“He could see them coming?”

“Not just him.” Yuri looked up and down the aisle, then lowered his pistol. “Hey!” he shouted. “Anyone here? We’re from Connexion Security. Can you hear us?”

Kohei was giving him a puzzled look. “Who are you expecting, some more of Akkar’s group?”

“No.” Yuri shook his head. “Hey, are you in here? If you can’t shout, make some kind of noise.”

“What—”

Yuri put a finger to his lips. “Shush. Listen.”

It was faint, but definite—a soft thudding sound.

“What is that?” Kohei murmured.

“Okay,” Yuri called. “We hear you. Keep making the noise. We’ll find you.”

They carried on down the aisle, then went back up the next one. The noise was originating somewhere just along the third aisle. Both of them knelt down, shining their pistol beams through the slim gaps between the drums of crude.

“There’s space behind here,” Kohei exclaimed. “Something’s moving in there. I can’t see what.”

They had to shift three barrels aside before there was a space wide enough for Yuri to crawl through. The back of the rack was covered in a thin metal mesh that had been fixed to the struts with gaffer tape. Faraday cage, Yuri realized with reluctant admiration. It’ll block any grain signals, but passively; doesn’t show up on a sensor scan. His power knife sliced through it, and he peered into the narrow gulf between the racks. A man in a t-shirt and shorts was lying on the concrete, looking like he’d been cocooned in gaffer tape. As well as tape binding his limbs, a big strip was across his mouth. More tape secured his shoulders to the rack’s struts. The only part of his body he could move were his legs; he’d been pounding his ankles on the concrete.

Yuri wormed his way in. “This is going to hurt,” he warned, and pulled the tape from the man’s mouth in a fast jerk.

“Motherfucker!”

“Who are you?” Yuri asked.

“Phil. Phil Murray.”

“You’re from the team we sent in after Dimon, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Phil said furiously. “Arizona S and E squad seven. Our comms were out. Bastards must’ve jumped me. I think I got tasered. What’s happened?”

“Where’s your armor?”

“I don’t know. I woke up like this. Fuck, I’ve been here for hours, man. It’s…not good. Get me out of here.”

Yuri checked his screen lens display. There was no signal. “One minute.” He pushed his way back out through the rack.

“Hey, don’t fucking leave me! Get your ass back in here.”

The internet icon came back on as soon as Yuri was back in the aisle. He gave his knife to Kohei. “Cut him loose.”

“You got it, chief.”

“Boris, call Poi Li, emergency priority.”

“Confirmed.”

“What is it?” Poi Li asked straight away.

“They stung us.”

“What?”

“Callum Hepburn and Akkar. We didn’t catch Akkar and Dimon, they caught us. The warehouse was a trap. They snatched Phil Murray when the Arizona team’s comms were down. We’ve just found him, without his armor. I’m guessing Callum is wearing it, escorting Dimon to whatever rendition site you bury our opponents away in.”