Midnight Fever (Men of Midnight #5)(70)

"Negative. So far at least. Felicity's keeping watch."

"We'll get out of here and come after them," Nick said

Matt nodded. "Fuck 'em." His eyes moved to Kay. "Sorry."

Nick took her hand and walked her into the server farm. This place was as impressive as the previous one. She could see down one row and it was like those exercises in perspective, where two lines narrowed to a point in infinity.

Beside the door was another shuttle. She knew the drill by now and got into the front seat. Nick sat beside her, and the whole vehicle dipped heavily when Matt got in the back. Not only did he look menacing, but he seemed denser than normal humans.

Nick draped a blanket over her completely but not over himself. The farther along they made their way to wherever it is they were going, the tenser he became. He leaned an arm along the back of the seat and leaned over to talk to Matt behind them.

Kay tried to listen, but the shuttle's motor made a buzz and she was too tired to focus. After a moment, their voices turned to bass murmurings and she found herself nodding off, only to jerk awake when the shuttle stopped.

They'd made the entire trip in only a few seconds? She looked back, astonished to see that she must have dozed the entire journey, because they were at the other end of the huge building.

Then they entered a ramp that carried them up several stories stopping at a big steel door. Matt got out and held the door open.

She could see a stretch of sky beyond an overhang, and about a billion miles of pine trees scented the air after the smell of the server farm, ozone and electronics.

The air was also warm compared to the chill in the server farm. Oh God. Sunlight and warmth! Kay made a beeline for the outdoors when Nick's hand grasped her elbow.

"Sorry." He didn't look sorry. He just looked grim and as dangerous as Matt. "HQ says there aren't drones, but let's be careful."

"What?" Kay looked again yearningly out the door at the enticing scene of sunlight and greenery.

"From the farm straight to the vehicle, ma'am," Matt said. "Safer."

"Kay." She looked him in the eyes. They were dark like Nick's but not warm like Nick's.

"Excuse me?"

"Kay. My name is Kay, not ma'am."

"Kay." He inclined his head, handing a tablet to Nick. "I was going to call you Dr. Hudson, but Kay it is."

Nick studied the tablet, swiping his way through what looked like maps, then lifted his head. "Got it. Let's go." Nick lifted her up into the high SUV and got into the driver's seat. 

Kay looked back but Matt had already disappeared. She glanced over at Nick. "Sorry I screamed, but he looked really scary."

"Yeah, he doesn't give off warm-and-fuzzy vibes. But he's a good man."

"If he broke a pedophile's jaw, the best."

Nick slanted her a glance, his mouth lifted in a half smile. "I'm glad you can see that. Matt's world is divided in two right now-those who can see beyond the OTH discharge and those who can't."

"The world has a lot of stupid people in it," Kay answered.

"Amen."

Instead of pulling away, the SUV plunged down into a tunnel that curved away then righted itself. She watched the odometer. The tunnel ran for five miles.

"So-this tunnel is another safety measure?"

"Hm." Nick was driving fast, in complete control of the vehicle. "The entrance to the server farm is meant to be difficult to find and, as luck would have it, difficult to follow from the sky."

"You guys take paranoia to an art form."

"That's a compliment."

"Yes, I guess it is. Helpful, too. So far that paranoia has kept me alive." She could imagine all too well what would have happened if she hadn't been able to call Nick. Where would she have gone after watching Mike die, knowing that drone was overhead?

They came to the end of the tunnel and ascended fast, up into a well-maintained two-lane blacktop in the middle of the forest.

Nick tapped a spot on the steering wheel. "Felicity, Metal, talk to me. Do we have eyes in the sky on us?"

"Negative," Metal answered. "We're working now on backtracking to where the operator is. Morrison's involved, since there's been a homicide and attempted homicide. We're going to have an address soon."

"Okay. We'll be at the staging area in about an hour and at HQ half an hour after that."

"We'll have news by then. Morrison doesn't like murderers in his town."

"Roger that. Out."

The blacktop merged into a county road that was much less well maintained. If the big SUV's suspension hadn't been so good, it would have been a bumpy ride.

"So the Captain will be there, too?"

"Yeah. He'll be with his team when they get to that address. He's really good friends with Midnight and the Senior. He's going to nail this guy."