Free Titanium Security Series 4 - Extinguished by Cross Kaylea

Blake answered, keeping his attention on the task of following Gage as they veered past the piled up traffic. The police had set up a roadblock ahead to keep traffic and curious onlookers out of the area. He saw Gage handing over documents and talking to the officer there. The Pakistani spoke to someone over the radio then waved both vehicles through.
    Once they got close to the scene the level of damage became evident. Gage slowed as they neared the site. The motorcyclist had packed a hell of a lot of explosives into the bomb, because the entire lower face of the building on the corner was gone. Flames poured out of the busted windows and there were still people trapped in the upper floors. Others were carrying the wounded and dead away from the street where the blackened remains of the bike lay smoldering just feet from the curb. Fire crews and paramedics were still arriving on scene.
    “Stand by,” Alex said. He got out of the lead vehicle and approached the Pakistani officers forming the perimeter around the building as he talked to someone on his cell phone. After a few minutes of talking and questioning the cops, he strode back to the SUV, his voice coming through Blake’s earpiece. “Everybody out and take a look around. Let’s make sure the area’s secure before the bomb squad shows up.”
    Blake cut the engine and they all gathered on the sidewalk. Jordyn was right next to him, rifle in her hands, gaze moving vigilantly over the growing crowd around them. More than a few people were staring at her, including the Pak cops, because the sight of a woman holding a weapon so comfortably and being part of a male team wasn’t something they saw every day. Blake stepped closer to her on instinct, the protective side of him taking over.
    Alex divided them into pairs. Blake stayed close to Jordyn as they headed up the near side of the street. They moved together easily, able to anticipate each other’s movements because they’d done this sort of exercise dozens of times together for fun back in the day when she was fresh out of bootcamp.
    Onlookers lined the streets at the ends where the barricades had been set up. No one made a threatening move at them and nothing suspicious tripped his radar. He and Jordyn stood with their backs to each other as they surveyed the area. “See anything?” he asked.
    “Negative. You?”
    “Nope.” They held their position until Alex spoke over the radio again.
    “Witnesses say it was a suicide bomber acting alone. Police confirm that, though they’re not ruling out accomplices. They say the bomber detonated his device when he wasn’t able to gain access to the restricted section west of here. Making a statement, I guess.”
    “How close are we to our HQ?” Hunter asked, his voice full of suspicion.
    “About three hundred meters. It’s the concrete building on the north side to the west.”
    Blake’s head snapped around. Jordyn was already looking in the same direction, zeroed in on the nondescript three-story building in question. Well, shit. Talk about too close for comfort.
    “This about us?” Dunphy asked, voicing the question they were all thinking.
    “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” Alex said. They all knew Hassani’s network had eyes and ears everywhere. Though it was unlikely anyone would have known their headquarters’ location already, it was possible someone had noticed the NSA agents setting up the place over the past two days. Someone at immigration might have reported the team’s arrival at the airport.
    At any rate, they couldn’t risk staying here now. Alex let out a hard sigh. “All right, let’s move out. We’ll go to plan B. Follow us out of here.”
    He and Jordyn hightailed it back to the guarded SUV with the others. When everyone was loaded up they did a U-turn and headed back through a different barricade. Blake had no idea where they were going, he was just glad Alex had planned for this contingency.
    They drove out of