Page 11 of Guarding Zuri
“Especially with everything on the line.”
Parker stood and walked over to the head of the table. He picked up a remote and pointed it at the large middle screen between two columns of television monitors. “Gimme a sec while I pull up the latest assessment,” he said. As he did, Daemon activated the video feed, bringing up the Virginia team.
“You think Zuri will come around?” Blaine asked Daemon.
Daemon shrugged. “I wish Bayo hadn’t given into her so easily. He’s the one that hired us. But he seemed amused or aloof about the whole thing.”
“He was so adamant about you protecting her.”
Daemon nodded and rubbed at the sharp stubble on his chin as he recalled the memory. He and David had conducted the preliminary interview over video call with Bayo, who had appeared stressed and apprehensive. He expressed full confidence in David’s recommendation of Knight Shield, but refused to set a timeframe.
“For as long as it takes,” Bayo said. “Whatever the cost, it’ll be paid.”
Money, Daemon had. Neither Bayo nor the resistance had enough cash for a job like this. Daemon suspected Bayo was thinking of the future—paying when he became president of Bendola. The country would need all the funds they could get to modernize and compete with their industrialized neighbors. Daemon offered to protect Zuri for free, but he didn’t insult Bayo by offering that deal. He told David, who promised to take care of any cultural hiccups.
“Does he know you’ll be at the meeting?” Blaine asked.
“I told them I would be,” Daemon answered. “David knows. We’re still on the job. Be prepared to take over.”
“Should probably happen now instead of tomorrow,” Parker said. The middle screened illuminated with a large street view map of the city zeroed in on the meeting location. He had pulled up files of Elite Guard personnel on the top monitors on either side of the middle screen. On the bottom left monitor was a map of the primary locations of Elite Guard and the right bottom left presented a prediction map of the movements of the Elite Guard throughout the city.
“Okay, ready?” Parker asked.
“Give it to us,” Blaine stated.
“Bottom line up front? It’s all going to Hell.”
Daemon’s eyes swerved from the bottom left monitor to the one on the right. The dots on right monitor overwhelmed the district they were in. “Parker, are you sure?” He pointed at the bottom right screen. “The Elite Guard will be right on top of us by tomorrow.”
“That’s why I shortened my prediction window to eight hours. They’ve increased in numbers but narrowed their scope. By tomorrow, anybody on the street could be an EG.”
“It’s like they know where they are,” Blaine said in a low voice. “Do you think they’re still being fed inside information? Maybe there was more than one mole.”
Daemon shook his head. “Not anymore. And according to their security team, only one mole was identified. David said they moved their base right after the incident, and before the EG raided the area. I think it’s a matter of narrowing the possibilities. They can hide better in an urban area. Increase their information network. Get messages to other factions quickly. More recruiting. It’s why they transitioned operations out of the plains and into the major cities.”
“They’ve remained well hidden, but won’t be for long,” Parker said. “That insider must’ve given the Elite Guard more location information—good enough for them to be so close. The meeting area isn’t being monitored right this second, but the EG has a stationed presence within two square miles. Granted, that’s a lot of area to cover in a city this size, but the EG has proven efficient on that front.”
“They’re closing in fast,” Blaine said. “Or covering as much ground as possible.”
“Neither option can be ruled out,” Daemon said. “What about our contacts with the State Department?”
“They’re ready,” Colin chimed in. “We’ve been feeding them information and they’re altering the security protocols.”
“Good. Blaine, make sure our extraction teams are ready. Whether by air, land, or sea, I want to have options in case this meeting goes sideways.”
“You got it, boss.”
“Here are your extraction routes,” Colin said, pulling up the map with highlighted streets on the middle monitor. “My guess is land or sea. Your jet might draw too much attention.”
Daemon took a few seconds to study the map, activating his photographic memory. “Fine. Move the jet to the secondary extraction point.” It wasn’t ideal, but if he had to, he’d whisk Zuri out of the city, separating her from Bayo—at Bayo’s insistence. David, too, believed both of them together put a larger target on them. Heaven forbid if the EG discovered their current base; the resistance would lose them both and collapse in the aftermath. And the dots of the EG on Parker’s map showed Gohi was close to finding them.
After the Parker concluded his briefing, Daemon reviewed security protocols with Blaine and left the building to conduct recon. Although he had a stellar team whose skills he could rely on, Daemon preferred to be in the field as much as possible. It kept him sharp and gave him leverage with his father; he wasn’t just an asset because he was the only son of the elder wealthy Knight. Within the first six months of opening Knight Shield, he’d proved the abilities he honed with Special Forces could still be useful, and earn Knight Industries a lot of money.
But this job… By the time his father’s accountants reviewed the financial documents, Bayo would be president of Bendola and his feisty and unruly daughter would no longer need protection. Daemon could justify taking on pro bono work when it resulted in a democratic and free people.
His phone buzzed and Daemon waited until he was out of the alleyway and onto the main street to answer. “Daemon Knight.”
“Hello son. Where are you?”
