Page 107 of Mission Shift

She rose up, pressing an airy kiss to my cheek, then sauntered away.

Nik’s voice sharpened. “Jesus Christ—” A pause. “That motherfucker just shoved her against the wall.”

The bartender placed my drink in front of me. I gripped the glass, staring at the amber liquid as Nik rattled off what he was seeing.

“There’s a guy with a med kit. Just injected something into her arm.”

Ice shot through my veins. “What was it?”

“Give me a fucking second… Tracing back what he called it…” Nik’s fingers pounded against his keyboard. “Got it. MediVex subdermal delivery device.” He inhaled sharply. “It’s a device that inserts a mechanical capsule which can be activated to release medication into the patient’s body using a phone app. This is bad.”

My grip tightened on the glass. “How bad? What kind of medicine?”

“Real bad,” Nik said through gritted teeth. “The capsule’s tiny, but it’s holding a neurotoxin twice as potent as tetrodotoxin. Completely lethal. If Malinov decides she’s outlived her usefulness, one tap on his phone and she dies gasping for air.”

I shot back my drink, the burn doing nothing to dull the rage boiling under my skin. “Can we stop it? Remove it?”

“I’m working on it. But listen—” The keys clacked even harder as he kept working. “This thing isn’t just sitting under her skin. It’s anchored.”

“Anchored?”

“Two microbarbs in the back of her arm. If she—or anyone—tries to rip it out, the compression sensor will detect tampering and trigger an automatic release. The second those barbs shift the wrong way, she’s dead.”

Fucking hell.

I adjusted my stance, straining to keep my composure and forcing my face to remain impassive even as my pulse hammered against my skull. I nodded at the bartender and held up my empty glass and two fingers. “Can you override it?”

“Give me a minute. I need access to the manufacturer’s mainframe. I’ll get in.” More typing. “But once I figure it out, wewon’t have much time. When I tell you to move, you’d better be ready.”

I released a slow breath as a fresh glass of whiskey hit the bar in front of me. “I’ll be ready.”

“Fuck! Malinov just found a knife strapped to her thigh.”

I swirled the whiskey in my glass, keeping my movements smooth even as my muscles went rigid. Listening to this sick play-by-play was hell, and it was all I could do not to run down to the room they were holding Daria in—I knew exactly how to get there.

“He’s gloating. Playing with the blade like a goddamn trophy.”

A muscle twitched in my jaw. Of course Malinov was fucking enjoying this.

Then Nik’s tone shifted. “Wait—”

My entire body went still.

“They just brought in another woman.”

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “Who?”

“Pulling her image now—” Another pause. “Shit. Svetlana Popova. She’s one of Melnichenko’s maids. Been looking after Daria since she was captured.”

That didn’t bode well.

“Braxton—”

Nik’s voice had an edge now.

“What?”

Another pause. “I think they’re gonna kill her.”

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