Truth behind the mask. In Pagan’s ear, almost as if she were standing right beside Erith

in Pagan’s ear, almost as if she were standing right beside Erith. She fl inched at the noise.

“What do you want, girl?” Baylor said.

“I just need to pick up my gear and…see how you are.” Erith’s voice changed as she followed him back into the apartment.

“Came and got your bike already, I noticed.”

“I needed it for work, and you were…elsewhere,” Erith replied carefully, purposely not mentioning the word jail, but it hung in the room with its silent accusation.

“Guess your job went up in fl ames with Ammassari. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. They didn’t do anything for you at that place. They just stuck you in an offi ce shuffl ing paper. You’re just like your mother. You don’t have the smarts to get anywhere.”

From what Erith had told Pagan, this was an old argument that had played out for years. It was a wearing-down tactic, an endless twist of the same old bloody knife. Pagan knew Joe Baylor wielded it well.

“I might just surprise you one day, Dad.”

“You might at that.”

Pagan couldn’t help but wonder what Baylor had seen on Erith’s face to change his tone, albeit slightly.

“Look at you, here now. I never fi gured you’d have the guts to come back again.”

“How’s Mom?” Erith changed the subject bluntly, expertly guiding his words away from herself.

“Coming home soon. They said she needed treatment of some sort.

The doctors said she broke her face when she hit the fl oor this time.”

“Was that before or after you beat her down?”

The growl of anger ripped through Pagan’s head, and she was instantly at the window levering it open. She heard a chair scraping with some force across the fl oor.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, girl. Remember who I am.”

“I do, Dad, and that’s why I’m here.” Erith’s voice contained just the barest hint of a quiver.

Pagan’s heart broke for her. She raised the window a fraction more.

“She’s smart enough to stay out of striking range, Pagan. Hold your position,” Rogue’s voice sounded in her ear.

“I know,” Pagan whispered. “But he’s like a loaded gun. I’m just

* 215 *

LESLEY DAVIS

waiting for him to go off.” She knew that Erith couldn’t hear what she was saying to those back at the lighthouse. Melina controlled the comlinks with military precision.

“Courage, Pagan,” Melina said. “Believe in her. She’s not as stupid as her father seems to think. She can’t be. She got out.”

“Acknowledged,” Pagan replied and stepped away from the window, but still left it open a crack.

“Dad, I’ve never asked you about your work that brought us here to Chastilian. I’ve never asked what you are involved in. I’ve always done what you told me to do and got what you wanted.” She paused at his derisive snort of laughter. “Except for this last time, that is. But I’m frightened for you.”

There was a long silence.

“Why?”

“Because I’m worried you’re involved in something darker than you realize, and I’m frightened you won’t be able to get out.”

“You’re frightened for me, girl?” He barked out a gruff laugh.

“You should be more afraid about the kind that you left here with. Word is Sentinels eat children.”

Erith laughed. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not a child, isn’t it?”

Silence fell again. Pagan shifted nervously against the cold wall.

“You safe, Erith?” her father asked brusquely.

“Yes, Dad, I am.”

“Good. Keep it that way. If you’re as smart as you think you are, then you’ll be best off where you are. There’s something rotten in the vaults of this city; time’s just ticking away on it.”

“Dad, you could just go. You could go anywhere in the world.

Just disappear. You’ve constantly moved us all my life. What’s another night fl ight with suitcases stuffed?”

“And leave without your mother? Never. She needs me. And I like my job. It suits me.”

“No kidding,” Rogue said dryly in Pagan’s ear. “A bully with a maniac for a boss. It’s a match made in heaven.”

“Dad, maybe you and Mom could start anew somewhere, start over.”

“You’re such a dreamer, little girl. You get that from your mother too.”

* 216 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

Pagan heard a noise. “What was that?” she asked

“Something outside the apartment,” Melina answered. There was a pounding on the front door to accompany her reply.

“As for your lack of sense in barreling right in where you shouldn’t get involved,” Baylor audibly sighed, “ that you get from me. You shouldn’t have come back here, Erith, not today. You’re not welcome here anymore. Not since you left with that masked freak.”

Pagan heard heavy footsteps heading toward the front door.

