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She scrambled for the mic as she pulled away from Daniel. “Diver, did you get that? They’re on to Grant. He’s walking into atrap!”
“He’s hearing the same thing you are. I honestly don’t think he cares though. He’s going in.” Rebecca watched the monitor, her last breath lodged next to her stomach inside her throat as Grant disappeared down a darkened stairwell leading from the rooftop of the targetbuilding.
“I’m a bit disappointed, Kafeel.” Rebecca listened as the second man clicked his tongue in a mocking gesture. “I think the drug took all the fire out of her. I had hoped for a much more spiritedfight.”
“Wake her up. I want her ready when the American is shown in.” She could hear a woman’s voice in the background moaning a weakening plea. “It is time she is reminded of who her true master is. I intend to allow our esteemed friend the pleasure of remindingher.”
Esteemed friend?“Who is he talking about, Diver?” What the hell was going on? Surely Jauhar wasn’t referring toGrant.
An eerie silence flooded the connection before another series of loud tones and beeps blared through the speakers in her headset, followed by Diver’s shouted curse. “Dammit! We lost theconnection!”
Rebecca pulled off the headset and threw it at the monitor. “Get it back Diver! I don’t care what you have to do! Larry, update Keller on the audio confirmation! Jauhar is in that building and we’re going in afterhim.”
“I did, but our orders still stand. We’re to maintain radio silence until furthernotice.”
“Bullshit!” They had real time confirmation of Jauhar’s location in Mumbai, a screaming girl, Grant on the inside, and Keller was cutting off communications? Something was incredibly wrong. She threaded her fingers through her hair, a sigh of desperation spilling from her lips. He was going to blow this whole assignment and feed her to the wolves when the shit hit the fan. She could feel it. Even if it wasn’t Natalie they heard, they couldn’t sit back and ignore those screams. It didn’t matter what intel Keller had, there was no excuse for this. Someone had to dosomething!
The van rocked on its axels from the force of Daniel’s roar as he tore through the crowded cabin and pushed his way to the driver’s seat. Chaos erupted as Larry and Dumbo scrambled to reconnect the cables that had been ripped from their equipment in hiswake.
“Where are the keys?” Rebecca turned to see Daniel ripping the console to pieces in a destructivesearch.
“We can’t leave our post!” Larry jumped from his seat and lunged for Daniel. Before she could process the consequences, Rebecca pulled her firearm and leveled it at the coward’shead.
“Where are thekeys?”
Larry fell back a step, his hands raised by his head. “You’re crazy, lady. You know that? Keller is going to have your ass forthis.”
“He can have whatever’s left of me after I take down Jauhar. Now hand over the damnkeys!”
“I don’t havethem.”
Behind Larry, Dumbo slipped his hand into his pocket and Rebecca took aim. Her insides trembled with adrenaline, but her finger remained steady on the trigger. “I don’t thinkso.”
“If you want to come get the key out yourself I won’tcomplain.”
Jackass.“Hand them over.Slowly.”
Dumbo fished around in his pocket and stepped around Larry, ignoring her warning to stay where he was. With complete disregard for the gun, he took her free hand and slapped the single key into her palm, his fingers wrapped in a tight grip around her wrist. “Wave to the camera, sweetheart.” He jerked his chin toward a dark orb mounted in the corner above her shoulder, a crooked, sarcastic grin displaying his arrogant satisfaction. “You may have Keller’s dick in a knot, but even he won’t be able to save your ass on thisone.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?Before she could ask, he and Larry spilled out onto the street, the van door slamming shut behind them. Daniel yanked the key from her hand and started the engine. “Put the damn gun away if you’re not going use it.” Without warning, he executed a sharp U-turn toward Mumbai and floored the gas pedal, tossing her into one of the bucket seats vacated by the sphincter twins. “Get that map back. I need you to tell me where my daughteris.”
Twenty-Five
Traffic snarledto an agonizingly slow pace as they approached the outlying suburban ghettos of Mumbai. Rebecca sat glued to her seat in front of the monitors and listened as Daniel pounded his fists on the steering wheel in a frustrated rage. “Can you hearanything?”
“No.” She tried to mask her disappointment and anxiety for Daniel’s sake, but the closer they got to the city without knowing what was happening, the harder it was not to pull out her gun and blow a hole through one of the infuriatingly silent radios. “Diver says the signals haven’t moved, but unless someone makes a call or sends a text message he can’t accessit.”
“What about Grant? Can’t we use the cellphone he has to…to…I don’t how all this shit works, but can’t Diver doanythingelse?”
Rebecca shook her head in disgust. “Just get us there, Daniel. Diver is doing everything hecan.”
She couldn’t imagine the horror Daniel was going through. He’d devoted his life to finding Natalie. They didn’t have confirmation that she was even there, but if they could take down Jauhar… maybe, if they didn’t find her, it would give him some comfort to know her killer would seejustice.
“I’ve got incoming.” Rebecca jumped at the sound of Diver’s voice. Her hands flew to her head and she pressed the headset tight against herears.
“You have audio? I’m not hearinganything.”
“Better.” Two seconds later a distorted picture filled one of the monitors in front of her. “Someone is recording and I hacked the application code. As long as the camera is rolling we’ll see what theysee.”
