Smoked (The Invincibles 5)

Rather than fly out of the regional airport in Asheville, I asked the driver to take us to the larger one in Charlotte. From there, we’d fly to Dulles in Washington, DC. My plan was to book Maureen and I on a direct flight to London as soon as we landed. However, she’d be the only one of us getting on the plane. Once she did, I would make my own travel arrangements.

17

Smoke

I’d been trying to reach Siren all afternoon as well as Maureen. Finally, I called Dr. Mansfield.

“I saw her earlier,” he told me.

“Did she mention whether she had scans scheduled?”

“She did not.”

“Hey, Smoke,” Zeke hollered at me. “We’ve got a situation.”

“Thanks, Doc,” I said, ending the call. “What’s going on?” I asked my ranch manager.

“One of the perimeter lines has been crossed.”

This is what we’d been waiting for. That breach would trigger drone coverage; however, I wasn’t about to wait around to see if we could identify the bastards stealing and killing my cattle. Zeke, Decker, and I had already formulated a plan of action for when this happened.

“Let’s move out!” I shouted, heading for the part of the barn where the ATVs were stored.

* * *

“Fuck,” I swore into my headset’s mic when we came over the crest and could see there was no one anywhere near the breached perimeter.

“We’ll review the footage. If someone was here, we’ll ID them. If not, I’ve got a glitch to fix.”

“Copy that,” I said. “I’m going to keep looking.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Zeke through his own mic.

It was after three in the morning by the time Zeke and I agreed there was nothing more we could do. I’d checked my phone a couple of times, frustrated that I hadn’t heard from Siren or Maureen. The latter would be getting an earful from me, given I was the one who paid her salary.

* * *

Once back at the house, I showered and got in bed. A few minutes after lying there in utter exhaustion but unable to sleep, I picked up my cell and tracked Siren’s. According to the app Decker had developed and put on my phone back when I was hired for my first mission with the Invincibles, Siren’s phone was at Mansfield’s office since earlier in the day.

Maureen’s was at the rental from about an hour prior. While the locations didn’t trouble me, the fact neither had updated since that morning, did. Later, I’d have Decker check and see if that app had a glitch too. Knowing the man’s reputation, I doubted it very much.

* * *

By the end of the second day without hearing a word from either Siren or her nurse, I was equally pissed and worried. Especially after Decker assured me the app was functioning properly.

“Hey, Smoke, I have an update for you,” he said a few minutes later.

“Yeah?”

He led me into the office and pointed to something on his laptop.

“What does that mean?” I asked, looking at the flashing alert.

“The phones have been dismantled.”

Adrenaline streaked through my body as the ramifications of Decker’s words sunk in. I ran my hand through my hair. “What the fuck?” I mumbled under my breath.

“It appears Siren may have more of her memory back than you might’ve thought.”