“Baylor.” A high-pitched male voice sounded through the apartment. “The boss wants you in for the festivities tonight. He had to send me for you. We couldn’t reach you on your phone. You forget to pay the bill or something?”

Pagan heard footsteps grind to a halt.

“Who’s your girlfriend?” the man asked.

“My daughter. She was just leaving.”

“No… no,” came the reply. “She can come with us. We need new cheerleaders for the squad. The others are getting worn out.”

“She’s not joining the women you goons screw around with.”

Baylor’s voice was harsh and, amazingly, held a touch of fear.

“Are you saying she’s too good for the likes of us?”

“She’s got smarts. She deserves better.”

“Oh, I’m better, believe me.”

“Get your hands off me,” Erith said angrily.

Pagan heard Erith gasp in pain

“You’ll make a nice addition. I know just the outfi t for you too.

Why hide behind the black and skulls? We’ll show you blood-red soon enough. And when Phoenix hits the August Dawn Bank tonight with the full gang behind him, you’ll see the whole city on fi re.”

“Let her go,” Baylor said.

Pagan heard a recognizable click of a gun being cocked. She was instantly inside Erith’s bedroom and pressed tight against the wall there.

“This is not going the way we planned,” Melina moaned.

“You don’t give the orders here, little man, the Phoenix does. And look who has the gun here. Shall I hold it on you, or pull the trigger on your little girl?”

“Don’t hurt her,” Baylor growled.

* 217 *

LESLEY DAVIS

“Then she comes with us. How cool is this? She gets to watch her daddy be part of the party tonight, and then when we come back victorious, we can party on her ass all night long!”

Pagan heard Erith’s intake of breath. “Don’t do anything stupid,”

Erith said into the room, but Pagan knew exactly who she was directing the words to. “Dad, he has a gun pointed at my head. Let’s just go with him, please? I don’t want to get killed here. And I’d like to see where you work. You’ve kept it secret from me for too long. I’m a big girl now.

I can handle it. It will be okay. Just do as he says and I’ll be fi ne.”

Pagan risked a swift look out from behind Erith’s door and saw her being dragged out of the apartment. The door slammed shut on them.

Pagan dimly felt the pain as she banged her head against the wall in anger at her impotence.

“A bring your daughter to work day!” the young man could be heard to squeal over Erith’s comlink. “How wonderful. You can show her where we work, Phoenix can show her what he does, and then I’ll get my share of her later.”

Already back out on the fi re escape, Pagan looked down at the railing she held tightly in her hand and was not surprised to see it had bent considerably under her grip. Melina’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Rogue is on her way to you in the van. You can suit up, Pagan, and follow where they lead.” Melina let out a sigh that seemed to echo through the comlink. “This is it, Pagan. He’s not taking any more family away from us. It’s time to settle the score with the Phoenix family once and for all.”

* 218 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

There was something incongruous about the big black van that was waiting for Pagan when she raced down from the fi re escape. Pagan wrenched open the back door and fl ung herself in.

“He’s driving a sporty red sedan, license plate…” Melina’s voice sounded through the van as they were linked to the lighthouse. “Oh, for goodness sake,” she muttered, “license plate FE N1X.”

Rogue growled from her seat. She was in her Sentinel garb, mask fi rmly in place. The blacked-out windows hid her identity and everything else that was stored in the vehicle. Pagan began to shed her clothing and get her own uniform on.

“What did you do to your head, Pagan?” Rogue looked back and saw Pagan’s injury.

“Banged it off the wall,” Pagan replied, hastily tugging on her pants and leaning to look into a mirror at the abrasion on her forehead.

“It’s nothing. It will heal.” She pulled on her jacket. “Rogue, he has Erith.”

“I know, sweetheart, and we’ll get her back, I promise.”

“Erith’s tracer is working like a charm. The red sedan is pulling out on Crafter Street,” Melina said. “There are three passengers. Baylor is driving. Erith is in the backseat with Laughing Boy.”

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.”

“Pagan, just fi nish getting changed. We’re following right behind.”

Rogue pressed on through the traffi c. “Mel, if we’re heading to the Stadium you need to warn the police we have a hostage situation.”

