The Gender Plan (The Gender Game #6)(83)

“No offense, but Cody made his choice,” Amber said, and I couldn’t help but snap.

“We have no idea what Desmond said to him in that room, but we do know that he is a traumatized little boy, suffering from abuse and neglect. Desmond has a drug that he feels he needs in order to… stop feeling the way he does about all of the horrible stuff that happened to him. And you want to blame him for that? Blame her, for making him take it in the first place, and then convincing him it was a good thing he was doing. You can give up on him if you want, but I’m not ready to.”

I didn’t mean to become so passionate, but the whole situation made me quake with anger. Desmond escaping was a dash to our hopes—but it was almost expected, almost a relief to be rid of the burden of her unwanted presence and the threat that what she’d said about the boys was true. But to force Cody and Solomon back into their lives of being used as tools? I couldn’t let that happen. I hadn’t wanted to go into the city in this condition. It very likely could kill me. But if there was a chance of stopping Desmond from interfering with our plans, I had to take it. Everyone else was busy with the mission. It had to be me.

The other people on the line seemed to take my shout as all the convincing they needed.

“Owen’s going with you, obviously,” said Viggo softly. “But you need more people if you’re going after her. Who’s left?”

“Morgan,” I said, and I turned to where she still stood on the landing, looking up at her. She hesitated, her eyes flicking over to Owen, and then Henrik, before nodding.

“Lynne will want to go too,” she said softly.

“—and Lynne as well,” I transmitted. “We’ve still got one of Ashabee’s special cars. We’ll gas it up and track her. But we’ve got to go now—we’ve already wasted too much time.”

Henrik met my gaze and nodded. “Go,” he said. “I can give you my mobile comm set, with the glove, and use the headset you were using with the drone. I’ll send someone out to check on Lacey.”

“Thanks.” I nodded to Owen. “Get whatever you need and meet in the car. Morgan—”

“I’ll go get Lynne,” she said, turning and leaving the room at a run. I raced after her, my mind compiling a rapid list of what I needed. We hadn’t had much time to begin with... and now we had even less.





29





Viggo





I fired another round at a group of cars that several men had scrambled behind, picking them out using the night vision goggles I had scavenged from one of the dead gang members. I pushed them back from the building, trying to keep as many of them as possible from getting to the doors before Mags got there. When we’d begun firing on the Porteque gang members from their own building, the intersection had erupted into chaos—I’d seen fighting between the members well before they’d even thought to fire back at us, and the sight gave me a savage pleasure.

The gun clicked empty, and I ejected the magazine. In the room beside me, Alejandro continued to fire. I heard a rifle go off in the hallway and gritted my teeth.

“Report!” I roared, into the microphone and down the hall at once.

“Tim’s on the move, as are we. Entering the park.”

“Two down on the stairs.”

April and Mags spoke at the same time, but I picked out what was said simply by context as I slid a new magazine into place, my eyes tracking Mags’ group’s progress down the sidewalk in the park below. My eyes flew right as I saw something shift on the building across from us, and I pressed the stock of my gun into my shoulder, firing in short, controlled bursts at the rooftop several hundred feet below.

“Marna and I took out the group trying to flank us on the left. She is an amazing shot. Tells me she had a good teacher.” I acknowledged Cruz’s report, not having time to really register the compliment, just satisfied they were holding their own over there. My rounds streaked red, giving the goggles a bit more light, and I readjusted and fired another burst, watching the man who had been creeping up on the edge of the building jerk and fall. I stared at the shadows for a second, looking for movement, and then glanced at Mags again.

“We got guns out front,” she shouted into the mic, and I saw her leap back a few steps, bright white flashes on the screen making her disappear and reappear. She was firing, as were several of the group around her, creating havoc in my vision.

“I’m sending a few people down to help you,” I replied, disconnecting and looking at Alejandro. “Get down there and take one from each room… and April. You’ll be in charge until you get to Mags. Take out the guys who are pinning them down, and get our team into the building.”

My main channel beeped, and I quickly switched over while Alejandro moved out of the room.

“Viggo, I’m in position,” Ms. Dale said. “What’s your status?”

Before replying, I fired another few rounds at the car. I must’ve gotten too close for comfort, because the Porteque members behind the car were running, and a little bit of satisfaction grew in me. “We’re two blocks away. Mags and her team are in a firefight, but we’ve got the advantage on them, and we’ll be able to control the situation and get there soon.”

“There isn’t a lot of time—”