He didn’t care about the mission.
He cared about Marta.
Still fighting the urge to bust through the fence and the door, he backed away, turned, and jogged back to the hotel, where he fell into an exhausted sleep and woke a few hours later with the sun and an intense sense of purpose.
He’d asked Marta to be ready.
He had to be as ready, if not more so. They might have only one chance to make things right. One chance to stop a killer virus from spreading throughout Europe and to the US and other countries.
If they didn’t stop Vasquez’s plan to release the virus before it made it into the ventilation system, they’d have bigger problems.
Chapter 18
Crusher made it through the following day and woke on extraction day, ready to conquer the world and extricate Marta from yet another compound where she was being held captive to create a killer virus for a deadly and nefarious purpose.
Thomas had called in to let the guards know he would arrive later than usual, claiming he had a flat tire on his truck. He’d be there around quitting time for most of the lab staff. Hopefully, that would mean the lab staff would be gone or significantly reduced in number. Crusher’s late-afternoon arrival would give Marta more time to work on the antiviral and still leave enough hours in the day or night to fly to Vienna before the summit began.
He paced the hotel room, counting the minutes until he met with Reuben Thomas, his key to getting into the facility.
A knock sounded. “Crusher, it’s us,” Phantom’s muffled voice came through the door.
Crusher yanked open the door.
Phantom, Draco, and Marsh entered the small room, filling it with their broad shoulders and tense expressions.
“We’re going in with you,” Phantom said.
Crusher shook his head. “You can’t. I’ll only have one ID card to scan for entry.
“Scan it and let us in with you,” Draco said. “You can’t go into that facility alone. From what Thomas said, the place is crawling with guards in tactical gear.”
“It would blow my cover if anyone saw me go in with three other guys.” Crusher shook his head again. “I have to be able to move through the corridors undetected long enough to locate Marta and Cate.”
“Then take one more, not three,” Draco said.
“My daughter’s in there,” Marsh spoke up. “I should go.”
Crusher’s eyes narrowed. “No way. You got Marta into this mess. I still don’t trust you.”
“One day, you’ll have a daughter of your own,” Marsh murmured, “and you’ll understand.”
“You need someone to have your back,” Draco said. “One of us needs to go with you.”
His frown deepening, Crusher considered Draco’s words. “Thomas is only bringing one set of coveralls.”
“Unless someone contacts him and lets him know to bring two.” Draco grinned. “I called him last night and told him to bring an extra set of coveralls and a cap.” He clapped his hands together. “Then it’s settled. I’m going in with you.”
Once again, Crusher shook his head. “I might be able to let you into the building with the ID, but I can’t get you through the gate unless you have an ID as well. Thomas said they check the IDs of every person entering the gate.”
“We’ll figure out a way to hide me in Thomas’s truck long enough to get past the gate,” Draco assured him.
“If not, I go in alone.” Crusher’s burner phone chirped. “Crusher,” he answered.
“Meet me behind the restaurant in fifteen minutes,” Thomas said.
“On my way.” Crusher ended the call, his pulse quickening as he stared at his teammates. “It’s go time.”
They headed down the hotel stairwell to the lobby, where Fearghas and Catya joined them. Together, they left the hotel and split up in the parking lot. Crusher went with Draco in one of the rental cars. Fearghas, Catya, Phantom and Marsh took Fearghas’s SUV. They would go ahead and get into position outside the wire.