“I’ve just gotten off the line with Sergeant Cauley. He’s already

* 219 *

LESLEY DAVIS

en route. They’ve gotten a tactical team on their way too. I think your father called in some huge Sentinel favors.”

“Warn them to hold back until we know what is happening there.

Phoenix is obviously expecting Baylor to arrive. If we jeopardize that, we risk exposing ourselves.”

“I just want Erith away from these people,” Pagan said angrily.

“Pagan, we’ll get her back. I think she’s perfectly aware of what she’s doing. I think she’s going to lead us right to where the Phoenix is.

We won’t be running in blind. She’s going to have them lead us inside and straight to him,” Melina said.

“We know where he is. He’s in the stadium,” Pagan said. She slipped on her mask and began to check through her belt for her gear.

“There’s a lot of ground to cover both in and around that stadium.

I need for us to know exactly where we’re going before any Sentinels are deployed. I’ve alerted the rest of the Sentinels. If we need help they’re ready to assist,” Melina said.

Rogue watched the road ahead. “We’re going to have quite the team going up against Phoenix’s gang if we’re joining with the local police force and a tactical team too.”

“No arguing about territory or who has the bigger weapon,”

Melina said dryly.

“I just want Erith back,” Pagan whispered.

“We will get her back, and Mr. Trigger Happy with her will get his ass pounded. I promise you,” Rogue said. “No one messes with my family.”

“So where is it we’re going exactly?” Erith’s voice suddenly sounded over the comlink.

“It will be a surprise when you get there.”

“Do you have to press that gun quite so hard into my ribs, because if Dad here hits a pothole, I am not looking forward to the scar that bullet would leave.” There was a small pause. “Thank you.”

Pagan let out a sigh of relief knowing that Erith was reasonably safe.

“So, Dad, does Mom know exactly what you’re involved in?”

Erith asked.

“No, I fi gured what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.”

“No, that was all your job, wasn’t it?”

* 220 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

“You, shut up! And you, just drive!” a whiney voiced ordered, and silence reigned inside the car for the rest of the long journey.

Pagan watched helplessly as Erith was taken through the grounds to the empty stadium, and she waited for word from the Sighted. She listened to Melina over the comlink.

“Erith’s like a little beacon, lighting up all the tunnels for us. I’m able to piggyback her signal, and it’s blasting through their surveillance down there. I’ll have a rudimentary map of where she is in moments.”

Melina’s tone changed as she directed her next comments to Erith. “Red Fox, I know you can hear me. You are surrounded by those who love you. We can see exactly where you are and will follow you soon. You’re blazing the way for everyone to enter, just as I know you planned. I’m so grateful to you. You’ve helped us more than you’ll ever realize.”

“She’ll be okay, Pagan,” Rogue said. “We’ll get her out of there the moment the signal is given.”

Pagan looked out the van window at the steadily darkening sky.

Soon it would be time for them to spring into action. She could see the police cordoning off the streets surrounding the stadium. The heavily geared police tactical team were executing their own plan and moving forward toward the main gates. Pagan listened intently as Erith’s comlink broadcast what was happening with her as the weaselly man received a call on his cell phone.

“Phoenix is livid! He says you’ve brought the police right to his door!” There was a sound of shuffl ing. “Why would the police be following us here? No one is supposed to know where we are.

Baylor, you and your girl stay here until I know what’s going on. I’ll be right back.” The sound of a door closing sounded loud over the communicators.

“Dad, I’m not safe here and you know it. He’s barely able to keep his hands off me.”

“Maybe that’s what you need,” Baylor said. “Make you a real woman then.”

“I am a real woman. I just prefer not to have some sleazeball guy mess around with me.”

* 221 *

LESLEY DAVIS

“I can’t believe I raised a—”

“Don’t say it,” Erith interrupted angrily. “Because as much as I’d hate myself for it, I would have to smack you right in the mouth for the bigot that you are.”

Baylor was silent for a moment. “You’d hit your father?”

“I’d say it was a long time coming,” Erith replied. “Where does that door lead? If the police are really coming, we’re going to need to get out somehow.”

Pagan listened intently while Baylor explained what went where under the ground. Pagan could hear Melina chuckle over the comlink.

“Pagan, you picked a smart one.”

