The control room door was unmarked. Payne knocked with the butt of his rifle. “Daniels, open up! I’ve got my hands full.”
After a short pause, the door swung inward and Kyle grabbed the guard by his shirtfront and yanked him into the hall. Payne caught the door before it swung shut and Kyle went to work on the guard. Daniels put up more of a fight than his comrades, punching and kicking with obvious skill. Kyle absorbed a few blows while Ava moved out of the way, then he unleashed his Therian speed and strength.
The guard reached for his pistol as he executed a flashy jump kick. Kyle grabbed his ankle and swept his other foot out from under him. Daniels went down hard on his back, his head slamming the floor with enough force to knock him out.
“Now you don’t have to punch him.” Payne chuckled.
Kyle rolled him over and zip tied his wrists then pulled his sidearm out of its holster. Leaving him on his stomach, Kyle secured his ankles then tucked the gun into the back of his pants.
Ava stepped into the doorway as Payne moved farther into the control room. A wide console had been mounted below a large, oblong monitor. The monitor was divided into six sections, three on top and three on the bottom. The first two sections displayed external shots of the complex while the other four were internal.
“Let me see if I can find a full list of the cameras. There has to be more than six.” Ava sat down at the keyboard, feeling useful for the first time since the mission began. The operating system was familiar, but the program itself was not. It took her a few minutes to find a main menu, but the rest was pretty straightforward. “Here we go.”
“Is the lower level available?” Kyle moved up beside her chair while Payne returned to the doorway.
“Lower levels. There are two.” There were thirty available cameras, so Ava took them level by level. There were no surprises on the first two levels or in any of the exterior shots. She selected the first six cameras on sublevel one and sent their signals to the monitors. Images of identical cell-like rooms filled the screen, each containing at least one captive. “Oh my God.” Her stomach clenched and her heart thudded in her chest. “What is this place?”
Kyle moved to her other side and touched the upper corner of the monitor. “Is that…”
Two girls huddled together on the narrow bunk, their images so small they were barely visible on the cluttered screen. Pity and anger twisted through Ava’s chest. What the hell were innocent children doing in a place like this? She selected the camera again and the image filled the screen.
Without explaining his excitement, Kyle tapped his earpiece and began to pace. “Ian, call Jake. We’ve found the girls!”
Ava looked at the screen with new interest. These were two of Jake’s nieces? How wonderful! But weren’t there three missing? And who were the rest of these people? She returned to the divided screen and Kyle pointed to one of the other rooms. “Show me this one.”
She toggled the image and Kyle let out a happy cry. “That’s Cheyenne. We have all three!”
“Not yet we don’t,” Payne said from the doorway. “There have to be guards down there and what about the lab rats? They’re the ones doing the experiments. They have to be held accountable for their actions.”
Quickly selecting the other images on sublevel one, Ava determined that there were six holding cells, a treatment room and two guards. The second sublevel was basically a duplicate of the first.
“Go through all the images again,” Kyle told her. “Make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
The upper level housed living quarters and none were occupied at the moment. She located two additional teams of scientists, but no more guards on the main level.
“Let’s leave Quinn and Carissa in the shed as planned,” Payne suggested. “But we could use Ian. Especially if anyone manages to sound an alarm.”
All was quiet right now, but they were rather outnumbered.
Kyle nodded and tapped his earpiece. “We need you inside,” he told Ian. “Come to the east door and Payne will let you in.”
Payne jogged off down the hall, not needing further instruction.
Kyle moved back in front of the monitor. “As soon as we lose the element of surprise, we’re screwed.”
“So let’s not lose the element of surprise.” Ava smiled, hoping to encourage him. She brought the lab they’d passed on the way to the control room to screen and went on. “They were curious as we walked by them, but they shrugged it off and went back to work.” She brought up images of the other two labs. “Payne can round up one group of the ‘lab rats’ and you and Ian can round up the other. Then bring them all to the woman’s lab. She’s already seen us, so she’ll be less shocked when something else happens.”