Lethal Echo by Cara Carnes

7

Breaking into the secretary of defense’s office should’ve been more difficult, even though it was after hours. He and Gage had donned military uniforms and walked right through the front door thanks to forged identifications Zoey had provided. They’d only had a couple of ball-shrinking moments. Thank fuck.

The woman had definitely been planning this mission for a while. She had caches all over the area around his office and home in case there was trouble. Ramon chuckled to himself as he remained in position outside Bob’s home. The man was rarely at home in the evening because of parties or other commitments, which meant they had at least a two-hour window to get in and out once he left.

“In position,” Gage said via the com. His west side location would prime him for direct entry through the patio door once Mary and Zoey green lit the final phase of tonight’s mission.

Ram would enter through the back door while Pierce took overwatch across the street, which left Doug at the front entry and Spade at the side of the mansion near the street to handle any issues they might face. Lexi had remained at the airstrip in case a hot exfil was necessary. Levi’s team was strung out around the perimeter. In all, Ram was confident they’d taken every feasible problem into account and were ready.

“Anyone care to share how Spade is on your team?” Mary asked.

Ram was surprised the woman hadn’t already asked. Operations hadn’t offered comment when Gage informed them Spade was temporarily on their team. They’d simply inserted him into tonight’s mission and reassigned tasks for entering Bob’s office.

“Fallon’s team is nowhere near field ready,” Gage said. “We can discuss when we return, but there are multiple issues he’ll have to address.”

“Damn. That sucks,” Zoey said.

“It happens,” Mary said. “They went through a lot. I’ll pull Fallon in, and we can discuss the concerns and outline a plan for handling whatever they are.”

“We’ll need Ram to be a part of that,” Gage said, his gaze cutting to him. “He’s the one who recognized the issue and got Spade out of it and into a safe environment.”

“Understood. You’re green lit,” Mary said. “Let’s make this fast, but use your entry wisely. Intel we need might be in that house.”

“Understood,” Ram replied as he moved from behind the shrubbery. Adrenaline surged as he made his way over the high stone fence surrounding Bob’s property.

Darkness cloaked the area at the far back, but lampposts spread throughout the rest of the sprawling backyard made backdoor entry a challenge—one he was more than okay with. The bigger the hurdle, the better the reward.

“038351 is the security access code,” Zoey said. “Rearm the system once you’re both inside. Vi and I hacked into the company’s feed, but we don’t want to alert them to any abnormal activity.” And Bob likely kept his system armed at all times.

Ram made his way toward the double-doored back entry quickly and typed in the code. The electronic lock clicked open. Darkness enveloped the sparsely decorated interior. “In.”

“In. Arming system,” Gage said.

Ram made his way up the narrow stairwell leading to the second floor. Gage would handle the first floor, and they’d both tackle the third. The team discussed potential locations for the microdrones en route and had decided on the more is better option.

“Are we sure these won’t affect the interior cameras already in place?” Gage asked.

“I’m positive,” Bree said.

Good enough for Ram. He placed the first one at the base of the security alarm atop the second story’s landing and continued forward. “First in position.”

“The feed is live,” Mary said.

Time ticked by as he and Gage worked their way through the house quickly. Zoey told Gage to move one he’d put too close to a clock in the living room because “it ticked too loud.” Ram grinned. Bree’s audio quality was damned good if that was an issue. He made a mental note not to make that mistake as he entered a filthy bedroom.

Clothes and trash filled the wooden floor. Sweat and stale food scents permeated the area. Two laptops sat atop a cluttered dresser. He opened both up and powered them on. “Need your brain, Z. Talk me through this.” He paused and took a still picture of the images on the password screen. One showed a team of armed men. “This isn’t Bob’s computer.”

“That’s likely the bald man’s room,” Zoey said.

“Alex Roush,” Mary added. “High level merc.”

“Not that high level if he has pictures of his friends on the background of his laptop,” Zoey commented. “Okay, Ram. Let’s do this.”

She rattled off instructions. Although clear and concise, he barely kept up with the rapid pace she set. “I need to up my computer knowledge, Z.”

“I’ll get Jacob on that,” Jesse said. “Z’s in on both. Leave them on and she’ll handle the rest. Get to work on the drones.”

Ram added one against the crown molding in the corner across from the bed and another in the large bathroom. Disgusting as it seemed, he knew many high-level operatives took their calls in the shower or other “private” areas most groups wouldn’t bug. Unfortunately for them, Ram didn’t have any qualms about violating an asshole’s right to privacy.

