disgust with the Shadow Force treatment toward female assets to get what he wanted. His gaze moved to the cargo deck where a pallet of biohazard bins from the medical bay were being loaded onto the trash transport ship. The load master in charge of the deck had allowed the civilian ships to continue their business while the crew and families aboard the Valiant practiced an orderly escape.
Keen couldn’t prove it, but he suspected Maisie was being smuggled onto the trash ship. If not the trash ship, one of the two cargo ships on either side of it waiting for departure clearance. Keen suspected the trash ship because someone in traffic control had pushed the departure time back twelve minutes. Maisie was under guard in the med bay, but the guards watching her were loyal to Orion. It would be easy enough for him to arrange to have her smuggled out of there in a large box filled with medical waste.
“Found him,” Savage said, gesturing to a monitor at the top left of the wall. “Looks like he’s in the air ducts.”
Keen watched Terror sliding through the air ducts on the deck above the cargo section. “We should delete that. All of it,” he clarified. “Roll back to his quarters and delete it all.”
“I suppose is this part of Operation Cover Our Asses,” Savage muttered while deleting the footage.
“The next part of OCOA is you following the fake trail that Terror will undoubtedly leave behind.”
Savage frowned. “Why do I have to look like the dumbass in this op? Why don’t you chase him?”
“I have business to handle here,” he replied cryptically. “All that matters now is that Terror and Maisie get off the Valiant and find Devious.”
“If they fail?”
Keen sighed. “Well, at the very least, Maisie will end up somewhere safer than here.”
“Or dead,” Savage corrected. “In which case...” He drew his finger across his throat to describe what Terror would do to them.
Keen’s thoughts turned morbid as his gaze drifted to one of the cameras trained on a pod filled with families. If their theory about a far-reaching conspiracy was correct, Terror slitting their throats might be the best outcome. He didn’t think he could survive another failure that cost mates and children their lives.
“You okay?” Savage asked, concerned.
“Yeah.” Keen cleared his throat and shook off the macabre thoughts darkening his mind. He gestured to the surveillance screens. “You got this?”
“Yes.” He frowned. “Where are you going?”
“To rattle Orion’s cage a bit.” Keen pocketed his handheld tablet. “Best if we keep him on edge so he doesn’t get suspicious of what we’re actually up to,” he decided.
“Why do you always get to do the fun shit?” Savage asked grumpily.
“Because you wanted to be in charge,” Keen reminded him. “I told you not to take this assignment. Didn’t I warn you that it would be nothing but office work and logistics?”
Savage huffed and waved his hand. “Just go before I decide to assign you overtime in the brig.”
Keen laughed and grabbed his weapon belt from the chair. He hated the way it rubbed on his back and thigh when he sat. As he fixed the belt in place around his waist, he schooled his amused features and returned to his usual grim, hard stare. He opened the door—and ran straight into Pierce.
“Whoa!”
“My fault,” Pierce said, taking a step back. “I didn’t realize anyone was in the surveillance room. I thought there was something wrong with my access code.”
“Savage is in there. He’s busy.” Keen turned and used the master code to make sure only Savage could open the door from the inside.
“You need any help?” Pierce asked.
“No. I’m good.”
“Right. Okay.” Pierce backed away. “I’ll be at my desk reading intel reports if you need me.”
“Sure.” Not for the first time, Keen had a squirrely feeling about Pierce. He always happened to be in just the right place at just the right time. It seemed like an impossible list of coincidences.
Is it him? Is Pierce the mole? Or one of them?
Knowing how close Pierce was to Torment, Keen faced the very real possibility that he and Savage were surrounded by Splinter plants. Paranoia crept in as Keen wondered how many other men he interacted with every single day were spies.
Terror, you better figure this shit out and fast. We’re all counting on you.
Chapter Fourteen
Terror looked down at Maisie as she dozed against his chest. After switching out her IV, he had moved her to the bottom bunk of the bed so