Merging Darkness Read online

  “They’re going to notice a helicopter of this size landing, and then it’s going to get even more attention if Hollan arrives in his convoy and people start shooting.”

  Isaac ran his finger across his lips. “Yeah, I have thought of that. There must be something I’m missing.”

  “So let someone else take a look.” Alex held out his hands for the computer, and Isaac handed it over.

  Alex studied the screen for a while, his face pinched as he concentrated.

  “What’s that?” he asked eventually, tapping the screen. He held the laptop out so the rest of us could see.

  Isaac frowned. “Looks like a facility of some kind, but it’s not on any of the maps.”

  “What’s that beside it?” Kingsley pointed to the screen as well.

  Alex’s lips twisted. “As far as I can tell, it’s a farm.”

  “That doesn’t seem odd to you?”

  He nodded, clearly understanding what Alex was getting at.

  “You think that might be our place?”

  “Possibly. Some kind of facility, in a field, next door to a farm, which isn’t even showing on a map. I’d say that’s enough to go on.”

  Kingsley leaned over and jabbed at the screen again. “Looks like there’s a satellite for communications in the grounds, too.”

  Isaac looked between us all. “I think we have our base.”

  “And there’s still no sign of Hollan’s convoy?” I asked, anxiety buzzing through my veins.

  Isaac shook his head. “Nope, but remember we didn’t spot anyone the last time, and that was because we were too late.”

  I pictured all the bodies we’d found, and a shudder ran through me. I didn’t want to think about what we’d do if we came across the same thing again. It would feel as though everything had been for nothing.

  Isaac left the laptop with Alex and leaned toward the front of the helicopter to get the pilot’s attention. The noise of the aircraft was much louder up front, and I knew he would be grateful for the headset. He used it now to speak to Jonathan.

  “You need to set us down near the big concrete building over there, the one with the satellite dish in its grounds. We think that’s our place.”

  Jonathan nodded. “Roger that.”

  Right away, the helicopter banked to the right, and my fingers tightened around the edges of my seat, my muscles tensed as I held on. Even though I knew I wasn’t going to fall out, instinct made me react. The helicopter lost height quickly and left my stomach right up there with it. I didn’t want to look at how quickly we were approaching, but it was like a car crash, and I couldn’t quite help but look.

  The gray of the concrete building rose, the white circle of the satellite dish growing bigger, catching the glare of the sunlight. It did look out of place among the barns of the adjacent farm and the green of the surrounding countryside. Farther down the road was a small cluster of houses. I wondered what the people who lived there thought of this place. Did they gossip about it and make up stories, thinking it was some top secret government facility, or had they just accepted it into the scenery of their lives, and thought it was some kind of processing plant or something?

  We landed hard in front of the building, and the helicopter blades began to slow.

  For the second time today, I was painfully aware of how the last thing we were doing was making a quiet entrance. Every inhabitant of the hamlet nearby, and the farm the potential base was next to, would be twitching their curtains, wondering why this huge helicopter was landing in the field beside them.

  Lorcan leaned over and opened the helicopter door from the inside. We all climbed out, caught between wanting to stretch out muscles that had been cramped into the same spot for so long, and watching out for signs that we might be attacked at any moment. We hadn’t seen any indication of Hollan’s convoy from the air, but that didn’t mean they weren’t here.

  Jonathan climbed out as well, and George followed us.

  “Can the boy stay here with you?” Isaac asked Jonathan. “It might be safer for him.”

  George’s face crumpled. “No, I want to come with you!”

  But Isaac stood firm, ignoring George’s plea and continuing to address the pilot. “If you see anyone approach, in particular if they’re driving black vehicles, don’t wait for us. Just get the chopper into the sky and put some distance between you and this place.”

  Jonathan frowned. “What if you need to make a getaway?”

  “We’ll signal you. Don’t go so far that you lose sight of the area.”

  He gave a brisk nod. “Roger that.”

  I didn’t know how we were going to get inside. There hadn’t been any sign of anyone yet, and even the farm beside it had remained quiet. In fact, it was too quiet. If this was a regular business, people would have appeared by now.

  I was, however, relieved to see the heavy metal double doors of the main entrance remained shut. That was a good sign. At the Atlanta base, we’d found the door ajar.

  “They don’t know we’re coming,” I said, “so how are we going to get them to trust us enough to let us in?”

  Isaac looked to me. “They’ll have cameras all over this place, assuming we’re in the right spot. Devlin gave me something for this precise reason.”

  I was glad to see Isaac had things under control. He was a good person to have around.

  He reached into the inside of his jacket pocket and pulled something out. It looked like a leather wallet, only thinner. He flipped the item open and held it up into the air. Curious, I peeped around. A gold badge I didn’t recognize made up the top half, and an ID card was on the bottom. He held it above his head and stepped closer to the building. He turned slowly, showing it to any hidden cameras that might be around to let whoever was manning them know that we were part of them. The helicopter continued to thrum, ready to sweep us out of there if need be.

  A voice suddenly sounded from a speaker embedded into the wall, making me jump. “State your purpose.”

