Page 55 of Sergi
“Apparently, the government disregards his concerns.”
“Which means someone in the government is being paid off.” Devon wasn’t surprised.
Remus rubbed his chin. “It would be necessary to keep the lab a secret all these decades.”
“There’s a small House not far from Brasov that’s tied to House Larkin. I imagine many of the government officials are vampire.”
“Does this impact our mission?” Remus asked.
“No. Bella would have raised it earlier if she considered them a threat.”
Rafael ran up to them. “Everyone has settled in. We have three rooms, and the money we gave the innkeeper has calmed any concerns he had. He’ll also contact a restaurant to bring us dinner.”
“Let’s get inside.” Devon stood and stretched his back as he gave a final scan of the area. “I want to check on the House and see if they’ve picked up any chatter.”
The inn was two stories and had a couple dozen rooms, but most were empty. From what Rafael told them, the other rooms were rented by local villagers. Their three rooms were adjoined at one end of the first floor.
Devon found Bella in the room by the exit door. She huddled over her seat at a round table and sipped from a mug as she scrolled through her tablet. The room was filled with everyone’s gear that had been sorted into two piles.
His nose led him to the counter in a tiny kitchenette, where a fresh pot of coffee waited. After rubbing the dust out of a mug, he poured a cup and sat across from her.
“Team Two left for their inn.” Bella pointed to a paper map on the table. “The inn is the one circled in blue, and the cafe where they’ll spend most of their time monitoring the road is circled in yellow. The garage is the green one, and this inn is red.”
Devon gave the map a quick scan, familiarizing himself with the town. “Anything from home?”
She nodded. “The city safe house has been quiet.” She gave him a pleased grin. “I think Lorenzo’s thinking twice about disturbing the local street gang. The coastal safe house also appears quiet. It’s more difficult to do drive-bys on a dead-end street. But there has been activity at the front gates to Oasis as well as the manor.”
When her pleased grin turned to one that was more wicked, he asked, “What?”
She turned when Remus set a mug on the table and took the last chair. “Excellent timing. Lucas has two shifters patrolling the front gates to Oasis, and after a couple passes from an unknown vehicle, the wolves made their presence known. The cars haven’t returned. When the manor started seeing several unknown cars making frequent visits, Decker sent four wolves to the main gate. Those vehicles haven’t been back either. Cressa put the security teams on level three alert, and she’s working with Decker and Lucas in preparation for a level two.”
Devon shifted his gaze to Remus. “Were the shifters at the gates your idea?”
He shrugged. “I merely suggested to Decker there wasn’t any reason to hide our involvement. We lost the element of surprise with the raid on Shadow Island and the attack at Oasis.”
“Perhaps it’s time to start adding more shifters to the safe houses, the manor, and Oasis.” Devon grimaced as he took another swallow of the coffee before pushing it away. “Havinga handful of shifters is helpful, but if Lorenzo comes full force, we’ll be outnumbered.”
Remus nodded. “We have to be careful not to leave the packs without their own defenses, but smaller packs could take refuge with the larger packs until we return. That will free up wolves to increase your security.”
Devon nodded. “Bella, send a note to Cressa. Have Decker contact Braden and Elijah.” He stopped and glanced at Remus, who nodded his consent. “Have them start working on an updated security plan to support Remus’s suggestion. Let Decker take the lead on what works best for the shifters.”
Bella didn’t waste time sending the message.
“Where are the rest of the team?” Devon asked.
“They’re doubling up in the other two rooms.”
“Except for the four shifters I’ve assigned to patrol the inn.” Remus pulled over the map and gave it a quick scan.
“Should I send a couple of the vampires to help?” Bella asked.
Remus shook his head. “Let the wolves handle it. They’ll be less conspicuous.”
“Agreed.” Devon looked at his watch. “I’d like to move out at midnight. If we keep a fast pace, we should arrive at the lab by midday.”
“Are you still confident that’s the best time to infiltrate?” Remus asked.
“Up to now, the teams have all gone in at night, which has probably kept the facility’s security on alert for more early morning visitors. I doubt they’d be expecting a raid in the middle of the afternoon.”
