Inferno (Talon #5)(76)
“Fine, Sebastian,” Peter Matthews said in a hostile voice. “But I hope you remember this when the lizards fuck our entire mission in the back. Tell your dragons hello when they send you to hell.”
“Tell them yourself,” said a voice, and Mist materialized behind us. “Because you would be the first to go. Sorry it took a while,” she told me, ignoring the glare from Matthews. “I ran into something…well, not unexpected, but troublesome.”
“What happened?” I asked her. She frowned.
“Better that you see for yourself. There are no cameras or guards, so we’re safe for the moment.”
I nodded and glanced at the others. “Let’s move.” We hurried across the clearing, prioritizing speed now rather than stealth, and ducked into the mine entrance. Inside, a rusted iron gate blocked the way forward, but the chain that held the door shut had been cut through, probably by Mist. After pulling the door back with a squeak, we entered the darkness of the tunnel.
“Ooh, a chain on the door,” Peter Matthews mocked, his voice echoing quietly. “That must’ve been a bitch to get through.”
“Maybe for certain oblivious humans,” Mist replied. “But that’s not what I was talking about.” She stopped and gestured down the shaft. “See for yourself.”
I shone my flashlight into the darkness, and my heart sank. About fifty yards ahead, the tunnel had been blocked by a massive pile of rocks and dirt. Judging from the size of some of the boulders and the way everything seemed to have settled, this cave-in must have happened months, if not years, ago.
“Dammit.” Tristan shook his head, giving the rock pile a look of dismay. “Well, that’s going to screw things up for us. No way we’re getting through that.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and looked at me. “Don’t suppose you know of another way in? Otherwise this mission is screwed.”
I didn’t, of course, and was racking my brain to come up with an alternate plan when Ember made a thoughtful noise and stepped forward.
“No,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes at the cave-in. “This isn’t a mistake. This is what Talon wants you to see. There’s no way into the cave, so intruders will turn around and leave.”
“Exactly,” Mist said, giving Ember an approving nod. “Talon excels in hiding in plain sight. If they had high-tech security guarding this place, anyone would become suspicious. So I did some digging. It took me a while—I had no real clue of what I was looking for, but in the end, I finally found this.”
Reaching down, she grabbed one of the mine cart rails and pulled. An entire section of track swung up like a trapdoor, revealing a concrete shaft and a metal ladder that went straight down into darkness.
Peter Matthews gave a soft chuckle. “Sneaky bastards,” he muttered. “I keep forgetting how shifty these things are.” He glanced at me, a wide, somewhat evil grin crossing his face. “Well, Commander? Door’s open. Let’s get in there and slaughter some lizards.”
I didn’t like the zealous gleam in his eyes, or the bloodlust, but here we were. The door was open and the mission had to go on.
“Lieutenant,” I said into my mic. “We’ve reached the back entrance.”
“Copy that, Sebastian,” Ward replied. “We’ll begin the assault.” There was a pause, then he added, “Good luck and Godspeed to you all.”
His voice cut out, and I switched channels to our support, who was overseeing the operations of both teams. “Wes. You there?”
“About bloody time.” The hacker sighed. “Yes, I’m here. I take it you’ve found the other way in?”
“Yes.”
“Right. I’ll guide you through best I can, but remember, I only have the blueprint. I can’t account for enemy guards or killer dragons ambushing you. You’re on your own then.”
“Understood. Just get us to that chamber, Wes. We’ll take it from there.”
A sudden flash came from outside, followed by the muffled but unmistakable sound of an explosion. We all looked toward the tunnel entrance as distant gunfire sounded over the trees.
“It’s started,” Ember breathed. Her expression was dark but determined, and for a moment, I saw the outline of her real self, a fierce red dragon with eyes glowing green, as she turned to me. “I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s end this.”
I nodded. “Move out,” I ordered, and we started down the ladder into the depths of a laboratory of monsters, ready to destroy them all and save the world.
Knowing full well we weren’t coming out again.
RILEY
Okay, that’s bigger than I thought it would be.
I crouched in dragon form at the edge of the rise, digging my talons into the edge of the cliff, gazing down the slope at our target. The entrance to the laboratory sat at the bottom of a rocky bowl, surrounded by mountains on all sides. I could see a gaping cavern large enough to drive a truck through cut into the side of a slope—the original entrance to the mine, if I had to guess. The land around it had been cleared and stripped of all vegetation, leaving the area barren and rocky. Several long gray buildings sat in rows off to one side, and a yellow backhoe, bulldozer and other construction equipment sat silent and empty near a gravel pit. A chain-link fence surrounded the entire area, with watchtowers flanking either side of the road that led through the gate and up to the entrance.