“Ewww, really? The shower?”

“Sorry in advance, Z.” He let his gaze sweep over the shelf inside, where a cellphone and notebook sat. He opened the latter and thumbed through it slowly. HERA would provide a readout of the contents via his headset’s visual display. “Got anything for the phone in my pack, Bree?”

“The small purple case. Plug it into the cell’s power charge port. Z and Vi supplied the coding.”

Excellent. He popped the case open and found the right one. “How long?”

“A few more seconds. HERA is cloning the phone and downloading content,” Vi said. A few seconds ticked by before her voice returned. “Done.”

Ram removed the small device and shoved it into his pocket. The laptops were finished, so he shut them down and moved to the next room. The second story had more rooms than he’d anticipated, but thankfully they had more than enough drones. By the time he arrived at the end of the hall, he’d kitted the second floor with eleven drones. He didn’t envy whoever would have to go through HERA’s downloads of the data they gathered. Talk about a mind-numbing job.

He entered the last room. Yes. Bob’s office, or a secondary one, since he knew floor plans indicated there was a much larger one on the first level. He rifled through the filing cabinet, pulling out several folders and thumbing through the content for the visual display to record.

“You’ve got a future career in this if the commando gig doesn’t work out,” Zoey said. “You should take notes, Gage. I don’t even have to tell Ram what to do.”

“Where’s the fun in it if you don’t boss me around?” The man’s quick retort was met with chuckles through the com. “Love you, Little Bit.”

“Yeah, yeah. More flipping. Less chatter.” Zoey paused a couple breaths. “Love you, too.”

Ram wanted that deep connection with someone. He’d spent years telling himself otherwise because love was a risk, a potential heart-ravaging wound he’d barely survived once. Could he take that dive off a cliff again?

Bree. The simple thought awakened his insides. He wanted to explore their attraction, see where it went.

He sat at the desk and scanned its surface. Finding nothing of importance, he started on the drawers. “So, while we’re here, Bree, what do you say to dinner in Nomad tomorrow night? We’ll tour Resino with the family, then drop them off and head into the big city for a night out.” Nomad was not a big city, but at roughly twelve thousand people, it was way bigger than Resino.

“Are you seriously asking her out on a date while on an op?” Zoey asked.

“Why not?” Pierce asked. “We can multitask, you know. Say yes. He was a bear while you were away.”

“A bear who needs something sweet, and you’re the only jar of honey he wants,” Doug added.

“Say yes,” Spade said. “You know you want to.”

Assholes. Spade had acclimated well to their personalities. He bantered with them as though he’d been a part of the team for years, rather than a few hours. Ram thumbed through another file as he waited out the silence on the other end of the com.

“He’s waiting for an answer,” Jesse whispered.

“Oh, right,” Bree said. “Sure. I just figured that was a given. Of course I’ll have dinner with you.”

Yes. Anticipation filled him as he pulled out another laptop. He powered it on and started the process Zoey had already walked him through once. “Tell me I did that right.”

“I wouldn’t have asked her out while on an op, but sure. Good job, big man.”

Spade’s laughter sounded through the com, followed by Pierce’s. Then Doug’s.

“Zoey, he meant the laptop,” Mary said with a heavy sigh. “I miss those boring ops before you showed up.”

“No, you don’t,” Vi said with a chuckle. “This is fun.”

Zoey corrected one of the last lines of code. “Not bad. Do you have like an eidetic memory or something?”

“Years of field work,” Gage said. “We all remember more shit than we’d care to.”

The man wasn’t wrong. Ram got the computer doing its thing for Zoey and continued on. He found another cellphone and used the plug in his pocket again. He adhered a drone to the interior corner of a bookshelf facing the desk and another against the dark crown molding.

“These color skins are genius,” Ram said.

“Heading to the upper level,” Gage said.

“On my way.” Ram took another look around the room, then headed toward the main stairwell leading to the third level.

Gage met him and they made their way toward the lone room on this floor. Darkness filled the interior as they made their way in. He went left while his team leader went right. It took only a couple minutes to get the drone in place.

Pulling out his flashlight from a pocket, he flicked it on and cursed as a large metal cage appeared. He flicked the light off and switched to night vision mode. “We’ve got a problem here.”

“No shit,” Vi muttered.

