Falcon: The Quiet Professionals Book 3 (49 page)

They rushed through the darkened area and Kiew fluttered awake and back into preservation sleep demanded by her body.

Cassie followed behind and to the right of Titanis. Ahead, she saw the SEALs bounding from side to side down the hall. Clearing the way. Titanis stopped each time they entered a room and then returned.

Somewhere ahead, shouts went up. Gunfire erupted. It took everything in Cassie not to rush forward. The air crackled with a firefight. In the darkness it seemed like a small fireworks show.

“Tango down,” came a call. One that gave Cassie a little more room to breathe. But she wouldn’t relax, wouldn’t breathe easy until they were out of this skyscraper. It was hard not to think of 9/11 and the towers that collapsed. They were taller like this one. Not like Takkar. Even now, she could feel the natural sway of the building and it knotted her stomach.

Cassie had her own weapon, but she was to help Kiew. To make sure they stopped Meng-Li from getting that information, from terrorizing and killing more Americans.

“Bring Tang,” came a shout.

Titanis nodded and Cassie finally saw Sal at the far end of the narrow space, waving them closer. She ran toward him, glancing back to make sure Titanis was doing okay with Kiew. When she looked forward again, she faced not Sal but an Asian man.

Cassie jerked back to a stop, her feet skidding out from under her as she screamed. The man bucked, twitched then collapsed.

Past the man, Sal had his weapon up, trained on the spot the man had been. “Move!”

Yanked out of her panicked stupor by his growl, Cassie bolted toward him. When she reached Sal, he swirled her around behind him. “Panel,” he pointed to Titanis, who hoisted Kiew closer to the panel.

Sal pressed her hand against the pad. “Tang, we need the code again.”

Kiew lay limp in Titanis’s arms.

“Tang! The code!”

Only as Sal shouted and glanced backward, did Cassie see Meng-Li poised at a massive computer system, hacking away at a keyboard. Was Boris holding him off? Or had Meng-Li already won?

“F–five… three… two… seven,” came Kiew’s soft, labored words.

Sal punched in the numbers.

Captain Watters, Eagle, and Harrier—and all the SEALs grouped up, weapons trained and ready.

“Boris said to hurry,” Sal said, holding his ear mic. “The codes are uploading and Meng-Li has almost fully accessed the information. If he does—”

“Quiet,” Dean said slowly and low.

The door lumbered aside.

The team flooded in.

Titanis set Kiew down and nodded to Cassie, who hovered at her side, torn between being with the team and helping—somehow—and staying with her friend.

“You are too late!” pronounced Meng-Li Jin as he yanked the keyboard free and cracked it in half. “The codes are in.”

“It’s over,” Captain Watters said. “Away from the system.”

“It does not matter if you kill me. The codes and the system are set to send this information to the Chinese government. And the Russians after that.”

“Down. On your knees.”

Cassie couldn’t tear her eyes from the scene. Sal and Captain Watters flanked the crazed man, both aiming their weapons at him.

“Ahhhh!” someone shouted and sprinted into the room, firing.

The SEALs neutralized the newcomer, who tumbled to the ground.

Somehow Meng-Li produced a gun. Aimed it at Sal.

Cassie’s breath backed into her throat, frozen.

The detonation of that bullet in the barrel punched her in the gut as she watched Sal’s head jerk back. As he flipped around then thudded to the ground, Raptor brought down Meng-Li in a firestorm of bullets.

“No!”

Something tightened on Cassie’s collar, squeezing her throat.

Kiew had her shirt, pulling her. “Help me.”

Cassie frowned, her gaze diving back to Sal, who wasn’t moving. “No, no…”

Eagle had rushed toward Sal while Harrier squatted next to Meng-Li and dipped his brown head, verifying Meng-Li was dead.

“Bomb.”

Cassie jerked. “What?”

“Raptor,” Takkar said, “Boris detected a rogue code that looks a lot like a destruct code to the main building.”

“What about the codes?”

“He’s crippling the system, but a well-placed grenade would help.”

Heavy glass walls slammed into place, sealing off the team in the main systems room.

