Red Zone (Red Zone 1)

“It’s a serious question. Were you here before your sleep?”

“Yeah. Couple of friends and me, we came down here to South America to see the place. We visited all the Inca sites and did crazy shit like bungee jumping and caving.”

“Bungee jumping?”

“You stand on a bridge, they tie a thick elastic band around your ankles, then you jump off and bounce upside down until you stop, then someone lets you down.”

Friday’s jaw dropped. “Are you nuts?!”

“Yeah, maybe. Don’t think they do bungee jumping anymore.”

“I should think not.” What kind of idiot threw themselves off a bridge headfirst hoping a piece of elastic would save them? “You don’t do crazy things like that now, right?”

He gave her a hot look. “Bébé, my life is crazy enough without seeking that shit out.”

He had a point.

“Right, the clinic is round the next corner, at the end of the street.”

She could hardly breathe. They’d made it. Eighteen and a half hours before the deadline and they’d made it. Her whole body tingled in anticipation as their car turned into the clinic’s street.

And came to an immediate halt.

A police barricade blocked the road.

“Come on.” Striker parked illegally in a loading zone. “We’ll walk from here.”

“Is this normal?” She tried to keep her hands from trembling as she climbed out of the car.

“I dunno.” He took her hand and held it tight. “Let’s find out.”

Together, they walked toward the barricade.

The street was narrow, a testament to a city built in a different time, when cars were fewer. The road surface was new and looked out of place among the older buildings. Tall, narrow buildings that made her feel hemmed in, the lack of space compressing the anxiety growing inside her.

“What’s going on?” Striker called to the officer standing by the barricade.

He spoke Spanish, one of the world’s three official languages, the other two being English and Mandarin. Friday had learned all three as a child.

“Gas explosion. Several buildings have been damaged. There are many casualties. This area has been cordoned off for inspection. You need to leave at once.” He turned his back on them, uninterested in whether they followed his instructions or not.

“What buildings?” Friday called after him as a sinking feeling started in her stomach.

The officer gave her a stern look. “I said, move along.”

“Come on.” Striker tugged at her hand. “We won’t get any answers here.”

“Where are we going?” She trotted along beside him, struggling to keep up with his long stride.

“Up. We need an overview. See what’s happening and whether we can find a way in there.”

He pushed through the doors of an old hotel and approached the desk. Money changed hands, and the woman manning reception pointed them to the lifts. Once inside, Striker pressed the button for the top floor, and they sped upward. Friday wrapped her arms around her stomach. She couldn’t voice her fears, worried that if she did, they’d become reality.

“Hey.” Striker pulled her in against him. “It’s gonna be okay.”

She rubbed her cheek against the cool cotton of his shirt, feeling the firm muscle beneath it. “What if your spy found out where we were going and told CommTECH? What if this is just a way to smoke me out?”

“Then we deal with it.” His voice was calm. Even. Full of confidence. “And you weren’t supposed to know about the guy leaking information. I thought my conversation with Hunter was cryptic. Guess I need to be more careful in future, because you’re a hard woman to sneak something past.”