A thin mattress filled the cage’s interior, but it was the slight body curled up on it that forced the air from Ram’s lungs. The woman’s long, dark hair covered her face.

“Fuck,” Gage whispered. “Edge, I cannot leave her here.”

“We have no choice,” Edge replied quickly, her voice calm and filled with confidence. She’d morphed into her Edge persona, the lethal back-office operative who made the tough calls few would. “If we exfil her, they’ll know someone was there.”

“She’s right,” Jesse said, regret heavy in his voice. “We’ve got eyes on her. We’ll observe and make an informed decision later.”

Translation—he and Gage had to leave a woman caged in Bob’s house. What the fuck was going on?

“Understood,” Gage said.

“Bree, what’s in the blue cases you gave us?” Spade asked. “Sorry, I didn’t ask before and intended to.”

“Miniature drones like we’ve used before, armed with sleepers,” Bree said. “Why?”

Ram followed Spade’s thoughts, or hoped he did. “Can we use the skins from the micro drones on these and leave one in position in here?”

“You’ll need to cover it with two, maybe three since the blue case drones are larger, but yes. They’d work. The skins stretch enough to accommodate them.”

“Great idea, Spade,” Gage said. He and Ram made quick work of getting the skins on the defensive drone. Ram hoped to hell The Arsenal would get the woman out quickly. The fact she hadn’t stirred despite their presence indicated she was probably drugged. Anger chewed his insides as they slipped out of the room and made their way down the stairwell and out of the house.

Gage detoured around the side and to the small building beside the massive home. Gardening equipment and other tools filled the area. They put a drone into place, then exited.

“Exterior drones are in position along the front and east side,” Doug said.

“West and back are covered as well,” Spade added.

“Move out,” Edge ordered.

“We have miniature drones on the exterior of surrounding houses,” Levi said. “Just in case.”

“Good idea,” Jesse said.

None of that got the woman out of the cage, though. Ram hoped she wouldn’t be in there long. The need for answers had just hit critical.

Five minutes later, they were in an SUV and heading back toward the small airstrip outside of town.

“Fuck.” Gage yanked his headgear off. “Moments like that make me hate what we do.”

“And love it in equal measure,” Ram added. “We’ve gotta trust Operations. We did our part.”

“Not enough,” Pierce growled.

“Curveballs like that suck,” Spade said. “But Ram’s right. Operations will do right by her when we have what they need. We don’t know enough to safely extract her.”

“You couldn’t even get enough for facial recognition to work without alerting her to your presence,” Pierce said.

“The drones will get it,” Bree whispered. “I know they will. You helped her. It doesn’t feel like that now because having to leave was horrible, but Mary is right. As disgusting as it is, leaving her there was safer than getting her out right now.”

Her words were met with silence as Ram and everyone in the SUV reconciled themselves to what they’d just done. He’d done far worse in the past, but he knew what had just happened would haunt them all until the woman was safe. Free.

“Come home. We’ll figure this out,” Bree said.

“Thanks, sweetheart. We needed to hear that,” Ram said. Thanks to her, they had eyes and ears into Bob’s house and office. They were closer to answers. He just hoped what they found out would help.

* * *

Damn. Bree pulled the com out of her ear and tossed it on the table. She leaned forward and willed her riotous stomach to behave. Puking wasn’t an option, not now.

“That sucked,” Zoey said into the thickening silence.

It had. Bree had been a bit surprised to find out Spade was with Gage’s team, but she couldn’t help but be relieved. He seemed to fit in well. Thank goodness he had asked about the miniatures. While they were larger than the micro drones, they also had more power, and therefore had more things they could do—which meant Gage and Ram had left an offensive weapon in the room with the woman.

The Arsenal could defend her if necessary. Bree hoped it was enough. It had to be. For now.

“Those drones are our priority until we’ve identified her.” Anger bled into Mary’s words. She’d been calm and determined with Gage’s team, but Bree noted the woman’s emotional thunderstorm rolling in.

She’d been that woman. What if Dylan and The Arsenal hadn’t swept in and saved her? What if they’d walked out and left her there? Shit.

Bree pulled out her cell and typed out a message.

Bree: Bad shit just went down with the op. Mary needs you.

There was no immediate response, but she knew Dylan would be on his way.

Bree: We had to leave a woman caged in Bob’s house. FYI.

