The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2) (25 page)

“Let’s get this show on the road ’cause I’m taking that punk
down if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Oh, look at you! Two horrible
clichés in one sentence.”

“Shut up, Drew!” I grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it
hard at Drew’s head. The force knocked him off the edge of the bed, taking the
box of half eaten pizza to the floor with him. Drew laughed as he sat up and
chucked a few pieces at me. I ducked and they smacked the wall behind me,
squirting pizza sauce over the paint.

“Dude! It looks like a murder scene in here!” I said, peeling
pizza off the wall.

Drew picked the rest of the pizza off the carpet and threw it
back into the box, laughing. “Yeah, maybe an insect murder scene. I’m going to
go clean the pizza out of my ears and change. I’ll be back here in twenty.”
Drew left my room and shut the door.

I got off the bed, finding myself in an incredible mood. Tonight
was going to be the first step in the long journey of Ava and me getting our
lives back to normal. A smile contentedly rested on my lips as I showered and
shaved and then changed into my black cargo pants and FBI raid shirt.

Drew knocked on the door just as I was ready to leave. “It’s
showtime, baby!”

“Let’s do this.”

We hopped in the Tahoe and headed south down I-39 toward the
Plover exit. My heart was flying high as I pictured Adam taking Ava into his
car and driving her to the rendezvous point. I could see her gorgeous face
again in a matter of hours.

We pulled into the parking lot near a memorial dedicated to
veterans from the area. Behind the statues and benches was a tiny serene lake,
and off to the west stood a small cabin labeled Visitor’s Center. The agency
designated a safe house in the back of the center where agents in the immediate
area could find refuge should they need it. There were two black Tahoes parked
in the lot with a ring of men standing around talking. They greeted us upon
arrival, and I recognized a few guys from training.

A stocky and muscular man much older than the others approached
us. He wore a clean goatee and his face was sharp and chiseled, radiating
intimidation. He spoke in a low voice. “Agent Hill, Agent Smith, I’m Agent
Mathy, captain of this mission. Agent Bowman instructed me to inform you that
our mole has discovered that Myers has rounded up a team of his best men from
the Midwest CBB chapters to secure Miss Gardner this evening. We expect he will
not show his face in Stevens Point, but has sent his men to do his dirty work.
Our goal tonight is to keep Miss Gardner safe from any counter attacks Myers’s
team employs and extract her without the public even knowing we’re here.”

Someone from behind Agent Mathy handed him a small box. “Thank
you,” he said. “Here are your earpieces. It is imperative you follow any
commands given by me.” He handed the box to Drew, and we each took out a tiny
black earpiece.

“Agent Greene has been instructed to transport Miss Gardner to
this point no later than twenty-one hundred hours. Myers’s team isn’t expected
to arrive here for another two and a half hours, so half of this tactical team
will wait at this location for Agent Green to arrive and the other half will
head to campus to stake out the area.”

“I’ll head with the team to campus,” I informed Agent Mathy.

He continued, ignoring my request. “Agent Hill and Agent Smith,
you stay with the other four here. I will contact you if there is a need.”

Disappointment drilled deep within me.
You can’t sit here and
wait
, my heart complained.

“Please familiarize yourself with the team members and maps of
campus, specifically the student center, should you be requested to join us.”
He pointed toward the other agents behind him looking at maps on their tablets.
His phone rang, “Excuse me, agents.” He answered as he walked away from us.

Although the other guys were supposed to be studying maps, when
I walked over to them they were checking the score of the Packers’ game and
talking sports statistics. One of the guys pulled up the campus map and then
handed me his tablet.  

Drew was digging through a box of high-tech gadgets when his
phone rang. “It’s Darcy,” he said with a smile. He answered the phone just as
he walked away, “Hey, baby!”

Why would she be calling now? It’s the middle of the night in
Ireland.

My watch read 8:30 and the butterflies danced wildly in my
stomach. I let out a deep breath and wondered what Ava and Adam were doing at
this very moment. The guys talked sports for a while as I tried to study the
maps, and then Drew joined the group a few minutes later.

“How’s Darcy?” I asked.

“Fine, I think. Well, actually she sounded weird, like something
was bothering her but didn’t offer an explanation. Apparently she couldn’t
sleep and wanted to know what I was up to. She’s happy to know we’ve almost got
Myers.”

Suddenly Agent Mathy returned to the group, hanging up his
phone. “Boys, Intel just intercepted an unidentified phone call to Ava’s cell.
Myers may be trying to confirm her location. They might be closer than we
thought.” Then he turned to an agent behind me. “Get Agent Greene over to the
Center immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” The agent turned on his phone, apparently dialing
Adam’s number.

Agent Mathy yelled to the team, “Move out, everyone! We need to
get on campus, now!” All the men jumped into their cars and peeled out of the
parking lot and onto the highway. With my heart beating overtime, we zoomed
north for several miles and exited quickly onto Division Street.

Drew looked over at my apprehensive state as he sped through the
empty streets. “Hey, kiddo, don’t barf on my freshly detailed leather seats.”

“I can’t promise you that.” I blew out an anxious lungful of
air. “I just want to get this all over with.”

Why had all my first FBI missions become so personal?

Drew drove down Portage Street and into Parking Lot R. The
tactical team had pulled in right in front of us and all the men got out. Agent
Mathy barked out directions as I felt my head dizzying with fear and
anticipation. What was going to happen in the next hour? What if I came face to
face with Myers again? I couldn’t afford to botch it up like last time.  

I heard nothing Agent Mathy said. The group broke up and
dispersed towards the Student Center. Drew grabbed my arm and pulled me towards
the others.

“Adam and Ava are inside.” He knew I hadn’t heard a word Mathy
had said. “Intel believes Myers’s men will be here within minutes. We need to
rush inside and fight them off while Adam pulls Ava out the back service door.”

