Page 48 of Sloth
“I haven’t played that game yet.”
“You haven't? That’s a travesty we must fix.”
They continued walking together while Sloan worked on her process. He spouted random Latin words and, after a while, Max forgot about her efforts, but then a spear of lust shot through him and he stumbled, dropping his hold on Tony’s pack. His heart rate sky rocketed, and prickling heat engulfed him. What the hell?
“Sorry,” Sloan murmured. “Guess it worked.”
The erotic surge in his body dampened. Barely.
“It was the strongest feeling I could recall on the spot.” She bit her lip. “All good now?”
“Yeah. Right.” He plucked his sweaty shirt, forcing his ragged breath to ease.
“Stop doing that.” Heavy-lidded eyes watched him avidly, and a trickle of heat zinged through him again.
“Bugger.” He tugged at his pants, adjusting. He was hard. Just like that. “You just gave me a hit of Viagra, Sloan.”
“My bad.” But the smile on her face couldn’t be contained.
Movement from up ahead drew their attention. The shadowed forms of Parker and Tony waved back at them.
“Do they want us?”
“Shh.” Sloan waved him down, alertness replacing her mood. “I hear something.”
A low, buzz came from overhead.
“Drone,” Sloan spat. “Take cover.”
They dropped to the ground, rolling near a tree. Max became like the dead, but Sloan ruffled around in her bag, cursing.
“I should have had this out instead of carrying Tony’s damn pack.” She pulled out a small black box and explained: “This is a signal jammer.”
She flicked a switch on the box, and they waited. A few heartbeats later, and the sound of the drone cut off, followed by a crashing sound as the machine collided with nature.
Sloan scrambled up. “We need to hurry. They’ll come and investigate soon.”
When Max attempted to collect Tony’s pack, she stopped him. “Leave it. It’s his own fault if he misses it.”
Then she took off, full pelt toward her brothers. Max cast a latent look at the pack. He could leave it. But that wasn’t his style.Never assume.He hoisted it on his back, braced and adjusted his weight, then followed in the direction Sloan took. Heavy boots thudded and crunched across the uneven ground. Catching up, panting heavily, he slipped the pack off and shoved it at Tony. The man took it on instinct. Even under the soft light of the stars, he could see the green tinge to Tony’s complexion. That wasn’t good.
“We’re close,” Sloan was saying, pointing North-East. “Somewhere just over there.”
Max followed her direction, squinting at the shadows. He couldn't see a thing.
“Yeah, I got it,” Parker noted. “Military compound. Fenced. Guarded.”
Damn. How could he see from there? Max squinted again, wondering if now was the time to pull out his night vision goggles. He did, slipping them onto his head and tugging them down. Parker was right. A few hundred meters away sat the start of the compound. After the break in the trees, there was a fenced compound with a few buildings, but behind the buildings, dug into the mountain side was another big tunnel. The site could be enormous behind that, going deep underground.
Damn. Who were these Syndicate people?
It was a lot of ground to cover for a quick recon mission.
“Right. Where to first?” he asked.
“Max, you head with Sloan,” Parker replied. “I’ll go with Tony. Put your jackets on. Activate your mics and ear-comms.”
“Affirmative.” He did as told and caught Sloan doing the same. She’d retrieved her night goggles, too, but instead of a camera, held her rugged terrain iPad.
