Page 130 of Ravage
We share a nod and then burst into the room.
The four men are sitting at a table together in the center of the room with drinks in hand.
I fire two rounds in rapid succession on the man sitting closest to the door. Then I re-aim my gun on my next target opposite my first.
I pull the trigger twice again, but this guy has the extra seconds to react and dives to the ground. I run and jump on the table, aiming on the other side. Gunfire erupts from the semi-automatic he has through the table. I leap off of it. I shoot repeatedly, aiming for him under the table when I land before he can turn his gun on me.
The gun clatters to the ground. I fire one more time to be sure he’s gone and then check on Aiden.
His sword slashes across his opponent’s throat and then whips back down and lengthens at the same time to reach the fourth man. He tries to dodge it, but Aiden adjusts the direction and three of the diamond blades at the end plunge into him.
He whips the sword back to himself so the end curls at his feet.
Another door opens. I aim the gun at the middle of the doorway, but a blue merle Australian shepherd dog trots in instead. I sigh and lower my gun.
Elias and Noah had brought this dog along for whatever reason. I can’t imagine why someone would bring a pet on a mission, until he sniffs across the floor like a bloodhound. Elias and Noah follow him in. Noah eyes the carnage in the room with a look of mild approval. Elias, on the other hand, is pale and looks away as soon as he spots the first body.
The dog whines and paws at the floor in the corner. Elias is the fastest to move to him. Either he’s desperate to find Portia or to get out of this room. Or both.
He starts feeling along the walls and hitting it. The floors are square concrete slabs, so there are lines between each slab. The dog is pawing at one of the lines.
“Secret passage?” I guess. Aiden has these built into the Tower and our safe house, so I’m familiar with hidden spots.
“Kit smells her through there. We just need to find out how to open it.”
That’s good news. If Portia is down there, then the others will be there as well.
If they’re here at all.
Noah strides across the slab and then squats and presses down on something. The slab drops a few inches and then glides back, revealing stairs. “I checked the memories of everyone we came across to get a better layout of this place,” he explains coolly without looking up at anyone.
He doesn’t wait for any of us to make sure we’re ready or to check if anyone’s at the bottom before he rushes down. Elias and the dog take off after him. We follow behind. The hallway ends at a T cross-section.
The dog sniffs in each direction and chooses a side. “We’ll go this way; you take the other side,” Elias directs.
We head down our side of the hallway, clearing room after room. The walls are glossy white, and the floors a polished concrete. It smells like chemicals and cleaning products. Most of the rooms are empty. Either it’s too early for the staff to be here or they’re concentrated elsewhere.
Aiden grabs the handle of the last door, forcefully unlocking it as he had all the others, and pulls it open.
Our Guild members are there, along with a few others I don’t recognize. They’re sitting or lying on hard benches along either side of the room. There’s a drain along the back wall and a hose and that’s it.
“Aiden? Dane?” one of our members, Sheila, gasps.
Aiden steps into the room to look them over. I keep watch just outside the door.
“Is anyone injured?” he asks her.
“Richard might have a broken wrist. The rest are just scratches and bruises.”
“There’s a team waiting outside to get you back to the Tower. Dane and I will get you there, but we need to move fast and quiet.”
Everyone murmurs their understanding and shuffles to their feet. I take point while Aiden takes the rear. A crash sounds down the opposite end of the hallway in one of the rooms. There’s yelling and more sounds of fighting. My skin crawls with the need to go help the others, but we made it clear in our planning that each group would stick to its own goals. As soon as we have this group clear of the building, Aiden and I can come back.
I hurry up the stairs and back through the kitchen to the door we came in. The way is thankfully clear, but I can hear more fighting underway up here. I unlock the door and yank it open. One of our guys is already there with a couple of others to collect everyone. I step back and hold the door open, ushering everyone out.
I twist back to talk to Aiden and frown when my feet don’t turn with me. Something thick and tacky holds them down.
“Aiden,” I warn. The last rescue is stuck at the threshold with one foot sinking into the concrete. I shove them over, sending them toppling out the door with enough force that his foot yanks free, leaving his shoe behind.
