Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,85
took his words to heart. He was dead on. Raiden preferred to march in, guns blazing, with no other thought to a plan. He didn’t understand how lethal these guys were, even after all the destruction they’d done, including what happened in the apartment.
The remainder of the drive was silent. I mulled over how to keep Raiden under control if we didn’t get Cruze out. Drex’s phone brought me back to the present. He had it connected to the car’s Bluetooth, so we were all in the loop. It was one of the team members reporting in.
“Hey boss. We’re at the location. Feet on the ground.”
“And?”
“Two vehicles, five men.”
“Any sign of our target?”
“Not yet. Appears there’s a basement. One of the men ran to check out a window.”
“Let me know what he finds.”
The call ended, and we drove on until we found their SUV. We geared up after Drex parked and waited for the call. It came moments later.
“Boss, he’s there.”
“How does he look?”
“Couldn’t tell from our vantage point. We’ll have to subdue the men because the house only has one exit on the main floor.”
“We’re on our way to you now. Location?”
He gave Drex the information, and we set off on foot, armed and prepared for a fight. I had a gas mask in my backpack, along with two tear gas canisters. Depending on the situation, we would use them.
After we met up with the other team, which comprised six men, they brought us up to speed. Cruze was in the basement, guarded by one man. There were two outside patrolling the perimeter of the cabin, and two inside.
“Let’s take out the two outside first, then the two inside. That should be easy enough, but remember, we need to operate quickly to ensure they don’t contact anyone.” Drex gave the orders.
“Who do you want to do it?” I asked.
“Scottie, you stay here, in case we need to call you in as back up with the tear gas. Gem, you come with me, and we’ll join the others. Then we’ll decide who does what.” Drex led the others toward the house while I waited.
My watch annoyed the hell out of me because every time I checked it, only a minute or two had passed. I had no patience. Then I heard a car engine in the distance. It got closer, and trouble approached.
I radioed Drex, saying, “Company’s on the way. Another car’s approaching.”
“Fuck. Move in. Stand by when you get here.”
I circled in the opposite direction of where the car had gone. This took me to the other side of the cabin, approaching from the rear. One of our guys waved as he saw me in the distance.
“Status?” I asked.
“Cruze is in terrible shape. They beat him pretty soundly. We have to carry him back to the SUV. But we got to see who our visitors are.”
“I have a hunch it’s O’Brien,” I said.
“What makes you say that?”
“He wants information. He knows we have his daughter and granddaughter and he’s failed at everything.”
We eyed the sedan as it stopped in front of the cabin. Four men climbed out and my hunch was right. I hit the radio, letting Drex know.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.
“Nope, but I’m ready for this.”
“I’m not. We don’t have enough ammo. Those guys will be armed to the teeth.”
“I can run back to the SUV and grab some—”
“No time,” he cut me off. “As soon as they’re inside, deploy the tear gas. Don’t give them a second to check for the other guys.”
“Got it. Where are you?”
“Basement. Trying to revive Cruze.”
“Tell everyone to put on a mask,” I reminded him.
I glanced up at the other team member, then I dug in my backpack for the mask. “It’s game time.” He did the same and when we both were ready, we crept around to the front where he slid open a front window. I tossed in both canisters. Moments later, the men ran out as they coughed and sputtered. We both worked quickly to cuff all four of them with cable ties, securing their wrists and ankles.
One thing about tear gas, it worked like a charm when you needed it.
I took off my mask and radioed Drex. “Four targets secured.”
“On the way up now.”
“Go out the back.”
They did and carried Cruze to a vehicle. Drex told the men to drive him directly to a hospital while he met us up front.
“What a pleasant surprise. We never expected to see you here,” he said to Aiden.