Page 21 of Remade
I stepped closer and eyed the screen. What in the fuckin’… It wasinthe grass. Well, it was installed into a block of concrete, but it was in the grass. Hyatt brought the drone closer, and I inspected the domed cover atop the vent. To keep water out?But it couldn’t be enough. Even if it prevented rain from falling straight down, the slightest flooding would send water gushing in. They’d obviously prioritized keeping the vent hidden in the grass over ensuring no moisture got in.
“How big is that?” Coach asked. “Twelve, thirteen inches?”
Hyatt hummed. “Maybe more like ten.”
“What the fuck are youse talking about in hea’?” Crew poked his head in. “That sounds painful.”
Coach pointed. “Get the fuck out.”
My mouth twitched, and I refocused on the screen. “What can we expect here? A filter of some sort?”
“And a protective cover, like a net or whatever,” Hyatt said. “Either way, they’re easily removed. We should be able to get a camera down there. Just to get a look at the layout in that back room.”
More than that…
Coach and I glanced at each other, and I was positive we were thinking the same thing.
Stun grenades and riot control agents—we could smoke ’em out.
This was the break we needed.
At almost three in the fucking morning, we were finally ready to get this over with. Our perimeter watch unit was exhausted, I was exhausted, everyone was exhausted. But hopped up on shitty coffee and the need to get out of here. And, frankly, excitement. At least from me. Hyatt had come through. We had a live feed capturingsomeactivity down in the bunker. Just like the blueprints had shown, it was one room after another, and the vent was in the far back. Wide doorways, open all the waythrough. Three men had been captured on film, closer toward the entrance. Just quick flashes of them walking by.
“Charlie, Delta—forward,” I ordered quietly, adjusting my headset. Much more comfortable than the earpieces that didn’t cancel any outside noise whatsoever. My eardrums might survive the night.
The rest of us waited in the cover of the trees, right by the dirt road.
Leighton gave me a quick glance, an even quicker smile, and he was off.
You got this, pup.
They crouched low and ran across the wide lawn toward the vent on the other short-end of the bunker. Nothing whatsoever was visible to the eye. Just moonlit grass. And the driveway.
Our approach would look a little different from previously planned, and I was happier with these changes. Charlie and Delta would drop the stun grenades and riot control agents, and then they’d meet up with the rest of us, with Charlie returning first.
We had to be ready for anything. Even if the combo of ear-deafening explosions, thick smoke, and tear gas caused mayhem down there, they could recover quickly and retaliate.
Slater signaled with his flashlight that they were in position, so I gestured for my guys to follow me.
I stayed low too, and we sprinted toward the driveway.
It was vital that we could take down the two cameras near the entrance right as the stun grenades were dropped. We needed those extra few seconds.
My mind sank into that familiar place, where I was as sharp as I was calm. Sometimes, when life had gotten too rough or…I simply didn’t wanna deal with shit, I’d taken on extra assignments just to feel that peace again.
It also helped knowing there were no mines.
Coach and I snuck as close as we could, keeping Crew behind us. The driveway had a curve to it, so we could move farther down than Quinn and Hudson on the other side of the road.
Quinn signaled to me that he couldn’t move farther without risking detection by their surveillance?—
“Delta here. Stun grenades ready to drop. Over,” Slater reported.
A razor-sharp bolt of adrenaline shot through me, and I took a steadying breath. “Copy that, Delta. Bravo and Charlie, get ready. Delta, you’re a go for the drop. Over.”
Quinn lifted his carbine, and then the whole area shook with a muted, thundering explosion from below. Quinn didn’t waste a second. He took a couple steps down the hill and immediately shot down the first camera.
“Charlie, get back here,” I commanded, moving forward too. “Delta, drop the agents, then get here.”
