Page 133 of The Lazarus Protocol

Adam went in front of her, sweeping his aim to ensure they wouldn’t be shot in the back before he raced down the dirt road between the buildings. Arranged in an arc, the buildings had been numbered, but that was the only identification to let him know what they were for. Single-story structures, most with holes in the roof.

He ran to the steps and forced his way in, shoving men forward so they tripped over each other before they could react to his sudden presence behind them. The first man turned back, shining the flashlight on his rifle at Adam.

Adam took him out, aiming at the shadow of the man behind the light.

He fell to the ground.

Steph killed another one, shooting past him to a guy who had crawled away. Adam brought the butt of his gun down on the head of the last remaining conscious man.

“Nix!”

He scanned the cells that faced each other, a long walkway between them. The building stretched back thirty or forty feet. Each cell occupied.

Steph kicked a boot out of the way and shut the door, flipping on the light. The move ruined Adam’s night vision but allowed him to see what they were here to find.

“Guys!” He ran to the cells. Noah and Marina to his left. Dan beside them. Jay. Ash and even Kai. “Good to see you.”

Kai grinned, his face lined and tired. A dark bruise on his jaw. “Good to see you, buddy. Wanna get us out of here?”

Noah said, “Hope you brought enough weapons for all of us.”

Steph appeared by him with a set of keys. “Try this.”

She went down the row, talking with the occupants of other cells. Men who appeared to have been here far longer than Adam’s team. Using a language he didn’t speak to communicate, and gesturing that they were about to get out of here. They were free.

Adam used the key on Noah’s cell first. “I’m guessing this place isn’t really a Climate Resilience Project.”

Noah said, “More like human resilience.”

Adam met his gaze and nodded slightly. “Let’s get out of here.”

He used the key on the other cells, freeing his friends one by one. Kai slapped his back, then went to help Dan walk out, which he did mostly on his own strength. Adam slipped off the backpack and tossed it to Noah. “See what you can find.”

The guy already had a gun from one of the Starwise guys. He caught the backpack with his free hand.

Marina sat on a bare cot, a faraway expression on her face. Adam said, “Marina, wanna help me?”

She emerged slowly from the cell, hugging herself as she moved.

Adam let out Jay, who gave him a bear hug and said, “Morgan would thank you, if she was ever gonna find out about this.”

“All in a day’s work,” Adam said. But he was worried about Marina. “Everyone okay?” He continued along the row, unlocking each cell and freeing the occupant.

Jay said, “We will be when we’re on a boat and getting out of here.”

“Where are we, anyway?” Kai wandered over, racking the slide on the rifle he’d acquired from somewhere.

“Philippines. You okay?”

“Migraine. Apparently, that’s what happens when you get heavy metal poisoning from mining without safety equipment.”

“Okay, people. Listen up,” Adam said. “We make our way to the dock on the far side of the island. One of Vesper’s people is bringing another fishing boat.”

Steph said, “We blew up the first one.”

Kai grinned at her, but it wasn’t nearly his usual level of bright humor. “Heard the explosion. I told them all that was you.”

Adam stepped back from a cell door, holding it wide so an older man could walk out. His gaze snagged on the security camera. An unnecessary amount of cameras, now he was thinking about it. In the basement of that missile silo, he’d seen each of his friends on a different feed. So that Polaris could closely study them individually?