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Dan looked up, seeing a passing shadow on the roof.
“He got up, he’s gotta come down,” he said, taking off around the building.
Tobias followed him, Mike using his height to reach the fire escape and get to the roof. Jumping across the narrow alleyways, they followed the slender man in black for nearly five blocks. His jumps appeared graceful and choreographed, while their bigger bodies were exerting more energy. They wouldn’t be able to follow him forever. Not like this.
“We’ve got to split up and stop him,” said Mike breathlessly into comms. As he ran toward the corner of one building, Tobias went to the other, Dan following. Leaping onto the next building, they were surprised to see the man lying prone on the rooftop, a glimmering knife touching the corner of his mouth.
“Grandpa! How did you get here?” asked Mike.
“You’re both out of practice,” he frowned. “I was in the area and heard the communication.”
“In the area?” grinned Tobias. Trak just shrugged his shoulders, then knelt on the man’s chest, his knife still tugging at the corner of his mouth. His eyes went wide.
“You heard them. You were just brought down by a grandfather. What will your boss say now?” His victim pretended he didn’t understand him, so Trak switched to Chinese, speaking with absolute clarity and perfection.
The three younger men just watched as they learned another valuable lesson from the legend that was Trak.
“Speak, or I will cut out your tongue and return you to your boss,” he growled. “Where is Yun?”
“Everywhere.” Trak tugged a little harder with the knife, blood trickling down the man’s chin.
“You’re going to need to be a bit more precise,” said Mike. The man said nothing, just staring up at Trak, waiting for his death.
“Alright, have it your way,” said Dan. “We’ll take you to the police, where it’s certain you’ll die. Or we could just leave you on this roof with my friend’s grandfather. It’s been a while since he had fun with his knife.”
Resistant to the end, he said nothing, waiting for death. He had no idea that death would come so swiftly. Trak heard the sound, leaning to his right to avoid the projectile. While the others looked behind them to see who’d thrown it, Trak stared down at the young man with the star in his throat.
“Now what?” asked Dan.
“Leave him,” said Trak. “Someone will collect his body. When they do, we’ll follow.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“They’ve been gone a long time,” said Sage. “How can we be sure that they’re okay?”
“All of our men are outfitted with a communications device that compresses against the auditory nerve,” said Montana. “They can hear one another and us. If they’re in their homes and don’t want all the noise, there is a small depression behind the ear that allows them to quiet the communication with everyone.”
“Oh, wow. So, everything they say and do can be heard?” she asked.
“That’s right. They’re never out there alone. We are always nearby, hearing everything they say.” The group of women watched on the property cameras as a dozen men ran toward two additional vehicles and sped out of the compound.
“Does that mean something good or something bad?” asked Sage.
“I’m not sure,” said Montana, “but we can be certain that they’ll be together and protected. Your job is to stay here and be safe.”
“It’s so hard,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve been so used to doing things for myself, taking care of myself. All of this is strange, having so many people worried about my well-being. My instincts are to run through those gates and force Yun to speak with me. I don’t want to give him the diamonds, but if it were between him and Mike, I would.”
“That’s what makes you the perfect choice for my son,” smiled Katrina. “Just know that we all felt the same inclination at one time or another. You have to trust them, Sage. They know what they’re doing and won’t endanger your life or their own if they can avoid it.”
“I know. I’m trying to be patient, but it’s never been a strong suit for me. My granny tried to get me to see the light…” She stopped mid-sentence, her hand covering her mouth as she sucked in deep breaths.
“Sage?” asked Montana, staring at the young woman.
“The light. That’s what I’ve been missing,” she said, standing from the table. Sage made her way toward the table set up in the center of the Sugar Lodge. Grabbing one of the larger rubies, a diamond, and a topaz, she placed them in a line, then grabbed the laser.
“What are you doing?” asked Eli, staring at the table.
“How much do we like that wall?” she asked.
