The warehouse smelled of something that Kasey didn't even want to try and place. The mask over his face did little to hide the stench, and he tried to breathe through his mouth instead of his nose, but that wasn't much better.
Beside him, Xander held up a hand, stopping him from moving forward. They had to wait for the right moment, and it was going to take Dyson and Bryon longer to get into position than it had them.
They'd been in town for a day and a half, spending most of it in the hotel rooms going over the plans that Bryon and Carter had made for them. It was detailed, and Xander said it reminded him of his days in the Army.
Kasey wasn't so fond of plans. He liked being able to go in and just do what needed to be done and get out, but he understood why this one had to be so organized. This sting was huge, and the danger was tenfold from what it was when doing a single person sting in a quiet neighborhood.
The Nevada heat already had sweat dripping down his spine, but he ignored it, focused on the doorway across the hall from them, waiting for the flash of a small red laser light to give them the go.
The fact the building was deathly silent was a good sign. It meant no one had caught on that the alarms were off or that the cameras were looping. Bryon had been right. From what he could tell, these guys were amateurs, hired to watch doors, not handle a major attack. It didn't matter who they were. Kasey was ready to take them down and make them pay for their role in the sex trafficking.
If the count was correct, there were close to forty women and children being held inside. They didn't know for sure how many of each because they'd only seen heat signatures in the holding cells area. He still had no clue how Carter had found out about the place, but whatever source he used, he trusted.
Xander nudged him gently with his arm, nodding in the darkness toward the area where Dyson and Bryon were supposed to be. Xander must have heard them because a few seconds later, the red light flashed just briefly, giving them the sign to go.
Both teams moved out of the shadows, but hugged the wall. They had to get through one makeshift doorway and there they would find the men. If they followed their normal pattern according to surveillance, there would be three men on either side of the room, spaced out along the cages, and one guarding the door. Bryon would take out the one at the door by stabbing him in the neck with the drug-filled syringe as the rest of them rushed the others. It wasn't going to be easy. Hopefully, they could get the first guy down quietly and not alert the others, but if the first guard made a sound, it was going to be hell trying to take down the other six. Kasey didn't think for a second that they could do this without someone being hurt. Hopefully, it wasn't them.
With his gun ready, he watched as Bryon pushed open the wooden door just an inch, peeking into the larger room. He glanced back at them and winked before pushing the door open just enough for him to get through. By the time Kasey made it through, Bryon had his hand over the man's mouth and the needle in his neck, lowering him to the ground.
Thankful that the dose of medication was stronger than usual, and the man would be paralyzed longer just in case something went wrong, Kasey followed Xander, while Bryon, and Dyson took off the other direction.
They were several feet behind the first guard. He leaned against a piece of chain link, focusing on something in his hand. Xander had his gun in one hand, the needle in the other and was about to make his move when a loud scream of warning came from the other side of the warehouse.
The guard closest to them turned, his eyes going wide as Xander leaped forward and slammed the needle into the man's chest before he could get his gun up.
Kasey didn't wait to see what was happening. He took off running, heading for the next guard. It was only seconds before he saw the man. "Put the gun down. Don't make me shoot you," Kasey shouted at him as he skidded to a stop, facing the man with about ten feet between them and both of them aiming a gun at the other. "Don't do it. I promise I'm a better shot. Drop the gun and we'll let you live, keep hold of it and I will shoot you." Kasey was scared to death but forced back his fear. His team depended on him. "What's it going to be?"
"If he doesn't take you down, I will." Xander was behind Kasey.
Kasey didn't turn to look. He trusted Xander to have his back. "You can't shoot us both. Be smart and toss the gun across the room."
The man looked scared to death. Kasey doubted he'd ever shot a gun before, let alone killed someone. "You want to live, don't you? Toss the gun over there." He shrugged toward the far wall.
Xander walked past him, making a wide circle around the man with the gun. "Which one are you going to shoot first?"
"Fuck!" the guy screamed as he glanced over his shoulder as if expecting someone to come save him.
"We know about your partner down there. He's scared, or he would have come to see what's going on. He's probably trying to escape as we speak. No one's going to save you." Kasey nodded to the wall again. "Toss the gun and you live, keep pointing it at us and you die. Easy choice if you ask me."
Kasey hoped they could still catch the third guard. He had plenty of warning, and if there was a back door to the place he'd probably headed straight for it. The whole situation was fucked. They didn't know if he was getting help or what. "Fuck, I gave you a chance." Kasey took one step closer and looked as if he was going to pull the trigger.
The guy dropped the gun, his hands flying up. "Okay, okay."
"Go," Kasey yelled at Xander. "I've got him." Before the man could react, Kasey had him pressed against the chain link fencing, the gun to the pervert's head as he jammed the needle into his neck.
He watched the man slump to the ground.
Worried about Xander, Kasey snatched up the man's gun off the ground and shoved it in his hoodie pocket as he started to run toward where Xander would be.
