Broken hearts & Coup d'etats - THE SPECTER SERIES [book three]

Chapter THIRTY THREE

Jackson Ford

From my position outside the factory, I have eyes on Ellerie..
It's been just over three hours since they herded her in through the side entryway in the alley, and I have no way of knowing how she's coping in there..
Or if I should act..
Except that I can feel it.. I need to wait for the right moment..
I need to do what she would want me to do.. Not what I want..
I need to be smart.. And she is, always has been, undeniably smarter than me..

The woman is impossible to keep down, and as much as the idea pains me, I know she is just as equipped to handle the interrogation process as I would be..
I just hate that it's her instead of me..

And, its when the interrogation becomes full blown torture - like it so inevitably does - that really stresses me..

I check my watch for the hundredth time, just as West and O'connor approach my position atop a neighbouring factory.. They come jogging over, their faces just as strained and stressed as mine probably is.. "Bravo team is in position.. Where are we at with the two inside?" West requests an update immediately..

"One.." I correct him bluntly, looking through the binoculars to see Charles has been downed.. "Everett is out of the equation.."

I turn to O'connor, pointing out his vantage point on the rooftop of a run-down factory on the opposite side of the road.. "Oorah!" He doesn't question it, he doesn't joke.. He simply nods, agreeing with a battlecry,his mouth set in a displeased grimace..
Patrick moves off, making his way across the road to take up his position..

"How bad?" West takes the binoculars from my grip as I hold them out for him to see.. He peers through, down into the Factory floor where she is chained.. He growls low and angry, clearly pissed to be seeing one of his own in such a compromised position..

"They've been shocking her.. Slit his throat.." I try to keep the worry from my tone, but I know he hears it..

"What.. The.. Fuck.." He mutters..

I look down to the street below, the guards from inside have begun to funnel out of the building, pairing off and disappearing into the urban jungle of the industrial district around them..
Peirce and Fletcher climb into a dark SUV which peels off at lightning speeds, tyres screeching as they round the corner out of sight..

What the fu*k is this shit?..

"Think it's a trap, boss?" I know I do.. I also know that I don't give a fuck if it is..

"Probably. Doesn't matter.. We're not leaving her..." He hands me the binoculars back, I kneel, placing them back into the duffle of tactical equipment and weapons at my feet, before I lift two pistols, strapping one to my side and checking the mag in the other..

West reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little black box with my com-device inside, tossing it to me.. I catch it in one fist, clicking it open and pressing the receiver into my ear.. O'connor's voice comes through loud and clear.. "Asset unattended.. The feck is she doin'?"

I lift the binoculars again.. Stunned speechless by what I'm seeing..

Ellerie has climbed her way to the factory ceiling, pulling herself upside down up the chains.. I realise what she is doing..

It's clever.. And also.. Fucking crazy..

My stomach plummets.. "We gotta' move, now.." Just as the words leave my mouth, she let's go, dropping like a lead weight to the ground below.. The chains jerk and snap under the tension, giving way at the peak of the pressure..
I wince as she hits the factory floor.. Hard..