Jesse squeezed her shoulder. She glanced up as he mouthed “thank you” and left the room. Fuck. That’d been him, too. She repeated the message to Ellie but left out the details she’d shared with Dylan because Jesse would share what he needed to. He wouldn’t want her knowing the gritty specifics. Should she message Jud as well? Yep. She added the details to his because, seriously, the man was a former assassin. He’d seen way worse than that.

Her friends had loving people in their orbit now, constant presences who kept their dark away and helped them work through whatever horrible nightmare they’d just experienced. They’d always been there for one another, but Bree knew what Mary had with Dylan, Jesse with Ellie, and Vi with Jud transcended that bond.

She wanted that. Someone to whisper her secrets to as he held her. Someone who’d chase away the nightmares. Squeezing her eyes shut, she vowed to be there for Ram however she could. No one had expected what they’d found in Bob’s house.

She made her way toward the cottage she apparently now shared with Mia and hoped the dark creeping into her thoughts would go away. Could she have done more to help the woman? Could the team have saved her tonight? Should they have?

Mia’s gaze narrowed when Bree entered. Curled up on the sofa, the woman sat up. “You look like someone just killed the puppies.”

“It was worse. Trust me, way worse.” Bree froze. “Wait. I thought you were on Levi’s team. Why weren’t you with them?”

“Because I was temporarily assigned on a solo mission to shadow Gavin. Care to share any pertinent details?”

“He’s an asshole.” Bree plopped down in the chair. “I guess that’s why Jesse asked for a few extra micro drones.”

“Yep. They’re all in place, and I’ve cloned his phone. I’m hitting his laptop tomorrow while he’s in a meeting with Mary and Vi.” Mia motioned toward a bottle of vodka. “I don’t drink often, but figured I’d partake tonight. Do you want one?”

“No, though I need an entire bottle.”

“What happened?”

“Everything went perfectly until Gage and Ram got to the third floor and found a woman in a freaking cage.” Like an animal. Anger chewed Bree’s insides. “Mary ordered them to leave her.”

“Tough call,” Mia commented. “The right one, but it sucks.”

“It does. They put drones in the room, along with a small defensive one they used the skins off the micro drones to mask. I hope it won’t be needed, but at least it’s something.” Not enough, but it’d have to do. “How do you deal with this stuff?”

“Everyone finds their own method. Some opt for fighting and fucking. Others drink.”

“And you?” What did Ram do?

“I’ll show you one day, but not tonight.” Mia leaned forward. “I heard Addy’s been teaching you martial arts.”

“Yeah, she was until I went away. I’m hoping she’ll have time to keep it up.”

“She’s focused on self-defense?”

Bree nodded. “She said it was smarter to hit hard then retreat.”

“It is.” Mia took a sip of her drink. “She’s good. Very good. Our styles differ, though. If you want, I’ll show you a few more…aggressive moves.”

Bree blinked. Mia was a certified ninja. She’d overheard Mary and Vi saying she was more lethal than anyone else at The Arsenal, which in itself was astounding. “Seriously?”

“Yep, though we should probably keep it to ourselves. You’re Addy’s and I’m not encroaching on her turf.” She took another sip. “But sometimes a situation demands more than self-defense, and I’d rather give you the tools you’ll need just in case.”

“What sort of tools?” Bree’s curiosity awakened.

Mia shrugged. “The lethal kind.”

Holy cow. She blinked as the statement settled in her brain. “Yes! Are you for real?”

“Yep. I know Dallas spread the message far and wide to keep you away from the weapons. The Masons mean well in protecting you from field training. That’s not your world, but you do delve into it for all of us. It’s only fair you learn what you want.”

Bree agreed, even though the reasonable side of her realized Dallas was right. She had no business firing automatic weapons or blowing things up apart from her enhancements of said weapons. She didn’t need to know how to use them to do that, though. “I don’t want to be a commando. I know that’s not for me, but I…” She swallowed. “I feel out of control sometimes. I thought knowing more would fix that.”

“It might. Then again, it might exacerbate whatever is making you feel out of control. That’s more Sinclair’s ground than mine. I agree with Dallas on the guns, though, so I’ll show you how to take someone out if they’re in your personal space. Hand-to-hand and maybe knives.”

“Kamren said she’d show me knives, but she’s so busy.”

“I heard she was damned good with them and guns.”

“She’s amazing. I should show you the HERA footage from the one versus one hundred battle we did. We dragged her out of bed early in the morning. The commandos had just gotten started with their training.” Bree smiled as the memories assailed her. “The thing was, Mary and Vi were both pretty annoyed because the operatives had gotten lax with their security. Most didn’t carry their weapons around the compound. They lacked situational readiness and awareness. That’s what Mary said.”

