Exit 9 by Brett Battles Page A

different directions. Ash and his group caught sight of the building in less than a minute. Despite the fact that lights were on in many of the rooms, there was a definite stillness blanketing the entire site.
    Pax led them to within fifty feet of the porch then stopped. The front door was open, but there were no signs of movement inside.
    “In position,” one of the men on the other team reported over the comm.
    “All right. We’re moving in. You cover us,” Pax said.
    Staying low, Pax, Ash, Browne, and Solomon rushed the porch, their guns raised in front of them. Browne and Solomon passed through the door first, each pointing their weapon in a different direction.
    “Clear,” Browne announced.
    “Clear,” Solomon echoed.
    Pax and Ash moved in.
    The two men lying in the front room had multiple gunshot wounds, including one each to the back of their heads.
    Pax said nothing, but the anger in his face was more than telling.
    “Up or down?” Browne asked.
    “The house first, then we’ll go down,” Pax ordered.
    A sweep of the first floor revealed no one else, so they called in the other four men before heading upstairs, where they split up. Pax and Ash were the first to arrive outside Michael and Janice’s room. The body they’d seen earlier on the floor inside was another one of the guards. They checked the closet and the en suite bath, but both were empty.
    “Where the hell is she?” Ash asked.
    Pax shook his head, just as confused.
    They returned to the first floor and met up with the others. Since there was no sign of anyone else, Pax sent one of the men to go bring Billy and Michael in. “Make sure Michael knows she wasn’t in the room, and we haven’t found her yet.”
    __________
     
    J ANICE HUDDLED AGAINST the roof of the house. She had no idea how long she’d been there. Weakened by her illness, she’d passed out at some point and woken to find that night had fully descended.
    Her whole body shook from the cold. It was as if she could feel it all the way down to her bones. She needed to get back inside. She needed to get into the heat. Nighttime temperatures had been routinely dropping into the low twenties, and even occasionally the teens. If she stayed where she was, she’d die of exposure for sure.
    But could she risk trying to go back inside yet? Were the others still there? She had no doubt the intruders were from the Project. Perhaps they were even attacking multiple locations, attempting to cripple the only organized opposition they faced.
    Had they hit the Ranch, too? Was…was Michael okay?
    Dear God, please see both of us through tonight.
    She had to get closer to the window. She had to see if she could get inside. Even if the others were still around, perhaps there was someplace she could hide. Surely they had already checked the rooms. If she were able to, say, climb into her closet, chances were they would never know she was there.
    You can do this .
    She silently counted to three, pulled the blanket off her head, and crawled back down to the base of the dormer. She lay back, panting, the short distance having required most of her energy. She didn’t even realize she’d closed her eyes.
    Nor was she aware of losing consciousness again.
    __________
     
    L EAVING TWO MEN behind to stand guard by the entrance, Pax led the others through the house to the secret elevator that went down to the detention level.
    “Put your masks on now,” he said as they entered the car. “When we get to the bottom, Browne, I want you to keep your finger next to the Close Door button, but don’t push it until I say. The rest of you stay where you are while I run an air analysis.”
    As they descended, Pax attached a long cable to his iPad. On the other end was a device that looked almost like a wand. He handed the computer to Ash. Holding the wand with one hand, he coiled up the cable, finishing just as the car began to slow.
    He moved to the front and looked at Browne. “Be ready.”
    The car came