Deadly Game (34 page)

“We came in using the river to avoid detection, but our team will need to use high altitude, low opening parachutists,” Ken said. “You know they aren’t going to look up unless they hear something, and they won’t hear a thing if our boys come in using HALO. Our team is trained, and I’d rather use them then people we’re not as familiar working with. We can pull a few strings and cancel a commercial flight at the last moment. There’s enough regular air traffic over the area that no one’s going to perceive a threat if we take the commercial flight path and altitude. Whoever is doing the monitoring will never suspect a thing.”

Jack nodded. “Definitely the best plan. The guards are not alert. Nothing’s shaken them up in the last couple of years.”

“Ryland’s men can back us up, but call in Logan and tell him we want our unit for this one.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “That’s a given, Ken, and already done. The men know it’s personal to you, and they’re already assembled and waiting for the intel. They’re not going to let you down.”

Ken knew Jack was right, but it didn’t unravel the knots in his belly. “I’m checking the doctor’s house. He just went in.” He indicated the small bluff overlooking the cottages. “I’ll work my way down to that point and go in from there. You cover me.”

“Checking the doctor’s house for what?” Jack asked. “You can’t just go in there and blow this for us.”

“He took pictures of her.”

“That’s his job. He had to have left them in the laboratory.”

“I’m making certain. And I’m going to find out where in the laboratory he left them.”

“Damn it, Ken. You can’t take a chance on tipping anyone off to the fact that we’re here. Just stay put.”

“He’s got pictures and he knows where the other pictures are. He touched her, Jack—when she was helpless and he was supposed to be examining her impersonally—he touched her.”

Mari had toned her emotions down, had even pulled away from him, but not before he’d caught the distaste, the feeling of utter helplessness, the mixture of sorrow, despair, and impotent rage that he knew intimately. He couldn’t get Mari out of there and away to somewhere safe in that moment, but he sure as hell could pay the doctor a little visit. He might never be able to give Mari all the things she deserved—like a stable, easygoing partner—but he could hand the pictures—and her dignity—back to her.

Jack rubbed his mouth to keep from protesting. Nothing was going to stop Ken and Jack couldn’t blame him. If it was Briony, the man would already be dead. For the first time in his life, Jack feared for his brother’s sanity. Mari was an unknown, but she was his wife’s twin sister and his brother’s chosen woman and that made her both important and a threat to his family’s well-being.

Ken was, and always had been, a dangerous man. He was, by turns, controlled and deliberate, cold and efficient, and always capable of swift and brutal violence if the situation called for it. Where Jack was easy for those around him to read, Ken appeared easygoing and affable. The men in their unit found him much more approachable. Jack had always known on some level that Ken had forced himself to be the “front” man in an effort to protect his twin. He hadn’t realized, until now, how foreign that behavior had been to Ken’s nature.

Ken had the same hidden demons—the same nightmares and fears—and he had an even stronger dose of their father’s legacy—the dark jealousies and need for swift and violent retribution. Ken had worn a mask all those years, hiding—even from his twin—the rage seething just below the surface. Between the trauma of his recent capture and torture and meeting Mari, Ken’s way of life had been turned upside down. The smooth, easygoing façade was gone.

Jack sighed and glanced at his watch. “Don’t get caught. I’d hate to have to kill anyone before we even get started.”

Ken reached out to tap his brother’s knuckles with his own in their familiar silent ritual. He scooted back into the foliage, careful to keep the thin branches from swaying as he passed through. Moving at a snail’s pace, Ken inched his way down the hillside until he was within a few yards of the cottage he was fairly certain was the doctor’s. The small house was set just a little apart from the other houses, and security was tighter. The guards walked the perimeter every ten minutes, two of them, switching their routine continually. The doctor had something to hide.

Ken slipped into the scraggly hedges surrounding the small community of houses just as a guard came around the side of the house and stopped, the heels of his boots within a foot of Ken’s elbow. Ken’s breath caught in his lungs—he stayed absolutely still, allowing ants and beetles to crawl over him. A lizard tickled his arm as it raced up it in little starts and stops, until it perched on his shoulder, pumping up and down, scenting the air.

