Inferno (Talon #5)(43)

“Well, it’s not too late to say bugger this, turn around and get off the bloody island of Dr. Moreau. But since that’s about as likely as the Elder Wyrm taking up tap dancing, I’d have to say…no.”

“Yeah, well, if we do this again, try to say ‘no’ more quickly. We’re on a time limit.”

“Keep your bloody pants on. I’m already working on it.”

The spotlight movements changed. Very slightly; if you weren’t watching them, you wouldn’t notice. But before, where you couldn’t predict where the circle of lights were going, now both spotlights fell into a pattern. I studied the lights for a minute, memorizing the rotation, before turning to Mist.

“You got it?”

“The pattern?” The other Basilisk looked past me to the circling lights. “Yes.”

“Think you can get up there and cut a big enough hole in the fence for the rest of us before the lights come around again?”

A faint smile tugged at her lips. “I think I can manage that.”

“Lieutenant.” I looked at Martin. “Once Mist creates a hole, we have to get across the yard while avoiding the spotlights. So that means your men have to follow close and do exactly what I do. Screw this up, and the whole compound will be on us in a heartbeat.”

Martin nodded. “I understand.”

“All right, Mist.” I handed a pair of bolt cutters to the girl. “It’s all you.”

She took the tool and, without hesitation, slipped across the open space to the fence. I held my breath as the spotlights swept closer, until the girl darted back again, just avoiding the edge of the light, and beckoned to us with a hand.

“Wes? Security cameras?”

“One above the front door and a few in the halls. Taking care of them now.”

“All right. I’m going in. Riley out.”

I crept forward, getting as close as I could without venturing into spotlight territory, then waiting until they swept around once more. As soon as they glided past, I moved, scurrying up to the fence, sliding through the hole Mist had made and hurrying across the yard while trying to stay as low and quiet as I could. The soldiers followed at my heels, moving in perfect unison, and we swept across the open ground in total darkness.

Mist was crouched by the front door as we exited the yard. A security camera hovered over the frame, winking at us ominously, but I trusted that Wes had either temporarily blacked it out or put it on a playback loop. The Basilisk gave me a grim look as I joined her.

“Door is electronically locked. Let’s hope you grabbed the right key.”

Without answering, I pulled the key card I’d taken from the tower guard and slid it through the slot, which beeped and turned green a second later. After yanking open the door, we slipped through the frame and closed it behind us.

I wasn’t quite sure what I’d expected when I was finally inside the facility. Perhaps rows of prison cells or individual locked rooms. Certainly not what looked to be a comfortable lobby, with sofas surrounding coffee tables, a Ping-Pong table in the corner and a television on the wall. I was expecting the lone security guard inside the entrance, who blinked at us in shock for a half second too long; obviously he was not expecting a group of armed strangers to come waltzing through the front door. I lunged forward and silenced him, then dragged him behind one of the sofas.

“Now what?” Mist asked as I straightened.

I glanced at Martin. “Secure the perimeter,” I told him. “Make sure there aren’t more guards wandering around, and if there are, take them out quietly. Mist and I are going to find the breeders. I’ll let you know when we’ve located them.” I narrowed my eyes. “It goes without saying, but don’t let any of them see you until I’ve explained the situation. I don’t want a bunch of armed soldiers of St. George surprising them in their sleep. Then this will be less a rescue mission and more a ‘get out before everything burns to the ground’ mission.”

Martin nodded briskly. “I’ll await your signal,” he said, and gestured for the soldiers to move out. They filed out of the lobby, into the dark corridors beyond, and disappeared.

“Riley.” Wes’s voice echoed over the com again. I crouched behind the sofa with the unconscious guard, Mist kneeling beside me, and tied his hands behind his back. “I’ve got a camera feed on the second floor of the place. Looks like there’s a bunch of individual dorm rooms up top. I’d say that’s where they’re keeping the breeders, mate—the not-pregnant ones, anyway.”

“Got it.” I gagged the unconscious human, then carried him to a nearby closet and stuffed him inside. “On our way now.”

“So, how are we going to do this exactly?” Mist wanted to know as we crept up the stairs. “Go to each individual room, one by one, and explain what we’re doing to every dragon on the floor? That will take forever, even if we knew how many dragons are in this place, which we don’t. We don’t have that much time.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And what happens if some of them don’t want to leave? What if they mistake what we’re doing here and sound the alarm?”

“Mist,” I growled as we reached the top of the stairs. “You’re not really helping with the devil’s advocate stuff.”