“Perfect for a trap.” I growl.”
“Yeah.” Black grumbles. We fell quiet, studying the image for anything else we could use to get Nova out safely.
“What’s the plan?” Black asked, clearing his throat.
I stood and started pacing, my boots scraping across the floor. “We go in quiet, taking out all his men on the outside after they check in. No live fire if we can help it until we have Nova secured. Nothing else matters but my wife. I want Kyle and his sister but if they put up too much of a fight kill them.”
Black nodded once.
Blue didn’t speak. He just tilted his head slightly in agreement.
“Any more intel.” I asked, stopping my pacing and pointing at the screen.
Blue’s fingers moved faster over the keys of his keyboards.
“Thermal imaging will be garbage there. There’s too much tree cover. We’ll need eyes on everything. Drones’ll help, but they’ll hear them if they get too close. The best approach is on foot.”
“We’ll split up.” Black said, scratching his beard.
Blue nodded.
“We’ll use two teams. Entry and extraction.”
My eyes flickered with dark satisfaction. “We hit them from both sides. Wherever they are hiding, Nova will be the most secure. He’ll expect us to breach the front. We flank. Cut them off. Get her out.”
“Messy.” Black said, giving the ghost of a smile.
“I want it messy. I want it to be a message for anyone that thinks that they can take something from me.” I said with an equally savage smile.
We all fell silent for a moment. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, reading the night for the storm that would cover our tracks. Blue looked back at the screen, meticulously searching for anything that would help us. He scrolled in on the property lines, marking potential approach paths.
“Entry points.” Black asks.
“South window. Old cellar door.” Blue said, adding markers to the image to pinpoint the area of entry. “Northeast corner has a blind spot. From what I can tell no cameras.”
“That’s our in. I’ll lead extraction. Black, you hit their flank. Blue you watch our six. Anyone who runs gets dropped. No hesitation.” I command.
Black just nodded.
“Understood.” Blue confirmed tapping the table twice.
“I owe both of you for backing me on this and for keeping my daughter safe. I don’t take that lightly.” I said.
“You looked out for our cousin Del. That matters.” Black said, nodding once.
“We don’t help just anyone. But you did right by our family. That’s enough.” Blue shrugged.
“I appreciate it. More than I can say,” I said. I exhaled hard, running a hand over my beard, trying to calm the rage churninginside me. “We hit them tonight. No more waiting. Every second she’s there, he could be hurting her,” I said.
“I’ll set drones around the perimeter. I have a few quiet ones with visual only.” Blue, said.
“I’ll get the men ready. They been a little blood thirsty since the ambush.” Black said, cracking his knuckles.
“Good. They can have get it,” I said.
The room went quiet again. The plan was forming with brutal clarity. I sat back, finally pausing, letting my eyes close for half a second, gathering myself. When I opened them all I could see was red.
“We have maybe twelve hours before they move her,” Blue said.
