Page 65 of John’s Yearning

“The port of Oakland. They brought her there.”

“Do you know where exactly?” John asked.

Otto nodded. “I know the dock number and which building. I can write it down for you. Show it to you on a map if you want.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police after you saw them take the girl?”

Otto shook his head. “He knows who I am, where I live. He would have killed me.”

John straightened. “Fine.” Then he turned to Grayson and Benjamin. “Get the exact location from him.” A moment later he left the room.

Savannah turned to Ryder and Damian. “What now?”

The two young bodyguards exchanged a look.

“What’ll happen to the hacker?”

“Oh,” Ryder said, shrugging, “he’ll be handed over to SFPD when we’re done with him. He’s an accessory. He’ll do time.”

Savannah nodded. “Good. I guess your work is done.”

Damian shook his head. “Time to suit up. We’re going in.”

“What do you mean?” Savannah asked. “Aren’t we gonna call the police?”

Ryder winked at her. “And let them screw this up? Trust us. This is what we do best.” Then he smiled. “Now let’s get your little girl back.”

And those were the best words she’d heard in five days.

28

It was still daylight when two blackout vans left Scanguards’ headquarters and headed for Oakland. Samson had authorized three more men in addition to the hybrids for this rescue mission: Zane, Quinn, and Oliver. Zane had volunteered, clearly itching for a bloody battle. The three vampires were riding with Damian, while John was in the van with Benjamin, Grayson, and Ryder, who was driving.

Everybody was armed to the teeth. In addition, John had donned the spare Kevlar suit and visor that Luther kept in Scanguards’ basement in case of emergency. It was the uniform of the prison guards at the vampire prison in the Sierras, where Luther, Wesley’s brother-in-law, consulted on security issues. The suit would enable John to help the hybrids gain access to the building the kidnappers were keeping the girls in, and open the gates so the remainder of the rescue crew could drive in and get out of the rays of the late afternoon sun.

As they were approaching the location Otto Watson had given them, John said, “You know what to do?”

“Sure thing,” Grayson said confidently. He patted the thermal vision goggles in his lap. “We should be able to figure out pretty quickly where in the building they’re keeping the girls, and how many men we’re dealing with.”

“Shouldn’t be too many,” Benjamin guessed. “There’re only thirteen girls. I doubt they’ll have more than three or four guys watching them.”

John had to agree with that assumption, though he wasn’t relying on it. But what he was relying upon was that the men they were dealing with were human. And eight vampires and hybrids could easily defeat a small army of humans.

“We’re here,” Ryder announced, slowing the vehicle. “I’ll get us as close to the entrance as possible without them being able to see us.” Ryder pulled the van alongside a few dumpsters and a row of pallets.

John peered outside through the darkened windows of the van. The building was a warehouse like so many on the docks. In the large yard that opened to the water, shipping containers were stacked up, narrow walkways between them. The building itself looked dilapidated and unused, but then so did many of the buildings on the docks, even those that were regularly used by legitimate businesses. There were two oversized garage-door style gates which were closed, and a smaller door next to it. Above it John noticed something.

“Ryder, can you see, is that a camera over the door?”

Ryder hesitated, then said, “Yep. Looks like it.” He reached for his gun and screwed a silencer onto the nozzle. “I can take it out. Give me a few seconds.” He opened the car door and slid out of his seat.

John lost sight of him for a moment, then Ryder appeared between the pallets and a dumpster and aimed. Despite the silencer, John’s sensitive hearing picked up the sound of the shot. The camera lens shattered and pieces of it rained to the ground, but John doubted that anybody inside the building would have heard anything. Cranes operating in the vicinity provided sufficient background noise to drown out the breaking lens.

John pressed his earpiece, through which he was connected to all members of his team. “Ryder took out the camera. Team one is going in. Team two, stand by. We’ll get you access through the gate. Team one, we’re on the move.”

He motioned to the two hybrids in the van and slid the side door open, then jumped out, Benjamin and Grayson behind him. Using the pallets and the dumpster for cover as much as possible, John approached the door. Ryder had waited for his sign and was now trying the handle. The door was locked.

It wasn’t a big hurdle, not for a hybrid trained in all manners of breaking and entering. It took Ryder only twenty seconds to pick the lock. Then he nodded.