Page 88 of Shadow Blind

Another click of the remote and a grainy black and white video rolled across the screen. A thick set man stomped down the steps of a two-story house with an A-frame metal roof. The camera zoomed in until the man’s fleshy face and mean eyes were clearly visible. There was no question it was Kuznetsov. Same bald head. Same tiny eyes and muddy expression. His burly body was buried in a wool coat, which was plastered against his barrel chest. The jacket sleeves slapped his thick wrists.

Kuznetsov stood there for a moment, his small eyes scanning the fenced compound. Another man came into view, this one wearing a camouflage parka with the hood pulled up. His gloved hands cradled an AK-74M assault rifle against his chest. Kuznetsov shouted something at the other guy and moved to intercept in a combination stomp/strut.

“Through photos and video footage, we’ve identified eight guards split between two twelve-hour shifts. We’ve also identified multiple surveillance cameras. The grounds are being monitored from virtually every angle.” Wolf nodded toward a smaller wood house with a flat roof. “The guards—both shifts—are based out of here.” He paused the video as the man Kuznetsov had accosted escaped into the flat-roofed house. “At all times, there are two guards patrolling the grounds, while two remain inside this house. We believe they monitor the camera feeds from the inside.”

“Those camera feeds will need to be cut,” someone toward the front of the room said. Nods and indistinct murmurs of agreement swept the room.

From beside him, O’Neill heard mutterings about disinformation and photoshopping techniques. Rawlings stepped forward and raised his hand. O’Neill almost rolled his eyes. The squid had probably been a teacher’s pet in school.

“With the technology available these days, it’s easy to Photoshop images. Have you sent these photos and videos through photo forensics?” Rawlings’s tone was borderline apologetic, like he knew it was an asshole question.

O’Neill kept his face straight. Why yes, yes he had. Which the Taounaha knew. When the Old One turned to stare at him, his dark eyes more scolding than ever, O’Neill pretended not to notice.

Wolf’s face tightened. He answered the question with a truncated nod and gritted his response out. “They have. However, if you have reservations about this mission, you are welcome to sit it out.”

O’Neill shot the former squids huddled to his left a quick glance. How were they taking that obvious dismissal? Not well, judging by the flat, sour looks spreading across their faces.

“The five men stowed in your morgue crewed with us.” Mackenzie’s tight voice sounded like gravel, with a generous dose of fuck you. “They were brothers. This mission is ours more than yours.”

His face tranquil, Benioko stared Mackenzie down. “Your words are ignorant. Like an eseneee anvaa, you do not see the full picture. This battle belongs to all of us. You will not be the only ones affected by what comes.”

More scowls and frowns emerged from his left. Obviously, Mackenzie hadn’t bothered to learn the language of the Hee'woo'nee during his years at Shadow Mountain, otherwise he’d object more strenuously to being compared—unfavorably—to an ignorant child.

Rawlings raised his palms towards Wolf and Benioko in a placating gesture. “We meant no offense. It’s just that Aiden’s contact gave him very different potential locations.”

“Did Aiden’s contact establish that Kuznetsov was in any of those locations? Did he provide photo or video evidence?” Wolf’s voice remained flat, which somehow increased the bite.

O’Neill suppressed a laugh. It did his heart good to see Wolf’s teeth directed elsewhere for a change.

“No.” MacKenzie looked like he’d chewed on a lemon. “We’ve been waiting for an update.”

His face set, Wolf stared back. “The Taounaha’s source has provided all the information we need to act. Kuznetsov is in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. This is where we will apprehend him. Join us or not. Your company is of little consequence to us.”

Wow! Wolfie had his canines bared. O’Neill didn’t remember ever seeing him so short with someone. Of course, Mackenzie had it coming, so there was that.

After that bit of drama, the conversation moved on to logistics.

“Those cameras need to go.” Samuel’s voice was matter-of-fact. “A scrambler would take them out but leave our target wondering why the electricity didn’t go down too. We need to cut the power to the whole compound.”

Wolf clicked a button and an image of the gated entrance with its towering power pole lit up the television screen. “We take down the power here,” he said. “This region of Russia is known for its unstable electrical grid. Particularly during the windy season, which is in full swing now.” He paused. “We’re monitoring a complication. The latest weather projections call for a low-pressure ridge to settle over the area within the next thirty-six hours. If the forecasts are accurate, we’d be aggressing into snowy, windy, even blizzard conditions.”

O’Neill frowned, surprised that Wolf and the Old One would take such risks with their warriors’ lives. While grabbing Kuznetsov and containing this nanobot weapon was imperative, they still had time before the situation went critical. His contacts had heard nothing about this nanobot weapon. No mention of it was circling the dark web. There was no sign it was up for sale.

They could afford to wait out this low-pressure ridge.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one questioning the wisdom of attacking during unsettled weather. A warrior on the left side of the table questioned the decision.

Wolf looked at Benioko and then back at the warrior who’d asked the question. “There’s reason to believe the weapon is up for sale. We must secure it immediately.”

O’Neill straightened. He’d just spoken with his contacts. Someone would have told him if the weapon was up for sale. The only way Wolf could have received that information was directly from the Shadow Warrior via the earthside mouthpiece.

Benioko had been in touch with the elder gods.

While he was trying to assimilate the knowledge that they’d apparently jumped straight to DEFCON 2, one of the intel techs scurried into the room and joined Wolf. An intense conversation broke out. The room was dead silent. He was too far away to catch the exchange, but it was bad news. Wolf was facing the other direction, so he couldn’t see his face, but the way his shoulders bunched looked ominous. And then there was the other dude, the one who’d interrupted the meeting. He was facing O’Neill, and hell, he looked unnerved, like he’d watched the world die in front of his eyes.

Yep, bad news had walked through the door.

After a few more moments of conversation, the tech guy scurried back out the door. Wolf stood there for several seconds, staring after him, his shoulders still bunched, the back of his neck tense. O’Neill’s pulse picked up. So did his breathing. This was bad. Very, very bad. He’d never seen anything affect Wolf like this.

---