Page 122 of Dark Rover's Gift

"Anyone else hurt?" Onegus asked.

"None. But I have to admit that I was thankful for the exoskeleton. I don't know what they were on, but they were a challenge even with the suits. Without them, we would have had a much harder time."

"Wrap up the operation as planned and clear with your team," the chief instructed. "Good work. We'll see you all at the debriefing."

As Anandur acknowledged the order, Kian turned to study the wall-mounted map of Los Angeles. Four red pins marked the neutralized cells. Four disasters averted. But his mind was already racing ahead.

"Enhanced Doomers," he murmured. "Do you think it's systemic or the locals dipping their fingers into the drug cookie jar?"

"They weren't expecting us," Turner said. "So, they had no reason to get jacked up. I don't know what game they are playing, but we will soon find out."

Navuh's every move was calculated, part of some larger strategy. There had to be a reason for this.

"What's the status on explosive removal?" Kian asked.

Onegus checked the screens. "Trucks are at all sites. Strikes One and Three report explosives loaded and en route to the warehouse. Two and Four are still loading."

The warehouse was in an industrial district forty miles outside the city, far from any residential areas. Not ideal for long-term storage, but it would do until they could arrange something more secure. The sheer volume of explosives recovered made Kian's blood run cold. Each cell had enough to create massive casualties. Combined, they could have turned downtown Los Angeles into a war zone.

Where had they even gotten that much?

He turned to his brother-in-law. "Andrew, we should try to figure out where all of these explosives came from and how they made their way into the city without anyone the wiser."

Andrew nodded. "Indeed, I intend to secure a sample of the cache for analysis to identify the source. If it's in our database, we'll figure it out."

"Command, Strike One," Max's voice interrupted his thoughts. "We're clear of the site. Prisoners are secured and in transport. Note that our party crasher means a possible fifth cell."

"We'll find out after interrogating them," Kian said. "Good work, Max."

"Well, thank you, boss," Max replied with his usual irreverence, but Kian heard the exhaustion beneath the playful tone. "Oh, please thank William for me. The upgrades were very useful,especially the electrification of the suit's exterior skin. Our party crasher found that one particularly shocking."

"Strike Four to Command," Magnus reported. "Explosives loaded, but we have a problem. Local PD is responding to a noise complaint from the neighbors. Someone must have been immune to Yamanu's thrall and heard the walls coming down."

"I'll handle it," Roni said, pulling up LAPD dispatch on his screen. A few quick keystrokes later, and the patrol car would be redirected to a 'more urgent' call across town. "Magnus, you have fifteen minutes to clear the scene."

"Copy that. Strike Four moving out."

As the teams reported their successful extractions one by one, Kian allowed himself a moment to process the magnitude of what they'd prevented.

The casualties would have been staggering, and the worldwide aftershocks possibly more so. The event could have started a catastrophic chain reaction of events that went far beyond the local casualties.

Tonight, the clan had taken a firm stand and handed the forces of darkness a significant blow. The terrifying part was that they'd stopped it with seconds to spare and purely by chance.

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