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GREG
It’s been a bitch to get this far, but we’re finally here. I watch from the other side as the team rappels over the giant back fence quickly, even Roark who overdosed last night. I considered benching him, but Mama Rodriguez made him drink some of her magic foul tasting tonic.
I love that woman, even though she still says I’m the devil.
Once everyone is over the fence, I lead them through the dense forest. As soon as I had an address, I was able to start looking a bit into the property. Grant can’t tear these trees down due to it being protected conservation, so instead it adds to the privacy of the land.
Quietly, we move through the woods. Even Turner and Roark are so quiet, I have to make sure they’re still with us. I remember Lennon joking that they were constantly surprising her with their silent footsteps, but I didn’t take it seriously then. I definitely am now.
Derek and Orion are with Crew since Orion knows where the side entrance and service hallways are. They are going to attempt to use Eric’s badge, but in case that doesn’t work, Crew can hack his way in with a card reader that will mimic the code it’ll accept. It’s the same one I’ll use to get in the back way.
We are hoping to have a little luck on our side, but not expecting it. Everything about this mission has been uphill. We also have a medic with us to evaluate Lennon’s health and see if it’s possible she has a kill switch embedded into her skin. If she does, it’ll be at her neck or the major blood vessels in her leg that’ll cause her to die almost instantly.
While I’m hoping Xav was bluffing when he mentioned this to Orion, I need to be sure. We need everyone to come home tonight.
Emerging from the forest, the twinkly lights Orion told us were entwined in the garden and tended trees on the property are all cut off tonight. Taking this as a good omen, I motion for everyone to continue walking, guns drawn and ready.
Roark is in the middle of our group with his knives, while Turner is proficient enough to handle a gun at close contact. A couple of years ago when they had a concert near Georgetown, they had a few days off before their next show and I took them to the gun range. I learned very quickly that the members ofThe Darkest Nightscould handle themselves well, though Turner will always enjoy the close contact of bashing bones with Sally, and Lennon and Roark like their damn knives.
As much as I’m pulled down memory lane, I’m still scanning the area with my men. Once we’ve crossed the garden, I pull out my card reader hacking device, but the door opens. Peeking my head around the side with my gun in hand, I pull back when I see Orion’s hands sheepishly go up in the air.
“Crew said you were all radio silent, and to let you in,” he says softly, holding up Eric’s key card.
“Thanks,” I respond with a nod. “Let’s get the hospital cleared and find Lennon first.”
Nodding, Orion falls in next to me as we all walk together. Turner and Roark stay with me, while everyone else branches out to cover more ground.
“It’s a ghost town as far as personnel,” Orion quietly begins to report to me. I’d swear he was military, but the disquieting glint in his eye reminds me he’s not. There’s a madness in his gaze, even though he’s very calculating as well. Without his own set of checks and balances, he’d be even more dangerous than he already is. I’ll have to figure out after this how to channel his energy.
“Xav and Grant wouldn’t allow the staff to be so minimal here. The only thing I can think of is they’re all in one place together.”
“Like some fucked up kind of staff meeting?” Roark asks softly as we search the hospital.
“Huh. Yeah, that would fit,” Orion mutters. “Derek also found out his father is here. He received a text from him that said he’d be working at the hospital until tomorrow. Grant trusts his son now, funny enough, after Derek saw Lennon the other day while he was here.”
“Stupid son of a bitch,” Turner mutters so quietly you’d almost miss it, but we all nod.
A scream pierces the air, and we begin to move in that direction. It’s on the far side of the main hospital, which is where we were going to start clearing as everyone’s moving through other areas to detain employees found and look for Lennon.
Screaming is never a good sign in a hospital, and all we can do is find out the cause.
Breaking into a run, the four of us head even faster towards the room where the screaming is occurring. There clearly aren't any hospital employees on the floor for some reason, so they aren’t going to be a problem at the moment.
Orion
I let Greg enter the room first, but didn’t expect the gasp he releases as he steps into the space. Stepping around him, my lips pop open.
There’s a bit of a massacre in this room that appears to have been a library.
Blood paints the walls, and in front of me is the body of a doctor. Walking closer, I see that someone stabbed him four times before sliding their knife across his throat. The stabs are angry, erratic, which explains the blood splatter.
The four of us walk through the room and I hear a noise behind me. Turning with my gun pointed in the direction of the noise, Derek clears his throat as he continues to enter the room. “I know better than to do that, I’m sorry,” he says meekly.
Blowing out a breath, I shake my head. “You’re less likely to get into trouble with us, brat,” I tease him.
Derek chuckles as his eyes move across the room. “Someone had a lot of fun without us. Whose the chick?” he asks.
There’s a woman tied up in a chair and gagged, but she’s not the one screaming. Nurse Elaine is putting pressure on a badly bleeding leg wound and panicking. Something bad happened in this place if Nurse Elaine wasn’t in on it.
