Page 94 of Never Enough

Nemo steamrolled right through as if she hadn’t spoken. “—but you’re at double the risk if you go in alone.”

“He’s right, Gem,” Midas cautioned. “That’s the third thing I have to tell you all. The hit on you has been picked up.”

“Do we know who?” Loki asked.

“No. It’s anonymous. Bank account number only.”

TB grunted. “That’s how we always did it when I was The Collector. Numbered Swiss account. Or Cayman. Those banks don’t give up shit, and even if you can get a warrant, they don’t even always know who has the account because backtracking it takes a long time. It’s usually rerouted from there through at least six or seven accounts, if not more.”

“How many accounts did yours go through?” Nemo asked.

“Fourteen. I was extra paranoid.”

“You still have those accounts?” Waters asked.

“Yep. Always have a backup plan for emergencies. Plenty of cash to access.” The two men stared at each other briefly. TB shrugged. “I can go under for a long-ass time if need be.”

Waters turned back to the maps. “Okay. So. The five of you will be dropped off in the early hours of the morning. Itai figures around oh-three-hundred. Gem and Nemo will need extra time to navigate the tunnels and get video corroboration as well as samples of anything found on site. What’s your exit plan?”

“Back the way we came would be best,” Haskell answered. “We’d stick out big-time amongst the miners.”

“No shit. Blonde, blue-eyed female, not to mention Captain America over here,” TB snarked.

“If not, we’ll have to try and exit with a lift full of miners. Risky, but not impossible,” she posited.

“Cerberus”—Waters turned to the bomber—“we’re going to need that distraction right on the money. What’s the plan?”

“Figured your back-door guard shack might be a good starter. An explosion there would draw some of the guards away from the main camp. While they’re dealing with that, we can also set a small charge loose in the mine itself. That will drive people to the surface.”

“Won’t that cause potential cave-ins?” Gilgamesh asked with a frown. “We don’t want to catch any of the miners in the crossfire if we can avoid it.”

“Not if I’m any good at my job,” Cerberus barked. “There are ways to make small explosions look bigger than they are. What I’m thinking of would be more like an indoor firework.”

“What about panic? We don’t need the guards and workers trampling each other in an effort to get to the lifts,” Demon complained.

Cerberus sat stone-faced. “It could. It’s an acceptable risk. We can also save it as a last resort. Don’t set it off unless we absolutely have to.”

Waters nodded. “Agreed. All of this can be done remotely, I assume.”

“Yes,” Cerberus confirmed. “And if TB, Steel, and Demon have taken care of the guard, depending on what you want to happen to the body, we can either use it to destroy the evidence, or he can be put somewhere safely by the time the explosion occurs.”

“What about topside?” Loki asked. “We need something in the camp itself, even if we don’t use it.”

“I don’t set bombs not to use them,” Cerberus replied. “Unless you want them found, they need to go boom. There’s a maintenance shed near theinfirmary.” He said the last word like he had a bad taste in his mouth. “Probably enough chemicals in there to send a fireball so high it could be seen from Madagascar. I’ll start with that. If it’s a no-go, then I’ll stick with the water tower.”

Steel grunted in approval. “Blow the legs out from under that thing, you can probably put out any fire you already started.”

“Exactly,” Cerberus agreed. “I make the mess, and I clean it up.”

“We definitely do not want these brought back on Tribe,” Waters warned.

“Or Mythos,” Loki added.

“Boss’ orders,” Medusa intoned from the end of the table.

Cerberus and Medusa shared a look, after which Cerberus sighed. “It goes against all my principles, but fine. No signature stamp on the devices. Not that anyone here would look for it anyway.” He grumbled the last sentence under his breath.

“Sounds like we have everything good to go. We head for West Nicholson on the fifteenth, dropping off Gem, Nemo, TB, Steel, Demon, and now Cerberus. On the sixteenth, Medusa will head to Bulawayo, and Midas and I will head to Beitbridge. Gem and the fabulous five will head downriver to the launch point. On the seventeenth, we hit it and quit it.”

---