Page 107 of The Lazarus Protocol

“There!” Adam indicated ahead of them, over at the area where rideshare drivers would pick up passengers. It looked like a bus stop with two benches and a sign post, an island in the center of the parking lot, away from the entrance.

A dark van had pulled up at the stop, and she spotted Dan in the crowd. His arms pulled back behind him by one guy. Another punched him in the stomach.

Adam yelled, “Hey!”

One of the guys turned to them.

Steph broke away to the right, so she didn’t get Adam in her line of fire, then skirted around a car and squeezed off a shot. She’d be out of bullets in a second, and if the sirens in the distance were anything to go by, the local police would be here around the same time.

One man fell back, stumbling to the open door of the van. Another took his place, and two of them shoved Dan toward it.

Dan planted his feet and swung out at one of them, taking the guy off his feet with a powerful blow to his chest. Then rounded on the other guy and caught a right hook to his jaw that had him shaking off the surprise.

Adam fired at the man to Dan’s left and caught the side of the van when the guy moved at the last second, shoving Dan forward.

She aimed at the front right tire and hit.

The van engine revved. It pulled away before the door was even all the way closed.

Steph spotted a guy hiding behind his Peugeot taxi and ran to him, tugging the money Ice had given her out of her pocket. “Follow that van!”

The guy stared at the money.

She tried again in German and managed to get the point across. She opened the back door behind the driver, and Adam got in on the other side.

“Go!” she yelled to the driver.

He peeled out like this was the NASCAR starting line, and Steph and Adam leaned back in their seats. She looked at Adam. “You good?”

“I will be when we get Dan back.”

“Awful lot like when Kai was taken.”

Adam flinched. “You think it’s the same people?”

“Vesper?” Steph shook her head. “Maybe, but she’s more hands on. Why wouldn’t she be here? Unless she’s in the front seat of that van.”

“I’m gonna kill her.” Adam glanced over. “Sorry.”

The driver followed the van around a sharp corner.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“She’s your sister.”

Right. Ice had probably told them all what she said. “Guess that’s a reason to dump me off on a train.”

“You mean leave you to die? You’d have woken up drowsy and been shot before you knew what was happening.” Adam lifted his chin. “I’m not choosing sides, but what he did was wrong.”

Steph wasn’t ready to defend Ice, pointing out that he’d probably done what he thought was right.

The driver gripped the wheel with both hands, raced around another corner, and muttered something to himself.

“Guess we found the local daredevil.”

Steph said, “As long as we get Dan back.”

The driver said something. It took her a second to decipher it. “Airport?”