Sam nodded. "You take out the first guard, I'll look for others." She could do that, even if she felt like shit. He didn't ask if she was capable, which was refreshing. She'd only have to break a nail with Jack and you would have thought she was dying. Obviously fake concern, she now realized.
He grasped the handle, held up three fingers and counted them down. Then he thrust the door back hard. There was a grunt and the sound of something hitting the floor. Gabriel followed through fast. She ducked to the right. A guard stood at the far end of the room, rifle rising as he turned to face them.
"Gabriel, shooter at ten-o-clock!" she warned, dropping to the ground.
He tore the gun from the grip of the unconscious guard near his feet and fired. The second guard went down with a muffled cry.
She hobbled over to the second guard's prone form and scooped up his rifle. With her back against the wall, she studied the corridor beyond, listening and watching for any sort of alarm. Gabriel patted down the two men.
"Found a set of keys," he said softly, stopping on the opposite side of the doorway. "Might be of use."
"Could be the keys to his house or even his mailbox, for all we know." She kept her voice as low as his. "Chances are they won't be car keys."
"Luck's got to fall with us sometime."
Luck was something she'd learned never to rely on. "Do we go for a phone or a car?"
"I can't risk phoning Stephan from here. Too dangerous for him and for us."
"Car, then. Know where we can find one?"
He hesitated, face suddenly grim. "Yes. And I know where we can get the keys." He held up three fingers again.
She watched his countdown. At three she moved out, keeping low as she swung left. No one in sight.
"This way." He motioned to the corridor leading off to the right.
She followed him, almost running to keep up with his long strides. By the time they reached the top of the looping corridor, sweat was trickling down her back, her muscles ached and she felt lightheaded. When he stopped to investigate another door, she leaned against the wall and desperately tried to catch her breath. Jack's tests had sapped all her strength. She felt as unsteady as an umbrella in a windstorm.
"You okay?"
Her gaze rose at his concerned question. Worry was very evident in his hazel eyes, which was natural, since he was using her as much as Jack. He was just being nicer about it. She nodded Weak or not, she had to go on. Had to stop Jack.
"You look sort of gray," he said
"So would you if you'd had a near death experience." The concern in his gaze got stronger, and she forced a smile. "Go. I don't think we have that much time to play with."
He nodded and moved through the door. She covered his back, scanning the room, weapon at the ready as she watched for any sign of movement. But there was no life here, only the dead — either in coffins or as a headless corpse sprawled on the floor.
Mary. That's where he intended to get the keys. She touched his arm. He glanced down at her, eyes bleak. He hadn't wanted to see her like this, she realized.
"I'll do it."
He hesitated. "I'll watch the exits."
She walked over to Mary's body. The one good thing about laser weapons was the cleanness of the death — there was no blood, and in this case, no head. Her stomach turned at the thought, and she kept her eyes averted from the blackened neck stump as she rifled through the dead woman's clothes. She found a set of keys in her right jacket pocket, and a disk in her left.
If Mary was supposed to be confirming the PM's route, then maybe this was it. Maybe luck was with them, for a change.
She rose, and they moved cautiously into the next corridor. Five minutes later, they were outside. It was almost too easy.
"Chopper's gone," he noted, pointing to the empty helicopter pad. "Kazdan's obviously taken off already, though I'd like to know how, given it's daylight, and he wasn't wearing a full protection suit."
"They've developed some sort of second skin that protects them from the UV rays. The vamps in Jack's house were wearing it. I snagged a piece." Though God only knew what condition it'd be in after being in her pocket all this time. She unlocked the car door, then tossed the keys across to Gabriel and climbed in the passenger side.
"That's obviously how Mary moved about in daylight." He glanced at her. "It's not a good development."
"Exactly what I thought." She placed the disk into the onboard computer. The screen hummed to life, revealing an itinerary. She quickly scanned through it.