Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
So reassuring, Saint. Really.
Saint tries someone else, but the look in his eyes tells me he can’t get through. I glance at Iris, and he subtly shakes his head at Saint with his phone to his ear before looking at his screen and hitting some other buttons.
“What does it mean if we can’t get a hold of them?” I ask.
“Unless the news has reports of a bombing near the Port of Los Angeles, my guess would be signal jammer,” Saint says.
“We’ve used those in raids before,” I point out. “And I wouldn’t put it past Walker to use company equipment.”
Saint turns to Iris. “Call the guys who were blocks away.”
This time, Iris reaches someone.
He puts his phone on speaker. “Alphabet, tell us what’s happening.”
“We don’t know. Everything went silent. I did a drive-by of the warehouses, pretending to be normal traffic, and Walker has his guys blocking the entry. When I got a few blocks away, my earpiece did this high-pitched whiney thing, and then you called my phone.”
Iris puts the phone on Saint’s desk and leans over it. “We think they’re blocking our signal, so we can’t use any of our devices.”
“So we have no idea what’s happening in there,” Alphabet says.
“What do we do?” Saint asks.
Iris leans over him and taps away at Saint’s keyboard. “We call Domino and hope to God he’s outside the reach of that signal jammer.”
“If he was outside it, wouldn’t we have heard him on the comms?” I ask.
“I think our comms are dead,” Saint says. “Is there a device that can do that? Like a magnetic pulse?”
“You know who’d be able to answer that question? Ghost. Where is he? Oh right, he wanted to do more fieldwork, so he’s right next to Trav,” Iris says.
“Where was Domino stationed in the op?” Iris asks.
“Two blocks south,” Alphabet says.
“Can you try to look for him?”
“Hang on,” Saint cuts in. “His cell is ringing.” Saint turns off his headset so the call comes through the computer speakers and mic.
Domino answers the call, but it’s all staticky, and all we can hear is. “Some … cut … don’t … up?”
“Step away from the warehouses,” Saint yells. “Wherever you are, turn around.”
The call drops.
“Fuck,” I hiss.
“Quick,” Alphabet says. “Do that Find my Phone thingy Trav does when he wants to find one of us.”
“Find my Phone.” Saint scoffs. “That’s cute. Trav’s system is more complex than that.” He taps away at his computer. “Alphabet, he was at the corner of Magnolia Ave. and Anaheim Street when the call dropped out. Go find him and tell him what’s going on. We don’t have eyes or ears on them anymore.”
An alert sounds from Iris’s phone, and he rushes to the window and pulls back the curtain the tiniest bit, scanning his front yard. “But we do have company.”
“What is it?” Alphabet asks.
“Get to Domino,” Iris orders. It’s the first time I think I’ve ever heard him truly authoritative. He’s calm, but there’s an edge in his tone. “Tell him you guys are on your own. We have a situa— Oh, fuck. Get down, now!”
Iris turns and dives, and I don’t even stop to think about why. I hit the ground so fast, I almost wind myself. The sound of shattering glass rings through my ears, the smell of smoke permeates the air, and a blanket of hot fire covers me.
I cough through the smoke.
“Iris?” a panicked voice asks.
“Saint,” comes Iris’s reply.
I lift my head and realize I’m only a few feet from Iris now. He either dove far or … I catch sight of the window behind him that’s been smashed. Fiery curtains blaze, making my skin hot and itchy. I back away as fast as I can from the window and press my back against a wall. “What was that?” I cough.
Iris and Saint’s dog runs into the room, growling and barking at the flames.
“Molotov cocktail.” Iris pulls himself toward me, and when Princess sees her daddy, she runs to help.
“Princess Smooshy Face, back,” Iris says. “Stay.”
She does as she’s told, but she’s still barking and doing the tappy foot things dogs do when they want something.
“Are you hurt?” I ask Iris.
“Nope. Just don’t want to stand up and give them a shot at me. Saint, how are you holding up?”
“Uh, good? I think?”
I turn my head to where Saint looks terrified, hiding under his computer desk. “Are you sure about that?”
He nods but doesn’t move.
“We need to get to the basement,” Iris says. “They’re coming in here whether or not we’re ready for them.”
“And you want to corner ourselves under the house?” I ask.
Iris grins at me. “Follow me and keep down.”
We stick as low to the ground as we can until we reach the steps leading to a pit of darkness. Iris stands and then helps me up.