“The Osborne girls seemed fated to,” Pagan replied. Rogue just grinned, not once taking her eyes from the electronic map she was poring over in her hands. The palm computer was blinking out coordinates and schematics for the tunnels hidden below the football stadium, courtesy of Melina.

“We have a detailed plan before us,” Rogue told Pagan. “Our Sighted is now able to scan the whole area for us thanks to every step Erith took. Our Sighted is brilliant!”

“I merely use what you teach me every day, Sentinel,” Melina replied. “I’m using the comlink signal to map out the stadium’s underground levels. I’m supplying the tactical team and police with the same information you are receiving so no one will go in blind.”

“When can we go in?” Rogue asked.

“The tactical team are entering in fi ve minutes and counting,”

Melina said. “Take your positions outside the Stadium. I’m going to black out everything within a ten-mile radius, both above ground and below it. Under the cover of darkness we can sweep in and fi nd where Phoenix has chosen to hide out, and get him.”

“I have our route planned. We’re going after Erith.”

“Be watchful,” Melina said softly. “Good hunting, Rogue. Pagan, go rescue your lady and guide her back to us.”

“That’s my number one priority, Mel,” Pagan said.

“Lights out in two minutes, and the cameras in the stadium are under our control now, not theirs, so you’ll be going in unannounced,”

Melina said.

Pagan and Rogue alighted from the van in the waning evening’s glow. Pagan and Rogue ran to take their positions at the stadium wall.

* 222 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

A mass tide of bodies surged toward the Stadium. Above them, a few Sentinels were illuminated against the setting sun, standing high upon the towers, waiting. A few more came in on their motorcycles, equally silent. Rogue clutched at Pagan’s arm as she checked her watch.

“Get ready.”

The lights went out over Chastilian, silently plunging the city into darkness, the only light the vestiges from a swiftly disappearing sun.

Rogue nodded at Pagan as the stadium doors were slammed open by the lead tactical team. “Let the games begin!”

* 223 *

* 224 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Pagan stayed close behind Rogue as she raced across the fi eld behind the tactical team. She spotted Casper and Earl as they all ran toward the tunnel and into the underground lair. The four Sentinels easily blended in among the members of the elite squad that silently entered the stadium.

“Pagan, I have coordinates for you,” Melina said. Pagan immediately headed off in that direction after Erith, Rogue not far behind her.

“Next left, now turn right.” Melina directed their path over the comlink. “There’s a door three-quarters down on the right.”

Pagan fl attened herself against the wall, escrima stick in hand, and reached for the door knob. She opened it quietly and heard Erith’s distinct voice coming from inside. She fl ew into the darkened room and right into the waiting fi st of Joe Baylor. The blow knocked Pagan across the room and into the wall.

A dim light came on as an emergency power booster kicked in under the stadium, and Pagan saw Baylor standing by the door, fi sts still raised. She quickly scanned the room and saw Erith standing some distance away. Pagan wiped at the blood that trickled from her cut lip.

“That fi rst one was free,” she said, staring at Baylor as he whipped around to face her. “But the second will cost you dearly.”

“I’ll gladly pay the price,” Baylor said, barreling toward Pagan, who slipped easily from his reach.

Pagan called over to Erith. “Are you okay?”

“Better for seeing you,” Erith said. “Dad, leave the Sentinel alone!”

* 225 *

LESLEY DAVIS

Baylor grabbed up a baseball bat from a crate. “Baseball teams play here too. How fortunate is that? Ready-made weapons to smack the smug head off a Sentinel’s shoulders.” He swung at Pagan.

She retreated under his wild and erratic swinging. His fi ghting style was rough, but his anger gave him strength. “Erith, get out of here now.”

Baylor halted. “You know this whelp?” He stared at Pagan. “Are you the bastard that came and took my girl away from me? You are, aren’t you?” He swung again. Pagan dodged the blow, but the storeroom was small and she was running out of space to maneuver.

“You come into my house, kidnap my daughter, and here you are again! You got some kind of death wish, boy?” He swung again, and the bat audibly cracked and splintered as it hit the wall when Pagan swiftly ducked out of the way. “Is this the kind of person you like to consort with, Erith? One that hides behind a mask like some carnival clown?”

