Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(94)

Erin grabbed the extra headset with a growl. “Theo, they’re looking for someone. Something’s going down.” There was a pause before Erin shot back. “Instinct, little boy. I’ve done this more than you. Yes, you’re my superior on this mission, but I’ve logged more time in the field than you and Case combined. Something’s wrong. Turn around now.”

Hutch winced in a way that let Faith know Theo hadn’t agreed with Erin.

“You’re going to get everyone killed.” Erin took off the headset and looked to Hutch. “I’m calling Tag. Get me a line out.”

Hutch put up his hands. “Erin, I know you have many ways to disembowel a man, but in this one case, I’m more afraid of Theo than I am of you. This was Ten’s operation and Theo’s my teammate. He’s in charge so I’m not going to pull that line for you. Relax. They’re professionals.”

Erin sat back, her eyes staring straight ahead at the screen as Theo and the group made their way toward the outermost building.

“That building is supposed to be for the gardening equipment and all the stuff the maintenance team uses,” Faith said, her voice dull.

“It’s got some serious security measures on it for a storage shed. Someone really doesn’t want the riding mowers stolen.” Hutch reached for a bag of chocolate covered peanuts. “Want some? They’re protein.”

“No, thanks.” She’d forced down a protein bar for dinner. It had been a little surprising that it hadn’t come back up. She’d spent hours pouring over the evidence against her father. Much more time than she’d spent on Ten’s records. If the McKay-Taggart team was lying, they were far more comprehensive than her father. She’d spent another hour comparing the evidence.

They could both be right. She believed some of the things about Tennessee Smith. The ruthlessness was true. No doubt about that. She could believe that he’d sent men out into dangerous situations, even out to die. But why would Jesse Murdoch vouch for the man? According to her father’s report, Ten had sold Murdoch out along with James Grant. Yet Murdoch and his wife—who had also been James’s wife—stood beside Ten.

The money trail told the tale in the end. Who had profited? Her father. Her sister.

When she looked deep into her soul and asked herself if she believed her father was capable of murder, she had to answer yes.

So she was here, ready to betray her family completely, and then she would be alone.

“How are they going to get into the building?” She hadn’t sat in on the mission briefing. She’d been putting together a field kit and preparing, though they’d told her they planned to get in and out as quietly as possible.

If they couldn’t get to Ten easily, they were supposed to regroup and wait for a better time.

That’s what Theo had said. She wasn’t sure she believed him. Theo seemed determined to prove himself in the field. If they were still friends, she’d talk to Erin about it. She’d sit beside her and lend Erin her strength.

Not that she had any.

“Theo’s got a program on his tablet I set up to run through a list of possible combinations. He’s going to hook it up, give it two cycles, and then we’ll call it. I’ll have more data even if it doesn’t work. It might take two or three tries, but we’ll get in there.”

“He’s got C-4,” Erin said flatly.

Hutch’s eyes widened and he was playing with his headset again. “Boss, you’re coming up on the building. You’ve got one guard to your right. I’ve been watching him, and if you give him two minutes, he takes a smoke break. I’ve watched him for a couple of nights. Once he steps out, you’ll have about five minutes when that door is unguarded. I’ll handle the cameras.”

Faith watched as Theo moved in behind the guard and silently took him out.

“Shit,” Hutch swore. “Don’t do this, Taggart. Follow the plan.”

“This is his plan,” Erin said with a shake of her head. “It was always his plan. He was never going to leave Ten inside that building. Living or dead, he won’t leave Ten behind.”

Faith’s heart sped up. “Are you sure Ten is even in there?”

Hutch’s hands were fists. “His tracking device leads us there, but it hasn’t moved since the night he was taken. He could be a corpse or they could have found the device and cut it out of him. There’s zero guarantee Theo’s going to find Ten. There’s a one hundred percent shot that he’s going to tip off your father and his guards that we’re here if he blows the damn door.”

“He doesn’t care. He thinks he’s smarter and faster than everyone, and I pray to god he’s right,” Erin said. “Because those guards at the gate are waiting for something and it’s not a pizza delivery.”

Faith watched the screen. The small group moved in now that the guard had been taken care of.

“Naturally I get a call I can’t refuse now,” Hutch said under his breath. “It’s coming in off the sat line so it’s going to come over the speakers.” He went silent as he fiddled with the computer.

“Is he really going to blow the door?” Faith asked Erin as Hutch tried to answer the call.

Erin sat forward, the screen casting ghostly shadows over her face. “He’s going to do anything he can to get Ten out of there. He can’t leave his boss. He knows what’s happening in there. Theo won’t leave Ten to be tortured and killed if he thinks for a second that he can get him out, but he’s not being careful.”