They froze at the sound of footsteps outside the room. Because the base didn’t have full power, he hoped that meant that the security sensors wouldn’t detect bodies that appeared out of nowhere. It was really weird to be on a mission without the support staff he normally relied on. Weird to not have the voices of Nyk, Darling, Jayne, and Syn in his ear as they made snotty comments about each other and their targets.

Instead, this was as old school as it got. No sound. Having to rely on the person with you to anticipate and know what you would need in the fight. He’d never been this reliant on any single person.

And she’d been sent here to ruin him.

I must be crazy to trust her.

Yet against all reason, he did. Mostly because he now valued her life over his. He’d rather see her through this than come out on his own.

Yeah, I’m fucking crazy. Nyk and Darling were right. His sanity had hijacked his common sense long ago and they were off vacationing together on some remote planet.

The footsteps faded.

Hauk crept to the main generator. Sumi handed him the timer he’d constructed while they’d dressed and planned for the mission. He reprogrammed the gen’s settings then added the timer. Once it was set, he snuck to the door to listen for the others.

The good thing about Aksel was that he’d been a paranoid son of a whore. Instead of electronic portals someone could remotely lock, he’d used old-fashioned hinge doors.

Waiting until Sumi was in position, he cracked open the door and took a minute to look down the hallway.

It was clear.

Careful to stay to the shadows, he headed for the first guards he visually detected. Sumi was right. They were savages, and packed with weapons. The kind of mercs who lived to kill and torture.

Hauk pulled the small wire in his leather bracer out and used it to garrote target one. He hauled the body into a storeroom while Sumi took out hers.

Bit by bit, assassin by assassin, they made their way to the weapons locker. Once inside, he uncovered his face and started silently opening crates and cabinets to search for weapons and ammo. Thankfully, it hadn’t been depleted by scavengers. Bastien must have made an effort to keep it stockpiled.

Sumi had to bite back a laugh at the excited expression on Dancer’s face as he saw the inventory in the room. He was like a little kid visiting a carnival for the first time.

She tsked at him then whispered, “And here I thought only I was capable of putting that look on your face.”

His happiness melted into panic.

“Kidding, sweetie. Load up.” While he pulled out heavy artillery, she focused on the smaller calibers. When she reached for grenades, she noticed the way Dancer tensed.