  Isaac took a step closer. “We’re from the Ghost Agency. We need to speak with whoever is in charge.”

  Ghost Agency. I’d never heard them call it that before. That must have been the name Devlin had given to Isaac to prove who we were. It occurred to me that I had probably only scratched the surface about what these people did.

  There was a pause, and my gaze scanned the front of the building, trying to get an idea where we were being watched from or if someone would materialize. Then something made a loud click, and the main door cracked open.

  Chapter Nine

  I exchanged a glance with the guys, and Isaac nodded, silently telling us it was okay to proceed. He led the way, Lorcan following, with me next, and Kingsley and Alex bringing up the rear.

  We’d stepped into an industrial looking building, with concrete walls and a tiled floor underfoot. And we weren’t alone.

  Three people were waiting for us inside the entrance. Two were men, both dressed casually in jeans and polo shirts, and, to my surprise, the third was a woman. She was tall, in her forties, I guessed, with short dark hair, and wearing a navy blue pants suit. I experienced a ridiculous stab of jealousy at my men all being faced with someone who was clearly a leader of their team, and not only that, sharp, sophisticated, and beautiful. I suddenly felt ridiculously young and scruffy in my jeans and t-shirt.

  She nodded to us, and then stepped forward, leaving the men a pace behind. Before she’d even said anything, it was clear she was the one in charge. The two men gave the impression of being little more than bodyguards, and I noticed both of them were armed.

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve been contacted by other Ghosts,” she said.

  “I’m Isaac.” Isaac stepped forward to meet her, his hand out. “I head up the team from the D.C. base.”

  I noticed how they only ever used first names. Again, I’d never thought to question this. Did they have surnames, or were those taken from them at the same time they moved into the bases?
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  She took his hand and they shook briefly. I knew the woman’s grip would have been as strong as Isaac’s.

  “My name is Andrea, and I lead this base.” Her gaze shifted to me, and a muscle flickered beside her right eye. “You have a woman on your team?”

  I sensed the others close in around me—barely a perceptible movement, but just a fraction, enough to let me know they were protecting me.

  “Darcy here has some unusual abilities,” Isaac said. “She’s played an important part in recent events. Our base leader believed she would be an asset to our team.”

  Andrea flashed me a smile, and I felt bad for thinking not-so-nice thoughts about her a moment before. “I’m sure she is. Welcome, Darcy.”

  I ducked my head. “Thanks.”

  Andrea’s lips thinned as she moved back to business. “I’d say I was pleased to meet you all, but I’m assuming you’re not here with good news.”

  Isaac shook his head. “Sorry, but we’re not. The locations of each of the training bases have been compromised, and I’m afraid they haven’t fallen into the right hands. A man called Lyle Hollan is an FBI agent who’s been working under the radar for many years. He’s aware of us, and what we do, and he’s the one who has the coordinates for each of the bases.”

  Andrea frowned. “What does he plan on doing?”

  “He’s not planning. He’s already putting things into action. We just left the Atlanta base, and everyone there is dead.”

  Horror crossed her face. “Everyone? Jesus Christ.”

  “Not the boys. He’s taken the boys, though we’re not sure why. We believe it might be to learn more about how we work for future reference. Prior to this, he only knew there were training bases. He didn’t know how we train our spies from childhood.”

  “What happens to us if the locations of all of the bases have been compromised? Where are we supposed to go?”

  Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “This is the exact reason no one person was ever supposed to know all of the locations. How did it even get out?”

  Guilt burned through me, turning my face hot, and making me wish I could sink into the ground and vanish. I sensed Isaac look at me, but I couldn’t meet his eye. I was the one who’d given up the code to Hollan. I was responsible for all of this. If I’d only let him kill me, then yes, maybe the bases would never be able to contact each other again, but at least they’d all be safe.

  “The locations were all on a memory stick,” Isaac said, “and the memory stick fell into the wrong hands.”

  Her face became hard planes of anger. “Who would do something so stupid?”

  “There’s no point in slinging mud around now,” said Kingsley. “We’re running out of time, and standing around talking isn’t going to help anyone.”

  Andrea paused and glanced away, studying the floor with concentration, though clearly thinking about all the information she’d just been given. Finally, she looked up again and refocused on Isaac.

  “I’m not trying to question you, but please understand that I’ve never met you before, and now I’m just supposed to take your word that all of this is true?”

  Isaac nodded. “It’s a big ask, I know, but I wouldn’t even know where this place was located unless I’d had access to the coordinates.”

  She lifted a hand to stop him. “I thought you said this other man, the FBI agent, had the memory stick.”

  “He does, but Darcy is good with numbers. She was able to memorize each of the coordinates before he downloaded them and made his escape.”

  The older woman’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s a lot of numbers to remember.”

  “I told you she was an important member of our team.” He flicked a small smile over to me, and my cheeks heated. “Anyway,” he said, turning his attention back to Andrea, “I have other proof. When we were at the Atlanta base, I downloaded the security footage onto my laptop. I can show it to you, so you can see what you’re potentially dealing with.”

