"So, what happened?" Louisa asked.
"You are meticulous in recording the details, but we must have missed something because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't re-create it."
The scientist in her balked at his comments. She was meticulous. There was no way they had written it down incorrectly.
"So I tested the sample I gave them and recognized straightaway that it wasn't the sample they were after. But I didn't tell them at first. Where is the real sample, Louisa? Because I know it must be you who switched the labels."
"The sample is long gone down the lab drain in a five-part sample, one-part bleach solution, safe from their eager hands."
Ivan's shoulder slumped. "You shouldn't have done that, Louisa. It could have saved our lives. I don't think we'll get through this."
Louisa looked toward the curtained window. She would get through this, because somebody was waiting for her outside. Scratch that. Someone was going to come and get her. "Where is my mother, Ivan? I want to see her and check that she is okay."
"She's in another room in the house with Vasilii. A different wing. But she's safe, for now. I'll try to arrange for you to see her before they move you."
"Move me? Where am I going?" she asked.
"To a different lab. If you don't cooperate with them, I can't say what will happen. And this has all become too much for Vasilii … He seems … unhinged." He stood and moved to the door. Knocked on it, then stepped as if to walk outside.
"I hate you for this," she whispered, meaning every word.
"I know. I hate me too," Ivan said as the door closed behind him.
* * *
A breeze rustled through the trees that bordered the rear of the old ranch house. Six fixed his night goggles and focused on the rear door, the one that Gaz was going to pick in about six minutes. He looked down at his watch again. As the SEAL who'd always been a fan of direct action, and as the man in love with the woman trapped inside that ugly fucking ranch house, Six was struggling to find the calm he usually found ahead of a mission. He'd promised he'd find her, and it hadn't occurred to him to tell her that it might not be immediate. He glared over at Mac who'd made the call to wait until the hours of the night, when their assault on the house would create shock and awe, and shook his head to clear it. If he didn't get his head in the fucking game, he'd probably lose it. Plus, being the experienced tactician that he was, he knew it was the right call, even if it hurt more than the gunshot wound to his side to know Lou was in there, scared for her life.
"We're going to get her back, Viking," Cabe whispered.
"I know," he said. He believed it. There was no way this was going to end any other way.
"I'm sorry I've been a prick." Cabe rubbed his hand along his jaw. "Losing Jess … well … fuck. And it's nearly a year."
Had it been that long? Six remembered the call from Cabe that his fiancée Jess's vehicle had hit an IED. He remembered the way his stomach had dropped at the choked sound of his best friend's voice. And fuck, he remembered the funeral and the speed with which Cabe had had to return to his own tour.
Cabe's concerns hadn't been about the money, or the job, or even Lou. It had all reminded him of Jess.
"Cabe, I'm … "
"Yeah. Don't, man. You found yours. So let's go get her," he said. He forced a grin onto his face. "Just like old times."
Lite was in the barn, up high looking down from his observation post through the sight of his M24 sniper rifle. His favorite kind of concealed spot and weapon. Between Lite, and Sherlock and Cabe in their ghillie suits, they had a full 360 of the property, and a pattern of life on the ranch had revealed that six armed men were keeping Louisa and her mother company. Plus, that fucker, Vasilii, and his grandson were both in there too. He thought about the conversation they'd had earlier trying to figure out the tactics. For the first time in his life, he wanted to annihilate, not capture.
"Okay," Cabe said. "This is from a realtor website so we need to take the layout with a grain of salt. Everyone knows what Lou looks like, but this is Ivan Popov."
"No." Six slammed his fist on the table. "Lou and her mom are our only targets."
Mac slung his pack over his shoulder. "We'll get her out, but despite evidence to the contrary, we have to assume Ivan and Vasilii are innocent until proven guilty."
"No, we don't. Assholes got her into this shit. Our job is to get in and get Lou and her mom out. Everyone else is under arrest unless they resist, then we do what we have to do."