Page 103 of Explode
“Sort of,” he said, sparking the tiniest bit of hope in my chest. “I’ve gotinto the system but to get control of it, I need to input a master code, six digits long. I imagine it’ll be something only known to Hendrix seeing as it’s the code to control the whole system.”
“Fuck, it could be a combination of anything,” Miles said.
I paused, racking my brains. There was every chance it was sixrandom digits, but something in my gut told me Hendrix would use a number that would mean something to him, but no one would think of. A number that every time he inputted it, it would remind him of something.
What meant something to him?
Riley’s face flashed into my mind. My wife meant something to him.He was fucking obsessed with her, as sickening as it was to think that.
“Try 051599,” I said, interrupting Miles and Ash deliberating ways tocrack the code.
There was a pause on the line before Ash blew out a breath. “I don’tfucking believe it! It worked!”
Motherfucker.
“What’s the code?” Miles asked, his brow pulled up in surprise.
“Riley’s birthday,” I replied through gritted teeth, hating the cuntknew everything about my wife.
“Keep the security on for now, we don’t want to give the fucker anyindication we’re on our way,” I said to Ash, who murmured his agreement.
“Let’s get a plan together, the sooner we deal with this fucker, thebetter,” Jack said, his tone all business. It was clear to see why he was one of Ash’s team leaders.
By the time Ernie arrived, we had a plan. With me and Miles, theApollo team, Rafe and his guards, and my former Shadows gang members, we were still light on numbers, but it was a chance we were willing to take.
The men Ernie had recruited were fired up, ready to fight for theWolfe name, and after we’d briefed them on the plan, I thanked every single one of them for their loyalty before we hit the road.
Adrenaline coursed through me as we made our way through thestreets of West Bay. I’d contacted Graham Shaw and told him to make sure there were no cops in this part of the city for the rest of the night, and any reports of gunfire were to be ignored.
Stopping short of my building, Seb and Liam sprung from the van,ready to take their places, while the rest of us waited for the signal from Ernie and my men.
The beauty of the plan was that The Stags who guarded the outsideof the building thought Ernie and the others were all on Hendrix’s side, they wouldn’t see the attack coming until it was too late.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, gunfire erupted from aroundthe corner. Tank hit the gas and the van sped through the last few streets, followed by Rafe and his guards. As soon as we turned the corner, it was to find dead bodies littering the street, my gang having successfully taken down every Stag who had stood guard outside.
As predicted, the second wave of Stags ran from the building, theirguns raised and firing back. The second Tank stopped the van, I gave Ash the order to take off the security as all of us jumped from the van, not hesitating to join the fight. With a gun in each hand, I fired at the men attacking us. My bullets hit the targets easily, as did Miles’ who was next to me.
From above, Seb and Liam, who were poised with sniper rifles on thebuilding behind us, picked off more targets, clearing a path for us to enter the building. Several of the Bianchi guards went down, but Rafe held strong. Credit where it was due, he was a damn good shot.
Miles, Rafe, and I entered the ground floor lobby flanked by Tank,Jack, and several Bianchi guards. The rest of the men stayed outside, fighting off more Stags. Heading towards the stairwell that would lead us to the rest of the building, three Stags burst through, but before they even raised their weapons, they were dead.
Fucking amateurs.
“Don’t get shot,” Miles said, slapping me on the back.
“Same goes for you,” I replied, watching as he, Rafe, and the Bianchiguards took the stairs down to the basement intent on getting to Sofia and Kimmy.
I started making my way up the stairs, Jack and Tank behind me.Keeping my gun raised, I fired back when several shots were fired from above.
“Fuck, I’m hit,” Tank said, clutching his shoulder. I turned to find bloodseeping between his fingers. “I’ll be alright, keep going.”
I nodded and carried on running up the stairs. The penthouse was onthe twentieth floor, and my legs burned from the burst of energy. I’d trained hard when I had recovered enough from being shot, but my fitness level wasn’t as good as it once was, and my heart thudded heavily against my chest.
Taking out another five Stags who appeared in the stairwell, we finallyreached the door that would open into my penthouse.
I didn’t hesitate, but as soon as we burst through the door, shots werefired. I ducked behind a wall, but Jack managed to get a round off, taking down Carlos Rigby who’d been waiting for us. Jack’s shot had got the fucker straight between the eyes. As we passed his body and started making our way through the penthouse, shouting echoed down the hallway indicating more Stags.
“We’ll deal with them, you go get your girl,” Tank said, who was doinga damn good job at ignoring the blood pouring from his shoulder. I didn’t need to be told twice.