  Isaac reached into the bag he had strapped across his body and pulled out his slim line laptop. Balancing it in one hand, he fired up the machine and then tapped the keys one-handed. I almost didn’t want to look at the screen, knowing I was going to see a replay of Hollan’s men jumping out of the vans, of people falling as they were shot, of the same men stepping over the bodies, uncaring for the lives they’d just taken. A part of me felt as though I was looking into the future, as though that could be us in less than an hour’s time. The idea made my chest tighten, my lungs constricting the air, and I had to look away to be able to breathe again.

  Andrea watched with her hand clamped to her mouth. I noted that despite her outwardly groomed, cool exterior, her nails were bitten down to the quick. I guessed she lost some sleep from her job role, too.

  “You believe me now?” Isaac asked, snapping the lid of the laptop shut.

  She nodded, her face pale. Even the color appeared to have leached from her lips. “Yes. Those poor people.”

  “I’m afraid there’s worse news to come.”

  Her jaw tightened. “Tell me.”

  “We have reason to believe they’re coming here next.”

  Her shoulders stiffened in her suit jacket. “And they’re planning to attack?”

  “Yes, without a doubt.”

  Armed men had been waiting behind her, perhaps planning on starting to shoot should we turn out not to be who we said we were. Andrea turned to them now. “Go, set the alert.” Both men nodded and ran off. She looked back to Isaac. “How much time do we have?”

  “I believe we’re maybe an hour ahead of Hollan, but that could be less now. We need to get everyone prepared.”

  “How many men does he have?” she said, already turning to walk away, deeper into the building. Around our heads, an alarm began to sound, and lights in the walls started to pulse.

  “We’re not totally sure. But we saw four vehicles, each with perhaps six men inside.”

  “So, at least twenty.”

  “Yes, ma’am. How many do you have here?”

  She shook her head. “Nowhere near that many. Six trainees. Four adults, including myself.”

  “Shit.”

  That meant there were half of us, compared to Hollan’s troop.

  “We need to move before they get here,” Lorcan said. “We won’t be able to hold out against them with those numbers.

  “We’ve got the stronger hold,” she replied. “They’ll have to approach, and we can take them down as they do.”

  Lorcan’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know this man. He’s ruthless.”

  Her eyebrows lifted, her head tilting to one side. “So am I.”

  I joined the conversation. “What about the boys he’s taken from the other base? He might use them as a way to get in here.”

  Andrea fixed me with a steely blue gaze. “Then we’ll have to deal with that when it happens. We need to know when they’re approaching. I’ve got some satellite equipment, but there’s a delay.”

  “The chopper can go airborne again,” Isaac interjected. “The pilot will let us know if anyone is coming.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “You can trust him?”

  Isaac nodded. “He’s never given me any reason not to.”

  “Okay, do it.”

  I wasn’t sure what the plan was yet. Were we staying here to fight, or were we going to run? I didn’t know which would be better. I didn’t like the idea of fighting or running. If we ran, it would leave Hollan open to continuing what he was doing, and we’d be abandoning those poor boys. But there were children here as well. Wouldn’t we be putting them in danger if we chose to stay? It seemed like whatever ended up happening would be the wrong choice.

  The men who’d been shadowing Andrea reappeared, waiting for their next orders.

  “Is there anywhere your trainees can go that will be safe?” I asked.

  “In the building?”

  I thought of how George had hidden, and nodded.
/>   She placed her fingers to her lips. “Maybe. There’s a food storage cellar on the bottom level. They could hide in there.”

  “If they’re somewhere safe,” Lorcan said, lifting his chin, “the rest of us can position ourselves around the building, armed, and wait for Hollan to approach. You have windows here. I assume they open?”

  Andrea nodded. “They’re currently locked and armed with an alarm, but yes, they’ll open if I switch it off.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “And switch off this alarm,” Isaac said. “You’ll alert anyone on the outside that something is wrong.”

  “The building is soundproofed,” she responded. “No one knows anything about what goes on in here.”

  “Okay, but cut it anyway. It’ll only make everyone anxious.”

  Andrea jerked her chin at the waiting men, and they turned and ran off, vanishing around a corner. A moment later, a blissful silence fell over the building. I didn’t know how long it would last—I feared the sound of gunfire would soon take over—but for the moment it allowed us to breathe.

  Some young faces appeared around the corner. They ranged in ages from around seven, right up to mid-teens. All were boys.

  “What’s happening?” the oldest one asked. He was tall and skinny with spiky dark hair and a turned-up nose. He glared at us, as though challenging us through a look alone.

  Andrea wasn’t going to sugarcoat things for them. After all, they’d been raised knowing what sort of job they’d be going into. “We believe some people might be coming here. Bad people. We’ll deal with things, but in the meantime, we need you to all go down to the cellar and stay there until it’s over.”

  The older boy, I guessed him to be in his mid-teens, straightened. “I want to fight, too. I’m old enough, and I’m the best shot out of anyone. I’m not going to hide away like some little kid.”

  Andrea huffed out air through her nose, her lips pressed together, and I could see she was considering what he’d said.