“They just pulled into a dirt parking lot at the end of Koturaška,” Forrest said over the radio. “Google Maps shows several buildings near it, including a cluster of warehouses. We’ve pulled onto a side road right near them.”
Caleb and Brielle got there less than two minutes later to find the rest of the team crowded around the front of Jake’s car in the darkness, looking at something on a laptop. When Caleb and Brielle joined them, he saw a real-time satellite image on the screen of the area around the dirt parking lot. The suspects’ vehicles were parked directly in front of the warehouses, but it was a collection of railcars located on a side spur a few hundred feet away that everyone seemed to be focused on.
“There are at least half a dozen men guarding those cars,” Sawyer said, motioning at the shadowy figures meandering around them. “They might be dressed to blend in with the rest of the yard workers, but they’re definitely all carrying weapons.”
Brielle leaned closer to get a better look at the screen, her face intent. “If the nukes are in one of those boxcars, that means my brother might be one of those men.”
“We won’t know for sure until we get a closer look,” Jake said, glancing at her. “He could just as easily be inside the warehouse where they’re making the deal.”
Brielle straightened up, letting out a delicate snort. “Julian wouldn’t be inside. He’s too much of a screwup for something like that. The chances of him opening his trap and saying something stupid at the worst possible time is a given. If he’s here, he’s somewhere outside, where he’s less likely to make a mistake.”
The words might be harsh, but Caleb didn’t miss the slight smile curving the corners of Brielle’s mouth. He couldn’t imagine having a connection to anyone in his family like she had with her brother.
Jake quickly and succinctly laid out the plan, splitting up the team with Caleb going into the warehouse with him, Jes, and Forrest while Harley, Sawyer, and Misty would deal with the guards near the railcars.
“Brielle, I’d like you to come into the warehouse with us in case we need you to translate anything they say,” Jake added.
“No!” Caleb said.
The word came out in a snarl before he even had time to process why he was so violently against the idea. Everyone on the team turned to look at him in surprise, but it was Brielle’s stunned expression that held his attention. He thought he saw a flash of pain in her eyes, though he couldn’t understand why.
“It’s too dangerous,” he said in a softer voice, taking a breath and forcing himself to calm down. “She doesn’t have any tactical training. She’d be nothing but a liability in there.”
Brielle squared her shoulders and glared at him, her eyes shooting sparks his way. “You don’t know anything about me or what I can and can’t do. You have no say in deciding what’s too dangerous for me. If Jake thinks it will help get my brother back safely, I’ll go in there if I want. And you won’t have a damn thing to say about it.”
Caleb may have…possibly…sputtered a bit at that announcement. Given the fleeting smile that crossed Forrest’s face, it was likely. But then Jake was giving rapid-fire orders, and everyone was scattering. Instincts that Caleb yearned to ignore had him heading for Brielle’s side after tossing his suit jacket on the hood of the car, but a single scathing look from her sent him moving in a different direction. He did his best to make his about-face seem intentional, but once again, a smirk from Forrest told him that he likely failed.
It took a ridiculous amount of effort to force his mind to focus on the task at hand, since all his inner omega seemed interested in was protecting Brielle. He kept telling himself that Jake would keep a close eye on her, but that didn’t help very much.
A series of tree-covered apartment buildings stood between them and the dirt parking lot near the warehouses. Caleb moved into the heavy shadows of the trees, using the cover they provided to work his way around to the right side of the warehouse complex. It was hard to believe the arms dealers were doing the exchange right here in the middle of such a respectable-looking place. He’d expected a darker, more menacing location. Then again, maybe that made this the perfect place.
The warehouses turned out to be nothing more than three cheap metal buildings shoved together. They’d obviously seen better days, and the aluminum roofing on the one closest to him was in seriously crappy shape. He stood outside, listening carefully for a few seconds, realizing that only the largest building in the middle was occupied. He glanced up to see a row of dimly lit windows on the second floor. That seemed to be the only entry point on this side.
Despite still wearing a suit and tie, Caleb quickly scrambled up the gutter of the decrepit building, careful not to rip the whole thing off the wall. Then he shimmied across the roof until he could peek through the windows he’d spotted from below. It was hard to see anything through the cloudy glass, but he saw enough to know the second floor of the building was more storage than anything else. He reached out to gently touch the window, grinning when the frame flexed slightly.
“I’m on the roof on the southern side of the warehouses,” he whispered into his mic. “I’m gonna slip in through one of the windows.”
“Copy that,” Jake answered. “Be careful. Jes, Brielle, and I are coming in the north side, and Forrest is looking for a back door on the east side. Don’t make a move until we know for sure where all the weapons are. That boxcar out there might only hold some of the nukes that were stolen.”
Caleb hadn’t considered that but realized it was a valid concern. This particular deal might only be for a portion of the weapons. Because really, what kind of terrorist needed twenty nukes?
He slowly eased the window frame loose, mindful not to make any noise. He was focused on what he was doing, but he could still hear a running commentary in his ear as the other members of his team moved into place around the warehouse and railcars. Brielle didn’t say anything, but he told himself that she was fine. He had to trust that Jake and Jes would keep an eye on her. If he had time to think about it, he would have pondered the implications of how a woman he barely knew had crept inside his head like this.
The entire window popped out of the frame without a sound, and he carefully placed it on the roof beside him, then crawled through the opening. The moment he was inside, instinct made him jerk his head around. He wasn’t sure if it had been a noise, a flash of movement, or simply a barely perceived scent, but something had him staring out into the darkness. He didn’t see anything there, no matter how long or how hard he looked.
“Forrest, did you move around to the southeast side of the warehouse?” he said into his mic.
“Negative,” Forrest replied. “I just slipped in through the back door. Did you see someone out there?”
Caleb stared out into the darkness behind the warehouse again, trying to understand what had caught his attention, but finally gave up. There wasn’t anything there.