Page 31 of The Comeback Road (Leaving #2)

Lexie

We stayed crouched low behind a stack of crates that had been piled up at the back entrance while we waited.

The faint sounds of the city faded into the background.

I couldn’t help but stay completely focused on the small, grimy window about ten feet away.

It was our only way in, and it was completely dependent on the timing of Laurel and Randolf.

Luke shot me a glance as if to ask me again if I was ready, and I rolled my eyes at him. I focused on where I needed to be, and that was inside. I could feel my body simmering with determination.

I knew that there would be a very narrow timeframe in which we could slip inside undetected. The old warehouse was a fortress, and the guards were going to be on high alert. Timing was everything.

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the air, shaking the ground beneath my feet, and I almost faltered. The sound was followed by the crackle of debris hitting the roof, hitting whatever was in its path. A flash of light illuminated from the front and was large enough to radiate to the back.

“Let’s go!” Luke said as he sprinted toward the window, and I was right behind him.

We reached the small opening in seconds.

He took a quick look around—no guards in sight, but we still didn’t have time to waste.

Stepping back, I saw him inhale, and then, with one powerful kick, he shattered the window.

Glass exploded everywhere at the force he used, tinkling like wind chimes as it hit the ground in a haunting sound.

“Get in!” Luke urged as he climbed through the jagged opening.

He landed silently, then reached for me.

He immediately started scanning the dimly lit room we found ourselves in for any threats.

It seemed to be a small storage area filled with old shipping containers and crates, the faint smell of mildew and urine lingering in the air.

Luke opened one of the shipping containers, and I had to hold back my bile as I saw what appeared to be chains and a mattress inside.

My heart was racing, and I knew I didn’t have time to fall apart at what I was seeing.

I pulled my laptop from my backpack and flipped it open, the screen illuminated the dark space.

“I just need to bypass their firewall to get access to the security cameras,” I said, my fingers already flying over the keyboard as it fired up.

I set to work as Luke moved to the corner of the room. He pulled out his FBI-issued sidearm—a standard Glock 19—and checked the magazine, ensuring it was loaded and ready for whatever would be ahead. He looked at ease, like it was what he was born to do.

“Just one minute,” I said softly, my focus unwavering as I navigated through the layers of security.

The whir of the laptop and the clicking of my fingers filled the stuttered silence that seemed out of place after the blast. I could hear the faint sounds of chaos, where I assumed the rest of the team was keeping the guards occupied.

Luke continued to keep watch at the door, and it became eerily quiet, the distant sounds of battle echoing through the walls.

“I got it.” The screen flashed as I broke through the last firewall and defenses of the system and quickly booted up the security camera feeds.

“Show me the layout,” Luke urged, moving closer to me.

My eyes darted across the screen as the camera feeds came to life, displaying the interior of the warehouse.

“Okay, there’s a main corridor leading to the central office.

Looks like there are two guards there who haven’t moved to help the others,” I noted.

I also saw that the rest of the warehouse was suspiciously empty, and the amount of guards didn’t exactly add up.

I could see the wheels in Luke’s head turning, knowing he was seeing and thinking the exact same thing.

“We can take them out silently, then head for the data room, which looks like it’s in that interconnected walkway,” he told me while continuing to look at the screens before me.

“We have to move fast. We don’t have much time. ”

I packed up my laptop and shoved it into my bag as Luke led the way.

He slowly moved out of the door to ensure the coast was clear before waving at me to continue behind him.

The plan was in motion, and we were moving fast into the next step of our plan.

We moved at an insane speed before Luke abruptly stopped.

“On three,” he whispered to me, counting down, and I braced myself, ready to take on whatever was ahead.

“Stay close,” Luke murmured, his gaze daring around for any signs of movement. The path to the server room was empty, when only a few seconds before, it was blocked by two guards. His gaze continued to dart around, looking for them in the shadows.

The path was lined with old machinery and crates, creating an obstacle course that could hide any number of threats.

We moved closer and deeper into the belly of the beast, and the atmosphere became thick and heavy.

I felt a weight of unseen eyes watching us, and the seemingly oppressive silence was broken only by the distant sounds of fighting that had been our company the entire time.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from somewhere ahead, and I froze for the briefest of seconds.

“What was that?” I whispered. My heart raced, but I continued to move before Luke whipped his head back to me.

“Stay here,” he said, but just as he reached the corner, a loud bang reverberated through the hall and once again.

The ground shook beneath me. In an instant, the lights flickered and went out, plunging us into unforeseen darkness.

