Tox confirmed. “Copy that, North.”
“This ends now.”
“Hooyah.”
Molly’s Diner was more of a hipster coffee house than a roadside diner. The four behemoths standing in the doorway had every head looking up. Nevertheless, Twitch donned a bright smile and plowed ahead toward a large, unoccupied farm table in the back corner of the room. It was near the coffee-doctoring area which held a variety of milks and flavorings, but it was the only seating that would accommodate them. When the teenage waitress dropped off water, Twitch ordered two each of the five pizza specials listed on the chalkboard behind the counter. The waitress looked a bit puzzled.
“They’re full-sized pizzas, you know. You want two for each person?”
Tox tipped his chair back onto two legs and grinned. “If we need more after those, we’ll let you know.” Then he winked. The waitress grew wide-eyed, then shook her head smiling as she hurried away.
“Down boy. She’s twelve.” Finn tipped Tox’s chair back a bit more, forcing Tox to right himself.
“Just some good-natured ribbing.”
The reminder of Finn’s presence sobered Twitch, and she scolded them.
“Can we please focus on the task at hand?”
Finn smirked, “Focusing on a task has never been a problem.”
Twitch gave him an icy glare but remained stoic. “Yes, Finnegan, job performance is not on your long list of flaws. Yet.”
Finn started to respond, but the door hitting the wind chimes at the front had them looking up to see Nathan and Hercules striding purposefully across the room.
The new arrivals each took an empty seat, and the grave expression on Nathan’s face silenced the banter.
“Sava is smart, but he’s arrogant. He’s pulled off too many exchanges to doubt his abilities. So, we have the element of surprise. Also, because Emily escaped last time, he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with.”
“A private army,” Tox nodded.
“No,” Nathan clarified. “Me.”
“I sent a drone to reconnoiter, and as we expected, the house is occupied. Looks like four heat signatures inside the house, four outside.” Ren added.
“We’re assuming Sava, Emily, and six guards?” Finn asked.
They paused while the waitress filled the table with pizzas as Twitch moved water glasses and her laptop to make room.
“Correct. There are no staff on-premises. Looks like even the caretaker has been sent away,” Ren confirmed.
“He doesn’t want to make the same mistake he made when she escaped the last time. No convenient rides out,” Tox observed.
Nathan continued, “It’s no longer an operational horse farm. There are no animals on the property, but all the outbuildings, barn, stable, guest house and storage shed are still there.”
He looked as though he were trying to defuse a bomb that was ticking down on the table. Tox was quick to reassure him.
“Come on, North. A training exercise wouldn’t be this easy.”
Nathan rubbed his hand down his face. “I’ll agree, it’s ideal for an infil. Sava’s making sure Emily can’t escape, but he’s not expecting someone to come in and get her.”
Chat set his pizza slice down on his plate. “It seems to me your biggest problem is Emily.”
Nathan looked up and waited for Chat to explain. “She’s used to getting out of these situations on her own. Sava may have her guarded, but she’s not just going to sit there like a damsel. We need to think of her as an asset on the inside, not a hostage.”
Nathan nodded and smiled. “Yes. An asset. And this time she knows I’m coming.”