Free Last Strike by Regan Black Page A

Messenger?”
    Noah shook his head. “He won’t have me, not after I helped her escape.” He hadn’t checked in on schedule. Messenger would consider him a threat. He thought of Daria’s obliterated house. The one apartment he maintained in New York City would already be compromised. “His best move is to find a way to kill me before I get away. He can’t leave me alive, not after what I’ve seen. What I’ve done on his orders.”
    A disbelieving laugh sounded from the shadows.
    Bulletproof studied him closely. “You’d rather die than escape with her or fight with us? We can make better use of you and what you’ve seen.”
    Noah considered. “I could tell you what I know about programs and facilities. If you attack, he’ll move them, if he hasn’t started that already. Any facts you find he’ll spin to gain public sympathy. He has contingency plans. The program is already too big, Bulletproof.”
    “Call me John. I owe it to the others to keep trying.”
    Noah nodded, not ready for anyone but Daria to call him by his name. He understood that classic philosophy of self-sacrifice and honor. Or he had at one time. Funny, how one story out of Daria had ignited that small kernel of belief. There had to be more he could do for her and their cause. He thought about the tracker inside him that worried the others. “What if I lure him into the open? Divert him while you gather evidence.”
    “No way.” Bulletproof shook his head. “We’d lose you for sure.”
    “Sad but true, man,” Chameleon added.
    Noah snorted. “Have you forgotten just what I can do?”
    “No,” Chameleon muttered. “I’ve seen the new guy.”
    He and Bulletproof exchanged an uneasy look. A trickle of ice coursed through his blood stream. “New guy?”
    “End Game 2.0,” Chameleon mused. “One of Gerardi’s.”
    He’d been replaced? Why did such a practical decision hurt his feelings? Since when did he even acknowledge he had something vaguely soft enough inside to count as feelings? His gaze drifted to Daria. Since she’d treated him as if he was a worthy sort of person. Since she’d kissed him boldly rather than doing the smart thing and running away in the opposite direction.
    The idea of her running made him want to chase her. Catch her. Keep her. He shook it off and applied his strategic skills to their purpose. “I’ll tell him I have her body and the link to her contact on the outside. I’ll say I want to come in.”
    “You just said he’ll kill you first.”
    “True.” That was the most logical move Messenger would make. “I don’t have to make it easy. While he and his new assassin are busy with me, you can get Daria out of harm’s way.”
    “You’re not going anywhere without me,” Daria corrected, joining them. “If we’re going to be a diversion, the others should go after a target Messenger can’t move or ignore.”
    “Like what?” all three men asked simultaneously.
    It unnerved Noah to be in accord with men he would’ve viewed as viable targets yesterday. He focused on Daria, ignoring the others. “You want us to hit the lab?”
    “No.” Her smile was quiet, sneaky. He liked it. “Too obvious.” She raised her big brown eyes to his, held him captive without a touch. “I suggest you and I get caught searching Gerardi’s home office and financial records while the others hit the proving ground in West Virginia.”
    “Proving ground?” He puffed out a weary sigh, considering the idea. It was a smart choice. Rural, lightly guarded, with test results and weapons shipment records stored in the bunker under the gatehouse. How did she know about that?
    “It’s a cross between a survival training site and a weapons range,” Chameleon explained to the others. “Good times. But I swore I’d never go back. The bugs are awful. Do I have to go back?”
    “No,” Bulletproof replied. “You’ll stay with Noah and Daria. Amelia and I will see what we can find in West Virginia.”
    “Not so