Blink: Interdiction (Book 4)

21

 "We're taking him – tonight," Darien told them. "We made it this far – time to cash in. No more weapons, no more deals. Nobody else dies because of Parker's crusade."

Amber swallowed hard. There was a worrying undercurrent of anger boiling beneath Darien's skin, clear as day. Whatever had happened between him and Parker had riled the streak of viciousness that she knew lurked beneath the surface. She'd seen first-hand what could happen if that little part of him was allowed to run unchecked.

"Are you sure?" Niamh asked. Her lips twisted into a thoughtful grimace. "We're in with him now. We've got access to high level intel. We stick with this we might get tapped into more of their network."

"He's got all the intel we're going to need," Darien replied coldly, not looking at her. "I saw the recording room. He's the one that was sending those damn transmissions. He's the one Merlynn wants."

"That's as may be," Vanna Proctor spoke up, her voice stiletto sharp. "But that doesn't mean we can assault that compound. That place is a fortress."

Rigel Squad had been recalled for the briefing, their efforts moving through the narcotics trade routes now regarded as non-essential. Having reviewed the vid-caps and diagrams of Parker's hideout, their demure leader clearly hadn't liked what she'd seen. Having her there now made Amber feel a little more at ease. A level head with no personal axes to grind. She leaned in over the map that filled the table the operatives had gathered around, her bright eyes glinting in the light of the room.

"We don't have a proper interior layout to use as reference," she continued. "So a Blink insertion is dangerous, and even if we can get in, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to find Parker and get him out without alerting every guard in that building. If it comes to a firefight we don't have the numbers."

"We don't need the numbers," Vass grunted. "We've cracked tougher."

Taggs raised a bemused eyebrow at Tundra's leader. "Oh aye? How many bodies did ye leave behind?"

"Careful, slanger." Vass straightened up with a glare, the members of Tundra squad bristling behind him at the jibe.

"Enough!" Darien barked, thumping the table and drawing the eyes of both squad leaders back to him. "We can do this, but we have to work smart, and we have to work together. Vanna is right. It is a fortress. There's one main entrance in this gully where all transit runs." He ran a finger down the line in question on the map. "It's covered with guard towers on either side of the approach and seems to be the only way in or out."

"You're hundred percent on that?" a girl from Panther interjected. A slim, almost pixie-like girl with short clipped brown hair, she cupped her sharp chin in one hand. "If this is supposed to be their main base having only one entrance is a screwy tactical step. We could bring the Dragoons right down on top of them and they'd be stuck – bottled up like fish in a barrel."

"She's right," Amber agreed nodding. "They'd never back themselves into a corner like that." She didn't miss the flickering look that passed between the girl and Idas who was lounging across the room from her. Dimly she remembered Uther telling her that their comrade had a special someone in Panther squad, but the two units had been so dispersed for most of their time on Ravine that she hadn't noticed it until now.

But there were more important things to dwell on at the moment. Whoever, she happened to be hooking up with, the girl from Panther had hit the nail on the head. There had to be another way into the compound.

"What about it, Darien?" Bandle said, backing up his squad-mate.

Darien shrugged and made a sweeping gesture to the map. "If there's another entrance we've never seen it. The only surface access that the trucks use is right there. Even if there is another way in we have no idea where it is, and we don't have the time to go digging around the rocks looking for it. For all we know there are tunnels under that thing that could pop out miles from here."