“My terminal,” Kiew said, her gaze hitting something. “Hurry.”

Cassie glanced over her shoulder. Saw a desk-like area. The men were sealed in the room, banging on it. Captain Watters knelt over Sal. Shook his shoulder. But Sal didn’t respond. Cassie’s mind warped into panic.

“Code… Shinji…”

Leaning forward, Cassie lifted Kiew over her shoulder in a fireman carry. She trembled as she pushed to her feet, her legs unwilling to support the extra weight. But she would, doggone it. She would do this. With one last glance, she prayed Sal hadn’t been killed.

Captain Watters shook Sal again, and this time, he shifted.

Thank You, God!

Cassie focused on getting to the terminal. Saving his team and Kiew. All of them. For once in her life, she’d be the answer, not the problem. She’d stop this insanity.

The first several steps were made, not with ease but firm resolution. But her knee buckled. Cassie thrust out a hand and caught herself against one of the system tables as Kiew shifted. Cassie counterbalanced. Pushed herself up. Hauled her and Kiew the last few steps.

Kiew tumbled off.

Cassie cried out, catching her friend. “Sorry. So sorry.” She adjusted Kiew so she could reach the system keyboard.

Her friend’s fingers groped for keys. She shuddered and bobbed forward, about to collapse.

She clicked something and a dialogue box popped up.

Thuds drew Cassie’s attention around. Sal and Dean were shouting something. Hand on Kiew, she kept her place and tried to figure out what they were saying.

“Shin… ji…”

Cassie glanced back. Realized Kiew wasn’t moving. “Hey, you—”

Head down, arms limp, Kiew wasn’t breathing.

“No!” Cassie pressed her friend back and glanced at the box. She hadn’t entered the code. “Kiew! Kiew, no! I need you.” Terrorized, she looked at Sal and shook her friend. “Please, Kiew! Don’t do this. Don’t die. Not now.”

Tears blurred Cassie’s vision, the dose of panic acute.

“God!” She cried out to her Maker, desperate. Frantic. She clapped her hands over her head, turning to see Sal and Dean banging. They pointed to something.

She looked and saw a red display with numbers. Countdown.

Bomb.

Cassie couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Kiew warned her a bomb would go off. Warned her…

You’ll have to be Shinji
.

How? How could she be her Shinji when Kiew was already dead? It didn’t make sense. Why bring her here? Why have her…?

Cassie gripped the edge of the desk. “O God…” Desperation made it impossible to think or pray. “Help me!” she screamed, the words scraping the very marrow of her bones. “They’re all going to die!”

Shinji.

“What does that mean?” Cassie screamed again.
Okay. Okay. Stop it. Panic doesn’t help. Screaming doesn’t help
. “Oh, Jesus, please… please please please…”

Shinji. A reload movie.
You Can (Not) Redo
. 2.22.

Cassie hauled in a breath. “Two point two two!”

Codes couldn’t have non-numeric digits. Could they? She punched in the numeric digits. Glanced back at the display. Still going. Panic vaulted over hope. She glanced at the screen. Saw she’d typed 2.23. She reentered it, more carefully—slower—this time.

A buzzing roared through the level.

Behind her a cheer went up. She looked back, thrilled to find Sal and the others rushing toward her.

Sal’s eyes widened, he bolted around the corner. “No!”

Cassie turned to see what he was doing and then noticed the main door to this area dropping into place. Sal dove and rolled into the room, narrowly avoiding losing a leg as the wall slammed into place.

“No! What are you doing?” she screamed at him.

“Secondary explosion,” Sal said. “Meng-Li must’ve had a trigger on the main floor. Look!”

Cassie checked the monitor in the corner—of the penthouse. Flames engulfed it.

“Go, go!” Sal shouted to the team. “We’ll find a way out.”

Dean scowled at him but the others were already hustling out of the sub lab.

“How are we going to find a way out?” Cassie demanded, her childhood fear of fire suffocating her thoughts.

“Go!” Sal growled as he rushed over to Kiew and lifted her off the chair.

