Rowan followed the man out of the rec room and down the hall. Her mouth dropped open when she noticed the huge double doors to the warehouse were wide open.
The cavernous space was filled with row upon row of black shelves that rose all the way up to the ceiling, looming high above. Black boxes and crates, of all different shapes and sizes, rested on them. Everything was made of matte-black metal.
As they passed over the huge threshold, she took in the enormous, high-tech locking mechanism on the door. From what she could see, all the crates had fancy locking mechanisms on them as well.
Wow. “All these crates store dangerous objects and ancient technology?” She followed Arlo down one of the rows. He grunted, which she took as a yes.
“The crates all have state-of-the-art bio-locks on them.” His voice was a step beyond gravelly. “Only a few people can open them. Myself, Hunter, Mason, and the director.”
“Amazing.”
At the back of the warehouse, he pointed to a long bench pressed up against the wall. It was covered in tools, papers, and equipment.
“I hate paperwork.” He jabbed a finger at it. “You can help me.”
Rowan was too afraid to tell the crusty man no. Besides, something to keep her busy wasn’t exactly unwelcome.
As she started sorting through the files, he picked up a tool and started to work on one of the black cases. It was empty, and it appeared he was repairing it.
Flicking through the files, she glanced at the paperwork. Most of them were filled with notations and test results for various objects. The majority of the files were identified with numbers and codes, and she wondered what the objects all were, and where they’d come from.
Arlo finished work on his crate, and she watched as he settled an object into the box. The metallic artifact looked like something from a king’s treasury. It was a small club, with what looked like claws at either end.
“What’s that?”
She didn’t expect him to answer. “Vajra.” He slammed the lid shut and pressed his thumb to the pad on the front. There was a beep, followed by the sounds of locks spinning.
Vajra? It sounded Indian. “What’s it do?”
“Nothing good.”
Before she could ask anything else, a siren started blaring.
Arlo’s head whipped up, and pretty fast for an older guy, he rushed toward the door. Rowan followed, sprinting down one of the rows.
“What’s going on?”
Arlo didn’t reply.
They burst out of the warehouse. The siren was louder and red emergency lights were blinking. What the hell?
Across the room, the elevator doors opened, and Lachlan and his team strode out. They were all wearing black fatigues and holding their rifles.
“Status?” Lachlan demanded.
“What’s going on?” Rowan said again.
Brooks ran out of the corridor, his face set in hard lines. Ty was right behind him, looking like a thundercloud about to let loose.
“The Dorset artifact,” Ty said. “It’s gone.”
*
Lachlan was mad as hell. “Gone?”
Ty rubbed a hand over his short hair. “It was in the lab, and now it’s not.”
Lachlan swung his rifle up on his shoulder. “What happened?”
A dark look settled on Ty’s face. “I saw it about twenty minutes ago. Damn thing was on the bench, then I went into my office to study some scans.”
Lachlan swiveled to Brooks. “You access the lab entry records?”
Brooks nodded. “I was monitoring comms for your training session when Ty alerted me, and I activated the alarm. I checked the records and security feed. No intruders.”
Of course. Lachlan knew there was no way in hell anyone accessed the base. This had to be an inside job. Fuck.
“Several airmen security guards were in and out of the lab.” Brooks scowled. “Camera was deliberately covered when the artifact went missing, and there are three airmen who could be responsible.”
Lachlan shook his head. “Dammit.”
“The guards had shift change fifteen minutes ago,” Brooks added.
Lachlan cursed. Whoever was responsible had timed it well. “When’s the next flight to Vegas?”
“Taking off now.”
“Ground them.”
“I already tried. Something is blocking communications with the plane. My guess, the perpetrator has a device that is disrupting the signal. They’ll switch it off once they’re out of range.”
Fuck. “Fine. We’ll take the X8 and meet the plane when it lands. The three guards, run them. Look for any strange activity, especially financial.”
Seth stepped forward. “You think whoever attacked Rowan got to someone here at base?”
“Yeah.” Lachlan saw the worry on Rowan’s face.
Soon, they were all crowded into Brooks’ computer room. The small space was covered in screens, one huge one on the wall at the front, and the rest were smaller ones filled with security feeds. There was a center counter, and Lachlan leaned against it as Brooks’ fingers danced over his tablet.
This was Brooks’ domain. The former Naval Intelligence officer was magic with a computer.
“Okay, here are the three airmen.” Brooks motioned at the big screen, and three pictures of people in Air Force uniforms appeared. “These people were all on duty, accessed the lab, and are now on the plane to Vegas. They’ve all had large funds placed into their personal accounts in the last few days.”
One was a young man with a fresh face, while the other two looked more experienced. Which one was a traitor?
“You track the money?” Lachlan asked.
“Working on it. Airman Jacks is out.” Brooks tapped his tablet, and the young man’s picture disappeared. “He just came into some inheritance money from a deceased uncle.” Brooks blew out a breath. “The other two are trickier. The money came from offshore accounts.”
Lachlan rapped his knuckles on the counter. “Anyone with family issues? Debts? Gambling problems?”
“Airman Romano is happily divorced and has kids in college. His oldest just got married.”
College was expensive, but Lachlan didn’t think that was enough to make a man turn traitor. “And Airman Kowalski?” He’d met the woman a few times and found her good at her job.
Brooks’ face changed. “Sick kid. Her teenage daughter has Hepatitis C and needs a liver transplant.”
Someone swore.
“Just pulled the records,” Brooks said. “Looks like her daughter fell in with a bad crowd and had a drug addiction. Contracted Hepatitis from sharing needles, and by the time she was diagnosed, her liver was damaged. Kowalski and her husband have big medical bills.”
Lachlan cursed. Whoever the bastards were who wanted the artifact, they’d preyed on a desperate woman. “Confirm that she got the money for stealing the artifact. We need to get back to Vegas and intercept. Brooks, find out who we’re dealing with.”
The man nodded. “On it.”
Lachlan looked at his team. “Let’s go.”
Rowan stepped forward, and Lachlan shook his head. “You stay here where you’ll be safe.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but she finally nodded. “Be careful.”
As his team moved out, Lachlan gave into the urge and yanked Rowan close. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
Her eyes widened, and he noticed Brooks grinning and Arlo scowling. Then, he spun and marched out.
Soon, he was in his usual seat as the X8 lifted off. He checked his watch again. As it stood, they would land at the same time as the plane. Once they were airborne, he rose and moved forward. Seth and Blair sat at the controls.
“So…the lovely Dr. Schafer?” Seth drawled over his shoulder.
“Shut it,” Lachlan said.
“I like her,” Blair said. “She doesn’t fall apart when things go wrong, and I also like the way you look at her.”
Lachlan frowned. He wasn’t aware he looked at her in a certain way. Well, except the “want-to-get-her-naked way” but he was sure Blair wasn’t talking about that.
Seth shook his head. “Our work isn’t really conducive to relationships. Actually, relationships in general are best avoided. People always screw you over in the end.”
Blair made a noise. “God, you are the least trusting person I know.”
“Hazard of the job.”
“Just because you waded through shark-infested, dirty waters for the CIA for too long doesn’t mean everyone is out to bite you in the ass, Lynch.”