Page 104 of Silent Target

Directly toward the First Circle bunker.

Rook chambers a round.

“We stop chasing Graves.”

Caleb looks at me.

“We take the bunker.”

The countdown reaches nine minutes.

And we enter the mountain.

21

CALEB

Nine minutes.

That’s how long we have before the seventh drive destroys every piece of evidence we recovered.

Water rushes around my boots as I lead the team into the drainage channel.

The tunnel is less than five feet high. We move in a crouch, weapons held above the filthy water as the current fights every step.

Behind me, Evie slips.

I catch her before she falls.

“I’m fine,” she whispers.

“That’s my line.”

“You use it too often.”

I keep one hand around her arm until her footing is secure.

Rook moves ahead of us, sweeping the narrow passage with his light. Cobra follows with the enthusiasm of a man entering an underground structure while carrying explosives.

Fathom checks the countdown on his tablet.

“Eight minutes, twenty seconds.”

“Can you slow it?” Rook asks.

“Not until I reach the bunker’s internal network.”

Mac struggles through the water beside Shark. His injuries are catching up with him, but he refuses assistance.

“The channel divides ahead,” he says. “The left passage leads beneath the cabin. The right connects to the emergency rail system.”

“Which one reaches the command network?” Fathom asks.

“Left.”

“And Graves?”

“Probably the command center.”