"We have to be careful." Nolan said, thrusting his arms into a leather jacket.

Toby slung a rifle over his shoulder. "You don't say?"

Nolan stretched a clear plastic chord up to his ear and attached the earpiece to it. His stomach knotted up for the millionth time that day. The plane ride had been horrendously long and was the perfect amount of time to think. For Nolan, that was rarely a good thing. He'd calculated everything that could go wrong on a minor scale as well as a catastrophic one. These hackers could turn out to be hostile, the location could be a complete bust...anything could happen.

The city of Kavala was still in mourning and security was high. Apparently the bombing was a terrorist act of rebellion towards the government, but Nolan wasn't so sure. If there were criminal hackers in town, it seemed like quite the coincidence that there was an attack at the same time.

He grabbed the small bag of equipment they would be using and slung it over his shoulder. The contents included a tiny drone that was remotely controlled and a viewing screen that connected to it by satellite to spy on the suspects.

He watched for a moment as Toby strapped on a belt of knives and ammo.

That's a bit...excessive.

"I'll be waiting outside." He said. "Let me know when you're finished, Rambo."

Nolan ignored the list of insults tossed at his back as he exited their shared hotel room. The Oceanis Hotel sat directly on the water. The building itself was pretty shabby, but it was well worth the view.

As soon as he opened the door, a blast of sweet air filled his lungs. Nolan recalled reading about the ancient Athenians and how they prided themselves on the clean air. It seemed like a strange thing to be proud of, especially in a place like Greece where there was so much to marvel at. But then Nolan remembered how they also used the streets as public bathrooms and guessed he would really appreciate fresh air too.

The sky was blue at the dusk hour and shimmered over the ocean. To the left, buildings surrounded the coast like orange-lit candles dancing around the water.

A cool breeze ruffled his air and brought a strange sense of calm to his tense muscles. He didn't like any of it. Even the handgun at his side seemed to burn against his skin. He'd always felt comfortable with a weapon, but he hadn't used one in ten years.

Mistakes played through his mind. He should've had some form of training before all of this, to hone his skills just in case something were to go wrong. Even Toby wasn't prepared...despite the copious amounts of artillery he'd purchased from Howard's "contact" that had turned out to be a pawn shop owner with a pet monkey named Frito. Not exactly a reliable source in Nolan's opinion, but he'd gleaned a shiny new G19 from it, so he wasn't too disappointed.

The entrance door to the hotel opened and Toby appeared.

Nolan gave him a once-over. He'd done a pretty good job of concealing all the weaponry he had on him, but the rifle underneath his jacket was a bit of a giveaway.

"You want some war paint to go with your getup?" Nolan asked. "I thought we agreed that we weren't going to use any of this unless it was absolutely necessary."

Toby's eyes narrowed. "We did. I'm just coming prepared, unlike you."

"Mmhmm. Well, I don't care as long as you know how to operate a drone. I've only worked with them a couple of times."

"James gave me rundown before we left."

They paid a taxi to drive them towards the heart of Kavala. Although the city was relatively modern, the whitewashed buildings were clustered together in a disorganized fashion. Nolan didn't mind it, though; it'd be easy to lose someone if the need were to arise.

"This is fine, thank you." Nolan said, looking down at a map on a small tablet as they came to a quiet part of town. It was close to the area Maddie had marked.

"Akrivós edó?"

Nolan squinted at the driver. "No English?"

The man nodded and then gestured towards the road.

"...what?"

"Thélete na parkárete edó?"

Parkárete...park?  "Toby, do you know Greek?" Nolan asked desperately.

Toby shook his head, an annoying smirk of amusement on his lips. "No more than the next American."

"We need to stop here." Nolan tried to explain.

The driver tossed his hands up. "Aftó eínai ó, ti zitáo!"

"Okay, well, that's nice. Does that mean "okay" or...?"

The driver huffed and made a sloppy parking maneuver. "Americans." He grumbled as Nolan and Toby slid out of the cab.

"Nice job." Toby said sarcastically. "You really nailed that one."

"We're here, aren't we?" Nolan held the tablet in his hands and tried to follow the map towards the general area of the location.

He switched his earpiece on. "Testing."

There was static for a minute before Maddie spoke. "Ah! It works. Are you two okay?"

"We're fine." Nolan said.

"Is Toby connected?"

Toby's voice crackled into the conversation. "Here."

"Great! So I'm tracking the tablet I gave you and it looks like you're about two blocks away from the ice house."

"An ice house?"

"It's an abandoned storage building, basically. People have been using it as party houses, you name it, for years. But there's been a steady group coming in and out for about three months now."

They followed her directions to a run-down building made of old beaufort bricks. The word págos was painted on the side in faded red letters, which Nolan guessed meant "ice". They kept their distance, just in case someone were to spot them.

"Now who's going to make the drop?" Maddie asked.

"I will." Toby said quickly, tossing Nolan a smug look.

Nolan firmed his lips. That's fine. He told himself. It's fine...we can't argue right now.

"Okay," Maddie said, "You're going to have to split up. Nolan, head to the area I've pegged on your map. Toby, stay here with the drone and I'll tell you how to turn it on."

Nolan fished a small gadget out of his bag. It was a round disc the size of the pad of his thumb. Metal rotators on the bottom helped it fly or scuttle along the floor and the tiny bulb on top was the 360 camera. The only downside to the little robot was that it didn't have an audio feature.

"Good luck." Nolan said, handing him the drone. He shouldered the bag and jogged down the street.

