Rushing up beside him, Phoebe said, “You know ’im?”
“Yep, that’s Angel the Magnificent, master of impossible stunts.”
Turning and taking a bow, Angel said, “At your service.” He pulled his mask down but left his NVG monocular in place.
“’Ow’d you get to that bloody window?” Phoebe asked, completely awed by Angel.
Sam saved everyone time by saying, “He rarely gives up his secrets, sort of like magicians.” Sam extended his hand, which Angel shook hard. “Good to see you, Cuz.”
“You as well, my friend. I was outside the window when the guards came in. I could not see all of them but enough to know they were armed. I had to wait for your company to leave.” He gave Sam a sad glance. “If I had come sooner, I would not have watched your lady walk out.”
His lady? Sam liked that idea.
More than anything, Sam now had a plan. “No apologies. Damn glad you’re here now. I need to get out of here and find her.”
“The team is following the vehicle that took her.”
That was encouraging, but Sam doubted following W would be that simple. He had a sick feeling. “I’ll explain why later, but I have a backup plan for finding her. I need you to get Phoebe to safety.”
“Not me, but we have others on the team.”
Shaking his head, Sam made one thing clear. “W is not to be underestimated. I feel certain the inside of the door to this tower is wired with explosives. We have to escape this room and open that exit door safely for our guys. The minute I’m free, I’m going after Hallene. Phoebe has to be kept safe no matter what.”
“I’m sure Nitro can handle that.” Angel took any high-risk task in a mission, but he avoided dealing with hostages unless he had no option. “Have you found W?”
“Oh, yes. No time to share everything, but Senator TurnerisW.” Sam could count on less than one hand the times anything surprised Angel, but that news did it.
Angel dropped his voice. “Logan picked up rumors that the Chinese have lost a special submarine and believes the US has it.”
Holy crap. Sam said, “That’s got to somehow be connected but I don’t see it yet.”
“Us either.” Angel’s gaze danced over to Phoebe. “We open the door then Blade will show up.”
Sam was not passing Phoebe off to any more unknown people even if he trusted his team without question. The girl had been through enough.
He glanced at Phoebe and raised his eyebrows as in it was time for her to help.
She lifted her chin and begged, “Don’t let them kill me sister. I’ll go with you. If Sam says you’re safe, I believe ’im.”
After a curse in Spanish, Angel sighed, “You will owe me,Primo.”
“Agreed, Cuz. First, we need a plan to get out of here and neutralize the guard at the same time, so he doesn’t alert anyone.”
Angel began digging into his tactical vest. “Hand grenade or C4?”
“Shock grenade.”
Sam ignored Angel’s look of disbelief and quickly explained, “The guard is downstairs, but I’m betting he’s close enough to reach this cell as soon as his boss tells him to take us to the next location. Phoebe explained W’s MO since leaving Venezuela was to move often and every change of location seemed faster than the last.”
“What are you thinking?”
Sam felt the first surge of adrenaline as his body powered up for action. “We draw the guard in close then you roll the flashbang through the opening in the bottom of the door. That should send him backward and disorient him enough for us to blow the door with the grenade.”
“Why not just blow the door and him at one time?”
“I need his phone,” Sam explained. “I’m hoping he doesn’t fall on it.”
Angel put away the C4 and dug out the flashbang. “How will you lure him up the stairs?”
