Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

expanse of sand, al fluid muscle, sprinting in silence for the al ey. Give me a minute to get into position to cover you.
    Kane stepped back to give Ethan room to move past him. Ethan flashed him a grin and moved out into the street, a blurring shadow sliding away from the lights. One guard turned his head toward Ethan, and Kane switched his knife to a throwing position, but the guard turned away, obviously not able to track the shadow as it went up the side of the building across from the al ey. Ethan was nearly impossible to see without night vision, blending into the side of the building, clinging like a spider as he went up the impossible angle without climbing gear.
    Kane held his breath, quartering the area careful y for anyone who might spot Ethan, knowing Javier was doing the same. It seemed a lifetime waiting for confirmation that he’d made it. Kane could hear his own heart beating in his ears. Somewhere a dog barked. Someone coughed, and another man cursed. Laughter broke out. Al the while he exercised tremendous discipline to keep from looking at the apartment where the woman he’d been searching for, for months, was getting ready to run.
    One man on the roof. He’s got a bottle of tequila and an automatic. Great combo. Ethan’s disgust was obvious.
    More time ticked by. Rose would be packed by now. She would travel light. Just the bare necessities. Kane tasted bitterness in his mouth, but his eyes continued a sweep up and down the buildings and along the street. His first order of business was to protect Ethan.
    All clear. Ethan’s voice was calm. Launch “the Eagle.”
    Gideon sprinted across the sand to the edge of the building and then into the al ey. He clapped Kane on the shoulder, pausing to take stock of the dark streets. Figures moved in doorways, and two men stopped briefly to talk in low voices as they patrol ed. A couple of women sat on a porch, silently watching, and down at the end of the street, five teenage boys laughed and prodded one another as they practiced throwing knives.
    Gideon put on blurring speed and crossed the empty street to the side of the building. He didn’t have Ethan’s advantage, climbing easily with only his hands and toes, but Ethan had left behind a stairway made of throwing stars. Gideon moved up fast in the dark, his sniper rifle snug against his back as he raced up the side of the building.
    They al could breathe a sigh of relief once Gideon was in place. The man just didn’t miss. They al cal ed him the Eagle for a reason. Gideon would cover the streets and windows, as Ethan and Mack would enter the building and bring out the prisoners. Kane would cover them from inside, and Javier would be on the street. They were al fast and lethal when need be, but in a situation such as this one, it was very difficult to distinguish between residents and those cooperating with the enemy, unless they blatantly carried a weapon.
    You’re a go, Ethan said. We’ve got you covered.
    Everything in Kane settled. He turned his attention once more to Rose’s apartment, sweeping it careful y, bouncing sound waves through the building to see inside. She stood by the front door, and there was a weapon in her hand.
    He took a deep breath to steady himself while his body reacted to the sensors processing the images before retreating from the al ey to jog around the buildings to come up on her building from the same side of the street. Mack joined him, easily keeping the fast pace.
    We’ll need you on this one, Kane.
    Kane shot Mack a quick look of impatience. I’ve never let you down. Give me a few minutes to get her ready to leave with us.
    Mack nodded and crouched in the shadow of the building. Gideon? You in position? Kane is going in. She’s armed.
    Don’t you shoot her! Mack, you son of a bitch. Nobody better shoot her. There was warning in Kane’s voice. He was a dangerous, explosive man, capable of swift retribution. They had grown up with him. They knew him. His tone said it al . He expected them to back off and al ow him to handle Rose—

    even if she tried to kil him, which he figured was entirely probable.
    Kane took a deep breath and moved around to the window opening onto a smal side yard. He could see why Rose chose this apartment. She had alternative escape routes. He didn’t make the mistake of stepping up to the window. Rose was a highly trained GhostWalker. She had survival skil s. She was expecting him to come through the front door, a representative