“What would you expect from a covert meth lab?” He scratched his chin. “Where did your brother get all those chemicals?”
“Don’t ask.” She turned in her seat. “You’re not going to snitch him off, are you? I mean, about the meth lab and the drugs.”
“I don’t like the idea of someone out here making and selling illegal drugs, but I think under the circumstances I can let it pass.” He shrugged. “Besides, the guy’s out of business and his partner’s in prison, right?”
“For now.”
“That’s all I have—right now.”
He turned the car down what looked like an abandoned road, and a few buildings crouched together in a semicircle.
He cut the headlights. “Looks like there was a little light industry here at one point that never got off the ground.”
She waved the paper. “It’s the building on the left. It should have a keypad for the code he gave us and a padlock on the sliding door.”
Max wheeled the car behind the building and parked. He dragged his bag out of the trunk and fished through it for a flashlight. He aimed the beam at the ground. “Stay close.”
She hooked her finger in his belt loop and followed him around to the front of the building. As he shined the light on the keypad, she punched in the code with stiff fingers. Something clicked and she whispered, “That’s a good sign.”
Max inserted the key in the lock and sprang it open. He pocketed the lock. Then he yanked on the sliding door, and after a brief resistance, it slid open.
They stepped inside what felt like a cavernous space, and Max shut the door behind them.
Ava felt for the switch next to the door, and when she flipped it, white light bathed the room. She let out a long breath as she took in the gleaming stainless-steel surfaces and the neat placement of the lab equipment.
Max dropped his bag on the floor. “Wow, our meth cooker was a neat freak.”
“It’s perfect.” She flexed her fingers. “I can do this, Max.”
“Get to it.” He gestured around the room. “I’m going to take care of security.”
He watched Ava for a few minutes as she washed her hands, pulled on a pair of gloves and positioned a pair of safety goggles over her face. How the hell did he get so lucky to have this incredible, brave woman on his side?
He withdrew his weapon and loaded a second one. He placed it on the counter near Ava. “This one’s for you. All you have to do is point and shoot.”
She tapped a metal drum on the floor. “Can you crank this open for me?”
“Should I put on some gloves?”
“Yes, and some goggles. The fumes can sting your eyes.”
“And you’re going to be injecting me with this stuff?”
“It’s better than the other stuff I’d been injecting you with for almost two years.”
He opened the spigot on the drum for her. “Is this chemical flammable?”
She pointed across the room. “That stuff is. Why?”
He winked. “You do your thing, and I’ll do mine.”
While Ava continued to measure, pour, stir and heat, he secured the lab with a few booby traps using the equipment from his duffel. Tempest agents were always prepared.
If Tempest had their hands on Bessler, it was only a matter of time before they got information from him on Cody, including audio from the bug Bessler had set up in Cody’s apartment. They should have some time on their side, since Bessler had been completely out of it.
Once Max outfitted the room, he slid open the front door. “I’m going to move the car away from the building. Be right back.”
She said something unintelligible but didn’t look up from her work, so he figured it wasn’t important. Once outside, he surveyed the building and couldn’t detect any light coming from it.
He moved the car another twenty feet from the structure, lining it up with a boarded window in the back—their escape hatch.
He returned to the lab and punched in the code to lock the door. He sat on a table facing the door. The building had no windows, so he couldn’t see anyone coming but he could hear them.
“How are you doing over there?”
“It’s coming along. Say what you will about Dr. Arnoff, but the man was a genius.”