Dee smiled sweetly at the hulking sharpshooter and made an anatomically impossible suggestion about what he liked to do in his spare time.
“I don’t think she likes you, Shotgun.” Jackson swung the Hummer around a rock in the road. “And we all know how nasty Dee can be when she doesn’t like a person. You might want to play nice.”
“Ahh. She knows I’m only kidding, don’t you, darling?”
Kaeden listened to the team banter back and forth. For the first time in a long time, it felt good to be heading out on a mission. With Dee at his side, his attention was no longer divided. The team had been together long enough to feel comfortable letting each other guard their backs, and in the world of mercenaries, that was huge. Not many teams managed to stay together this long.
“Cut the crap.” He pointed to a building in the distance. “That looks like our goal. Remember. We go in, locate Wren and get out. Period. No heroics. No starting riots because you don’t like what you see. Keep in character.” He felt his lips twist in a wry smile. Their cover was simple. A bunch of guys who liked fighting and females. Not much of a stretch.
The Hummer grew quiet as each of the team members checked their weapons and gear. Dee fingered her bracelet, the only outward sign of her nervousness.
As they drew closer to their objective, Kaeden could see armed guards patrolling the upper levels of the compound walls, rifles slung over their shoulders. Good thing they hadn’t decided on a military approach.
Jackson slowed the Hummer to a crawl as they joined a long line of vehicles. Their intelligence had informed them a series of matches were scheduled for later today and higher than usual attendance was expected. So far, so good. They could lose themselves in the crowd.
A guard stopped each vehicle before allowing it to proceed through the massive wrought iron gates. As the line crept forward the team got louder, speculating on the day’s entertainment. Dee kept quiet -- a slave girl wouldn’t join in the conversation. When they reached the gate, a burly guard with an unkempt beard gave them a cursory look-over before motioning them inside without a question. They were in!
“Now to find the perfect parking spot.” Jackson manoeuvred the Hummer through the maze of parked cars. “Close enough to the doors to be handy if we leave in a hurry, but with a clear line to the exits.” He gunned the engine and squeezed between two Jeeps to claim a space on the edge of a line of vehicles. He nodded in satisfaction. “Perfect.”
The team poured out of the vehicle. Kaeden looked around, committing the exits to memory. If things went south they would have seconds to come up with an exit plan. Wrapping the end of Dee’s leash around his hand, he motioned the group forward.
* * *
The main arena was built along the lines of an old Roman coliseum, with a large fighting area ringed by rows of tiered seating. A festival air prevailed with loud men everywhere, and booths around the perimeter serving alcohol to their customers. A smattering of females were scattered through the crowd, but the majority present were male. Not surprising.
Kaeden assessed the situation. “I think we need to stay together for now. Jackson, can you tell where the females are held?”
“Just accessing the main grid now.” Jackson’s eyes had that unfocused look that let them know he was using his computer implants to access the information. “Okay, follow me. They keep the girls in a housing complex down below. Normally it’s off-limits to guests, but today they’ve decided to let the crowds down to see the girls. That puts a kibosh on sneaking in and spiriting Wren out while everyone is focused on the fights. We’re going to have to play this one by ear.”
The team melted into the crowd, following the flow of people heading down to see the women. Kaeden could feel the tension emanating from Dee. He wrapped a hand around her wrist, and she looked up, startled. A brief, wistful smile flittered across her face. He wished he could do more to make her feel better, but they had to uphold the illusion of a master-slave relationship.
* * *
When they arrived in the housing area, they hit their first snag. The girls slated to fight that day were in a glass-enclosed pen close to the front. A video screen scrolled through their statistics with a constantly changing display of the odds as the betting got underway. It looked like a tall blonde with the build of a Nordic bodybuilder was the favourite.
Jackson shook his head. “There are four different holding areas for the rest of the girls, and I can’t find anything that tells me where Wren is. We’re going to have to split up to cover them all.”
Kaeden hadn’t liked the idea, but with this big an area and a limited amount of time there weren’t a lot of alternatives. Three corridors led off to the housing areas. Security would sweep through the holding area just before the first match and clear everyone out. That gave them fifteen minutes to find Wren and get her out of here.