He swung blindly, hitting the wall again as he missed Pagan, and the top of the bat sheared to a rather lethal-looking point.

Pagan tried to steer him away from Erith until she could overpower him and get the weapon out of his hands. She ducked as the bat swung over her head, and she tumbled against a cupboard that dug into her side painfully. The bat smashed into a display case, sending shards of glass everywhere.

“I don’t want to fi ght with you,” Pagan yelled at him. “Just let Erith go.”

“Go where? Back with the circus freaks you hang out with?”

Baylor was panting. “She should be with her family. You took her away from that.”

“No, Dad. I walked away willingly from my family because it wasn’t healthy for me to stay with you anymore. You were killing me!”

Baylor’s eyes fl ared with fury. Pagan watched as he turned his anger for his daughter squarely on her.

“You set her up to this. You turned my daughter away from me!”

“You did that yourself with your fi sts and your endless bullying.”

Pagan kicked him in the chest, spinning him back.

“What would you know?” Baylor spat.

“You’d be amazed by what I know about you.”

Baylor roared and threw the bat directly at Erith. He then lurched

* 226 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

after Pagan. Pagan managed to defl ect the bat away from Erith, throwing herself off balance in the process. Baylor grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and threw her to the fl oor. Pagan reacted quickly but not quickly enough in the confi ned space. He straddled her and stared down at her, seething.

“Not so big a Sentinel now, are you?” He ripped Pagan’s mask from her face.

“No!” Erith screamed and rushed from her hiding place to Pagan’s side.

Baylor pushed her away and threw Pagan’s mask at her. “Here’s your savior’s disguise, girl. Let’s see what kind of man he really is.”

He looked down into Pagan’s revealed face. His jaw dropped slightly and he frowned as he tried to understand what he was seeing.

“You’re a woman,” he said stupidly.

Pagan just looked at him, trying to predict his next move.

He stared at her as if he had never seen a female before, then touched the aids now visible in her ears. He tapped on them, making Pagan fl inch. “Comlinks, eh? Are you wired anywhere else, Lady Sentinel?”

He brutally ripped them from Pagan’s ears. “Whoever’s listening, you won’t win!” he yelled down the comlinks, and then abruptly got up off Pagan’s chest. He threw the aids to the fl oor and, although Erith was screaming at him to stop and pulling on his arm trying to unbalance him, he stomped on them, smashing them to pieces.

“Now you can’t communicate with your friends anymore,” Baylor said.

Pagan got quickly to her feet, snatched up her escrima stick, and moved across the room out of his reach while she got her bearings.

She felt more naked without her mask than she did without her aids, as her natural instincts instantly kicked in and she let herself feel the atmosphere around her. She saw Erith snatch up the fallen mask and wave it in her father’s face. Baylor backhanded Erith across the mouth.

Pagan grabbed him around the neck with her stick and wrestled him down. He struggled, but Pagan held on tightly, this time having the upper hand. She spun him around and punched him soundly in the face.

He fell to his knees.

“That’s for the last time I saw you,” she said. She hit him again.

“That is for ripping my mask off.” Another blow split his nose across his face. “That is for touching Erith with anything less than love.” She

* 227 *

LESLEY DAVIS

went to hit him again, but Erith covered her hand to stop her. Erith moved around so Pagan could see her clearly.

“Don’t bring yourself down to his level. You’re so much better than he will ever be.”

Pagan looked at the bruised and bleeding man before her. She sensed another person enter the room and instantly tensed, her escrima stick poised for action. She blew out a ragged sigh of relief when she saw Rogue standing there.

“Had you waited for me, we might have dealt with this scumbag a little quicker together,” Rogue said and went over to where Baylor was bleeding on the fl oor. She took her Taser, placed it against his chest, and triggered it. He screamed, convulsed, and then collapsed in a shivering heap on the fl oor.

Pagan read Erith’s shock at what Rogue had done. Rogue just looked at them.

“Tell me he didn’t deserve that.” She bound him tightly by his hands and feet, and when he began to move she threatened him with the Taser again. He capitulated meekly. Rogue moved to check out Pagan.

She saw that her aids were gone. “Are you all right?”

