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"There," Vander said, pointing. "The outermost one on the north side."
We landed hard, and I was the first out the door. The team followed, weapons ready. The hotel had an external stairwell that we took quickly and silently. Even in full daylight with clear skies, no one noticed us. At the ground level, we ran in a line toward the vans, hiding behind vehicles as we advanced.
My heart stopped as a single shot rang out from the vicinity of the first van, the one Vander had said contained Celeste and Wren.
I made eye contact with Vander, my muscles so tense I thought they might pop. That could've been the bullet that shot his wife or mine.
We approached low and fast. The other four operators split off to flank the other vehicles. The back door of the van was open.
A second shot rang out from behind the van.
Holy shit. I started to run toward the door, but Vander stopped me with his hand. He whistled out a signal, high with short reps.
A single, long whistle answered him.
Celeste.
His chest heaved with relief. He nodded and waved two fingers forward for us to advance.
As we rounded the door, we found Tommy on his back on the pavement, dead, bleeding out from his head and his stomach. Beyond him, Celeste stood holding the weapon. Wren was by her side looking shell shocked but unharmed. Thank God she was okay.
Her eyes popped wide when she saw me. "Mag!"
I had to step over Tommy's body to reach her and pull her into my arms.
She gripped me fiercely and her whole body trembled.
"I got you," I said, my voice hoarse. "You're safe."
"I was so scared."
"Nearly lost my mind."
Fontaine appeared and inspected the body. Tommy was clearly dead and no longer a threat. "The rest of the vans are clear. We need to check the docks," he said to me.
"Helix will be here soon," I told Wren. "Celeste will stay with you until he arrives."
"I want to go with you," Wren said, brushing the hair from her face.
Of course she did.
"I'm in too," Celeste added.
I didn't have time to argue with Vander's wife. "Fine, but your priority is guarding Wren while we track down the missing girls."
She nodded, not liking that she'd have to miss out on any action, but at least she'd get to go.
We left the body behind and ran out to the first slip we thought might've been linked to Kenny. A boat was moored there, but the vessel was unoccupied.
The whole team ran to the second slip. No boat.
An older Asian man stood on the dock alone, his face hanging low and despondent. I recognized him as the butler I'd seen at the magic show.
"That's one of his men."
We approached him, and he raised his hands as he cowered on the dock. "Don't shoot."
"Where are they?" I asked him as Vander checked him for weapons.
