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.I’ll hunt his ass down and kill him myself.”Jason smiled.He’d have to get in line if Jason didn’t know better this time.“Yeah, well, it wouldn’t do any good.But nevertheless, that doesn’t explain where Lori ran off to.”“Shit.I’ll go check the club.”“I’ll go see if she’s at Jude’s house.Maybe she went there to cool off.”“Good plan.I’ll call you in a bit.” Carlton broke off the call, leaving Jason holding the phone and wondering what sort of rabbit hole he’d descended.Chapter TwentyJude inched forward behind his closest buddy from the force, Ike.They squatted down behind a group of bushes and peered through their binoculars at the warehouse.“What do you think are the chances he’s really in there?”Ike glanced over his shoulder with a wry grin.“Slim to none.He doesn’t operate this way.”“That’s what I was thinking.So this has to be a decoy.”“That’d be my guess.”“Why?” Jude wanted his best man’s take on what was going down.“Got me, man.It’s crazy.Why would he hole up in this shack with all his people and wait for us to come surround him? It’s like he knows we’re out here and he’s going to come up from behind.He’s an asshole of the largest sort, but he isn’t stupid.He’d be a sitting duck if he were in there.” Ike shook his head.“I’m not buying it.”“Me neither.” At least they were on the same page.“So what do you think we should do?”“Watch our backs, that’s for sure.”Jude agreed, and for emphasis he turned around.Nothing.A voice came over Jude’s earpiece.“We move forward ten yards on three.One, two, three.”Jude stayed on Ike’s back as they duck-walked closer to the warehouse.“What the fuck is this guy playing?” His question was rhetorical and Ike didn’t answer.They watched, straining to see any sort of movement behind any of the windows.They shouldn’t.The glass was too high for a man standing on the ground, but just in case.“Ten more on three.One, two, three.”Everyone moved.They’d been here for hours.Something didn’t feel right.Jude didn’t like the way his skin crawled.He looked through the binoculars for the millionth time.As far as he could tell, there was no evidence anyone was in the warehouse, let alone one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists.“What sort of intel are we following here?” Ike asked.“I don’t get it.If they were in there, they’d be coming and going.Are we sure they aren’t onto us?”Jude said nothing.He strained to see any sign of life in a panoramic sweep of the area.“Did anyone check to see if there was some sort of underground system running from this warehouse?”“Yep.Nothing on the grids.”A distant noise caught Jude’s ear.A vehicle.It grew closer.Hell, it barreled right past where he and Ike were kneeling and straight up to the front door of the building.How had it gotten past the security check point on the road?Jude pressed his mic.“What’s going on, Stanton? How’d this truck get here?”Silence.Static.And then his earpiece lit up with foul language.“What the fuck is going on out there? Unit four, respond, please.Unit four… Hello? Unit four, please respond.” Stanton screamed a few more obscenities.“Goddammit, unit four, what are you doing? Fuck…”Jude held still.If the security checkpoint was breached, it could be that unit four was dead.No wonder his hackles were at an all-time high.One man jumped from the truck and rapped on the door to the warehouse.Jude watched him through the binoculars.Middle Eastern.Someone opened the door and stepped out.The two men conversed for a moment, the guy from the truck pointing at the truck bed.The man from the warehouse nodded and then flipped the hatch down and reached in to drag something from the bed.Fuck, not something, someone.There was no mistaking the human form.Someone medium-sized, wrapped in a gunny sack and wiggling to get free.The man from the truck threw the body bag over his shoulder and hefted it higher before entering the building behind the second man.Fuck.Fuck fuck fuck.What the hell was Sharik playing at? A hostage? Who? From where? Why?The door closed.Shit.Jude took a deep breath [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]