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Paige and Avery filed in behind him, handguns at the ready. But as Mason said, the office was empty, the only sound the hum of the computer monitors. Avery exhaled slowly, her shoulders sagging with relief as she tucked away her gun.
Mason took up a position by the door. “Ladies, you’re up.”
Paige headed straight for the older-model computer perched like a trophy on the desk in the center of the room. She moved quickly, her fingers flying over the keyboards as they worked to bypass the security systems and access the files. The progress bar inched forward, each second feeling like an eternity.
“Almost there,” Paige muttered, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Just need to crack this last firewall and …”
A sudden movement caught Avery’s eye. She whirled around, her hand reaching for her weapon. A security guard stood in the doorway, his eyes wide with shock and alarm, a pair of over-ear headphones around his neck.
“Don’t move!” Avery shouted, leveling her gun at the guard.
But he was already reaching for his radio, his finger fumbling for the button.
Mason reacted instantly, crossing the room in two long strides, and slamming the guard against the wall. The man’s head cracked against the plaster, his eyes rolling back as he slumped to the floor.
The telltale blare of an alarm rang through the building.
Mason growled into the comms, his face grim. “The guard hit the alarm before I could stop him. We’ve been made. Get out, now!”
“I need another ten seconds,” Paige protested, but Mason yanked her toward the door.
“No can do. Run.”
24
Where hadthat guard come from?
Mason’s breath rasped in his ears as the team raced through the warehouse, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. There was no telling how fast the security company could mount an armed response. Most likely, they’d be long gone before any vehicles rolled up, but that didn’t slow him one bit.
Better to get out clean.
“Where did that guy come from?” Tai wondered over comms, echoing Mason’s own thoughts. “He never showed up on infrared.”
“Storeroom,” Paige answered, her breathing labored from their escape. “I bet he was napping in a storeroom. Might have masked … heat signature.”
Tai groaned. “Makes sense. My bad for not checking.”
Finger on the trigger of his weapon, Mason flipped down his night vision goggles, staring hard into the angular shadows of the huge space. Letting his intuition guide him. “Cut the chatter,” he ordered.
The air was thick and heavy, the heat of the night pressing down on him like a physical weight. Sweat trickled down his back, his shirt clinging to his skin as he ran. So much for anti-sweat technology. Not that he cared about comfort.
Avery and Paige were mere feet behind him. The others wouldn’t be far behind.
He tapped his comlink. “Yo, Paul. Fire up the engine. We’re coming in hot.”
No response.
He tapped his earbud impatiently. “Paul, do you read? Dude, answer me!”
Silence. Nothing but static and the echo of his own ragged breathing. A cold sense of dread settled over him, a sickening certainty that something was very wrong. “I need a radio check on Paul.”
Paige answered first. “I got nada.”
“No joy,” Tai responded.
Then Graham. “Nothing here.”
If Paul had dropped his comlink again …