typing away on laptops. “Then again, I
don’t really know what to expect. I kind of had this image where you guys were
kind of like a mix of James Bond, the Sons of Anarchy, and like, Jason
Bourne-type things…”

All of the guys turned to look at Daniel and blinked.
He slowly shrank into himself and offered a sheepish grin.

It was the captain who spoke again after a few
moments, shaking his head.

“
We might have a fully functional field team trained in black ops, but we
don’t have many people working behind the scenes. Besides, we only got here a
couple of months ago. No established command center just yet,” Captain
Hennessey explained. “Although to be frank, I don’t even know why we’re explaining
this to you right now, Mr. Walsh. This is a lot more information than you
really needed to know right this very moment. We can always talk later.”

Captain Hennessey offered Daniel a gentle pat on the
shoulder. He had this whole intimidating, authoritative air going for him.
Daniel found it reassuring and unsettling at the same time. Scary though he
was, Daniel at least felt safe staying put.

 
“
Don’t worry,
Captain, I’ll take full responsibility for him,” Nick said. “He’s my
querido
. He should at least know, since
he’s been thrown into all of this unwittingly.”

Nick turned to Daniel, and Daniel looked up at him.
Although he wasn’t exactly sure what that word meant—elementary Spanish was so
long ago, after all, and he was not proud to admit he flunked that class a few
times—he could feel the emotion thrumming just underneath their shared gazes.

Daniel looked away. He was still holding on to Nick’s
hand, but he cleared his throat, feeling some heat brim in his cheeks.

“
Good to know, Castillo. Get ready for your mission,” the captain said,
nodding. “Oh, and Castillo, make sure you don’t do much damage. We’re in the
middle of the city. If shit happens, everyone will know.”

Nick nodded. “I definitely knew that. Don’t worry
about it.”

Captain Hennessey nodded gravely.

“
Then it’s settled. Tomorrow evening, we take down Tobias Langham.”

Chapter Nine

“
Come home safe, okay? I’ll wait for you,” Daniel said.

“
I always come home safe. But I’ll make extra sure this
time,” Nick replied, grinning. “I have someone to come home to, now.”

Nick replayed those words over and over on his head.
Get a grip, Castillo, it’s not like you’re
going to Antarctica. Just make sure you do your job correctly.

When Daniel told him he thought Nick was being guarded
with him, it did strike a chord. He always wanted to seem perfect to people he
liked. He molded himself so that he could say all the perfect things, and tried
to keep his opinions to a minimum because he knew most of them would just be
tossed aside after one or two fuck sessions.

Daniel was different. Nick could actually see him
being an end goal. That is, someone he could actually spend more than a single
night with. He was thirty years old.
Dios
mio
, his
abuela
was going to hit
him for trying to get out of serious relationships all this time.

But there was Daniel, and he made Nick want to be
better at this. So much so, that he couldn’t even hide his jealousy when
Daniel’s ex admitted his love for the guy. Nick wasn’t even sure he wanted to
be with Daniel, but that part of the conversation made him want to claim Daniel
right then and there, to assert that Daniel was
his
, but the man wasn’t for Nick to
own
. Daniel wasn’t an object.

So that definitely answered Nick’s question. He was
apparently in this for the long haul, and that wasn’t as scary as he thought it
was going to be.

Nick was just glad he hadn’t accidentally scared the
man off. Some of his teammates have talked about how he could get a little bit
quiet and intense when he was feeling anything negative.

“
Castillo, can you hear me?”

The voice of his captain flooded into his earpiece.
“Captain,” Nick acknowledged. He stood in front of the service back entrance of
the Langham and Durr building, patting down the Kevlar he wore and placing his
pistols back to their position on either side of his hips.

“
We’ve ascertained the location of Dr. Savard and Mr. Langham. They’re in
the penthouse floor, as Mr. Langham said,” Captain Hennessey explained. “Now,
this is very important. You’ll only have forty-five minutes to finish this
mission. I’ll turn you over to Turner now, and he’ll explain everything you
need to know.”

“
Forty-five minutes? You got to be kidding me,” Kristian said, frowning.

“
We’ve done shorter missions than that, Guillory,” Nick said, grinning.
“Just never ones where we’ve had to go up a giant building.”

