Page 1 of Out of the Shadows

CHAPTER ONE

“Cameras will go dark for three minutes. Acknowledge,” Sabrina “Bean” Ventura said into her headset, voice sure and steady. While she received confirmation from each team member, her finger hovered over the Enter key. “On my mark: five, four, three, two, one, mark.”

As she pressed Enter, her gaze swung to her top left monitor. The three video feeds she’d overridden were playing the prerecorded material she’d programmed. A glance at the center monitor showed her team was on the move. Swift and silent. And most importantly, undetected.

Leaning back in her chair, she tried not to stare at the timer counting down on one of the screens, but it was impossible. No matter how many times she’d done this—and she’d done this countless times—her heart still hammered in her chest. She never took for granted the lives that were relying on her to keep them safe. She checked the two live drone feeds and their thermal sensors to ensure there weren’t any unexpected visitors approaching the old warehouse. Orange-and-red figures indicated her team of six, plus the one they were there for.

So far, so good.

“Confirming the package is still in the warehouse’s southwest corner by the west exit,” Bean said. The four Hudson Security members on the team were elite, and the two FBI agents joining them tonight were skilled. However, they had just over two minutes left to retrieve the package, plant the fake, and then get the hell out of there.

“Copy, B,” a familiar voice replied as the six heat signatures converged on the lone, motionless one in the corner. Gavin Frazier, head of Hudson Security and her boss, was the acting team leader: Alpha One.

Bean’s head was on a constant swivel between all seven of her monitors. Her eyes narrowed on a slight movement off to the side of the building. Zooming in, she bit back a curse. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she pulled up the warehouse’s floor plan. “West exit is no longer viable. Repeat, west exit is no longer viable. Two bogies approaching.”

“Copy. Package retrieved by Alpha Six,” Gavin said. “Switch to Plan Bravo?”

A glance at the countdown timer had her grimacing. “Negative. Plan Charlie. North exit, then circle to the east. River evac.” Her heart thumped hard in her chest. “You have sixty seconds until the cameras are back online. Get the hell out of there.”

“Copy.”

Bean’s pulse was loud in her ears as she watched the team rush toward the north exit as the two unknowns entered the building. The team cleared the warehouse, and the drone feed showed them sprinting for the nearby forest. The two unknowns were still standing just inside the warehouse door. They hadn’t moved toward where the fake package had been planted, and it seemed that so far, they hadn’t noticed that anything was amiss.

However, the team wasn’t yet in the clear. Between themand the forest was a clearing the size of a football field with three cameras that would be coming back online in under fifteen seconds. They were running in a pack with Alpha Two and Four leading the way. Alpha Six was in the middle carrying the package, with Three and Five flanking them. Alpha One took up the rear. They were nearing the edge of the surveillance cameras’ range, but not quite close enough to be out of range. She willed them to move faster.

Bean eyed the timer again, and her knee bounced beneath her desk uncontrollably. “Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Move your ass, Alpha One. Three. Two. One.” She sucked in a breath as the cameras went live. She waited a heartbeat for the alarms to sound.

Nothing.

Letting out a loud sigh, she slumped into her office chair. “You’re clear, Alpha Team.”

“Thank fuck,” Gavin murmured. “That was close.”

Too close. Blowing out another breath, she relaxed her shoulders and rolled her neck. She took a swig of her fluorescent-green energy drink and grimaced when her stomach churned. Too much caffeine today.

Pulling up the map of the area on her screen, she refocused. “Once you hit the river, head downstream. Bravo Team is about a klick away and will meet you.” She tapped her headset, opening up the comms. “Confirm, Bravo Team.”

“Copy, B,” a deep voice replied. “Alpha Team, this is Bravo One. Status of the package?”

“Package is secure.” Gavin paused. “Alpha Three is tending to the package right now, but we’re going to want medical ASAP.”

“Confirmed,” Bean said as Bravo One muttered a curse. “There are EMTs standing by at the boat launch. Hustle, boys.”

The next few minutes ticked by ever so slowly. Therewere still no alarms going off at the warehouse, nor any communications or signals coming from the two unknowns signifying they’d realized anything was wrong. They hadn’t bothered checking on the package—thank God, seeing as it was a fake—before they began patrolling the perimeter of the property. But Bean wouldn’t breathe easy until both teams were back at the boat launch.

A full eleven minutes later, Gavin spoke the sweetest words into her headset. “Bravo Team, we see you. Signaling.”

“Copy that, Alpha One,” Bravo One said. “We see your signal. Coming in.”

Bean listened to the teams’ low murmurs. As usual, there was no idle chitchat. It was all business. “Alpha Team and the package are secure,” Bravo One said. “We’re hauling ass back, B.”

With three clicks of her mouse, Bean redirected one of the drones—which were still monitoring the warehouse—and spotted the teams’ Zodiacs. Another click had the drone scanning the length of the river with its thermal detector. “Looks like you’re in the clear. Only wildlife detected along the river.” The screen with the feed of the drone that had remained at the warehouse showed only two heat signatures. “The warehouse is still quiet.”

“Any ID on the two bogies?” Gavin asked.

She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “Negative. I can’t get the drones any lower or they’ll be detected.”

“Continue to monitor until we get back to the launch. Our part is done. And, Bean, everything you have on these fuckers—and I meaneverything—gets sent to the feds. These assholes are going down.”