“He took my mask off,” Pagan said.

“That’s not all he did.” Rogue looked at Pagan’s raw ears, some spots bleeding where the aids were forcibly ripped away.

“I’ll be okay, but they were my most comfortable pair,” Pagan said and reached for her mask from Erith. She walked over to Baylor, letting him see her face again. “If you ever tell anyone what I look like, I will hunt you down and personally use the bigger Taser that will make what you’ve just experienced a mere tickle in comparison.”

She put her mask on, then stopped. “Remember my face, though,” she whispered, leaning very closely to Baylor. “It’s the face of the woman your daughter loves.”

His eyes grew large.

“You ever mess with her again, and I will see to it that you spend the rest of your living days in hell.” Pagan fastened her mask back on her face. “She’s my family now, and we take better care of our loved ones. Remember that and stay away from her if you know what’s good for you.” She stood and turned to Rogue. “Get someone to come and pick him up, and someone needs to get Erith out of here.”

“You could take her back?” Rogue ventured.

* 228 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

“My job’s not fi nished here.” Pagan took Erith’s hand and brought it to her lips. “I will be back home soon, I promise. You’re safe now.

The Sentinels will take care of you.”

Erith tugged Pagan close and kissed her sweetly. “I knew you were right behind me. I never had any doubts.”

“I love you. I’ll always do my best to keep you safe. But now I need to go fi nish the other task at hand.”

Are you going to be all right without your hearing aids? Erith signed discreetly.

“It’s what I know best,” Pagan whispered in her ear. She looked up as another Sentinel popped his head around the door. She signed to him and he nodded and rushed into the room to stand by Erith. “Casper will take you up to safety,” she promised. “Take good care of her,” she cautioned the young man, who grinned and held out his arm courteously for Erith to take. Erith looked to Pagan with a small frown at his gallant pose. “He’s a good guy, I promise. He’s one of those strong, silent types you like so much!”

Erith dodged the hand that Casper held out to her. “You’re still going to go after Phoenix? Surely defeating him isn’t more important than your own safety?” Erith turned away from her father so he wouldn’t see the words she mouthed. “You don’t have the luxury of sound to help you.”

“Defeating him is everything.” Pagan began to sign. Because ofhim I grew up without parents.

You had Melina and Rogue. What better parents could you havebeen given? Erith signed back. She looked down at the man incapacitated on the fl oor and spoke aloud again. “I had my fl esh-and-blood parents, and look how they screwed me up! Going after him in vengeance is not who you are. You’re better than that. Remember that, please, and come home to me in one piece.”

Pagan felt a war going on inside her. She wanted to assure Erith that she wouldn’t be foolhardy, but screaming loudly inside her was the need for revenge. Pagan let out a long breath and stared for a moment into Erith’s impassioned eyes. For the fi rst time ever, she saw her future could be held in the hands of someone else.

“I’ll be home later. As a Sentinel, that is the fi rmest promise I can give you.”

Erith nodded. “Then that’s all I’ll ask. But if you don’t come back

* 229 *

LESLEY DAVIS

at a reasonable time, with your mentor by your side, I will come and fi nd you and kick your ass all the way back to the lighthouse myself!”

Pagan nodded to Casper, who just grinned at Erith and led her away. Erith didn’t take her eyes from Pagan the whole time she was escorted from view.

Rogue looked over at Baylor on the fl oor. “We could just kill him now,” she said. She kept triggering the electrical current so the Taser crackled ominously. Baylor’s face twitched in fear as he looked up at her.

“No, let’s let him live and just tell Phoenix’s men we capture that Baylor here led us straight into their hideout.”

“They’ll kill him for us,” Rogue said. “I like that plan. No blood on our hands, and the end result is the same.”

“Fitting for a bully, don’t you think? He can only beat up women.

Obviously he’s not man enough to put that aggression to something more worthy. Pity, because his daughter is so deserving of love. He wasted what he could have had with her.”

“Some people don’t deserve family.” Rogue waved over two Sentinels who came in to take Baylor away.

“I’m sure he’ll make lots of friends in jail,” Pagan said.

“He’s homophobic, though. They might not be the kind of friends he wants.”

