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“That’s the Angel Island Immigration Station,” I explain as we pass by a long two-storied building set atop stairs. “It was like Ellis Island for the West Coast. Many immigrants, mostly from China, were detained, interrogated and languished here in the first part of the twentieth century. Today, it’s an historical landmark.”
“Is that where we’re going?” she asks.
“No. We’re going to a beach on a different side of the island.”
Our boat pulls into a small alcove, hidden from view, though we have equipment that will alert us if the Coast Guard is near. I sweep Casey into my arms and set her on the beach where several of my men and Andrian’s men hold either flashlights or assault rifles. She eyes them warily. I want to tell her that it’s all going to work out, but I don’t know how tonight will play out.
Tao keeps a hand on Casey’s arm while Andrian’s boat arrives with his men. As he walks past Casey, he snorts. He doesn’t like her. Normally Andrian doesn’t give a shit about any woman, even the ones he sleeps with, but I know the reason he doesn’t like Casey has more to do with me than it does with her.
How did these feelings for Casey sneak up on me? So she was fun to play with. So she’s interesting because she’s so unlike me: naive, reckless, spoiled even. But she’s intelligent, adventurous, daring. She has a fighting spirit. She could be so much more given the right conditions. I remember when I first took Athena off the streets. She was weak and paranoid. The smallest noises made her jump, she barked at everyone, and was afraid to come out of her den. But with time and a better environment, she began to thrive. Now she’s strong, confident, and happy to venture afar.
But the fact remains that Casey is the enemy. I need to stay focused on what matters most: getting the SVATR laptop back in my hands.
Half an hour later we hear the speedboats bringing Callaghan and six of his men. The laptop is handcuffed to a redheaded man with a full beard. Casey gasps as she sees her father.
“Did they hurt you, Casey?” he asks her.
She shakes her head. “I’m fine.”
Kenton Brady steps forward. “They better not have hurt you.”
Andrian snorts.
Brady turns to him. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Nothing,” I intervene. From what I’ve learned about Brady, he can be temperamental. I do not want two hotheads screwing up the exchange.
“They hurt you, didn’t they? Touched you?” Brady asks Casey.
Casey glances at me and insists, “I’m fine.”
Brady eyes me with suspicion. Ignoring him, I instruct Callaghan to set the laptop on a table my men had set up in advance. Callaghan nods at the redhead.
The laptop remains tethered to the man while Nikita walks over to check that the laptop is indeed the one we pilfered from SVATR and that it still contains the artificial intelligence software. Everyone remains tensely silent as Nikita clicks away at the keyboard.
“Is good,” he finally declares.
“My daughter,” Callaghan demands.
“Take the handcuff off the laptop,” I reply.
The redhead unlocks the handcuffs. I take Casey from Tao, keeping a hand on her while Callaghan takes her other arm. Andy reaches for the laptop. From the corners of my eyes, I see Brady shift about nervously. Once Andy has the laptop in his possession, I let go of Casey. Callaghan pulls her to him. Seeing Brady gesture to one of his men, I realize something is up. But before I can alert anyone, smoke grenades go off at our feet.
“Blyad’!” Andrian swears.
Next comes gunfire. Shit! They’re shooting at us. Our men fire back. I try to make my way to where Casey might be, but the smoke is too thick. I can’t see shit. I need to get out of this smoke. A hit to my chest causes me to stumble. Luckily the Kevlar saved me from that bullet. Coughing, I manage to stumble out of the smoke and gunfire. Wiping my eyes, I see Brady pulling Casey over to one of the boats. He has the laptop, too.
Relief washes over me when I see that Casey appears to be unharmed. I run over, but Brady turns and fires his gun several times. He misses, but it stops me, giving him time to start the boat and pull away. I hop into one of our boats. Brady fires his gun at me again. I duck. I want nothing more than to pull out my gun and fire back, but I don’t want to hit Casey.
Brady’s next shot burns hot lead into my arm. The good news is he’s out of bullets unless he has a second gun. I hit top speed in the boat and catch up to him through the choppy waters. Brady tries to gun it and lose me by swerving sharply. A wave hits the side of the boat simultaneously, sending Casey tumbling into the water. I’m sure she knows how to swim, but I can’t take the chance. The water is freezing, that Kevlar is an extra seven pounds on her, and she still has her hands tied behind her back.
I cut the engine and dive in after Casey. The water is black. The sky is also black thanks to the clouds covering the moon. All I can make out are the city lights in the distance and the lights from the boat. I can’t see Casey. Fuck.
“Casey!” I shout as I cast my gaze about, trying to penetrate the darkness.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Casey!”
