Page 48 of Renegade
Caroline shook the director’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Do us proud, ladies.” The division chief walked back inside, and Caroline flicked her attention to Addison.
“I have no words,” Caroline said.
“I have plenty,” Addison said. “Unfortunately, I can’t brief you, but I wouldn’t do it in the SUV anyway.”
Caroline stashed her computer bag in the back seat, rode shotgun.
“Are you ready to have your mind blown?” Addison asked.
Caroline smiled. “So ready.”
“How are you with directions?” Addison asked.
“Pretty good.”
“Commit this to memory,” Addison instructed. “Route 7 west.”
Caroline made mental notes when Addison entered a residential area and took several turns. At the end of a street, she turned onto a dirt road beyond a No Trespassing sign. After driving for a few moments, the heavily wooded area cleared, the dirt road became paved.
A large building came into view. There were no windows, no signage on the exterior. Addison drove around back, stopped in front of a large, hangar door. She tapped a button on her visor, the door rose, and Addison pulled in. Then, she tapped the visor and the door closed.
“What the hell,” Caroline murmured.
“You’ll be assigned an SUV,” Addison explained. “They’re bullet proof and part of the fleet.”
“What is this?”
“It’s our Black Site, which is also our safe house.”
With her handbag over her shoulder and her computer bag in hand, Caroline followed Addison to the entrance.
Rather than stand in front of the scanner, Addison made a call. “We’re here.” Then, Addison shot Caroline a smile. “I’m excited to be working with you again.”
“My mouth hurts,” Caroline said. “I can’t stop smiling.”
Addison laughed as a tall man with a full head of mussed, brown hair walked over. The glass door slid open and he stepped into the hangar.
Addison made the introductions. “Caroline Austin, Dakota Luck.”
She shook his hand.
“Firm handshake,” Dakota said. “Nice.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’re pretty informal here. Call me Dakota. In order for you to have access to this building, I need some biometrics, but first let’s get you a vehicle.”
He fetched a key fob from one of the black SUVs, handed it to her. “Don’t get pulled over. The vehicles are untraceable to the organization, so it’ll cause suspicion.”
She tucked the fob into her handbag before he scanned her retina and got a voice sample. Once done, inside they went.
“Addison can give you a tour later,” Dakota explained. “Let’s head to my office. I’ve got your laptop?—”
“What about the one from my employer?” Caroline asked.
“Use this one while on assignment,” Dakota explained as he escorted them down the hallway and around the corner.
