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“Hey, glad to see you two kids finally getting together, but we’re not out of the woods.” Pete stuck his arm down to them. “Let’s go.”
Deb kissed him again, quickly, then rolled away and stood. Michael grasped Pete and Nic’s hands, ignoring their grins, and let them yank him up. They helped him out of his vest, and led him to a poker table in the corner, flipped to the plain top. Deb pulled out a chair, and he lowered himself into it gingerly.
She retrieved his backpack, flopping it at his feet and opening the top. “Which pills do you need?”
“All of them, probably. But right now, I need the one with the bright orange warning labels.” He turned to Pete. “My back is in bad shape. The hard stuff is the only thing that will take the edge off now, but it tends to knock me out. But I’m not going to last without it. So, I’ll do my best, but if I pass out, just put me on the workout mat and let me sleep it off. Sorry.”
Pete shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about. You survived. That took a lot of fast-thinking, guts and hard work.”
Nic put a glass of water in front of him. “After that, I’d sleep for a week. If you can stay awake long enough to give us some intel and your thoughts about our next steps, that’s a win.” He brought up Wiz’s conferencing program on his phone. The only face there was Geo’s. “Erin and Ryan are fine, but we don’t know where Mills, Sam, Geo’s team, Wiz or Tom are.”
“That’s bad.” He opened the bottle, shook out a pill, and swallowed it, then downed the entire glass of water.
Deb took the empty glass. “I’ll bring you some food, too.”
“Thanks.” He needed something in his stomach to buffer the pills. Glancing at the time, he was amazed at how little had gone by. Action and survival stretched and compressed time oddly. But philosophy could wait. “The guys that had me were almost certainly Bratva. Good English with Slavic accents, carried Russian weapons, were comfortable with keeping a captive at gun point. I don’t think they’re used to military maneuvers or tactics, but they’ve had training of some sort. If I really had to push my assessment, I’d say they’re not used to people fighting back. Even though they were semi-professional, there was a lot of anger and impatience.”
“Matches what I’ve seen on job sites,” Geo said. “At first, they can’t understand how anyone can tell them no. Then they either react with brutal swiftness or withdraw. The second is pretty uncommon, and usually, someone higher on the food chain comes back later with the brutality. We’ve taken the fight to them several times, and that does get them to back down. They’ve also sent emissaries to me several times, trying to get me to agree to some sort of payment, but I don’t talk to terrorists or bullies and that’s the message I send back. So far, we’re too small to be a real threat, but if we keep growing, I expect they’ll try to bring the fight to me.” He snorted. “Good luck with that. Anyway, my teams know how this goes. They’re probably headed to you, or a safe house, or returning to the bakery. Do we have eyes on the bakery?”
“No.” Nic shook his head. “I’ve tried to bring up the cameras, but I get static, darkness, or nothing, but I’m not an expert, especially on Wiz’s system.”
Deb put a plate with cheese, crackers, and fruit in the middle of the table, along with a pitcher of water. Michael poured for everyone, happy the pain had decreased, although his arm still trembled under the slight weight of the water.
She plopped into the chair next to his and brought out her phone. “Let me try. You might not have all the permissions you need at the bakery.” She tapped away, slid through a few screens, and gasped. “Oh, no.”
Chapter 22
“My bakery!” Deb dropped her phone on the table and put a hand over her aching heart. A huge, blackened hole gaped in the side where the brand new drive-up window had been. Fire trucks still sprayed water, and red and blue lights flashed. The room twirled, her stomach heaved, and she put a hand over her mouth.
Michael put his hand on the back of her neck, pushing her head between her knees. “Breathe. Four counts in, four out. In…out…in…out.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks, Deb.” Nic’s voice was sympathetic. “It’s mostly cosmetic, although your sprinklers went off, so you’ll be replacing some supplies. And the drive up is probably destroyed.”
Deb didn’t want to look. So much destruction. Her insurance either wouldn’t pay, or they’d drop her. Or both.
“Agreed. It looks awful, Deb, but it’s not too bad.” Michael ran his hand up and down her back, soothing her. “Stay down there. I don’t want you passing out.”
“Plus, the net saved the front,” Geo said. “Looks like it bounced the rockets back into the vehicles that fired them. I’m using those on every site from here on out.”
“Net?” Deb swallowed and straightened, brushing her hair back with her hands. She couldn’t afford emotional responses, not with their friends missing. “What net?”
Geo smiled from Nic’s phone. “I put in an experimental net made of hardened cable and attached it to the concrete bollards with stiff springs. I deployed the net when I saw the launchers sticking out of the car windows.” He chuckled. “And yes, they really were that stupid. Not only did the rockets mostly get caught and tossed back, but the idiots set the interiors of their vehicles on fire, because the back end of the launch tubes were inside the passenger areas. I still can’t believe they were so dumb. The warning is clear; it’s printed right on the launch tubes: keep the area behind the tube clear or risk incineration.” He snorted. “Anyway, using the net was a tad bit risky, because if someone is straddling it as it springs up it’s going to be painful and it can send the rockets bouncing across the street into the buildings on the other side. If the rockets are still thrusting, then they could do some real damage. Regardless, the springs flexed enough that each rocket was bounced back into the launching vehicles, just as designed. Perfect.” He smirked.
“The cops won’t like it, because of the possibility of collateral damage, but I think it’s great,” Nic said. “Speaking of, I think your team just showed up, Geo.” Two motorcycles rolled into the lumberyard to the north of her bakery, each carrying two people.
“They’re calling. I’ll check in later.” Geo’s face disappeared.
Pete’s face creased with worry. “But where are my kids?”
There were four Copperline people, so Wiz and Tom weren’t with them, and Pete hadn’t had time to bring the ATV to the bakery. Which was just as well, since it saved their lives. But if Koslov’s people grabbed Wiz and Tom, they were all in trouble.
“We’ll keep looking.” Nic scrolled through screens. “Good thing I got Wiz to show me a bunch of this stuff last night. Shoot. They got the project house too, Michael.” The once-graceful house was a mess. The front door and windows were gone, and what she could see of the bottom floor was blackened. Red lights flashed; the fire department was still on scene.
“Dang it.” Michael reached for the phone holder on his shoulder strap, but stopped. “My phone is out there somewhere, so I can’t even call.” He yawned abruptly.
Nic stood and squeezed Michael’s shoulder. “I got it. I’ll call the fire department first; we’ll need to shore up that entryway. Maybe they’ll help for safety reasons. Then I’ll contact the owners tomorrow. You get some rest. We’ll find your phone tomorrow.” He walked away, holding his phone.
Deb searched the inside of Michael’s bag. “Here’s your laptop, at least.” She opened it and slumped. A crack ran across the screen and the display flickered. “I’m so, so, sorry, guys.”
