28
Tywin
As badly as I wanted to rush into that building, guns blazing and snatch Patrena out of it, I couldn’t. We had to get our shit together, strategize, and come up with a good solid plan. Planning took time, resources, and a great degree of patience. The anticipation had ate at my nerves that felt like they had been gnawed down to the cells.
However, play time was over and we were less than four hours from initiating the mission we had planned. My phone buzzed, calling my attention.
“Rhi,” I answered quickly, shutting off my car and climbing out to walk towards our port warehouse.
“Found a few more pieces of information that should be helpful,” he said. “If any alarms are triggered, this place is equipped with impenetrable safe rooms. There’s one in the basement, one on the fifteenth floor, and another on the top floor. Pretty Freckles should be on the fourteenth floor. If not there, it would be logical for them to take her up a level to the nearest safe room.”
“Thanks, Rhi. Remind me to give you a bonus when we’re done.”
“Hell yes! I could use a good vacation,” he said, chuckling before he hung up.
Immediately after I hung up, my phone buzzed in my hand flashing an unknown number.
“Hello,” I answered and shook off a sense of déjà vu at the sound of the voice. It was Denise.
“I need a meet location. We are sending you a team of ten of our best men. If that’s not enough, we have more on standby. Let us know what you need.”
“Okay. Send them to the port.”
She hung up, already knowing the location. I suppose it meant she wasn’t going to clue me in on why they were sending us help to rescue Patrena. I couldn’t worry about it now, though. I had to keep a clear head and concentrate on executing a successful mission.
Rhi had broken into the building’s security system to get us a way in, but so far, he hadn’t been able to get us eyes on Patrena inside the building. Those top ten floors he mentioned didn’t have anything he could connect to electronically that would give him eyes. We were relying on the building’s blueprints and data to puzzle together a picture of those top floors.
My focus was so determined, I grunted a quick hello at my cousins and the men when I marched into our warehouse. They were posted up in the center of an open area nearly surrounded by wooden crates stacked to the ceiling.
I joined them at the wide viewing table holding the blown-up digital version of the building’s blueprints. There were also several large live feeds of the outside of the building that we could zoom in on to get a better assessment of the area in real time.
Arjen, Khane, and the men took turns briefing me on a few last minute changes they had brainstormed while I studied the outside security checkpoints we needed to bypass in order to reach our point of entry. I ran my fingers along the drawing, tracing several of the paths they had mentioned. My phone sounded, and I lifted it to my ear.
“Yes,” I answered, squinting at the drawing and deciding the men were right. The side entrance would keep us from the view of the public. It was also the closet route to the parking garage.
“The group has arrived. Don’t shoot them. They are there to help and have been briefed to follow your directions,” Denise stated and hung up before I got a word in. What was up with her and hanging up on people?
“The crew is here,” I updated our group with no energy in my tone before stepping away to open the door.
Ten men were standing in a two-line formation outside the door like a group of eager soldiers ready to be shipped out to war. They all wore black tactical clothing and boots, but they weren’t armed.
“Come in,” I said, stepping aside to let them inside.
“Oz,” the first one said, introducing himself with a nod before marching past me. He was no doubt their leader.
“Nine,” the second one voiced, throwing the single word without moving his lips.
“Zeek,” the third said with a smirk that I bet was hiding the cutting edge of his aggression. These men were war ready, and I wasn’t even sure if they knew anything about what was going on. After hearing ten call signs, I let the door close and took up a speedy march to lead them in. The sooner we got the introductions done, we could move on with planning.
The men had retaken their formation and Arjen and I briefed them on the mission and the plan we had devised for rescuing Patrena. Khane paced around the men, inspecting and eyeballing them so hard, I bet they were praying prayers of regret that the syndicate hadn’t let them strap on weapons before leaving. Our own team of ten men stood observing on the opposite side of the room facing the men.
“We haven’t pinned down an exact location inside the building, but our guy has narrowed down the two best places they may be keeping her, and I’d put my life on one of his guesses,” I stated matter-of-factly. It pleased me to find as much determination in their eyes as I felt.
“We are going to send in groups of three to each identified area inside the building: the entryway, elevators, stairwells, and common areas. The rest of you will break up into groups and take the positions identified outside the building. We’ll short-circuit the area where they collect phones and other digital devices. We are also working on a way to lock up or fry their network to keep anyone from getting a warning out for help or backup.”
I briefed the teams on the latest updates from Rhi before we marched the men to the basement where our armory was located. The space was stocked with every type of weapon and protective gear imaginable.
Once we were all wearing at least fifty pounds of gear and weapons, six appointed drivers conducted maintenance checks on the fully loaded, new armored Range Rover SUV’s we had invested in a few months prior.