Page 51 of Baby One Last Time
I finishedmy transition into an all-black outfit as Jensen rolled the van to a stop a block away from the first warehouse on our list. We were in the narrow alley that ran behind the building. I tucked my hair up into a black knit cap and pushed my tiny comms unit into my ear.
Jensen slid his seat back and pulled a laptop out of the bag beside him. He took in our surroundings, and I followed suit, albeit for a different reason. There was an empty lot full of trash, a couple of parking lots behind some small buildings that might have held offices once upon a time, and a few structures that, like our target, backed all the way up to the alley.
“It doesn’t look like there’ll be too many networks or active security systems around here,” he said. “So hopefully it won’t take long to lock in on the one we need to disable.”
While he typed away at his laptop, Mai and I laid out our plans to enter the warehouse through separate entrances, each cover half the floor space in search of the weapons, and return to the van. The goal was to be in and out in ten minutes. Even though that was an eternity in mission time, we knew it might take even longer. It all depended upon how much was being stored in the space. And it wasn’t like the AR-15s and shoulder rocket launchers would just be laying out in the open. They’d be boarded up in boxes marked as something else. Our metal detectors would allow us to eliminate some of the crates, or so we hoped, but we would have to pry open any that pinged.
With our plan set, Mai and I clipped tranq guns into our shoulder holsters, in case we ran into a security guard. I tucked a loaded pistol into my waist holster and she strapped her sniper rifle across her chest, in case we ran into anyone worse. We tested our comms and synchronized our watches.
“Ready when you are, Jensen,” I said.
“Should just be one more minute.” In less than that, he nodded. “Doors are unlocked and disarmed.”
Mai grinned. “I love modern technology.”
“Not as much as I do.” Jensen slipped his comms unit into his ear. “I’ll be monitoring the perimeter. There are no security cameras on the block in front of the building, but I’ve tapped into a couple on nearby streets, so I’ll see anyone approaching.”
“Good.” The whole place was too quiet, even for nighttime in an industrial area. We needed Jensen to be our eyes while we were inside. “It’s go-time.”
Mai nodded and followed me out of the van. I took up a position by the entrance facing the alley, while she slipped around the building to enter through a side door close to the street.
“In position,” she said.
“Roger that,” I answered. “Go.”
I opened the door and stepped inside. No alarms blared. So far, Jensen’s promise was two for two. As long as there wasn’t a silent alarm he’d missed, we were golden. I knew his work well enough to trust we were safe. I pulled my night-vision goggles down over my eyes and clicked on the infrared setting.
“Shit.” I stared at the wide-open space, interrupted by six small stacks of boxes close to the back and three up front. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”
“Yep,” Mai answered.
“What is it?” Jensen asked.
“Nothing,” Mai answered. “Or close to it.”
“There should be hundreds of pallets in a place this big, not just nine.” I pulled out my metal detector and walked toward the one closest to me. On the other side of the building, Mai did the same. “Even if these crates are chock-full of weapons, it’s nowhere near the full stash.”
“We expected that based on the intel we intercepted,” Jensen said.
I ran the detector along every edge of the crates in the first stack. “Yeah, but we also expected them to be hidden in working warehouses, camouflaged among thousands of boxes.”
“I’m not getting any hits,” Mai said.
“Me neither.” I pulled out my mini crowbar. “I’m going to crack a few of these open, just to be on the safe side.”
Mai did the same.
“I’ve got pottery, factory-made stuff,” I said. “Cheap and ugly.”
“I have toys,” Mai said. “Some dolls, creepy looking clown masks. Nothing else in the box. No hidden compartments, no metal or arms or ammo.”
“Ladies, I have activity two blocks down,” Jensen said in our ears.
Mai and I both straightened and looked at each other. “Fuck me,” we said in unison.
We each pushed the lids back onto the crates we’d opened.
“Black SUV,” Jensen said. “Windows appear to be tinted. Moving slow, probably to keep the noise down. And they just turned off their headlights.”
