The trick was in not being tracked.
He knew exactly who could help.
She answered on the first ring. Nick sometimes thought that Felicity was connected to her phone and computer by nerves, not wires. Felicity Ward, soon to be Felicity O'Brien, engaged to one of his best friends and co-worker in the company Nick had just joined. ASI, made up of the best operators on earth. The best of the best.
"Nick, talk to me," Felicity's crisp voice said.
"Read Metal into this. And Jacko and Joe." Metal O'Brien, Jacko Jackman, Joe Harris. Former SEALs, just like him. Nick knew the entire company was at his disposal, but right now, all he needed was those two. He had a vague memory of Jack Delvaux being out of town. Didn't make any difference. Metal and Jacko and Joe were themselves an army.
He heard a couple of beeps. "Done," she said.
Stealth first. He had to get to Kay unobserved. "Felicity, I'm in the lobby of the Astoria Hotel. Kay is holed up in the back of Conrad's, the department store. A man she was with, Mike Hammer, a journalist, was somehow killed by a drone and I have every reason to believe Kay is in danger. I'm sending you her location, ground floor. I have to walk about sixty meters along Clement Street. Can you give me the position of the security cams along the way? Kay and I need to disappear, and I can't have someone pressing rewind."
She was silent. Had she heard?
"Felicity?"
"Done," she said again, and on his cell appeared a street-view map with cameras outlined in red.
"That was fast."
"While I was doing that, I checked for overhead drones," she said.
"You're the best." She was; she was amazing.
"Yes, I am." Smugly.
"And?"
"I found one." Felicity's voice turned somber, serious. "It's circling overhead, covering the entire block. It's tiny; it's a quadcopter, but it's there."
"We got your back, Nick," Jacko's deep voice chimed in. "Metal, Joe and I will drive into the underground garage of Conrad's in three identical SUVs. We'll meet on the first subbasement level and exit at timed intervals. You and Kay take one of the SUVs and head out to the Grange. No one will be able to follow you."
For the first time since waking up, Nick felt some of his tension dissipate. He didn't underestimate the danger, but he also didn't underestimate what it meant to have the ASI guys on his side.
Whatever trouble Kay was in, he was going to get her out.
"Copy that." He quickly, unobtrusively slalomed his way down Clement Street, avoiding the cameras. "Meet you in the garage, subbasement level 1 in one five mikes. Felicity, this is all secure, correct?"
He heard her huff out a breath and it sounded angry. "Please."
"Nick … " That was Metal.
"Okay, okay." Metal's official position on life was that Felicity was perfect and right every time. In this case, Nick was glad she was. "Out."
Everyone clicked off.
Nick found the narrow cross street. He checked overhead. No cameras. The buildings on either side were tall. It was like plunging into shadow. It was a beautiful day, but it might as well have been cloudy for all the sunlight that penetrated the street. It got even darker when he turned into the alleyway.
Nick slowed his stride slightly. The narrow street had been clear, he had great visuals. This alley was full of possible ambush points. Delivery trucks, Dumpsters, recessed doorways. He checked behind himself. No one.
Goddamn, he missed his weapon. Nick was always armed, always, but last night he'd decided to leave his Glock 19 at home, hoping to get lucky. Well, he'd gotten lucky, but right now he needed the weapon that was locked away in his gun safe back home.
But Metal and Jacko would make sure he was armed. Jacko, particularly, would make sure that the SUV he ended up with would have an armory of weapons.
Even though he didn't actually have his weapon with him, he made his way down the alley turned slightly sideways. If anyone was going to take a potshot, it would be of a reduced profile.
No one shot at him. But there was a dead body.
Nick approached slowly, all senses firing. He looked up but couldn't see a drone. That didn't mean anything. It could be stealthed, it could be so high up he couldn't see it. Height didn't make any difference. If someone had money to burn, the drone could have cameras that could see a fly's balls from a mile up.
And anyway, Felicity had her eyes on the drone, and she'd warn him. Felicity was looking down on him right now, he was sure, like some benevolent goddess, hacking into some government satellite.