“Luke?” I whisper-shouted, trying my best to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Stay put!” he shouted back, but the command was swallowed by another blast that caused me to fly backward. The sudden darkness we were plunged into was disorienting, and I couldn’t help the surge of fear I felt at losing sight of Luke and my vision in general.

“Luke!” I yelled out this time, but my voice was drowned out by the noise.

The sound of footsteps and shouting echoed through the corridors.

I knew I had to move, even if that meant moving without him.

Gritting my teeth, I stayed low on the ground, and started to army crawl my way to where I knew the server room was.

After what felt like an eternity, I hit a marked door with a flickering red light. “This is it,” I murmured, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I pulled myself up, and was surprised at how easily the door opened—no lock, no resistance, just access.

Inside, the room was dimly lit by the soft glow of the server racks, and hummed with power.

I quickly moved over the main terminal, my fingers flying over the keyboard after I removed my laptop once again and connected it to the main system.

The screen flickering to life with a complex array of codes.

“Okay, get it together. You can do this. It’s time to crack this cherry,” I whispered to myself, remembering the intricate layers of security that protected the data.

I focused, my mind racing as I continued to navigate the digital landscape that I would have spent hours admiring if I’d had the time.

I was bypassing the firewalls and encryption protocols, but the code was extremely difficult.

Designed to look harmless, but was a labyrinth of traps and dead-ends.

Just as I was making progress, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My instincts were screaming at me that something was off. The door I had previously entered slammed shut, plunging me into a suffocating silence, and then I heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching.

Before I could react, a figure lunged from the shadows—a masked man, wielding a knife.

I barely had time to react as I ducked, instinctively dropping into a defensive stance.

My training kicked in as I sidestepped his first attack.

He swung the knife again as I dodged, feeling the movement of air as the blade grazed my side.

I felt adrenaline, and nothing else. As it surged through me, I countered his attacks with a quick jab that connected with his jaw.

But he was quick. He regained his balance and came at me again.

Exchanging blows, my entire focus was on making out of it alive.

The only sounds that filtered around us were the echoes of our fists hitting flesh in the confined space.

I was fast, the hand-to-hand combat training I’d been given giving me confidence.

But whoever he was, was utterly relentless.

I managed to outmaneuver a punch and was able to deliver a swift kick to his stomach which sent him flying back, but he recovered and charged at me again .

We seemed to battle on, neither one of us gaining the upper hand, and I was running out of steam.

I was slow to block, and I felt a sharp pain lacerate my side and knew he had finally managed to connect, an unwanted gasp escaped my lips, and I staggered back.

A quick look down only reaffirmed the fact that I’d been stabbed as blood oozed from the site, soaking through my vest and for a moment my vision became blurred.

Fuck, no. Am I dying here? Fuck, no. Am I never seeing Magnolia again?

Fuck, no. Am I never making it back home to Rockland?

As that thought hit me, so did my second wind.

Refusing to back down, I channeled my pain into fury, into hope .

I launched myself at him, using my momentum and his temporary shock to my advantage, and landed a blow to his face.

The impact sent him staggering back against the pallets that lined the room.

I followed with a swift kick to his knee, and heard as it gave out and dropped him to the ground. I quickly moved to pin him down, gripping his wrist to prevent him from grabbing any more weapons.

“Who do you work for?” I demanded through gritted teeth and blood.

He simply stared at me and smiled, then started to struggle against my grip, his strength returning, while mine seemed to be dwindling.

I knew what I had to do. I had seen the red out of the corner of my eye, and, as quickly as I could, I reached for the fire extinguisher with my own free hand.

Before I could think twice, I brought it down over his face until I heard the shattering and breaking of bones that no one would come back from.

As if knowing I was fading fast, I heard the unmistakable sounds of footsteps approaching the door, praying to whoever might be listening that it wasn’t another guard.

In my peripheral vision, I made out the silhouette of Luke as he made his way into the room. He looked around, and once he took in the scene around him, he advanced. Breathing heavily, I moved to my knees. “I still need to get the data.”

Luke looked at me in concern. “You’re hurt. We need to get you out of here.”

“No, I need to do this. We are so close.” Stealing my resolve, I turned back to the terminal, fingers flying once again over the keyboard, ready to finish what I started, despite the pain that was clouding my vision. I just had to make it a little bit longer.

I was close, so close. Before I lost consciousness, I was barely aware of the ping that sounded from the computer, alerting me that we had done it. I was in.

“Holy shit, you did it.”

I turned to smile at him, blinding pain taking over as I faded into nothing.