“Snake and Pete, take the west corridor. Shotgun, you and Trace take the one in the middle, and Dee and I will take the southern area. Jackson, you stay here and keep a lookout for trouble.” Kaeden glanced around. “Any questions?”
The men shook their heads, drifting quietly away in the directions indicated. Kaeden stepped slightly in front of Dee and headed toward the south housing area.
Once they slipped into the south hallway, the noise of the boisterous crowd faded behind them. Kaeden ghosted his way down the passage, avoiding the security cameras with the ease of long practice. They came to the first of the cages, and Dee had to bite her lip. The cages reminded her of holding cells in a police precinct, with a toilet in one corner, a single cot for sleeping, and little else. Electronic locks secured the sliding doors at the front. The whole setup was highly illegal, but she’d bet her last dollar that the promoters paid off the government overseers to look the other way. Even after the collapse of civilization, greed still ruled.
They passed down the rows, searching for Wren without results. Dee glanced down at the timer on her bracelet. They had less than ten minutes left.
At the far end of the next row, a movement caught her eye. Instead of lying on the thin cot with a helpless expression on her face, a slender Asian girl was busy trying to short circuit the lock on her cage with water from the toilet. Dee caught Kaeden’s arm and pointed.
He glanced at the girl, shrugging. “Not our problem.”
Just then, her com link pulsed on her wrist, and a picture swirled into existence on the display gem.
“Is this your sister?” Trace’s deep voice seemed loud in the stillness.
Dee stared at the display. Wren. They’d found her! “Yes! Is she okay?”
“A little thin but fine. Now how do we want to play this?”
Dee stared thoughtfully down the row at the Asian girl desperately trying to escape. “How about we let as many of the girls as we can loose, and then slip out in the ensuing pandemonium?”
A slow grin lit up Kaeden’s rugged face. “I like it. Since we can do this quietly, let’s make enough chaos that no one singles us out. Trace, can you two get Wren out of there and keep her safe?”
“No problem, Sarge. How are we going to get all the girls out of their cages? Jackson have some kind of tech magic up his sleeve?” Dee could hear the amusement in Trace’s voice.
“Not this time. Use your pistols and blow the locks. Security will be looking for a gun-happy redneck, which pretty much describes the entire crowd here. If we’re careful, we should be able to slip out without getting caught. Jackson, you got the collar and papers we brought to get Wren out of the province?”
“Aye, Sarge.”
“Good. We’ll rendezvous in the main housing area, and you get that collar on Wren. In all the confusion the guards won’t realize you didn’t come in with a female.”
“Roger that.”
“Pete? Snake? You copy?”
“Aye, Sarge.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Kaeden pulled out his pistol and held it against the nearest lock. A dull popping sound echoed through the corridor as he blew the lock and moved on to the next one.
“Come on, girls! This is your chance. Make a run for it!” Dee watched as the women surged to their feet, calling to Kaeden to free them next. She pulled the pistol from its holster between her shoulder blades and jogged to the cage holding the Asian girl. “This might be a little faster. Stand back.” She blew the lock and pulled the cage door open.
“No idea what you’re doing here, but thanks.” The girl gave her a brilliant smile before bolting down the corridor.
They worked quickly, each taking one side of the corridor and blowing lock after lock. Within minutes, they could hear the chaos starting back in the main area, and Kaeden gestured her to hurry. “We need to get out of here. Give your gun to one of the women and let’s go.”
Dee nodded, tossing the tiny pistol to a tall redhead. “The more of you that are free, the better your chances of getting out.”
The girl nodded. “We aren’t leaving any of our sisters behind. These assholes are going down!”
Kaeden grabbed Dee’s hand and hustled her down the corridor. They emerged into the main holding area and skidded to a halt.
Chaos would be putting it mildly. The women didn’t just want their freedom, they wanted revenge for all the pain and humiliation they’d suffered in those cells. The men who’d taught them how to fight each other were now on the receiving end of their skills.
Kaeden and Dee picked their way through the seething mass of bodies, ducking arms and legs. Thank God most of the crowd was unarmed or it would have been a bloodbath. Dee spied Jackson’s head above the crowd, and she and Kaeden slowly worked their way in his direction.