“
Okay, so the security system the building uses will be tripped no matter
what you do, and it’s a very delicate system. I can hack into it and I can
delay the alarms for about ten to fifteen minutes. That should get you on to
the elevator and up to the penthouse floor without any problems except for
initial resistance you might have.

“
Once the alarms go off, you’ll have thirty minutes to get them out of
there. The penthouse has a helipad right outside. Frost can land there for
extraction.”

“
You’re a surprise, Turner,” Nick said, smirking. “You sure you’re just a
loaner? Don’t wanna be part of the team?”

Turner laughed. “We’ll see how this goes. Anyway,
patching the captain right back.”

“
Castillo, intel says that Langham and Savard are in the same room being
held hostage.” Captain Hennessey said. “We’re not so sure why they’re still
alive, but my gut tells me it’s because she’s the senator’s daughter. Wouldn’t
want to have people sniffing around if she were to show up dead when they don’t
have a proper plan. They’re probably trying to figure out how to dispose of
both of them quietly.
We’re thermal scanning the building and it’s hard to get a read, but you
can expect a couple of guards. Dispose of only as necessary, do I make myself
clear? Lockhart will provide supportive fire as soon as you get to the
penthouse level. We wouldn’t want to raise any alarm bells.”

“
You say those words so many times, and how many of them
actually
turn into a circus?” Guillory
piped up, chuckling.

“
Need I remind you, Mr. Guillory, that if you let any explosives out in
the building, we can’t repay the city for any damages.”

“
Maybe the company shouldn’t be trafficking human sex pets and selling
meth to teenagers then, or whatever the fuck they did to get us on their
asses,” Guillory muttered.

“
Noted. But again, don’t start any fires we can’t put out. Give us the
signal and Turner will unlock the service entrance door. We’re tracking your
movements and unlocking any obstacles along the way.”

“
Such a godsend,” Nick said, smirking. “We’re ready.”

Nick sent a quick prayer up to the heavens, as he
pulled his pair of shock batons from their holsters. As the resident
close-quarters combat expert, he vastly preferred fighting hand-to-hand, or
melee, rather than wielding a gun. It went quieter. Things were easier, and for
missions like these, he was definitely the one Unit Alpha sent in.

The locks to the door immediately flashed green, and
with a little push of the door, he and Guillory entered the building. Guillory
had a rifle up with a silencer placed right at the tip. They didn’t need to
attract any attention.

They moved in relative silence, moving through the
building with precision before finding a guard walking toward the elevator at
the end of the hall. They took easy, slow steps until the guard reached the
control panel right beside the elevator. He lifted his keycard, swiped it down
and then stood in place.

All without realizing there were two people behind
him.

Right as the guard looked at the stainless steel of
the elevator and noticed a pair of figures right beside him, Nick jammed his
shock baton into the man’s lower back. Shaking uncontrollably, the guard fell
down to the ground. The elevator gave a soft ding, and the doors opened.

Nick and Kristian entered quietly. Kristian
immediately pressed the button they were supposed to go to—Penthouse, with a P
button right at the top. Clear as day right on the panel.

“
Sorry about that,” Nick said to the man twitching on the ground. The
elevator doors slowly closed, and it whirred to life. He turned to Kristian.
They stood together side by side, hands on their weapons, backs straight, in
complete silence.

That was, until Nick spoke.

“
You think we’re gonna get ourselves in trouble?” Nick asked. “How many
you think there are up there?”

“
I’m counting on it,” Kristian replied. “I’m thinking maybe ten or
twenty.”

“
Ten or twenty is right. The thermal sensors are picking up fifteen
guards in addition to two stationary ones on the second floor of the
penthouse,” Turner said into their earpiece. “My bet is that those two are
Langham and Savard. You might also want to take cover. The guards know you’re
heading up.”

Nick nodded. Kristian turned to him and nodded in
understanding as well.

“
I’ll run in and you shoot whoever’s aiming at me, then?” Nick asked once
more, as he slowly moved to the side of the elevator by the panel, so he wasn’t
directly in front of the elevator doors when they opened.

“
That’s the plan.” Kristian moved to the opposite side, and fished out
the flashbang grenade from his belt.

The elevator doors dinged. Nick’s smile went from ear
to ear.

“
Good man.”

And as the doors opened, they saw what looked to be a
pair of lasers dancing against the walls. Kristian immediately tossed the
grenade out and turned away from the elevator doors. Nick turned to look
towards the wall instead of the doors.

