Page 77 of Sergi
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Devon checked his watch.The two hours he’d given the team was almost up, so he gathered his backpack and stacked it with the others next to one of the cargo vans. They would go in with minimal gear.
He walked through the now larger team, ensuring the readiness of those who’d been severely injured in the last battle. After confirming the vampires were ready, he reviewed the shifters and paused at the last one. The shifter was an older man with a full head of gray hair and a face that held few wrinkles. His eyes were a sharp blue, almost as light as Devon’s, and belied his age. They were clear, focused, and reflected determination. Devon also noted that the male was leaning on his left leg, making his right leg appear shorter.
“You’re not fully healed.” Devon’s tone was calm and steady as he studied the shifter’s expression.
The old shifter grinned, revealing strikingly white teeth, and there was a general sense of merriment about him. “An old injury from many battles ago.” His accent was British, most likely from around London.
“You were in one of the cargo vans.”
He nodded. “Caught me coming out of my favorite pub just after closing. Must have been four or five of them, but they darted me, and I woke caged in some warehouse with other shifters. I don’t know where it was, but I can tell you it was a good six hours to get here.”
Devon’s brow lifted. “Interesting.” Six hours would cover many miles, but it would depend on their speed and whether any border crossings were involved. If he assumed a speed that wouldn’t attract police and no borders, the warehouse could be four hundred miles away. But Devon didn’t think it was that far, and he would guess one border crossing. Either way, it put the building in Europe and not the UK.
They must capture an easy target, move them to a central facility, then once they have their specific target number of shifters, they transport them all here. If they were gathering them one at a time from all over, no one would be aware of the connection between missing shifters from around the globe, let alone connect the dots as to why.
“If you’re wondering if I can pull my own weight…” the old man ventured. “I can assure you the only reason I was injured earlier was because I’d been clubbed during our last stop.”
“Why was that?”
His grin slipped easily back in place. “I might have been causing a bit of a rebellion inside the van.”
Devon chuckled. “Making it impossible for the guards to determine if everyone had broken their restraints and could rush them when they opened the door. The director would probably be unhappy if his cargo were killed.”
“Exactly.” His smile faded, and he shook his head. “But they called my bluff. I only had a few out of their restraints before they opened the door. They beat us all, but they knew I was the one who riled them up.” He rubbed his right leg as if it were an affectation as much as something that bothered him. “Theyaggravated my old injury. The shift helped.” He met Devon’s eyes. “I’m not a hundred percent, but I can still fight.”
Devon held his gaze for a long minute. He didn’t doubt the shifter. Remus, who stood behind him remained quiet, giving Devon the final decision. The fact he didn’t say anything was enough for Devon.
“Then let’s see this done, and then we’ll get you home.”
The shifter stood straighter and never lost his smile.
Devon turned to Remus and Bella. “Let’s move the teams out.”
He’d let the two of them rearrange the teams to fit everyone’s best skills. He’d found a quiet place to review the plan. They had a larger force now, but the guards would know they were coming. But after mulling over it, he discussed it with Rafael, Bella, and Remus, and, with a few minor modifications, decided to leave the plan as is. The only difference would be who was on which team.
The initial breach consisted of Team Three as the bait, and Team Four would take the blind and gain computer access. No changes were made to that plan. Once successful, Team Three would regroup into a larger force, assuming there was a tunnel to the main facility. Team Four would include the remaining team members and would blow the doors and move in.
With the addition of the unexpected shifters, two additional teams were added. Team Five would be the first team to move out and consisted of four shifters in wolf form. They would approach the parking lot from both sides of the road, running through the forest for cover. Their mission was to alert Team Six once Team Three was darted.
Remus gave this last group their choice of whether to stay in human form or wolf. The group quickly determined that two-thirds would shift while the rest would remain in human form for the initial charge.
Team Six moved out next, led by a Beta who’d been captured in Frankfurt. They would stop a quarter mile short of the parking lot. Once they heard a howl of all clear from Team Five, they’d race in and help infiltrate the building.
Team Three was the next to move up the mountain, and Devon nodded to Rafael, who led them farther west of the road, using the same path he’d taken with Sergi and Carlos. Team Four, the last group, stayed several hundred yards behind. Four of the shifters in this group morphed into their wolf forms and split into two groups, running to the left and right of Devon. The entire team moved quickly and quietly and didn’t stop until they reached a point where the parking lot and building could be seen from the woods.
Remus gave a low whistle, and the four wolves positioned themselves just behind where the underground blinds should be. Devon waited five minutes to see if the wolves triggered any alarms.
When they didn’t, Devon, Rafael, and Beckham, a shifter in human form, continued on while Remus took control of the remaining team with Bella beside him.
Devon pulled at the collar of his mesh suit and noted that Rafael and Beckham were also fidgeting with their own suits. No one wanted a dart to hit flesh. The last thing any of them wanted was to be tranquilized and miss the battle.
This was the trickiest part of the plan—getting the guards to believe they’d been darted. If they showed any resilience against the darts, the guards in the blinds might open fire instead, which wouldn’t kill Devon or Rafael, though they might be out of commission without blood from their supply. It would definitely kill Beckham.
Devon, with Rafael and Beckham spreading out on either side of him, slowly approached the parking lot. He scanned the area where the blinds were hidden and, now that he knew wherethey were, easily identified the faint lines. They would be near impossible to see in the dark.
The question Devon had worried about was whether they had changed their security protocols when Rafael escaped. And what other surprises waited inside now that they’d received a call that the cargo vans had been attacked? Too late now for any misgivings. This was still the best plan.
