Generation 18 (Spook Squad 2)

Once she reached the meshed gate, she shoved the laser in her pocket, grabbed the links and began to climb. Her coat caught on one of the top rungs, tearing as she swung over. Water dripped past the sodden neck of her sweater, chilling her already cold flesh. She cursed softly.

“Problem, Agent Ryan?” Stephan’s voice breezed through the earphone, cold and efficient.

“No, sir,” she answered, keeping her voice low so that Orrin didn’t hear. “Just tore my friggin’ coat.”

“We’ll buy you a new one. You near the factory entrance yet?”

“I’m approaching the side door now, sir.”

She splashed through the puddles and up the stairs. The side door was padlocked. She picked up the lock, studying it in frustration. Just great. She didn’t have her pick with her, and if she shot her way in, it might alert those inside.

She studied the long building. In the brief flash of lightning, she saw windows high up. Too high for her. Unlike Gabriel, she hadn’t the option of flight—nor were there any trees close enough to use as a ladder.

Her gaze returned to the lock. Thunder rumbled, and once again the force of the storm surged through her body. The energy tingling across her fingers became a bright, blue-white flame that danced across the lock, encasing it in fire.

In a heartbeat, it was little more than dust in her hand.

The flame muted again, but it didn’t completely disappear. She stared at the blackened scraps in her hand. What sort of psychic ability was that?

She didn’t know, and right now she didn’t care. Not if it helped free Gabriel.

She raised her hand, letting the wind scatter the lock’s remains. Then she carefully opened the door. The passageway beyond was

dark and narrow—not the sort of place she really wanted to get caught in. There was absolutely no fighting room.

But she had little choice. Orrin still stood guard near the back. Rose was near the front. Gabriel was probably somewhere between the two.

“Entering the factory now,” she said, closing the door carefully behind her.

“See if you can find Gabriel and get him out of there. We’ll take care of the rest.”

That was just fine by her. She’d never had a death wish, and Orrin was not someone she ever wanted to confront.

She eased forward, her fingers wrapped so tightly around the laser that her knuckles practically glowed. The air smelled stale, old, and a steady, moaning creak filled the silence—the wind tearing at the loose roofing.

The passage curved around to the right and opened onto a set of stairs. Sam stopped, listening. The awareness of evil stirred through her. Orrin still stood guard near the back of the building, but Rose was on the move. Sam’s sense of her flowed across the darkness, moving steadily closer. Had Rose heard the door open? Did she suspect something was wrong?

Sam had no idea, nor was there any use worrying about it. She had to get off these stairs and out of Rose’s way before she appeared. Right now, it was better that she avoid being seen—at least until she’d found Gabriel and knew he was safe.

And once she knew that, she was more than willing to back away and let Stephan vent his anger. Would Orrin and Rose survive that? She very much doubted it.

She edged quietly down the steps, stopping again at the bottom. Thunder vibrated through the air. The following flash of lightning briefly illuminated a vast, empty space. She looked up. Skylights were regularly spaced along the roofline. She’d have to watch that she wasn’t caught in the open during the next flash. It would be just her luck that Rose would walk by at that precise moment.

Once on the factory floor, she headed left, keeping to the deeper shadows under the stairs. Sound stirred the silence—the scuff of a heel against concrete. She squatted in a corner, waiting.

The sense of wrongness flooded the night, making it difficult to breathe. From the hallway to her right, a woman appeared. Rose, obviously, as she was the image of her dead sister.

“Orrin?” the woman said. Though it was barely a whisper, Sam heard her clearly. Perhaps it was the night and the power of the storm. Perhaps it was just the emptiness of the factory allowing her voice to carry so well. “I’m heading up to check the side door,” the woman continued. “If you don’t hear from me, presume the worst. Kill Stern and get the hell out of here.”

Damn. Once Rose walked up those stairs and discovered the unlocked door, she’d know someone was here. Sam had to find Gabriel and get him out of here. Fast.

Rose drew close and Sam’s skin crawled. The stink of the other woman’s evil was almost suffocating. She didn’t move; she barely dared to breathe. Rose grabbed the banister and hesitated, her gaze sweeping the shadows in which Sam hid. Sam’s breath caught, and she tensed.

After a moment, Rose moved on, her footsteps fading away as she disappeared down the hallway above. Sam had, at best, a few minutes left to find Gabriel.

She ran across the factory floor, heading for the rear of the building and Orrin. Gabriel had to be near the giant somewhere.

She came to a door and opened it cautiously. Another hallway. She stepped inside, stopped, then reached into her pocket for the strip of material. Sparks leapt across her fingertips, firefly bright in the darkness.