The guard took three steps forward and halted again, turning fast as if he was trying to spot something—or someone. Ken’s brows drew together. Had he made a sound? The whisper of clothes along the ground? He took care that his skin reflected the foliage around him. His specially designed clothes reflected the colors of his surroundings.

What had tipped off the guard? Ken slid his hand inch by inch along his jacket until he reached the knife strapped to the front. His fingers wrapped around the hilt, but he left it in the scabbard. He could draw and throw almost before others could squeeze a trigger. The move had been practiced hundreds of hours over the last few years, and he was every bit as accurate at throwing as he was with a rifle.

I’ve got him.

Jack’s voice was without emotion, a statement of fact. If the guard twitched wrong, he was a dead man, and then all hell would break loose fast.

I’ll take him out and hide the body.
Ken was beginning to sweat. He could hear the man breathing, smell his fear, see the nerves as he searched the hillsides carefully.
He’s got to be enhanced, Jack. He’s using either vision or hearing, but he hasn’t locked on to you.
They couldn’t afford for the guard to raise the alarm. Something was making him nervous, but Ken couldn’t figure it out. There was no telltale tree cancer where a part of Jack’s weapon might be showing along the side of the tree trunk. No shiny objects. Jack had the same ability to camouflage his skin, the same reflective clothing. He disappeared into his surroundings until he was invisible. Ken knew exactly where Jack was, yet he couldn’t spot him, and if he couldn’t with his eagle sight, he was damned certain the guard couldn’t either.

He’s psychic. He’s not feeling our energy when we’re talking, but he’s catching something else,
he warned his brother.
Don’t move a muscle.

They both watched as the guard quartered the area with a slow, careful search. He didn’t reach for his field glasses, and that told both of them he had enhanced sight. Ken tried to draw into himself, careful to keep his breath smooth and even and silent. All the while he kept his attention on the guard, not daring to risk another look at his brother. If the guard spotted Jack, Ken would have to kill him swiftly and in utter silence, before the man had a chance to either raise the alarm or turn a weapon on Jack.

Without warning Mari’s fear filled his mind. It poured into him as if he were wide open with no careful shields built to protect him. His body shook with the overload. Air left his lungs in a rush, his mouth went dry, and his heart seemed to stop, then began to pound so loud he was afraid the guard would overhear. Sweat broke out on his brow—none of it was good when he was feet from an enhanced soldier.

He drew air into his lungs, pushed past Mari’s fear, and stayed focused on his enemy. He was so close to the man, he knew he could get to his feet and wrap his arm around the soldier and plunge the knife in a kill zone, all in a few seconds, but the man would still have time to react. Physical enhancement made them abnormally strong, and GhostWalkers were taught to fight to their last breath. The guard might just be tough enough to have time to raise an alarm. Desperation was beginning to settle in. Ken forced his body under control and remained waiting, but all the while a growing terror for Mari’s safety spread.

She’ll be all right. You’ve got to trust her.

Jack’s calm voice helped to keep Ken from rising up and taking a chance on disposing of the guard just so he could get to Mari as fast as possible. He waited, willing the man to move on. If he used mind control to get the man off of him, the outpouring of energy might very will tip off every other psychic in the compound. He breathed deep and felt for her. Mari. Her fear was for someone else. He could live with that.

The guard relaxed after another long, slow look around, and ambled off around the corner of the small house. Ken waited another three minutes to make certain the man wasn’t doubling back.

You’re clear,
Jack said.

Ken crawled forward, sliding through the neat flower garden, a rather strange and prissy bed of color out in the middle of nowhere. The windows of the house were painted black, and where there was a small bit of streaking, he could see heavy drapes blocking any view of the interior.

The doctor doesn’t want anyone prying into his business. Why else would his windows be all blacked out?

He’s probably paranoid. Wouldn’t you be, living here with Whitney for a boss?

