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“Under normal circumstances, yes. This time we can’t.”
“Why not?” Knight snapped. “What’s so different this time that you’d divide the team?”
“The seven of us are the only ones who’ve been inside Haven. Most likely, part of the hit team will be from the group of enforcers we were training. While Jerry and his cronies are at a black site, the others are still available for this mission.”
“How are you going to do this?” Marsh asked. “We don’t know for sure who the second target is.”
“I believe the second target is Vice President Reynolds. Otherwise, this assassination plot makes little sense. Peters and Richardson would gain nothing unless both the president and vice president are gone. I don’t want innocents to die but my primary concern is our leaders. The heads of state have their own security details on top of Secret Service agents assigned to protect them.”
“How are we dividing up, then?” Noah asked.
“You, Violet, Teagan, and me with the presidential detail. Knight, Marsh, and Bowen with the vice president’s team.”
“Maddox may have called in the Texas Team to help protect Reynolds,” Adam said, looking thoughtful.
Seth frowned. “Why would he do that?”
“Reynolds’ daughters are married to two members of that black ops team. They have a vested interest in keeping their father-in-law and mother-in-law safe. She’ll be at the event as well. You never see one without the other.”
Great. Not only did he have to worry about Martin and Reynolds, he also felt responsible for keeping the spouses and families safe, too.
“Might be a good idea to keep Artemis together,” Adam suggested. “Phantom will attend the vice president’s speech at the Omni Hotel with Knight, Marsh, and Bowen. I’ll touch base with Brody from the Texas Team and see if they’ve been added to the Reynolds security detail. If they have, we’ll end up with two full black ops teams plus your three men at the event.”
“Remember, Russ King could look for a shot at Reynolds. He’s the sniper on the Ardmore SWAT team.”
Phantom’s leader smiled. “No problem. Lily’s a sharpshooter. She’s better behind a scope than anyone I’ve ever met. Got anyone on your team who can handle snipers?”
“Teagan. Bowen is right behind her.”
“We need to assume Peters and Richardson will have another sniper assigned to President Martin’s event whether it’s King or someone else. If they’re determined to kill the president, they won’t leave anything to chance. If Teagan misses, they’ll want a backup sniper in place to finish the job or their opportunity to move into positions of power will be gone.”
Seth considered that. “We’re expendable and being set up as fall guys.”
Noah frowned. “You’re right. Of the two men, President Martin is the more critical of the two targets.”
Seth turned to Adam. “I don’t know what other teams the militia leaders have assigned to this mission, but if I was planning these assassinations, I’d have my best people on Martin.”
“King is good?”
“Very.”
“In the chaos after Teagan is supposed to shoot Martin, King will take out as many of your team as he can. If I was a betting man, I’d say Salitto will be in the crowd to finish the task.”
Seth closed his eyes a moment, picturing the scene in his mind. “If any of us are still alive at that point, the feds would take us out.”
“What about Teagan and Violet?” Noah demanded. “You know what Peters and Richardson want to do with them.”
“Teagan is a sharpshooter. Peters will expect her to be somewhere away from the crowd. In fact, I think he’ll send me the location of a perfect sniper’s nest for Teagan and suggest Violet be assigned to protect her. If we follow his orders as he expects, he’ll scoop up both women and take them to a secure location. The rest of my team are the goats he’ll sacrifice to have the women and power he wants.”
A nod from Adam. “I think you’re right. He also expects your entire team to be together since you’re a unit.”
Seth clenched his hands. “Let’s not disappoint him, then. Two black ops teams on Reynolds should be plenty of extra help to protect him. The only problem is you won’t know who is from the militia.”
“Like cops walking into a situation blind, we’ll figure out who the threats are. So, let’s get to it. Time to make a plan.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
TEAGAN KISSED SETH. “Everything will be fine. We know what we’re doing, Seth. Peters and Richardson don’t know about the rest of Artemis, so we have the advantage.”