Page 48 of Judgment Day

“Is your place far away enough for him not to notice a helicopter flying in?”

“One of the reasons I purchased that cottage is because a lot of the rich folks in the area have helicopters and planes, like the judge. There’s even a small flight school in the vicinity. They hear planes and helicopters coming and going all the time. It isn’t anything new to them.”

“Maybe we should go during the day hours while the school is open,” Scar suggested. “That way, if the sound is heard, they’ll assume it’s part of the school’s activities.”

“Sounds good. We’ll get a good night’s rest, then go in the morning. My cottage is usually vacant. Sometimes, agents who are in the area and need a place to stay or who need to lay low, use it. The last person who stayed there assured me that she’d replaced the weapons she took. Even though we’re bringing weapons with us, if our plans change and we need different weapons or more weapons, we’ll find what we need in the cottage.”

Scar stared over at her. “It seems like we’ve got a plan.”

Exa smiled. “I think we do. All I need to do now is have my team prepare their comm devices.”

“I’ll have Liam get his ready also. Declan will have to fly us in and out. Should I just have him stay?”

Exa shook her head. “With all that’s going on here, I’d rather have him come back here in case he’s needed. If we finish the job on time, I’d like to return to the cottage and lay low there to keep an eye on the judge’s house. If we time things right, maybe we’ll be able to rescue the people he intends to put in the cages on the night of the special event.”

“We’ll need masks. We can’t be seen.”

“I’ll have Arson get us some masks. You okay with staying an extra day to see if we can rescue the judge’s latest victims?”

“You’re the boss. Your team is helping us find Letisha. Whatever you need, my team is at your disposal. As for me. I’m yours. Whatever you need from me, you’ve got it.”

Exa draped her guilt in a pretty smile to keep it from showing. That didn’t stop her from feeling it. It was gnawing away at her. She wanted to tell him about Nova’s order. Those words were on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed them down.Mission first. Emotions later. They had a judge to kill and possibly people to save.

Exa sat up on the bed. “I’m going to update my team on what’s happening. Do you and Liam want to join us? Declan too?”

“Yeah. I’ll go round my guys up and meet you there.”

“Alrighty.” Exa tried to get off the bed, but Scar grabbed her hand. She looked back at him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Nope,” she lied. Damn, she hated lying to him. The guilt in her heart grew bigger, heavier.

“I’m sorry this thing with the judge popped up at the wrong time. If I’d never taken that assignment, you wouldn’t be dealing with this,” he told her.

“Silly, I never would've met you if you hadn’t taken that assignment.”

“Oh, right.”

Exa chuckled. “I’m glad you took the assignment. You are the only good thing the judge has ever done for me.”

“But are you sure you’re okay?”

“As long as you and I are okay, then I’m okay,” she told him.

“Good.” His thumb rubbed across her knuckles before he released her hand and said, “See you in five minutes, love.”

“See you in five,” Exa replied and climbed off the bed.

When she left the room, she closed the door behind her, then rested her forehead against it.Fuck!Who knew lying could be this hard? She was a Timeless agent. Lying was a part of the job. She’d lied countless times to get herself into and out of sticky situations. Why did lying to Scar make her feel like a villain?

If lying to him, well, withholding information from him, made her feel this way, she shuddered to think of the way he’d feel once he learned she’d kept this from him. Exa sighed as she stepped away from the door.Mission first. Emotions later.With a heavy heart, she turned away from the door and went in search of her team.

In less than ten minutes, everyone who was part of her plan was assembled in the Timeless meeting room. Scar and Exa stood at the front of the room. Exa informed the small team of her plan. When she finished telling everyone their duties, she listened to their feedback and adjusted the plan based on their suggestions.

By the time the meeting was over, they had a solid plan that could actually be pulled off in the short timeframe they were forced to work with. After the meeting, Exa and Scar checked the duffle bags Skye had prepared for them while Liam and Seven monitored the cameras at the judge’s place.

Declan checked the weather forecast and had Seven pull up an image of Exa’s cottage and the landing pad in the back. After checking the duffles, Exa forced Scar to get a checkup from Novak. Though Novak wasn’t happy with Scar leaving the safe house to take out the judge, he did clear him for the mission.

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