Baylor’s eyes grew huge at her implication.

“Guess he’ll learn the hard way that bullies get what’s due to them.” Pagan watched him being carried away. “He’ll have to watch his back in more ways than one.”

Rogue laughed. “Our Sighted says we are very cruel.”

“I miss her voice in my ear,” Pagan said and patted her ears. “I’m going to have to start bringing spare aids out with me at this rate.”

“The Sentinels have trapped a load of Phoenix’s men in a room not far from here. Seems we caught them all by surprise. Erith is safe.

She’s being led off the fi eld. Now we need to get back to the matter at hand.”

“Settling the score,” Pagan said, remembering her sister’s words.

“Settling it and then some.”

* 230 *

TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Pagan and Rogue caught up with the tail end of the tactical team’s men. In the pale emergency lighting the team ran through the maze of rooms, picking off Phoenix’s men one by one.

Pagan punched a heavyset thug who burst from a room, knocking him back on his feet where Rogue brought him to the ground. Pagan high-

fi ved her.

“Quite the tag team against men in bandanas.” She chuckled and followed Rogue’s lead. She searched her surroundings, all the time looking over her shoulder. She was very aware that an assailant from behind could easily pick her off. Pagan let her other senses reach out and felt the air around her.

“Rogue, something is different down here.” Pagan paused to sniff at the air.

“How so?”

“I can smell fuel. Warn everyone, there is the likelihood of fi res starting down here.” She sniffed at the air once more. “No smoke yet, just that sweet cloying smell of gasoline.” Rogue sent out the warning.

“Everyone is being warned. A fi re down here would be devastating.

Our Sighted says that she has alerted the fi re crews and they are on standby.” Rogue appeared to listen in again to the information coming through her comlink. “Phoenix’s men disabled the sprinkler system.

Our fellow Sentinel down here is trying to get it back online again.”

“I don’t want to be trapped down here, Rogue. I’ve seen more than my share of destructive fi re, thank you.”

“I won’t leave you down here, Pagan. I promise you.” Rogue fl icked on her palm computer and scanned the screen. “While the

* 231 *

LESLEY DAVIS

tactical team check down to the right, you and I are being directed to the left. Looks like that’s where the main offi ces are. We should check them out, if only to eliminate them.”

Rogue marched off down a corridor, and Pagan followed. She hunkered down behind Rogue when she eased onto her knees to look around a corner. Rogue signed swiftly to Pagan.

All quiet, but there are sounds of movement coming from that toproom. She pointed to a white offi ce door with the words Manager’s Offi ce on a plaque just visible in the pale lighting. I can hear more thanone in there.

Phoenix? Pagan asked. He’s the only one who could be this fardown in the lair, and if they were planning on setting fi re to the rest ofthe tunnels, he’d need to be away from that and still have an escaperoute.

Rogue shrugged. She tapped her ear. The rest of the police are ontheir way in. It looks like the whole gang realized they had uninvitedguests in the stadium and they are all trying to escape. She grimaced as cool water began to stream out of the sprinklers above their heads. AndEarl has fi xed the sprinkler system.

Pagan wiped water from her eyes. Let’s hope he can turn it offagain, or instead of burning, we’ll all drown.

Rogue carefully cradled her palm computer out of the steady drizzle of water. They’ve apprehended several of Phoenix’s men, butsome have managed to escape. Rogue eased her way forward toward the door. Curious. No traps or anything to warn them of our arrival.

Maybe we weren’t expected to ever get this close.

Rogue’s head lifted toward the door ahead. Movement. Let’s gosee who’s up and awake. She kicked open the door and they rushed in.

Two men stood with their backs to the door. They quickly turned at the commotion and fumbled for their guns. Rogue brought her fi st down savagely on the fi rst man’s wrist, and he dropped his weapon to the fl oor. She followed through with an elbow to his face, which knocked him back off his feet. Pagan aimed a savage kick to the crotch of the second man and he fell to the fl oor screaming, his weapon untouched, his priorities elsewhere.

Pagan looked up to catch sight of the third occupant in the room scrambling to get through a door. For a startling few seconds she stared into what appeared to be the face of Xander Phoenix, and she

* 232 *

Дата добавления: 2015-10-24