Page 126 of Storm Warning

Seth looked over his shoulder at her. “What kind?”

“Chain-link. Our mini-cutters should handle the job easily.”

“Security system?”

“Yes,” Zane said. “Ah. It’s one of ours. I can take care of the security system from here.”

Excellent. That meant less exposure time for the operatives. “Any chance you have a satellite in place that uses thermal imagery?”

“Hold.” In less than a minute, he said, “You’re in luck, Andre. One of ours is in the right position for the next two minutes. Sending you the live images now.”

Andre clicked on the link Zane sent and studied the images. He rolled his eyes when he saw two active figures in one bed. The other figures in the condo must be Cowan’s security team. Did anyone think it strange for a low man in The Company’s chain of command to receive a security detail?

He watched the security team for the remaining time the satellite could provide a picture and copied the screen.

“Sorry,” Zane said. “That’s all I could get. We’ll have another satellite I can hijack in 30 minutes if you can wait.”

Seth shook his head. “Not a good idea, Z. This looks like a working-class neighborhood, which means people will wake up and move around in an hour. We hope to be out of here by then.”

“Copy that.”

The operatives walked through a neighbor’s unfenced backyard to reach the stand of trees at the back of their target condo. They paused at the edge of the trees and studied the backyard, searching for security cameras.

Andre found the two cameras and plotted a path to the bathroom window on the first floor of the condo, the only path that landed in the cameras’ blind spots. Now, if the security detail stayed at their posts, the Fortress operatives would be golden.

Also, based on the lack of light from the windows, the lights were off throughout the place. Perfect for his team. Not so much for Cowan. For a guy sharp enough to deal with Obsidian Storm, he was foolish with his own safety.

His security detail should have caught the blind spots in the cameras’ view and done something about it. Instead, they let it go. If those four men were guarding him or Riley, he’d fire them immediately. There was no excuse for missing a security fault that obvious.

Seth glanced at Andre. “Do you see a path to get to the bathroom?”

“I’ve got it.”

He glanced at the team. “Wait until Andre is inside the bathroom before you move, one person at a time. We do this fast and quiet, then get out.” Seth nodded at Andre, who took off across the yard at a fast clip.

Andre waited a few seconds to be sure no one had seen him and sounded the alarm, but all was quiet inside the condominium, just the way he wanted it.

He checked the bathroom window. Locked. He studied the hardware for a few seconds, then went to work on the window. Twenty seconds later, the mechanism shifted to an unlocked position.

Andre slowly raised the window a couple of inches, testing to see if the window squeaked when raised. It didn’t. Excellent. He looked at Seth and signaled that he was ready to climb into the bathroom.

When Seth gave him permission to move, Andre raised the window the rest of the way, grasped the bottom of the frame with both hands, hoisted himself up and over, and slid into the room. Empty. Good. He hoped it stayed that way while the rest of his teammates joined him. “In position.”

“Copy. Riley, go.”

A moment later, Riley slid over the frame and into the bathroom. Soon, she and Andre were joined by the rest of the team.

Seth opened the door a crack. After a moment, he signaled for Elias to go to the living room with Iona and take down the guard on watch at the front window. Next, he sent Riley after the target in the kitchen.

Although Andre wanted to go with her to watch her back, he held back his protest. Riley could handle anything thrown at her. With her training, she had more skill than the man she’d go up against. Because he couldn’t help it, Andre squeezed her hand for a second, then released her.

Next, Seth looked at Andre. “Front corner room. One guard. Go.”

He studied the hallway again through the crack. Nothing. No movement. No sound or sign that anyone realized Fortress was in the house.

After a beat, Andre slipped into the hallway and made his way to the room where his target stood watch. He grasped theknob, twisted slowly, and opened the door enough to see the room.

His target hadn’t moved an inch. Either he was disciplined or asleep on his feet. Andre was betting on the former. The lights were off in this room, giving him cover to work. He’d have to be fast and silent, but the setup helped him. This room was a small den. There couldn’t be more than twelve feet separating him from his quarry.