Cassie couldn’t help but feel a suffocating pressure against her chest as she watched the team vanish, leaving them alone in a burning building. “What are you doing?”

But he didn’t answer. He rushed toward the panel. Pressed Kiew’s hand against it.

“Code! Code,” Sal demanded.

Cassie froze. “I don’t know—”

Sal punched in a series of numbers.

The blast shield lifted.

Cassie gaped. “How—?”

“Her passcode—she used it earlier with my help.” Sal grabbed her hand. “C’mon!”

CHAPTER 46

Shanghai, China
11 April—2335 Hours

T
hey barreled through the lower lab, feeling the concussive boom of the bomb that had been set off after Cassie deactivated the first one. Sal caught her hand and flung her toward the door, which was sliding closed.

“Falcon, report!”

They shimmied past it and up the stairs. His boot hit a slick spot and he nearly ate it, realizing too late that’s where Kiew Tang had lain when they found her.

“En route. Two mikes.”

“Time is short.”

Fire roared and surged, licking the ceiling. Devouring the furniture.

Sal pushed Cassie forward, willing her to run faster. They threw themselves at the stairs. Cassie stumbled.

“Fire has engulfed the three levels below you.”

Sal’s heart vaulted into his throat, hearing the secondary boom. “Move, move!”

The explosion shot into the stairwell. Punched him forward, right into Cassie. A scorching wave rushed over his back. He dove over Cassie and protected her, toeing the door shut with his boot.

Catching her drag strap, he hauled her up. “Go!”

“Falcon, you’re out of time! Supports are crumbling.”

Cassie fumbled but finally got on her feet. Sprinted up the stairs two at a time. She flung herself around the next flight and Sal overtook her, reaching the door seconds before she did. He yanked it open and pushed her onto the roof.

The chopper hovered and swung toward them.

A rope rippled down.

Sal sprinted and caught it. He waved her toward it. Even as he did, he felt the building groan.

Cassie’s eyes widened as the entire roof tilted.

Sal wrapped his arm and leg in the rope. “Hold on to me!”

She frantically shook her head.

The building pitched and tossed Cassie at him.

“Now!” Sal hooked her waist and snapped her tight against himself. Almost instantly, they were yanked up. Over the building. Bright white light exploded below them, chasing their legs with its furious heat. With a massive groan that sounded like a freight train, the building surrendered the fight.

Cassie’s arms clamped around him, her face pressed into his neck. Her legs coiled around his hips, her entire body rigid. The frigid air tore at them. Threatening his grip and their very lives.

He would not drop her.

Wind tugged hard, actively trying to punish them for defying gravity.

Cassie’s frame trembled. He couldn’t hear her for the roar of the air, but he was pretty sure she was crying as they trailed behind the big bird.

Sal saw another rooftop rushing up at them and breathed a sigh of relief when the rope lowered them from a horizontal position over the road to vertical. They touched down on the roof.

“You okay?” Sal shouted, now able to feel her hot breath on his neck as she still clung to him.

“No,” she managed.

“We need to climb up. Can you?”

Cassie released him and stepped back. Stumbled and plopped hard onto her backside.

Eyeing the rope dangling overhead, he held out a hand to her. Sal hauled her back to her feet. “We have to go up,” he shouted. “Have to get out of here.”

She nodded and he rigged her up. The team hoisted her into the bird and then Sal scaled the rope and climbed aboard. Cassie sat on the steel deck and leaned against him. It was nice to have her cling to him.

The chopper zipped over the city and then out across the water until it rushed up over a gleaming white yacht floating in the moonlight and landed on a helo pad.

Sal hopped off and bent against the rotor wash, reached for Cassie, who dragged herself off. They hurried away to give room for the rest of the team.

Titanis motioned them toward a door. They stepped into a lavish but simple seating area. Once the team and SEALs grouped up, Titanis slid a door closed and the helo vanished back into the night.

“What is this?” Schmidt asked.

Sal hovered beside Cassie, the strain of the mission, of losing her friend, unmistakable.

“Pretty sure it’s a super yacht,” Riordan said.