Page 92 of Dark Rover's Gift

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KIAN

Onegus's face filled most of Kian's monitor, with Max taking just a corner of the screen. They were sitting in the cramped Guardian office in the dungeon, and the grim set of their jaws hinted that he was not going to like the news the two were about to deliver.

"We have a serious problem," Onegus said. "The Revolutionary Guard that Max grabbed at the market was not visiting family in Los Angeles. He's part of a terror network planning massive attacks across the city. The first target is the Lasusa concert at the Glen Helen Amphitheater, which is scheduled for Saturday, two weeks from now."

Kian had been prepared for bad news, but this was like dunking in ice water, burning and freezing at the same time. This was a venue that would hold tens of thousands of people, and a Lasusa concert was certain to be sold out, filled with crowds of young teenagers and their parents.

Any terror attack was evil, but this plan was particularly sinister.

"These people are the devil's minions."

Onegus nodded. "The devil is walking the streets openly, waving his wand of destruction and not even bothering to pretend to be something other than pure evil."

Neither of them believed in such an entity, but given how successful the forces of darkness had been lately, it almost seemed plausible.

Kian raked his fingers through his hair. "What else did you get out of him?"

"His name is Rashid Mohammadi, and he's a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard." Onegus leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Naturally, ISIS or some other terror group is going to assume responsibility for the attacks because that's how the Mullahs operate. They use proxies or pretend to use them when they are not effective enough to carry out their objectives. That's the gap the Brotherhood fills. Anyway, he gave us everything he knew. Four cells are operating in the city, each with specific targets and enough explosives to make September 11 look like, and I quote, 'fireworks.'"

Max leaned toward the camera. "Each cell has what Rashid called special-forces soldiers embedded within them. He says that they are enhanced, stronger, and faster than humanly possible. He also said that sometimes their eyes glow, and he caught a glimpse of fangs. He thinks they're jinn."

"Doomers," Kian said flatly.

On the screen, Onegus and Max nodded.

He'd noticed this latest pattern of the Brotherhood taking an active part in criminal activity and terrorism. The first hint of this was when they encountered Doomers working with thedrug cartels in Mexico, and then what Yamanu and his team encountered in Iran.

It was a worrisome escalation.

Was Navuh targeting Los Angeles now because he suspected it was the clan's location? Or were similar cells operating in all the major cities, and they were planning a coordinated attack that would cripple the United States?

"We need to bring Andrew and Turner into this," Kian said. "We were lucky to stumble upon the plot right here in Los Angeles, but they might be planning more terror attacks in other major cities. Andrew might be able to find more intel, now that we know what to look for, and Turner has connections that he can mobilize across the nation."

"And then what?" Onegus asked. "Because Doomers are likely embedded in each cell, we will need to deal with the threat ourselves, and depending on the scope of the threat, it may be beyond our capabilities."

"Let's first find out all we can." Kian leaned back in his chair. "We can dial in our solutions when we have a better grasp of the threat. What else did he tell you?"

For the next several minutes, Onegus recounted the information he'd extracted from the guy. Four cells, each with twelve to fourteen humans and two to three Doomers. They used rented mansions in upscale neighborhoods where no one would expect terrorists to hide. The concert was just the first target, and it was what his team was working on. Another team was working on a shopping center, while the two others were making plans to blow up the control tower at the airport and to cause significant damage to the Los Angeles port.

"Those are some lofty aspirations," Kian said. "But they are all doable. Security is not top-notch at any of these locations."

"The humans think they're striking a blow for their cause," Onegus concluded. "But they are just puppets. The Doomers are pulling their strings through a combination of thralling and ideological manipulation."

"Navuh's getting bolder," Kian muttered. "He used to work through proxies, but he's no longer bothering with that. Did he get impatient? And if so, why?"

Onegus shrugged. "Who knows what goes through the despot's mind? He might have amassed so many immortal warriors that he doesn't know what to do with them, or he might be listening to a new advisor who is pushing him to move things faster to achieve his goal of global domination. Regrettably, it seems to be working. Perhaps building momentum emboldens his followers."

"That's possible. We need to gather more intelligence," Kian said. "Rushing in blind could be catastrophic."

"That brings me to my idea of using Rashid as our unwitting spy," Onegus said. "We can send him back with false memories and monitor him by using one of those tiny drones that the gods used to spy on us."

That was a great idea, but the drones were the property of the gods, and Kian wasn't sure they would give them up. He still remembered how careful they had been with their irreplaceable collection.

"That depends on whether the gods will be willing to part with their little marvels. It's not like they can get more once what they brought with them is gone."

"We are talking about saving tens of thousands of lives," Max said. "Most of them are still children. It's worth the sacrifice of one of their drones."

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