He located a bar restaurant with dim blue lights spilling over the sidewalk and went inside.

The scent of alcohol and cigarettes assaulted his senses. He made his way through the noisy crowd and found a sign the read Staff Only.

He shoved the door open, casting a glance behind him, and made his way to the rooftop. He jogged across the cement and knelt down next to the ledge, beginning to unpack his bag.

"Nolan, are you in position?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah."

She quickly instructed him on how to turn on the equipment. A screen connected to a small controller blinked on.

"It's on." Nolan said.

"Good. Toby, the drone should be live."

"Yep." Toby said.

"Okay, now see if you can find an open area—maybe underneath a door or something—and slide the drone through."

There was silence for a while.

"Got it." Toby whispered.

"Okay, meet up with Nolan and we'll get this thing started."

Nolan waited on the chilly rooftop until Toby came up through the stairway.

"I'm here." He said into his earpiece, coming to a crouch next to Nolan.

"Alrighty. Connecting the camera to the screen...now..."

The screen flashed on to reveal a dusty-looking warehouse what was wide and empty.

"And we are a go. Good luck, boys." Maddie said. "I don't have access to the camera while it's in use, so keep me updated when you find something."

Toby took control of the remote. He pressed a button and the drone lifted off the ground.

Nolan held the screen in his hands. The camera spun around slowly, showcasing the large warehouse. The floor was coated with dust, indicating that no one had really used that part of the building recently.

"See if you can find another entrance." Nolan suggested.

Toby tilted the lever forward and the drone followed suit. There was a single wooden staircase that led up to an empty doorframe.

"Make sure to stay high."

The entrance branched off into a long, dim hallway.

As the camera spun, Nolan searched every inch of the screen.

"Stop."

The camera froze and hovered in midair.

"There's a light underneath that door there." He said. "Just wait a minute." He watched closely for several moments before he saw a shadow make its way underneath the gap.

"We need to get in there." Toby murmured, moving the drone closer to the top corner of the door.

They waited for several minutes that grew longer and longer.

Ten minutes turned into fifteen, then thirty.

Suddenly the door opened and two masked figures exited. They wore white street clothes that were common in most parts of the world and their faces were covered in black cloth.

Toby wasted no time and quickly maneuvered the robot into the room.

Nolan had expected to find a wall of computers filled with secret information and a bunch of nerdy-looking guys sitting at desks in front of them.

Instead, he beheld something far different. And far scarier.

Five people were tied to the legs of a metal table in the center of the barren room with gags tied around their mouths.

Three of them were alive.

Another masked man paced back and forth in front of them, an M400 rifle in his hands.

"There...there are hostages in there." Nolan murmured. He couldn't make out any faces, but he could faintly tell that one was a woman and the other two were men. The others were so mutilated that he couldn't make the distinction.

"Maddie, did you hear that?" Nolan asked, trying to recover from his shock. "We have three confirmed hostages in there."

"Give—give me detail." She said quickly. "I'm calling Howard now."

"Clay, we've gotta get in there..." Toby said quickly.

"I know. But we have to get this information to the CIA first."

"We don't have time—"

"I know. Hold on. Maddie, can we send you the footage somehow?"

"Only when the camera's off.' She said.

Nolan watched as the man leaned down to say something to one of the captives. He suddenly bashed the butt of his gun into the other man's head.

"Toby, you need to get out of this room and fly into all the other ones. Fast."

"Why?" Toby asked, but thankfully did as he was told. They waited in stifling silence as the drone checked each room or scuttled underneath doors. It was clear.

"We have enough. Shut it off."

"Nolan, what're you doing?' Maddie asked, warning in her tone.

Nolan hesitated. Memories rushed to him like a flood. He could hear the captain's voice in his head. Agent Clay, you are out of position...

"Maddie, we have to." He said softly. "Get this to Howard; we'll update you as soon as we can."

Before she could respond, Nolan turned off the earpiece.

Toby was already on his feet.

They quickly shoved the equipment back into the back and left it on the roof. They jogged back down into the bar and out into the street.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you brought all of those toys with you." Nolan said as they tore across a walkway, nearing the ice house.

He unlatched the holster at his side and pulled out the handgun, a sleek Glock 19. It carried fifteen rounds; that should be enough.

"What do we do once we're in there?" Toby asked.

"That's a...good question. Just use common sense."

Toby tried to keep up with Nolan's fast past. "Common sense? That's it?"

"That's all I've got."

They came up to the tan building and went up a small flight of stairs outside.

"This is the warehouse." Toby whispered.

"Got it."

Nolan glanced around, trying to see if there was any way to take a sniper position from another building. He spotted a rooftop, but then looked down at his gun, then at Toby's rifle. Neither one was a high enough caliber to get in a good kill shot from that distance.

Going in was their only option.

Nolan opened the door, placing a hand firmly on the hinges so they didn't squeak. They quickly made it across the open floor, keeping a close eye on the door above.

Nolan turned to Toby, keeping his voice low. "Look, if this turns into a firefight, you need to ditch everything you know and get the tactical upper hand. Just aim and shoot to kill. Got it?'

He gave a jerky nod. "Yeah."

Nolan sighed. "You know this is stupid, right? We're gonna die."

"Stupid is my native language..." Toby whispered.

They crept up the stairs silently and pressed themselves against the wall outside the door, listening.

"You ready for this, kid?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello lovely people! Thank you so much for reading!

What do you think of the chapter?

Do you think Nolan and Toby will be able to save the hostages in time?

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