Page 29 of The Lazarus Protocol

“We’ve done more on less.” Dan didn’t seem super put out. His lack of excitement or joy translated to him also having a distinct lack of frustration. The guy never got worked up about anything in any way.

Problem was, that bothered Adam. He’d never been the guy to sit around and do nothing if there was someone on his team who wasn’t all right or had a beef with someone else. Too bad wading in got him involved in the mess of trouble.

TL;DR.

Here he was.

Sure, the story was long and pretty interesting. But none of it was relevant to his life right now. He wasn’t even the same guy he’d been back then. High school football captain. Track star. These days he didn’t even recognize the kid who’d joined the army right after graduation, the one who wanted to change the world and do it carrying a gun. The team leader he was now had the scars of that life, but he also had a new name.

“What did Noah tell you when he called?”

Adam pushed away his morose thoughts and realized he’d been drifting for a while according to the dash clock. Long enough to nap a little and find himself out of the city, in a more rural area where a single-lane road stretched out ahead of them. Farmland on either side, with rundown residences overseeing them.

He shifted in the seat, trying to work out the kinks of not enough sleep. “Marina’s cousin is missing. They’re going to see if they can find out what happened to her.”

“Caleb and Tessa’s baby is good?” Dan cleared his throat. “Everything is all right?”

“Yeah, bro. Everything is fine with that.” Over his shoulder, Adam spotted Ice hunkered down in the back. Probably in the tech crate or getting some more sleep. Adam continued, “Noah told me we’re the new Division Zero team for the CIA.”

“He got them to approve it?” Dan sounded impressed. “Whatever he said to convince them, I’d love to know.”

“Guess we’re doing good this week. Proving to Earthnet that we’re pros. Working for the CIA.”

“Don’t say it.” Dan rolled his shoulders. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Things are in a good place because we’re the real deal.”

“Mmm.”

Adam said, “Anyway, he didn’t have time to tell me much else. Other than about this assignment.”

“I suppose rescuing an asset of theirs goes a long way to showing them how capable we are.”

“Exactly.” So don’t screw it up. Adam looked at the tablet. “We’re almost there.”

“You were snoring like an old dog, so I left you to it.” Dan slowed the truck and took a right turn at a T-junction. Someone had taken the turn too fast and slammed into a low brick wall, which hadn’t been fixed. “We’re coming around from the back, and we’ll have to cross a field. Want to wait until it’s dark?”

Ice stuck his head in the window and nearly took ten years off Adam’s life. Of course, he pretended he hadn’t been startled. Ice said, “I vote we knock on the front door.”

Adam frowned. “You guys smell that?” He grabbed the handle and wound the window down, which squeaked as it descended into the door. “Smoke in the air.”

“Someone burning their weeds?” Dan slowed with the front end of the truck sticking out from behind a hedge that hadn’t been trimmed in a decade. “That house is toast.”

“Burned toast.” Adam peered down the hill to the structure at the bottom, about half a mile away and scratched his chin—the stubble situation was worse than he’d thought. He’d have a full-blown beard in twelve hours.

“That’s where she was?” Dan put the truck in Park.

“According to the CIA.” Adam shoved the tablet back into his duffel, exchanging it for a vest, and zipped the bag. He lowered the vest over his head. “We should check it out. If she died in there, they’ll want confirmation she’s gone.”

Dan pocketed the keys. “Ice, stay here so the stuff doesn’t get stolen. We’ll be back.”

Adam pushed his door open and holstered a pistol at the back of his belt, flipping his T-shirt over it. Dan met him at the front of the truck, and they headed over a split-rail fence that had seen better days. Between sporadic Anatolian black pine trees, they kept to cover and watched the house as they headed that way.

“It’s been burning a while.”

Dan said, “Maybe all night. But no emergency services?”

Adam shrugged, mostly to roll his shoulders and get his muscles to relax. “Who knows why no one came to put it out. Maybe they don’t like whoever lives here.”