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“We’re here. We’ve just passed where Jynx and the guys are going to be parked,” Atlas announces, effectively putting a hold on our conversation.
“It looks quiet,” Trick adds as we drive past the gates, “No, guards or none that I could see anyway.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” I muse.
“Well, if he wants to stay under the radar here, then having guards posted outside the entrance to his home would immediately get people talking and bring attention that he doesn’t want,” Rage suggests thoughtfully.
“That’s how I’d do it too, actually, and it's going to work in our favour.” Rafe says as we pull over not too far up the road in a little alcove that should obscure us well enough unless you are literally right next to us.
We can’t really do any surveillance from the van because we can’t park close enough without being seen, so we’re going to have to do it on foot. We also need to make sure that the van is out of the way because the guys are vulnerable right now, not that I would bet against them. They’ll still take a threat out with relative ease, but we don’t want them to have to, so they need to stay hidden. They’re also in charge of all of the communication with both groups of agents, so they have a really important role to play.
“Give me a second, and I will set everything up so all the earpieces are linked up, and we’ve got the footage up from the bodycams,” Pete says once the vehicle has stopped moving and the rest of us stay out of the way as he works. He adds, “You guys know how to work it all from there, yes?”
Trick smiles. Pete knows that they do. Not only did we go through the training that all of the agents had to go through but also, he then ran through a few other things with us. We’re better trained than most agents, but we all know that Pete starts asking questions he knows the answers to when he gets nervous.
Because Trick knows that he answers him honestly and without snark, “Yes, we all know how to work that man. We just need you to link it all up, and then we’re done.”
Pete chuckles, “Thank you. I know that you know that, but I appreciate you answering anyway. All done.”
“Great,” Trick replies, and then adds, “Everybody sounds off.”
Everyone, including Alaric, Elijah, Jynx, and their teams, all sound off so that they can hear him loud and clear. Trick then presses a couple of buttons on the massive console that has plenty of room for the three of them to sit and observe what’s going on and says, “Sound off, guys.” Sounds of all of the other agents from the periphery team fill the van and is confirmation that everyone is in position and ready to go. “Good. Stand by and wait for the go-ahead. Detain anyone who comes from the direction of the location.”
“Yes sir,” is the resounding response that comes through the earpieces. Trick smiles and presses a button to mute both sides of the earpieces so we can’t hear them, and they can’t listen to us as he switches back to the frequency that just has us on it. “Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” Alaric replies, along with some of the others.
“Great, Ace and Pete are going to disarm the gate. Ace said that he can do it in a way that means that the people at the house won’t be warned that it's been tampered with even if they check it.” Trick explains.
“Great, keep me updated.” Alaric replies.
“Before we head out,” Pete starts gaining our attention, “I found the blueprints to the building when we were on the plane. Obviously, they’re fairly old, and there are no updated ones, but I think that we should definitely check out the basement. On the plans, it's substantial, and Hunt seems like the kind of guy that would revel in doing things in a medieval way.”
“Oh yeah, he definitely would. Thanks Pete, that’s a good idea,” Trick replies.
“I’ll come with you guys to watch your backs while you’re occupied with the gate,” Riot says, leaving no room for argument.
“Rip is coming with me too,” Ace says, “you guys ready?”
“Yes, we’re leaving now,” Riot replies as he opens the back of the van, his hand on his weapon just in case. When he’s sure that the coast is clear, he motions for Pete to follow him, and they both step out.
Before the door closes behind them, Trick says, “We’ll be watching on the monitors, any issues whatsoever, and we’ll be there.”
“Got it,” Riot replies with an easygoing smile, and I can hear the guys from the other van chime in their replies as well.
This always makes me nervous. No matter what job we’re doing, there is usually a point where we have to split up or go in different directions. It makes sense we can’t effectively do our jobs if we insist on sticking together, but at the same time, I hate that we split up. Being in danger, life-threatening danger, and then splitting up and heading into more just seems unnatural.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of this part of our job at all.
At least we get to listen and watch everything that is going on this time.
Riot
Pete and I both stay alert as we head up the road to the gate. It’s still dark, which is what we want because it gives us an advantage and cover, which is always a bonus. The downside is that it limits our field of vision too and can become a hindrance to us if they know we’re here and we don’t know that they are aware, especially because they know they area a lot better than we do.
Both of our hands are on our weapons, just in case we need them, but I’m hoping that we don’t because we need to keep the advantage of surprise that we have for as long as possible.
“Gates in view,” I say as quietly as possible to alert Ace and Rip that we’re approaching. The last thing we want is friendly fire.