Adam was having a bad day. Looking at his watch, he immediately revised his stray thought as he rubbed his bald head in agitation. It had been more than 27 hours since he had last slept, which meant he was well on his way to having a bad week.
It all started less than three days ago when he received an urgent message from the Businessman. The message in and of itself was clear. Double security at their facility north of Chang Mai. But that was it. No further explanations were offered.
The lack of detail wasn’t what had him worried. It was the fact that they were intentionally adding security. This order went against every protocol he had established for the Godfather’s criminal empire. Their job was to remain as invisible as possible, not draw attention to any of their facilities by increasing manpower.
And it wasn’t like he had an army of trained and trustworthy men at his beck and call. Then there were the issues with providing the necessary logistics. The higher ups never understood how complex transportation, care, and feeding was, especially when maintaining anonymity was an absolute must.
This request from the Businessman, the label his superior preferred over Chao Po, went against everything Adam had planned and resourced for their long term plans. Their normal security measures were built around keeping themselves out of the spotlight. He took pride in the fact that every one of their operations could be abandoned and scrubbed clean of any evidence pointing to them in under thirty minutes.
For the most part, this policy had kept his employer out of the limelight for years. In return, the Businessman made Adam extremely wealthy. So wealthy in fact, that he had booked an exclusive resort in Malasia for an entire month. But instead of sipping mai thai’s on the beach, he was babysitting a bunch of morons while his wife was enjoying the lap of luxury without him. Again.
Not that Adam had verbalized his complaints. Disagreeing with the Businessman often resulted in that same someone simply vanishing. He knew. He was the one tasked with handling those disappearances.
The seasoned mercenary released a sigh of frustration as he rubbed his temples in an effort to reduce his growing migraine. It had taken him a couple of days, but Adam had finally reassigned enough guards from various distribution hubs to where he was now standing. He even went so far as to relocate his command center so he could oversee the Businessman’s request personally.
As expected, everything was falling apart.
“Team 3,” Adam spoke into his handheld radio with barely restrained patience. He watched as a man on one of his many security screens paused. “Why are you not checking the perimeter?”
“This is team 3, we’re on the roof as assigned…” One man started to say when he was interrupted by another group of men. “Team 3 is not on rotation right now…”
The stress finally cracked through Adam’s typically calm demeanor as he screamed into the radio. “Phon! What in the name of all that is holy are you doing on the roof? Team 2 is supposed to be on the roof. And Lek, you led team 3 in Bangkok. Now you’re team 2! Get up there to replace Phon immediately!”
Seriously! He had just briefed these men less than an hour ago about their new guard rotations.
There was rapid acknowledgment from teams and Adam saw movement in the security feed as men scrambled to put their gear on. That was when he saw team 3 was already leaving their post before their replacements arrived.
Adam’s headache flared.
After several choice words about the parentage of the men he had chosen as team leaders, Adam finally took a moment to just breathe. All they needed was time. Then everything would be routine and he could finally go on that vacation.
Turning from the mess of screens, he walked to the observation room window and saw the real reason for his heightened stress.
Adam sincerely doubted he had the kind of time they needed.
Flashing lights and countless technical gadgets were scattered throughout the bay that any normal person would see as something coming straight out of a science fiction novel. But those were nothing compared to the floating green rift to another world.
Any government on earth wouldn’t hesitate to crush their little operation to gain control of that kind of technology.
While the extra security was good, Adam knew that their only real protection was anonymity. He had spent years ensuring this specific facility was as off grid as he could make it. But never in his wildest dreams had he planned for a contingency that involved protecting a worm hole.
Going back to rubbing his temples, Adam looked at another of his security feeds. Dr. Laghari was currently engaged with miss Lord of the Rings. Without a doubt, she was a stunning creature. Average height, almond color skin, sun-bleached hair, and a lithe build.
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What really drew the attention was the woman’s exotic features. The high cheek bones and pointed ears were definitely unique. But for him, it was her eyes. They were the color of amber so bright they looked like they could glow in the dark.
The Businessman could make a small fortune on her alone. And if they could get their hands on more women of her caliber? Well, they would be rich beyond their wildest dreams.
As he looked out the bay window to the rift below, he couldn’t help but wonder what else they could exploit from the world beyond?
Likely, more than even he could imagine, making this entire affair more dangerous than it was worth.
Adam shook his head at the absurdity of their situation as he watched their very own mad scientist attempt to communicate with colored pencils and paper. Strangely enough, it was working. They were finally starting to make headway in helping the girl to let down her guard.
With a sigh, Adam turned back to the glowing rift, contemplating how best to handle the opportunity and curse that had been dumped in his lap.