“Oh boy.” Mia set her drink down. “What did she do?”

“She activated our secret weapon. Kamren.” Bree laughed. “She was in her jammies. We dragged her up to the roof of the building, and I gave her an automatic rifle that shot paintballs. It was perfect. She killed everyone. Only one gave her trouble. I’d screwed up and forgotten that Marcus had been upgraded to a team leader and was way better than we’d initially realized.”

Mia chuckled. “It’s the quiet ones you have to worry about. I definitely want to see that footage.”

“Oh! And the one of when she first came to The Arsenal.”

“Now that I’ve seen. Dallas showed it to me.” Mia grinned. “It was brilliant. I doubt I could’ve taken that shot.”

“Many have tried and failed. Before she was preggo, they used her to cull the mass of applicants. If they couldn’t shoot as good as her, they were tossed.”

“I bet it also gave them a good indication if they’d be okay with working with women. Surprisingly, many aren’t.” Mia shook her head. “You’ve got a solid crew here. You’re a huge part of that. I can’t tell you how many operatives whisper about you. How incredible your drones and weapons are. I bet you don’t hear much of that.”

“I don’t.” Knowing the operatives she worked hard to help protect respected her work was huge. “Thanks for telling me. How are you acclimating?”

“You’re the first to ask, aside from Levi. I figure he has to ask since he’s technically my team leader right now.” Mia cracked her knuckles. “It’s been…interesting. Most operatives steer clear, likely because they’re still figuring me out. There are more gaps in my operational history than they prefer.”

“It’s not their business. Operations knows what they need to. Some of the commandos need to grow the hell up. I mean, look at Spade.”

“What about him?” She leaned forward again.

“He’s…having issues. Some of his team doesn’t want him around anymore because he should’ve told them what he planned.”

“That’s not how black-in-black works.” Mia shook her head. “Fallon needs to know if he doesn’t already. Most of his team should be culled. They aren’t Arsenal quality when it comes to team dynamics.”

Bree agreed, but it wasn’t her business. “I was going to talk to Jesse about it, but then I figured I should talk to someone else.”

“Like Ram?” Mia teased.

“Maybe.” Heat crept up her cheeks. “He’d have good insight into the operative side.”

“He would. So would the hundred others you could chat with.” Mia grinned. “You two are cute together, the way you circle one another like you aren’t sure which is the prey. So adorable.”

Bree narrowed her gaze. “We aren’t chatting about Ram. As for the whole Spade issue, I think it’s already being handled. He’s somehow on Gage’s team now. Gage mentioned something about Ram spotting the problem.”

“So cute. Your whole face lights up when you talk about Ram.”

Heat filled her cheeks. “He’s got enough shit to deal with after tonight. He doesn’t deserve to be picked apart.”

“You should go and wait for him. The Triple Threat are a force within themselves, extremely tight. Anytime they have a mission that hits them hard, they retreat to their supposedly secret man cave.”

“Supposedly secret man cave? I didn’t know they had one.”

Mia shrugged. “I may have followed them a few times. I don’t trust the judgment of others when it comes to operatives I’ll be working with. I make my own mind up.”

“And?”

“And they’re solid, more so than most. Too bad there are a couple of loose cannons running around here who have stayed off the radar.” Mia took a long pull of her drink.

“Care to share who?” If there was a problem, Mary and Vi needed to know.

“I’ll let Mary and Jesse know if there’s an escalation. Nothing I can’t handle for now.”

Hmm. Interesting. That implied someone was either threatening her or making trouble. Bree didn’t like knowing the woman was having a problem, but Mia could handle herself—a fact she’d proven in Russia when she’d saved Addy and Kristof from a killing squad.

“Thanks for what you did in Russia, by the way. I don’t think I ever said that.”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“Gavin mentioned you’d broken into Facility Six,” Bree said, shifting the conversation to something she’d been curious about. “Have Mary and them talked to you yet?”

“They did. I know you’ve got a friend there. I’ll help however I can when the time comes.” Mia’s gaze softened. “That won’t be anytime soon. What I did back then might not be repeatable.”

“What did you do?”

“That’s for another story time.” Mia grinned. “Now, let me tell you exactly where the Triple Threat’s man cave is. I think you need to be there as much as Ram needs you there.”