The League

Chapter 10 - Standoff

Kate listened for footsteps as she stalked through the halls, Ave following close behind. They'd encountered two of Novak's men so far, and both were now slumped over, hidden between tarps as best as she and Ave could place them. Everything was going smoothly, but she was too aware of the seconds ticking by. Hazel had given them all the intel the agents managed to scour up, but it wasn't enough for Kate to feel as confident as she wanted to: they didn't even know what the stone looked like or how it was contained.

"Kate?"

She glanced over her shoulder. Ave had a finger pressed to his earpiece.

"The Crimson Snake is here," he said.

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Did he come alone?"

"Tara says yes."

Kate exhaled and kept walking. Crimson on his own, they could handle. It would be four against one only if it came to blows. She couldn't help but find the situation ironic: there was finally a decent chance of catching even one Snake, but the mission demanded that they focus on the stone. She would have to let Crimson go.

"We'll stay out of his sight," she said.

"Got it."

Kate stopped in front of an opening and poked her head around the wall. They'd reached the center of the building: a large, open space filled with neatly stacked containers of Novak's finest goods. The stacks were only waist-high, and in the narrow paths between them roamed his lackeys. They were organizing and taking stock with weapons clipped to their belts and hung over their shoulders. The ceiling here was at least two, maybe three stories high. A lone skylight let in some sun, and running along the cases and snaking up the studs were thin strips of blue light.

"See that?" Ave whispered.

Kate followed his line of sight. There were walkways suspended over the space: a higher vantage point that looked to be accessible from an upper floor. If the stone was in this room, then they might be able to see it from up there.

"Alright," Kate said when they returned to the hallway. "To the stairs."

........................

While Jack went to meet Novak, Elle stayed invisible and roamed the building. Her task was to find exits and count heads; if things went south, then knowing the easiest way out would make the difference between a Czech arrest and returning to New York. She already knew that Novak's people—and the arms—were concentrated in the center space, so it was the hallways, entrances, and miscellaneous rooms that she needed to go through to track how many people he had and where.

Invisibility had its perks, especially since her clothes and anything she was holding—within reasonable size—turned invisible along with her. It was easy to sneak around as long as she stayed quiet.

But even that was hard sometimes.

She turned the corner to find a guy on the floor, and she let out a surprised curse before shutting her mouth.

There was a rip in the tarp-wall behind him. It looked as if he'd fallen through, but the only reason he would be in that small space in the first place was if someone had tried to hide him. Elle hadn't done it, and Jack was being escorted...so who knocked out this guy?

Her question was answered when someone rounded the corner. Elle resisted another surprised curse and moved aside as the lone woman strode past her. It was Agent Kate, one of the League's top operatives. The same one who led the team at the exchange.

Elle stood watching, tense, as Kate pushed the body back into hiding. Of all the days for the League to decide to tackle Novak, it had to be this one.