Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Sixty-Two - Linkin

We were separated, again, but this time as I looked down at my ring, I knew this time was different. Nate sat down across the table with a loud thud and I sighed, looking up at him. "Sorry," he said with a nervous laugh and shrugged, shaking dark brown hair out of his face. "Guess I really should be more gentle with this prison chairs, hm?" I had to admit, I was surprised that the wooden, wheeled chair didn't break.

We were alone in Four's office, multiple computers set up around us, all serving a different purpose. I was at the desk, Nate at another one in the corner. He had four screens set up, all split in half showing two different camera angles from the head-cams which everyone wore as they neared the Alaskan Oasis compound. "Do you even know how to work that stuff?" I asked with a raised brow.

Nate shrugged, glancing over his shoulder as he slid on a headset with a microphone. "I was in the audio-visual club in high school. It's like riding a bike, right?"

I frowned. "Do I want to know how long ago that was?"

"It's been less than a decade, don't worry," he grinned as if that statement made it any better. "Plus, that's why you're here, isn't it? You're the tech-genius?"

I started to laugh and shook my head. "I'm a doctor, not a programmer." I paused before smirking at my comment and glancing down. I never realized how long I had been waiting to use that line; Ira was right when she called me a nerd.

Nate frowned, glancing at me as I attempted to get comfortable in my seat. "You know, that doesn't really make me feel better," he pointed out.

"If it helps, I have an eidetic memory so I am proficient in hacking and am a wanted criminal in multiple different countries ranging from fraud to murder."

Nate was now the one to shift in his chair, "No, I really don't think that helps," he muttered before motioning to the headset which I had rested around my neck, "Put those on. They're arriving at the complex now." With that, he turned around in his chair and the mood in the room grew serious.

Adjusting the headset, I listened to the silence in the back of the vehicles as the concrete, steel, and glass compound came into view, the only thing on the horizon except for snow. A headache which I hadn't felt for a while, started to creep up in the back of my mind and I let out a shaky breath. "Linkin, are you sure they won't see us coming?" It was Four breaking through the silence.

The way the room was set up, all I had to do was look up from my screen and I could see the camera views over Nate's shoulder. On my two screens, I had the blueprint of the compound and the access into their system. "Linkin?" Four snapped again when I didn't reply fast enough.

"You see how many windows there are, right? I have their surveillance system on a loop, but if someone looks outside, it is kind of hard to hide the fact that there are people approaching." It was hard to not give her a sarcastic, rude remark.

There was only so much I could do, "Linkin," Stuart said in a calming voice, "it'll be fine. Just take a deep breath and make sure the door will be open for us when we knock."

It was easier to take orders from Stuart; I didn't have the urge to strangle him. "Just give me a ten-second warning before any locked door and it'll be open for you," I promised, resting my hands on the edge of the keyboard, waiting for the order.

All went quiet again as the vehicles approached the compound. I could hardly breathe. A light, fluffy snow was falling from the grey sky, adding another layer to the tightly packed snow that was already on the ground. It would have almost been beautiful if we were in a different situation. For a moment, I could almost picture us having a snowball fight instead of a gunfight, with snowmen as our enemies instead of trained military soldiers.

"Now, Linkin," it was Stuart as the only thing I could see on the camera was the shadow of the building. The vehicle came to a stop and the doors swung open, heavily armed people jumped out of the vehicle as my eyes flickered down and I began furiously typing away.

Just as Ira's hand reached out for the door, the door unlocked and I smirked proudly at myself. "We're in," Ira stated the obvious fact as the door opened, her and Yulian taking lead.

Yulian looked a lot different now, he held a large semi-automatic, bulletproof vest with pockets hiding what he called his "presents". I made a mental note of not to get on his bad side as he huffed out, "Where?"

I didn't need more than that, "Team A, make a left, I'll let you into the security office. There should be at least half the guards in there for lunch break," I instructed them, Four, Thierry, and two others I didn't know veered off to the left. "B Team go straight and listen to me closely. It's a maze to get to the heart of the compound where the others will be."

While we had practised this over and over again, it was terrifying now it was actually happening. Nate kept an eye on the Thierry's team and I guided Ira's through the winding and hauntingly beautiful corridors, deeper into the compound.