Without warning, the control room plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the rippling surface of the rift and the many gizmo’s that were on a dedicated power source.
With a sigh, Adam checked to see if his radio still worked. He wasn’t at all surprised with the power outage. Reports had been coming in about rolling blackouts throughout the surrounding province - all due to the rift’s massive power draw.
He still didn’t understand how Dr. Laghari had run the electrical feed straight from the power plant, but he wasn’t going to question it. Still, it would have been considerate if the man had the foresight to plug the rest of the facility into that same power grid. Not that it surprised him. Dr. Laghari wasn’t one who thought too much of others.
“All teams, report in,’ he spoke into his radio with deliberate calm. They had prepared for this eventuality, but Adam didn’t get to his current position by assuming everything was fine.
“This is team 1. Lab is secure.”
Adam looked down from the observation deck to see his best team cautiously standing behind portable barricades. He hadn’t forgotten that something had come out of the portal. If anything else came through, they would be prepared.
There was a brief pause before teams 4 through 7 reported in, all of which were on down time within their respective rooms. That left teams 2 and 3, the only ones currently on duty.
“Phon! Lek! Report in now!” Adam growled into the radio.
Nothing.
That was when he noticed it. A quiet, rhythmic thump that was felt more than heard. An unmistakable sensation that Adam had experienced in his glory days back in the deserts of Syria.
Helicopters.
Adam’s migraine flared as he realized that his worst fears were coming to life.
“Get the backup generators running!” Adam screamed at the two techs sitting in front of him before yelling back into his radio. “Teams 4, 5, and 6 gear up and take defensive positions! We’re about to have guests! Team 7, escort the Businessman, Dr. Laghari, and the girl to their evac site. Be prepared for hostiles!”
Several excruciating moments later the emergency backups kicked on, supplying power to the security feeds while providing limited lighting throughout the building.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Heavily armed soldiers in black uniforms flowed down the hallways like wraiths, disappearing around corners, entering and exiting rooms, and moving with the practiced grace of well trained professionals.
Sweat beaded along Adam’s forehead as he stared at the disaster unfolding before his eyes, the question of how they had been found so quickly running over and over in his mind like a broken record.
Explosions rocked the building as automatic gunfire echoed down the corridors, their muffled pops bleeding through the observation room’s walls.
His security feeds, at least the ones still functioning, told him how hopeless the situation was. His teams were either down or in the process of being overrun. There were unknown men on his roof picking off targets like they were nothing more than fish in a barrel. What was worse, the Businessman’s private helicopter, their only real escape plan, had been reduced to a smoldering pile of scrap.
“Contact…” one of his men screamed through the line, only to be cut off as gunfire rang from the radio in Adam’s hand.
There was no way out. Not against this kind of overwhelming firepower.
Adam glanced at the refracting light of the rift, watching the surface waves like it was a sea of calm amidst the hell he knew was about to come through his door.
Making a decision, Adam pulled out the cell phone he used for direct communication with his boss. The phone hadn’t even finished its first ring before it was answered.
“What’s the situation?” came an emotionless response.
“Sir, we have an uncontrollable situation,” Adam said, licking his lips. “We are delaying but will not hold. Only exit is through the rift. All other avenues are blocked.”
He was met with silence on the other end.
Adam’s beads of sweat turned into a full-on stream. The Businessman never hesitated.
After a prolonged moment, the Businessman finally answered.
“Understood. Cover my exit.”
The phone went dead and Adam’s heart dropped. It hadn’t escaped his notice that there were no instructions for him to follow.
Looking at the screens, Adam made a choice. He wasn’t going to die here.
“Team 1,” he stated over the line. “The boss is coming your way. The other teams are currently engaging the intruders. Cover him and wait for me. I’ll be down in a moment.”
“Confirmed,” came the reply, as Adam glanced at the remaining security feed to gauge how much time he had left.
The two techs inside the control room glanced nervously between Adam and the rift.
“Umm, sir…” one of them asked tentatively. “What do you want us to do?”
“Yup, the start of a bad week.” Adam grumbled, pulling his pistol from its holster. Two shots rang out.
As he turned to leave, Adam glanced at the remaining feeds. Dr. Laghari was waddling after the Businessman, doing his best to keep up while team 7 guards rushed them down the hall, one of which was physically carrying the unknown girl over his shoulder.
He had barely taken a step when the door in front of him crashed open.
Surprised, Adam scrambled to raise his gun as an older looking gentleman dressed head to toe in black tactical gear and sporting a perfectly groomed imperial mustache, fired his rifle before Adam could get off a shot.
A feeling of relief washed over Adam just as the world erupted into pain. At least he was being shot by a professional with style.