Page 81 of Colombian Chemistry

Knox and I let out a steady spray of bullets until each man lay in a heap on the floor. We watched for any movement, and when we saw none, we jumped to our feet.

“Let’s go,” I said to Dr. Saltzman, who crouched on the floor covering his ears.

His shaky hand reached up for mine, and I hoisted him to his feet.

Knox led the way out the door, and we kept Dr. Saltzman between us. We moved stealthily through the halls toward the west exit point we’d identified earlier when we’d made our plan.

“I’m at the west exit,” Piper said.

“We’ll be there in sixty,” I responded.

“Shit! I lost my cameras!” Wesley spat into the comms.

“What?” Knox and I mirrored.

“Someone is hacking me back. Fuck. I need a minute to get access again. In the meantime, you’re blind.”

“Roger that,” I said.

Not ideal, but we’d been blind in more situations than I could count. When we made the final turn to the west exit, a large body stepped around the corner, hitting Knox in the head with the butt of his rifle. Knox fell backward into Dr. Saltzman, and I caught him before he hit the floor.

It was Mateo, one of the lieutenants we hunted, and as it turned out, the same man I’d fought the second time I’d saved Irene. The same one I’d seen in Bogota. When Wes had shown us photos, I’d recognized him immediately and looked forward to the moment I got to see him again.

This moment.

Our eyes connected.

“You,” he snarled.

“Me.” I grinned.

Mateo came out swinging his massive fists. I ducked his punch and caught him underneath the chin with my elbow. He tumbled backward but stopped short of falling. He came back swinging, and Knox moved between us, blocking his swing with a knife. The two huge men collided in a battle while I yanked Dr. Saltzman behind me. I lifted my pistol and aimed, but the men moved too quickly for me to get a shot.

Knox kicked Mateo in the sternum and sent him tumbling back down the hall he’d emerged from. They disappeared around the corner together. I pulled Dr. Saltzman behind me and urged him to hold my shoulder while I moved forward. When I wheeled around the corner prepared to shoot, Knox kneeled on Mateo’s chest, pushing his knife straight into the man’s heart. Mateo gripped his wrist before giving up the fight, and his fading gaze met mine while I stared down at him and smiled. His arm went limp and collapsed at his side.

Two down, one to go.

“Jesus fuck,” Knox said as he pushed up. “He was bigger in person than he looked in pictures.”

“You okay?” I asked.

Knox snorted. “I’m fucking great. Him? Not so much.”

“Yeah. I kinda wanted to be the one to do that, though. He and I had a little history.”

Knox sighed. “Oh, shit, man. My bad. You want to stab him again?”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “Don’t think it’d do much good anymore. But thanks for the save.”

“Over here!” Piper called.

I looked up to see her at the end of the hallway, waving us toward the door. Knox and I stepped over Mateo’s dead body while Dr. Saltzman pressed himself against the wall to avoid the growing pool of blood.

When we reached Piper, she opened the door and peeked her head out. “It’s a two-hundred-foot dash through the open to the perimeter fence. We have no idea if they’ve got us on video right now or if the fence is armed again.”

“Take Knox with you and get Dr. Salzman out of here. I’m going for Irene.”

Knox shook his head. “No. Just wait for us.”