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“The military minds at the center of all of this have processed some of the information gathered by military drones,” dad says, keeping his voice low even though nobody is around. “Our cartographers were able to use the data regarding the terrain to narrow down possible locations of the cult and…we hit a bit of luck there. There are only so many sources of water in this big ole desert.”

I watch closely as the computer program zooms in on a map, producing a shockingly detailed drone image of a surprisingly large number of squat houses and buildings nestled away in the shadow of some cliffs, a sad little stream running through them. Surprise rings through me as I study them because…

Well, damn. This place looks…tiny, ill-kept and fairly shabby. This, really, is where this cult mastermind lives?

“Why is this lucky?” Cole murmurs, studying the screen.

“Because this desert is vast and full of little nooks and crannies. Someone noted this place by chance – and we originally thought it was abandoned,” dad says, zooming in further on one house at the center – larger and with a tin roof,not chalky clay like the others. “But it’s not. And we believe that we’ve found…him.”

Cole looks up in surprise as dread coils in my stomach. The way my dad said that…

“You’re kidding,” Cole whispers.

“Dad doesn’t kid,” I say, dry.

Dad smirks and glances at me before turning back to Cole. “Allan Slaken. The…god damn bastard who’s masterminded this whole thing.”

My eyebrows grow up. I know that the Children of Solace is a cult – and I knew it had some kind of insane leader pulling all the strings – but I had no idea we were close enough to have a name and location.

Cole nods, still staring at the map, his eyes darting all over it, taking in a great deal of detail and information that I don’t think I understand. Inwardly, I scowl, jealous of his military education that lets him read things like this as easily as a book.

“So, what’s dad’s plan?” Cole asks. “Making a move or biding time, trying to get more information?”

“That’s why we were sent this,” dad says, tilting the laptop towards Cole and zooming out on the map. I snap out my hand, pulling the laptop back so I can see it too. Cole glances up at me and smiles. Dad smacks my hand lightly but smirks and angles the computer so I can look too. “As you can see, we are close enough to this location to be the first point of care.”

Cole hums consideringly, his face very serious as he presses some buttons on the keyboard, shifting the map so that he can study the terrain.

My frustration gets the better of me. “Okay, what does that mean for us, though?”

Dad looks over at me, quite serious.

“It means, Nadia,” he says. “That we’re going to be seeing results of this very soon. Military command has decided to strikenow and hit hard while they’ve got a factor of surprise. We can expect the Children of Solace to panic. Their response will be unpredictable. All of which means casualties, which means we’ll be seeing our first patients very soon. The strike starts tonight.”

My eyes go wide and my heart starts to pump faster. “But…why would they do that, knowing that civilians will be hurt?”

“Because more will be hurt,” Cole murmurs, “if they pussyfoot around the situation and don’t strike decisively.” He shifts his eyes to me, the gravity of his gaze making me sit up straight. “The Commanders aren’t being casual with civilian lives, Nadia. This isn’t some kind of cold arithmetic where they’re just taking the easy route to victory. Ourentiregoal here is to protect as many of our citizens as we can.”

“But…” I say, my brows knitting together, still not understanding.

Cole waits, more patient with me than he’s been before. But I just sigh, unable to cogently form my question with my mind racing through a thousand thoughts like this. God, sometimes the way my mind works gets on my nerves.

Cole nods, understanding, still keeping his eyes on me. “I understand your hesitations, Nadia. But you may not have all the information. It’s important to know that the Children of Solace is an institution that is not beyond threatening its own citizens to keep us out. And they’ll follow through on their threats. Taking them out fastsaveslives, if we can manage it. I promise.”

My dad nods, agreeing. “I understand the logic. We have to take the shot.”

I exhale slowly, realizing that – as Cole says – I’m out of my depths here. My hand clenches on my knee, frustrated at that. I…I want to know everything – as much as they do.

But, as my dad says, I don’t have clearance for that.

Or at least I haven’t had that kind of clearance. Until now.

“Okay,” I say, nodding, understanding but wanting to give it more thought before I voice my opinion any more. That always seems to get me in a great deal of trouble with these wolves.

“Well, Head Nurse?” Dad asks, passing the laptop to Cole so that he can explore the map a bit further while dad takes a moment to talk to me. “Shall you return to your nursing minions and make your report?”

I smile at him, shaking my hair back over my shoulders, pretending a loftiness that I know he thinks is funny. Dad smiles softly, which is usually all we get. But it’s a rare enough gesture from my serious father that I take it for the compliment it is. “Yes. Thank you for including me. I think it’s worth warning the nurses that we could be seeing patients sooner than we anticipated.”

Dad shifts his eyes to the nursing tent. “Yes, true. At least this way Shayne will know to have justslightlyless tequila tonight.”