Ken didn’t answer. The window appeared to be clear of an alarm, but he wasn’t buying it. The doctor had something to hide, and he was going to find out what. He listened for the low hum of an electronic alarm. His fingers swept the sill, searching for hidden trip wires. Oh, yeah, the place was locked down tight.

Ken placed his hand just over the glass. It was much more difficult detecting currents of energy with his body so scarred, particularly his hands. Sometimes he failed to feel things the way he should. He waited, counting the seconds, concentrating, willing himself to sense the current if it was there. If he didn’t find one, he would put it down to the lack of ability in his fingertips and proceed on the premise that one was there, but if he could just spot the current running through the foil wire in the glass, things would go a lot faster.

Ken cursed the scars that left him with so little feeling. He couldn’t detect the faint current, but when he listened, he was fairly certain that the doctor had an outside perimeter alarm. But the doc wouldn’t just rely on that. He’d have something more sophisticated inside. A sensor system would detect infrared energy. The sensor was sensitive to the temperature of the human body. In front of each door was a harmless-looking floor mat, one Ken was certain had a pressure trigger.

The doc is protecting something. I’m going to look for the control box. He has to have one hidden around here somewhere.

Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,
Jack said uneasily.
You go in there and you’re probably going to kill the bastard, and how do we hide that?

Of course he was going to kill the doctor. The man had touched Mari. He had humiliated and embarrassed her and he’d enjoyed it. Maybe Ken shouldn’t have shared her thoughts, but it was too late, the information had been exchanged and
he’d let it happen.
He hated himself for that. She deserved so much better. He should have gone in, guns blazing, and pulled her out, but he hadn’t. He’d stood by and let them torment her. What the hell kind of man was he?

Ken. Are you even listening to me? We’ve got a team coming in. We’re going to pull the women out of there.

What the hell would you do if it was Briony?
Ken demanded.

There was a small silence.
You know what I’d do.

Then shut the hell up and keep them off my back.

Ken found the control box neatly tucked away under the eaves up near the attic. He’d spotted a small cable hidden along a pipe and followed it up until he spotted the box. The controls had to be set from someone leaning out the attic window or from the roof itself. The doctor thought he was clever, but unless the roof was wired as well, it simply made things easier.

I’m going up.

You’re clear now, but you have two guards circling around toward your position.

Ken went up the side of the house as silently as possible, sliding onto the roof as one of the guards strode into view. The second guard joined him, and they spoke briefly before they each went their separate ways. Ken remained still as the footsteps faded.

You’re clear.

The control box was hooked up to several alarm circuits but had its own power supply. It wasn’t all that difficult to disarm it and deactivate the numerous alarms the doctor had set.

Ken gained entrance through the grate in the attic. At once he could hear classical music blaring through the house. The scent of candles, sweat, and semen assailed him the moment he entered. Although the doctor had his music up loud, Ken kept his weight evenly distributed as he crept across the floor to the stairs, to prevent any creaks from alerting the man to the danger threatening him. He removed the small door leading below and peered down. The house was dark, with only a few candles flickering, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Ken’s jaw tightened and adrenaline surged once again. The lights from the candles illuminated the wallpaper, throwing faces and female body parts into sharp relief.

Ken inverted as he dropped through the floor, and then righted himself, landing on his feet as silently as a cat. Floor-to-ceiling collages on every wall were of naked women stretched out on tables in a disgusting depiction of medical art. He recognized Mari, all ages, from young girl, teen, to woman. The light spilled across her face, and he could see every emotion in the various pictures, from fear to defiance and anger.

The entire room was dedicated to Mari. There were pictures of her back striped with cane marks, of her legs and bare buttocks, all naked. There were close-ups of her mouth, eyes, breasts, and vaginal area. He stopped at the edge of the wall where the doctor had been busy putting up the latest pictures. Close-ups of the inside of Mari’s thighs revealed strawberries and faint teeth marks, marks Ken had put there when he was making love to her. The pictures were raw, almost sexual in nature, an obscene portrayal of what had been the most important moments of his life.