“
Shit!” They heard someone shout. “Take cover!”

Just wait for the bright, flashing light—ah, and there it is.
As soon as he saw it, Nick ran out with both his electroshock batons.
Kristian’s gun was at the ready, shooting people all along the way. The ones
who aimed their weapons at the both of them, anyway, and fortunately nowhere
near where they could be killed with one shot. A leg, a thigh, an arm, that was
enough to get most of them to back down. Those who wanted to get up and fight,
Nick smacked and slammed those batons right at them, making sure to press the
prod into whoever he was aiming at to make sure they went down clean.

Bodies fell down quicker than he’d liked to admit.
This was shaping up to be a pretty easy job. The layout of the penthouse was a
wide, open space. Tinted glass window panes, and a pair of glass doors led out
into the balcony, which was also connected to the helipad. The only places to
take cover were behind kitchen counters or behind furniture, or back at the
elevator. Staircases were on either side of them, leading up to the second
floor of the penthouse. Daniel heard the thumping of footsteps. There were
still people right above him.

The footsteps ceased. Only a single pair, like boots,
moving towards the staircase. Daniel stepped forward.

That’s when he heard it, the sound of a shotgun being
cocked. He turned to look up at the second floor landing, and caught sight of a
woman aiming right at him.

Shit!

Nick dove back, escaping a blast of shotgun fire just
in time for it to be cocked, unleashed with a loud bang, and then reloaded.
Since the man was upstairs, the spread of fire was large, but definitely not
accurate. In fact, the woman had managed to shoot a couple of her own
teammates.

What an asshole.

“
HQ, this is Seraphina,” the woman cooed sweetly into her own comm piece.
“The intruders are here. Requesting immediate back-up just in case. Or, you
know. Blow up the penthouse. Whichever is easier.”

Nick cursed underneath his breath. He knew this wasn’t
going to be too easy.

“
I’m scrambling their signal as best as I can,” Turner’s voice said
quietly inside their earpiece. “But you better get moving because I’m only
keeping up for seconds at a time!”

Nick turned to Kristian, who only nodded and motioned
out toward the window. Lockhart’s laser scope blinked once, and then twice, and
he let loose a single shot.

It missed, but a man fell from the second floor to the
first floor landing.

“
It seems they have some back-up as well,” the woman named Seraphina
said. She slowly started to walk down the stairs. She wasn’t wearing Kevlar
gear. In fact, the woman looked like she was dressed like some sort of slutty
secretary, complete with breasts trying to break out of her blouse and a pencil
stuck in her brown hair.

What the hell? This is what we’re up against?

Nick would have been offended if he wasn’t wary. The
woman looked seriously disturbed.

Kristian let loose a warning shot that should have
been a direct hit, but she ducked out of the way just in time. She sat down on
the side of the railing, slid down, and then stood on her own two feet with a
clack of her boots
.
In the same breath, she turned her body and let loose another blast of
her shotgun right at Kristian and Nick.

Thank goodness they dove and ducked right in time.

“
You’re not getting out of here alive,” Seraphina cooed yet again, as
though she were saying something to a baby, instead of threatening a grown man.
“You’re under our sights now. Mr. Langham is going to have such fun breaking
you and retraining you. By the end of it all, you’ll be willing to sacrifice
your life for him. After all, he’s the Master.”

Retraining? Is that what she calls it?
Nick barely contained the urge to shudder.

Seraphina let loose another shot, but afterwards, she
flipped up her skirt just about an inch or two to reveal some kind of brace
around her thigh, like the ankle trackers courts ordered to be worn by drunk
and disorderly people. There was a little pouch of bullets right beside the
tracker, where she pulled out a couple of shotgun shells before casually
reloading. She took the moment to turn towards the window and grinned almost
maniacally before straightening up and tapping a button on her thigh brace.

“
Tell your sniper not to miss if he’s aiming for me,” she said softly.
“Because I’m certainly not going to miss the both of you next time.”

She emphasized that with another blast from her
shotgun, which Nick and Kristian ducked.

“
Fuck,” Nick cursed underneath his breath again. The woman seemed
trigger-happy. She didn’t mind that she was shooting the men she was with, and
a single pump of her hands was definitely faster than Nick could come in to
disable her. That meant he couldn’t run in without risking being filled with
lead. “This woman in a sexy secretary costume is terrorizing us!”