I stalked silently alongside Drew, looking carefully behind us
every twenty feet or so. It was dark on campus, and the October night air was
bitterly cold. As we approached the building I could hear the low booming of
dance music coming from inside. Ava must be at a Halloween dance.

We approached the side basement door, and Drew tried the handle.
It was locked, so he pulled a lock-pick from his belt and expertly opened the
door within seconds. We found ourselves immersed a vestibule soaked in almost
complete darkness. Loud beeping announced our presence. With confidence, I
rushed to a box on the wall, pried the faceplate off and pulled a red wire from
the back, snipping it quickly with a tool from my pocket. The beeping stopped
immediately.

“Sexy,” Drew teased and then touched his earpiece. “Outlier and
Raven are in the east service entrance.”

“Copy that. Proceed to underground entrance,” I heard in my ear.

Drew pulled from his pocket a small black gadget a little bigger
than a deck of cards and turned it on. It glowed bright green and displayed a
map of the area we were standing in. Suddenly bright red arrows lit up,
indicating which way to proceed. Drew hit the flashlight app on his cell phone
and illuminated the empty hallway before us. The GPS device showed a few little
yellow stars scattered throughout the map, warning us where enemy agents were
hiding.

“They’re here. Be ready, Agent Hill.”

My heartbeat quickened wondering if Ava had been taken to the
safe house yet or not. We sped through the hallways using the GPS device to
take twists and turns through the basement service areas. We eventually
approached a closed door labeled
tunnel
.

Our earpieces spoke up, “All agents are in place. Prepare to
attack on my count.”

My heart rate was through the roof and my armpits soaked through
my undershirt. I held my Glock pointing to the ground, eyes wide with
anticipation for what was coming.

Drew consulted the device. “There are two guys stationed just
down the hall from this door on the left. The other FBI agents will advance
from the opposite end and we’ll meet in the middle.” Then he stuck the device
back in his pocket and stared me in the eyes. “This is it, Nolan. Remember all
those physical tests you aced at Quantico? You can do this!”

Agent Bowman buzzed in our ear to advance, and Drew kicked the
door open. We ran, hugging the right wall. As we approached the spot where
Drew’s device had indicated men hiding, we slowed down and crouched near the
floor. It was dark in the underground pathway, which was lit only by warm
yellow service lights every fifty feet.

Then I noticed it as Drew did—a slight movement in the doorframe
down the hall.

Drew took the shot and got the man in the neck. Although that
was one down, it gave away our position and suddenly the hallway was showered
with bullets. Drew went to the other side of the hall to split up the targets,
and we advanced on the enemy, shooting with confidence. Adrenaline flowed
swiftly through my veins as Drew and I took down several men.

Suddenly the shooting stopped and Drew gave me the sign to hold
fire. He dug the GPS device out of his pocket and checked for stars.

“We’ve cleared them out of this area, but there are several down
past the open space ahead. Let’s go!” He ran forward, and I followed. We
cautiously approached a large open area, scanning the scene from the cover of
the door. This part of the underground tunnel was apparently a storage area.
There were racks after racks of boxes, crates, and barrels. The sheer amount of
hiding places would make this more than challenging.

Drew was still holding the gadget, and we spotted eight men
stationed around the room. Drew pressed his earpiece. “Outlier and Raven,
stationed at the warehouse east entrance.”

Our earpieces rang out, “Copy that. The rest of the team is
holding at the west entrance. Go on my signal.”

The next twelve minutes moved quickly through my mind, but
slowly through my heart.

When Agent Mathy gave the go-ahead, the team charged the
warehouse. Our opponents were dressed like us—all black—except they had nylon
ski masks on. They were using the element of surprise—popping out of corners
and jumping from hideouts between crates and boxes. I narrowly missed being hit
several times. Not having much field experience, I surprised myself, injuring a
few of Myers’s men, and distracting others while Drew took them out. We worked
well as a team, reading each other’s minds and anticipating the next move of
our partner.

We worked the perimeter of the room, disarming many and shooting
others. Even though I felt well prepared for combat during training, this
authentic raid was nothing like I had imagined. My shoulder and forearm were
still healing from Harper’s torture, and this fight was more physically
demanding than anything I had done since training. My survival instincts kicked
in, guiding me to throw punches and to be in heightened awareness of everything
around me.

In the heat of the fight, I witnessed a bullet hit a box close
to Drew’s ear. As he turned to shoot at his attacker, a tiny man jumped out
from the corner, bounded off a wooden barrel, and kicked Drew in the side of
the head. He fell to the ground and the attacker stood over him for several
seconds with his gun pointed at Drew’s fallen chest, clearly deciding whether
or not to shoot.

I witnessed it all from behind a large shelf, and before the
attacker could take out Drew, I kicked out the man’s knees from behind. He fell
to the ground, his body crashing into a stack of empty wooden crates. Drew
stood up, head bleeding, and obviously pissed off. He yanked his assailant’s
legs out from under the pile of boxes, pulling off his ski mask in the process.

What we saw forced me to gasp and Drew to drop the legs
instantly in shock. There, lying in front of us, was not a man but a woman.

Darcy McCombe.

She frantically found her mask and stood up, running along the
back wall of the warehouse and out the west entrance, Drew still frozen from
shock and devastating heartbreak.

Suddenly the earpieces spoke in our ears, “Myers’s men have
retreated. Still no sign of Agent Greene or Miss Gardner at the rendezvous
point. All team members search the Center.”

Drew turned to me, pointing behind him. “I’m gonna confront her.
You head up these stairs. They’ll lead you right out the back door. Find Adam!”
And before I could even agree, he ran off down the dark hallway and toward the
outside door.