By the time they managed to get to him, the rest of the team was there too, along with Wren. “Thank God you’re okay!” Dee threw her arms around her sister, hugging her close. She had lost weight, but she was alive and here and they were going to be okay. That’s all that really mattered.
“Hate to break up the family reunion and all, but we need to get out of here.” Jackson produced a collar and reached toward Wren.
“Fuck you!” Wren broke away from Dee and used her forearm to block Jackson’s reach. Then, she twirled to deliver a swift kick to his groin. “I am not wearing a slave collar ever again.”
“No! He’s one of the good guys.” Dee winced. Apparently no one had explained what was going on to her feisty little sister.
Jackson slid out of reach, a wry smile on his face. “Suddenly I see the family resemblance. Someone want to explain to the little spitfire here what’s going on?”
Dee slid between Jackson and her sister. “It’s okay, Wren. In order to get across the border, we put these collars on and pretend to be meek little wimps. After we get back to home base, you can feel free to take a round out of any of the guys that don’t treat you with respect, but for now you need to play along. They really are good guys. They came here for me, to help me find you.”
Wren looked doubtful, but she took the collar and examined it carefully before snapping it around her neck. “Well, thanks for coming to get me, then.” She gave Jackson a sheepish look. “And sorry about trying to castrate you.”
“No problem.” Jackson grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her. “I can use a new sparring partner. These guys are getting sloppy.”
“I’ll show you sloppy.” Snake gave him a quick poke in the ribs.
Kaeden cleared his throat. “Maybe we could continue this after we’re safely out of here? Jackson? Can you see an alternate exit? The one we came in might be a tad congested.”
Jackson got that faraway look for a moment, and then nodded to the left. “There’s a service corridor in that direction. It should bring us out at the trade entrance which is off to the side of where we entered.”
“Lead the way.” Kaeden pulled Dee in close to his side and pressed a small knife into her palm. “Just in case we get separated. You left your gun back there, and I don’t think a garrote wire is going to be a big help in here.”
“No, probably not.” She tucked the knife up into the edge of her sleeve. Amazing how the little things let you know how much a guy cared. She resisted the urge to turn around and kiss him, giving his hand a quick squeeze instead. They were far from out of the woods yet.
“Wren, get in the middle and let’s get moving. This is getting ugly a whole lot faster than I anticipated.” Kaeden took the tail position, keeping Dee directly in front of him. Wren was in front of her and the rest of the team spread out loosely around them, with Jackson leading the way.
It was slow work pushing against the increasingly violent crowd but eventually they were in sight of the service doors. Jackson turned to check on the team, and a shadowy figure vaulted over the crowd and landed at his side.
It took Dee less than a second to recognize her. The Asian girl who’d been trying to escape. She flashed Dee a brilliant white smile. “You all look like you know where you’re going, so I thought I’d tag along.”
Jackson raised his eyebrows, his hand going to the hidden weapon strapped to his thigh, but Kaeden shook his head. “It’s okay. Let her come. We can cut her loose when we get outside.”
“Thanks. Name’s Saralyn.” She sidled up beside Wren. “So how’s the little bird doing? You know these guys or are you just tagging along like me?”
Wren rolled her eyes and gestured at Dee. “That’s my sister back there, and I get the feeling these are her playmates. No wonder she didn’t want to introduce me to any of her friends.”
Jackson used his pistol to blow the lock open and they all tumbled into the narrow service corridor. “Count six doors on your left, and the seventh should lead to the parking lot and our ride.” He started down the long corridor at a quick jog, the rest of the team strung out behind him.
As they passed the second door, it swung open and a startled security guard stumbled into Trace.
Dee’s breath caught in her throat. The big tracker dropped the unlucky guard with a swift chop to the side of the neck, hard enough to render him unconscious without doing any permanent damage. Dee and Kaeden stepped over the still body and kept going.
They made it to the seventh door without any further incident, and Jackson waited until they were all crowded close together before opening the door. Not unexpectedly, the parking lot was sheer pandemonium.