The Revenge by Tijan

That meant all clear for us.

My team was made up of the best of the best. They moved in on the house as if they were a part of the shadows. They were approaching without sound, leaving no trace, and unless someone was watching us, they were ghosts.

We were ghosts.

There was a small team of three in front of me, and a team of four behind me. There were more approaching from the other side of the house. We came in from over the neighboring dividing fences.

A door was unlocked.

We slipped inside.

The men before me spread through the side of the house.

“Heat signatures have two at the front. Two at the back. Two upstairs. One in the kitchen. Two in the basement,” came from our coms.

We’d gone over the blueprints. There was no easy entrance. “There’s no way they’d keep him in the basement. If they’re attacked, they’d want at least two escape routes,” Harden argued. He pointed at the plans, his finger digging into them. “If there are heat signatures in the basement, I guarantee you that it’s a decoy. He won’t be kept there. My guess is that if there’s a heat signature upstairs, that’s him. They can take him over a balcony or climb onto the roof. Two ways to escape, other than the obvious.”

Harden spoke with confidence, but it didn’t feel right to me.

Now we were moving to the kitchen.

We were supposed to draw one guard out at a time. I was the decoy for that trap, but it didn’t feel right. None of this felt right.

Two at the front. Two at the back. Two upstairs. One in the kitchen. Two in the basement.

We were in the east side of the house, so we had three options: front, back, kitchen.

The front would be too vulnerable to a frontal assault. The same with the back end of the house. But the kitchen … I wished I had Bailey’s memory. I tapped Harden’s shoulder in front of me. He held his hand up. The rest of our group paused.

I typed out my thoughts on my phone and held up the screen. It was turned on night mode and dimmed, so when he read it, none of us were worried a sudden flash of light would alert anyone else in the house.

Does the kitchen have two exits?

He frowned.

I pulled my phone back and typed again.

Two are in the back. They’re surrounding the kitchen. Above, below, behind, in front.

He knew what I was saying. My brother was the one in the kitchen, but instead of replying or making a decision, he raised my phone so the computer team would be able to read it. The camera was hooked on his night vision goggles.

A second later, we heard in our ears, “The kitchen has two exits. A door and hallway connects to the garage. There’s also a door leading to the backyard. The two heat signatures are on the back patio.”

The voice added, “You have one minute to get out. Decide and go.”

Harden made a hand motion, signaling to the rest of the team.

The four behind me moved ahead.

We’d decided.

Harden had a hand on my shoulder, and he held me in place. Once his men were lined up against the wall, he walked me past them. At the opening, he tapped me twice on the back.

I was to go.

He raised a hand in front of his camera. In sync with his motions, the voice in our ears said, “Three. Two.”

I walked out.

“What the—”

It was enough.

The guards in the living room were alerted first, but they were confused by the sight of me. My men used that second. They rushed forward, getting the jump on them, and I ran into the next room. When I went into the kitchen, I understood their shock. Chase? We still hadn’t been officially introduced to each other, but Chase was handcuffed to a chair. He had restraints around almost every part of his body. Looking at him, I searched for signs of abuse. I saw nothing. He looked fine. No bags of exhaustion under his eyes. No gaunt look around his mouth to show he was hungry. His skin was fine, so he was hydrated. He was merely held captive.

His eyes cut to mine as shouting and shots erupted in the air behind us.

I darted to him, but paused right before trying to cut through his restraints. “If you make me regret this”—I placed the edge of the knife to his throat—“I will find you and I will finish this job. Do you understand me?”

There was no reaction from him. He didn’t blink. He only said, “Yes.” His gaze held mine steadily the entire time.

Another second, and Harden came in yelling. “They’ve dispatched more agents. We have to go now!”

“I need help.”

Harden holstered his gun and dropped to his knees. A second later, another man joined and we were hurrying through the restraints.

Harden cursed. “We can’t wait.”

I looked up. We’d only gotten through four of the restraints. “What do you suggest? Because I’m not leaving him behind.”

Harden’s eyes flashed at me right before he took a step back, brought his gun up. He shot through the two back legs of the chair. Wood exploded in the air. I had enough time to jump at the same time the second man grabbed my vest and hauled me back, too. The momentum kept me clear from any shards getting into my skin.

Chase wasn’t as lucky. He winced, readying himself, his head lowered and bracing.

The guy let me go, grunting as he passed me. “Minor scrapes. The trajectory sent the wood in your direction.”

Good to know.

Chase was glowering at both of them. “This is who you had on him?”