Part 29 (2/2)

She'd never thought of using animals in an interrogation, but Einstein was an unexpectedly effective a.s.set.

”Hector was going to make the hit?”

”Yes!”

”Who was the target?”

”I don't know! We're just supposed to drive and shoot anyone who tried to leave.”

”Einstein, get him!” It wasn't the best improv; Einstein's eyes cut over to her, clearly confused. It didn't matter to the man in the SUV.

”No, no!” he screamed. ”I swear! Hector didn't tell us. Those Puerto Rican hitters don't tell outsiders anything!”

”How did you find this place?”

”Hector gave us the addresses!”

Plural? ”More than one?”

”There were three houses on the list! We did the first one earlier. Hector said it was the wrong place!”

”What did you do there?”

”Hector went in. Five minutes later, he came out. Told us to move on to the next.”

”That's all you know?”

”Yes! Yes! Everything!”

She shot him in the head twice with his own gun.

There was a countdown running in her mind. She had no idea how long it had actually taken to release the dogs, float downstream, and load the Humvee. She didn't know when Hector had entered the house or how long it had taken him to get to her room. What she did know was that the pressurized canister of gas she'd left armed there would continue to quietly exude the chemicals it was packed with for about fifteen minutes after someone opened the door. Once the contents ran out, she had maybe thirty minutes more-dependent on the size of the person involved-before the quarry was back on his feet. It was going to be close.

She jumped into the Humvee, holding the door open so Einstein could climb over her. She threw the goggles back to Daniel, getting only one glimpse of his face before she was blind again. All she could see was that his expression was tense.

”Get us to the house. Same plan as before if anyone comes out. Stop far enough back that you can see the sides of the house; watch for someone coming around.”

”The dogs will let me know if they see something.”

”Right,” she agreed. The advantages of the pack were more extensive than she could have antic.i.p.ated.

She removed her PPK and holstered the Glock in its place. She stuck the .38 in her belt, shoved the PPK into the bag at her feet, then dug through that bag, pulling the things she needed by feel. She switched the bulletproof hat for the gas mask, quickly tightened it into place over her mouth and nose, screwed in the filter, then grabbed two more pressurized canisters, zip ties, thin tactical gloves, and her earring box; she stowed them in the pockets of her vest. She extracted the heavy bolt cutters last and stuck them through the belt by the empty holster, one handle inside, one out. Though the cutters were compact for their abilities, the handles still reached nearly to her knee. They would impede her movement a little, but if things went the way she wanted, she would need them.

She didn't have time to think about what Daniel might be processing right now-how he might feel about her killing a helpless man.

The house came into view, all the visible windows downstairs lit. The windows upstairs were blacked out too well for her to be able to tell if the lights were on or not.

”Do you see anyone?”

”A body-over there.” Daniel pointed toward the outbuilding.

”We need to make sure he's dead.” There were still three men unaccounted for. The fewer breathing, the better her chances.

”I'm pretty sure he is. It looks like he's... in more than one piece.” His voice sounded a little hollow.

Hers didn't. ”Good.”

She couldn't see anyone near the house. They weren't dumb enough to run out and see what was going on, apparently. No silhouettes appeared in the windows. Surely they would have shut off the lights if they were going to shoot from one of them. Maybe upstairs... the windows were so completely covered that she couldn't even tell exactly where they were. Or the blackout treatments had been pulled back and someone was watching from a darkened room.

”Can you see the upstairs windows?”

”They all look covered,” Daniel told her.

”Okay, start slowing. Two seconds after we're out, stop and get ready to shoot.”

He nodded. ”Got it.”

”Einstein, come here. Get ready.”

Daniel angled the car so that his side was facing into the lights of the house. She hoped she would be invisible on the dark side of the vehicle. She opened the door and slid down toward the slowly moving gra.s.s below. She tried to re-create the move she'd seen in a hundred movies: she fell to her knees, then rolled onto her side as Einstein leaped over her. She was sure she'd done it wrong, but she wouldn't know how wrong until the Survive wore off.

She'd forgotten to tell Daniel to close the door and lock everything down, but it was common sense and he seemed to be thinking quickly tonight. Maybe it was genetics again-he was wired for this kind of situation, just like his brother. Anyway, if someone tried to get into the car, Khan would be waiting. She could imagine what it would feel like if someone who'd already been harried by dozens of attack dogs came face to face with Khan on higher ground in the dark. There was no way this wouldn't affect his aim and reaction time.

Even though she had gloves on, crawling across the gravel would have been excruciating if she hadn't drugged herself up. As she hurried away from the Humvee, she heard the rush of her pack's paws approaching in the dry brush-not just Einstein, but the dozens of other survivors. She'd never had backup like this before. A sniper above would have trouble separating her from the ma.s.s.

She moved into a crouch next to the porch. The Humvee was stopped now. She heard the door slam. A low whimper, quite near her head, made her freeze. The quiet whine happened again. It wasn't a human sound.

She heaved herself up onto the porch, rolled under the banister, and then stayed down, lower than the windows. Lola was there, curled up in the far corner. Alex knew that even injured, Lola would sound the alarm if someone else were close by. She crawled to the dog, her gloved hands slipping against a trail of blood. Lola raised her head half an inch, and her tail lifted for one limp wag.

”It's going to be okay, Lola. I'm coming right back. You hold on, all right?” She caressed the dog's ears once, and Lola panted softly.

Einstein waited in the shadows by the door. Alex crawled to him.

”Stay with Lola, Einstein.”

She couldn't interpret the look he gave her. Hopefully he understood. She had to go in alone this time.

If she got through this night alive, she was going to track down a gas mask made for dogs.

Alex crouched beside the door and carefully inserted her earrings. They were out of place-delicate and fussy-next to the rest of her serious gear, but she didn't have time to be worried about appearances and this could very well get physical. She grabbed the bigger canister from the front pocket of her vest, twisted the top off, pulled the door open, and threw it inside.

There was no reaction. No shout or sound of footsteps retreating as the gas filled the room. She waited two seconds, then half stood and ran crouched through the doorway with the Glock in her right hand and the shotgun in her left. She would be clumsy with her left hand, but you didn't need good aim with a gun like this, not in close quarters.

She didn't bother searching the first floor. If someone tried to come after her in the next five minutes and he didn't have a gas mask, he'd be down quick. She played it out in her head as she moved to the stairs. Hector had come inside, searching for Daniel or Kevin or both of them. Because he'd come in alone, she suspected he'd been looking for only two people. With Arnie down, he'd think it was one on one. Still, he must have been very confident in his abilities to go in solo.

He would have had to check all the rooms downstairs. Then he would have tried the doors upstairs.

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