Page 23 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Like an enraged bull, Alejandro closed the distance, and once more, that blade sank deep. Trev closed his eyes and bit back the whimper.
I’m sorry, Arek.
Cody wheeled into the vacant area behind Arek and jumped out to meet him at the Hummer. On any other occasion, he wouldn’t have left his baby anywhere near this area or alone in an alley, but this was an extenuating circumstance.
“Why are we here?” Cody looked around at the empty street of the old industrial section that was mostly boarded up.
“Our target is a couple of roads over. Trev parked here to keep from being seen driving in. Sweet Delilah, override lockdown, password Echo Charlie Romeo Alpha Kelo Foxtrot.”
“Override disabled, good evening, Sandman.”
“Holy fuck me sideways, is that the Hummer talking to you?”
“High tech AI, you never saw this.” Arek glared at him.
Cody held up his hands and nodded yet couldn’t help feeling like a kid in a toy store as he stared at the beautiful black vehicle with all new eyes. “I need to get me one of these.”
“Here, put this on.” Arek held out a bulletproof vest and helmet. “Sweet Delilah, I need schematics of the building, and get me a number of unfriendlies.”
“Oh, this is sick. If Trev weren’t in danger, I’d be all fanboy right now.” Cody pulled the vest on over his head and fastened the Velcro straps. “Fuck that, I’m still fanboying. This shit is cool.”
As soon as he put on the helmet, he gasped in awe. The little piece over his left eye was scrolling information. He was able to read a complete rundown of the entire op up to their arrival. There was even a short video of Trev killing off Alejandro’s men. His heart sank as Trev was hit in the leg and collapsed to the floor before it all went dark.
“Twelve unfriendly heat signatures remain. Their locations are mapped,” Delilah said.
“Only twelve?” Arek asked.
“The other fifteen Crosshairs already disposed of.”
“Crosshairs?” Cody asked, his eyes going wide as Arek handed him a large blade.
“That’s Trev’s code name.”
“Fuck, I want a code name.” Arek glared at him, and he quickly shut his mouth.
“Sweet Delilah, are all electronic devices in a mile radius blocked?”
“Yes, Sandman.”
“Good, then hack the power grid, and be on standby to shut the building down.”
Cody’s mouth fell open. This was not even possible, was it? To hack the city's power grid was sci-fi shit.
Arek stripped to replace his jeans with black fatigues and a matching t-shirt, complete with leather straps, fitting in knives and guns that he couldn’t even name. Cody took the opportunity to look around. This was an area he’d only ever driven by once or twice.
“Here.” Arek held out two guns and a handful of clips from the back seat. Strapping the first one into the leg strap, he checked the second and stuffed the extra clips into the pockets on the vest. No wonder the cops wanted to become S.W.A.T. He felt more badass than he ever had before as Ice Man.
Arek swung a large sniper rifle over his head to fit against his back before checking the chambers of the handguns.
“Resume lockdown. Codeword: Fuck me sideways,” Arek closed the door and gave him a smile.
“Codeword established.”
“Alight, let’s go. You do as I say and don’t go all cowboy on me. I don’t need to make this a two-person rescue. Besides, your sister is definitely going to kill me if I get you killed.”
“I make my own decisions but understood.”
“You’re not the one that has to go home to her and sleep in the same bed.”