"Don't come closer. I'll shoot one of them." The last guard had his gun pointed at a chained area filled with naked women and children.
Xander laughed. "We aren't cops. You shoot one of them, we shoot you, we save the rest of them. You die either way."
"Drop the gun and step away from the fence and we let you live. You've got five seconds to decide. One, two, three—"
The man jerked back, pressing his back against the fence as he pointed the gun back and forth between Xander and Kasey.
"Fucker!" One of the women in the fenced areas suddenly grabbed the man's hair and started to shake his head against the chain link.
"Damn it," Xander shouted just as the man's gun went off.
Kasey didn't see it coming, but the sudden burst of pain in his upper arm let him know he'd been hit. He didn't lose grip on his gun, fighting through the burst of pain and flash of darkness that threatened to take him to his knees.
"Asshole." Xander shot the man in the knee, forcing him to drop the gun and fall hard to the ground. "Talk to me, you okay over there?" Xander asked as he stabbed the needle into the crying man's neck.
"I'm good, just a flesh wound," Kasey lied. It was a lot more than a flesh wound. He guessed the damn bullet had gone straight through his muscle.
"Guys?" Dyson called from a distance.
"We're good, one of us hit, but not life-threatening. Will need the kit. Three down. We're going to get to work right now. Got about fifteen women and kids locked in a fenced area back here. You clear?"
"Yeah, already working. Will meet up with you when we're done." Dyson's voice faded as he must have run back to help Bryon.
Kasey glanced at his arm, trying to inspect the damage, but there was too much blood. He walked over and ripped the shirt off the man who lay on the ground and tried to tie it around his arm.
"Let me." Xander was at his side, looking over the wound. "Clean, in and out. Doesn't look like it hit bone, but we can't know until we get the fuck out of here."
Women stared at them through the chain link, but not one seemed to react to what was going on. That alone showed how traumatized they must have been. A couple of children cried, but were comforted by the women with them.
"Once we take care of these guys, we'll send someone to get you out." Kasey stared at the woman who had grabbed the guard by the hair. "I promise we'll get you out of here." He glanced over at Xander who was dragging the man farther from the women and children's view. This was something they didn't need to see.
"We'll get him to the other asshole farther down." Xander wasn't gentle as he dragged the man behind them. "I'll do the work. You keep the pressure on that arm."
"Don't leave us!" one of the women screamed.
"We'll send help. Give us a few to take care of these jerks first," Xander called back.
"Fuck you, get us out of here!"
"You'll be out tonight, I promise," Kasey yelled back before looking to Xander. "You got these guys while I run out and get the kit?"
"Can you cut? You're dripping blood. The less you move the better." Xander nodded to a trail of blood drops every ten inches behind them.
"Fuck! Yeah, I can cut." It wouldn't be easy. His arm was on fire and the pain was making him dizzy.
"I'll be back with the kit." Xander took off at a run after dropping one of the paralyzed guards beside the other one.
Kasey fell to his knees, reminding himself why he did this. Why he had to push through the pain and complete the job. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and started to cut the pants off the first man. He was lucky he took the bullet in his left arm and not his right. Still, his hands shook, and he struggled to cut without slipping. He shouldn't care if he cut one of the men, but he prided himself on making a clean cut. He'd never fucked one up yet.
"How bad is it?" Bryon was falling to his knees beside him.
"Xander says it's clean through. Other than hurting like a fucking bitch, I'll live."
"Hand me the knife. I want you to get out of here. We've got this. Hunker down in the car and wait for us. Where's your partner?"
"Ran to get the kit. I bled all over." The kit was a countermeasure to make sure that they didn't leave any DNA evidence behind. They didn't have to use the kit often, but from time to time it came in handy. It was too bulky to carry with them, but they all put one in the trunk of their car before going on a sting.
"Go, we'll clean up and handle things. We shouldn't be more than ten minutes. If anything goes south out there, take the car and get the fuck out of here." Bryon handed him the car keys from his pocket.
Kasey shook his head. "I'm dripping. I'll leave a trail."
Bryon took the cut pants from one of the men and tore them into strips, using the longer of them to tighten the t-shirt around Kasey's arm. "We will get this taken care of as soon as we get out of here."
"By phone." Kasey met Bryon's stare.
"We'll see." Bryon turned and started the process of castrating the first man.
Kasey got up and took a deep breath, trying to fight a wave of dizziness.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just stood up too fast. Hurry up and get the fuck out of here." Kasey gripped his arm with his hand as he made his way out the door.
He nodded to Xander as he passed him, but there was no point in speaking. They all knew what to do. Getting shot wasn't in the plans, but they all were ready to deal with it. They'd get back to the hotel, call Beau, and everything would be just fine.
Climbing into the back of the car, he hoped they hurried. He wanted a couple pain pills and a comfortable bed, but his gut told him the night was far from over.