Page 47 of Harris

“Noted. Now get your head in the game,” Brick ordered. “Looks like Jaws is locking up.”

Sure enough, Jaws, the bartender with the unforgettable smile, was locking the doors to the bar. He turned and scanned the area before walking to his car and driving away.

“Tracker is online,” Spencer announced. “Jaws is headed back to his motel.”

Jaws was staying at a pay-by-the-week motel ten minutes from the bar. It was run-down, likely rodent-infested, and it appeared there were no questions asked when the dude brought hookers in at all times of night and day. Word on the street was Jaws paid in dope and liked it rough with no talking.

“Send in the drone. Let’s ensure no one is left inside,” Brick ordered.

“On it,” Spencer answered.

Woodley scanned the area. It was almost four in the morning, meaning they’d have less than three hours before the sun started rising. They wanted to be long gone before then, leaving only a burned-out shell behind. At least, that was the plan, and they all knew how quickly the best plans got screwed up in a hurry.

There wasn’t much action to be found on the streets this close to dawn. Most partiers had passed out back in their beds or wherever they ended up that night. The last of the hookerswould soon give up on catching another trick for the night and head home while the drug dealers had already packed up for the evening.

In truth, most new-age dealers worked through pagers these days and delivered their dope door to door instead of hanging out on the street corner. It was less time and easier to get off with a slap on the wrist on charges carrying a smaller amount of drugs, and re-upping throughout the night than being caught with felony possession weight. The remaining homeless were centralized in a park down the street, while a few others took a bed for the night at a local shelter.

These were the facts of the streets. It had its own ecosystem, including the hunter-and-prey dynamic. The john and hooker, the addict and dealer, the homeless and criminal preying on the vulnerable. His work as a detective had brought Woodley into the heart of the streets as its own living, breathing entity. He understood how things worked out here even if he didn’t agree with it, and no matter how much he worked to change it, the criminal element on the streets thrived and always would.

“I’m not finding any heat signatures left in the bar area and the back of the building,” Spencer announced. “The building is clear.”

“Affirmative. You each have your orders. Thirty-second countdown begins,” Brick said, and Woodley looked at his watch. “Now.”

He kept count on his watch while Harris continued to scan the area. Now was not the time to run into a random drunk. They were positioned at the end of the alley to the bar’s east, closest to the entrance. Shaw and Fletcher were across the street. Gunner was in his usual location, high up on the roof of the building directly north of their location. Shaw, Fletcher, and Gator would be busy setting charges as the rest searched for information.Apollo, Griffin, Damon, and Hendrix would take the front of the bar, while Brick, Stryker, Harris, and he would take the back.

They’d be entering through two exterior doors: one on the side of the building in the alley and another at the very back of the building used for shipping. Spencer was controlling the comms, and Jason manned the getaway vehicles along with Jennifer, who turned out to be an amazing driver who used her telekinesis to move objects out of their way when needed.

Woodley gave Harris one last look before the timer set on his watch kicked over. “Go.”

As silent as ghosts, they made their way down the alley toward the side doors in full gear, ready for any eventuality. Woodley had his lock-picking equipment ready and waited for the final confirmation.

“All building security systems are now under my control,” Spencer stated. “We’re a go for entry.”

He went ahead and picked the lock, sliding through the partially opened door with Harris at his back. Soon after, Woodley heard Apollo and his men coming in behind them. Not wanting to be bunched together outside the building while he picked the lock, they were scheduled at ten-second intervals.

“Area is secure,” Gunner said over the comms.

Woodley loved using these bone mics. Voices were clear, and it took the lightest whisper to be heard. As they entered the front bar area, you couldn’t escape the smell of stale alcohol; they immediately peeled off from the other group and headed down the hall to the secret doorway behind the fake wall.

Harris felt around for the latch Joe used to access the back, and the wall slid out of the way as they’d seen in the video. They entered a dark room, but thanks to their night vision goggles, they could see everything as plain as day. There were stacks of boxes and random signage depicting bottles of liquor and women in various stages of undress strewn across the room.Tables and cabinets were covered with paper, bottles, empty glasses, and garbage.

When they heard the back door click, both Woodley and Harris aimed their guns at the door in case they suddenly had unannounced visitors. Standard protocol, even though they knew the odds were it was Brick and Stryker. As expected, their two teammates came in and shut the door behind them. It was time to have a look around and sift through this mess.

“Front secure,” Apollo said.

“Charges being laid and set,” Gator announced.

The four men systematically searched the room in a grid pattern to avoid missing anything. Harris was the first to find something of interest.

“Got files over here on test subjects,” Harris announced from across the room.

“Bring them along,” Brick ordered.

“Roger,” Harris said and stuffed the files in the space between his chest and bulletproof vest. There’d be more time to review them when they were out of the hot zone.

Woodley scanned a mostly empty filing cabinet. It was likely intended to be used for new files as they acquired more test subjects. A sick thought. He found some data on Robin and another subject named Xavier. Instead of announcing it and bringing up a raw topic for the second team, he took the papers and did the same as Harris had done. They could review them later, along with the rest.

“Well, I’d say they’re ready for a war,” Stryker said. “I found the beginnings of their arsenal.”

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