Page 33 of Innocent Target

Nick didn’t answer and parked in a nearby street, staying under the radar as much as possible as James made a quick call and their hacker answered at the first ring.

“Have you found Mercy yet?”

“We’re at the spot, but we need help to get in.”

“Like disabling the cameras?”

A brilliant and quick-thinking woman.

“Yes, and can you find a way to unlock the front gate?”

A feminine chuckle came through the line. “You don’t ask for much.”

Nick leaned in. “And as a bonus, can you find a way to cause some sort of diversion if you have a minute more? We left our bazooka at home.”

Imari didn’t answer him, probably poring over her computers. “The cameras are a given, the gate I can arrange, the trouble with the diversion is that I don’t see what I can do to get everyone one… unless…”

For the full minute she stayed silent, James thought she’d failed, but realized he was wrong as an alarm wailed through the windows.

“I’ve blocked the system from alerting the police. I have eyes on you through the cameras. When you’re in, I’m going to turn it off. Good luck.”

The sun wasn’t completely set, and it was clear they couldn’t use darkness to conceal their presence. Instead, they left the car and dashed through the gate. It was the riskiest part of their invasion. Once inside, they used the trailers to their advantage to move as close as possible to the central warehouse.

Men ran around as the alarm continued to blare, and one man exiting the building provided them a chance to enter.

After going through the office area, Nick gestured for James to slide between a corridor of pallets. It was soon clear they were searching in the wrong place. At the back of the structure, the alarm finally turned off, and once his hearing stopped buzzing, James heard people returning and milling around.

It was apparent the men inside the space were regular workers, so if Mercy was being kept in the building, it wasn’t in this section.

Going back toward the offices, Nick took a position beside a door large enough for a lift to cross, meaning this was a brand-new section.

It only took a couple of minutes to make sure nobody was around. James slid inside, followed by Nick. The place was dark, only the high windows providing defused light from the sunset. At first glance the place looked empty, but they couldn’t take the risk of being discovered.

There were large refrigerators on one wall, the rest of the space was full of empty storage racks.

“Is there anywhere else they could be keeping her, a second floor maybe?” James kept his voice as low as possible.

Nick looked around. “Possibly. This place is huge. We still have a lot to check. Maybe Imari can give us a hand with the cameras.”

As he took out his phone, James turned to look. There were eight units along the wall, but one had a steady green light that caught his attention. Leaving Nick to his call, James went to check the units. The doors were open, and a quick check confirmed they were empty. Only the unit that had a padlock on it was left. James turned to look at the vast, noiseless, and open space. Apart from the faint whirring of the only working refrigerator, James was at a loss. He tried to visualize the building and where to go next.

Nick was still whispering on the phone and relayed their conversation to James. “Imari says the remaining employees are slowly leaving, but there’s a group waiting outside by the main gate. She can’t make out their faces, so I’m guessing they’re the men waiting for the buyer.”

Fury spread through James, but he shook it off. Mercy didn’t need that now. “None of the cameras have shown Mercy so far?”

His voice must have carried to Imari as Nick stayed silent a few seconds before shaking his head. “There are too few of them, especially inside. And as for outside, there are too many trucks and vans going in or out to know which one carried Mercy in.”

A soft thumping sound resonated inside the warehouse. On full alert, the two men looked around, but didn’t hear the sound again.

Nick hissed through his teeth. “We can’t stay here forever, James. What do you want to do?”

If only he knew. The only idea he had was to retrace their steps to the office. It was the only logical place where they’d be keeping her.

He was about to propose that solution when Nick went stiff as a rod. “Two armed men coming our way.”

If they were armed, they weren’t ordinary warehouse employees. It was the fact they were coming their way that made him pause, but they were out of time. He and Nick took position on either side of the door, and with a nod, prepared to attack. They had to do this as discreetly as possible.

The two guards never suspected they were in danger and were killed without a sound, apart from a few scuffles and their bodies hitting the ground. Quickly, they dragged both men behind a rack, it wasn’t a great hiding place, but it would have to do.