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The height and density of the vegetation gave him some idea of when the building must have been vacated. No one had mowed, trimmed, watered, or cultivated any of what he saw for at least six months.

Loki tried to remember when all of this started.

Had it been a year?

It had been more than that.

The disease came to San Francisco in October of the previous year, so they were already a month past the time of the initial infection.

Loki puzzled over that timeline now, and how different this area had been just those thirteen months previous?when the Sword and Bridge and the rest of them lived inside a fully-functioning hotel in midtown New York City. He’d nearly lost track of just how many changes had taken place already, just how different things had been.

It sometimes felt like things had always been this way.

Even his memories felt strangely distant now.

The stone fountain had a few inches of yellowish-brown, brackish water stagnating in its basin, choked with mosquito larvae and trash broken by circles of mossy foam on either side of the previously white walls. The place stank of rotten vegetation and urine, and Loki felt his mouth curl involuntarily until he looked away, back towards the scorched walls of the White House’s main building.

He motioned with one hand to Illeg, then to Jax. He pointed towards the lower entrance to the diplomatic reception room.

The Sword gave him blueprints along with operational parameters, but there was no way to know which entrances would still be open and which blocked. Balidor provided the most recentaleimicscans of both the building and city areas closest, but those were at least two months out of date?one of the downsides of a last-minute excursion like this.

Loki knew Yumi and the others would be scanning the building and grounds now, of course, but they were bound to miss things with so little prep-time.

Illeg asked him a pointed question with her hands.

My discretion,he answered, also using seer sign language.For now, no Barrier. Once we’re inside, if there’s still no active construct, we might use it in targeted bursts. But only after my signal. According to Adhipan, the construct is abandoned, but the boss thinks they might still be watching this and other hot spots, so we’ll only dip in and out as needed.

Illeg nodded, her eyes holding a faint relief.

Loki did not add that Shadow and his people might be watching them, even now.

Nor did he add that Shadow might have been watching them long before this op, meaning their individual team members. It was possible he’d assigned infiltration units to keep an eye on the Sword’s people, particularly any group that split off.

Loki looked around at his team, making sure they all heard what he told Illeg.

Mika nodded, confirming her understanding with a set of hand signals. Jax, who’d watched them converse back and forth, nodded, as well. Loki caught Ontari’s eye and waited for his nod. Once he had it, he checked with Anale, Holo, Kalgi, and Rex.

Loki couldn’t help but note something else. All of them had relaxed, in both their facial expressions and their light, since they’d gotten Loki off that aircraft.

Pushing his mind off the reasons for that, as well as the woman he was leaving behind, he motioned to Illeg, waiting for her and Jax to walk out ahead before he signaled for Holo and Rex to follow. He pinged Ontari and Mika after they fanned out behind their leads, then motioned Kalgi closer, speaking to her in a low voice.

“Cover us from behind. Stay far enough back to get good eyes on the periphery. This should be a simple hunt and extract, but it feels very quiet here to me.”

“Awfully fucking quiet, sir,” Kalgi confirmed, her eyes and voice agreeing with his implied meaning. “I’ll see if I can get Adhipan backup in terms of our own lights, sir.”

Loki nodded, sending a pulse of approval. “Good. Very good.”

“I should have mentioned it earlier, sir,” she said apologetically. “I only thought of it now, to be truthful.”

He clicked at her mildly, but only smiled.

“I will mention it to the Sword,” he offered.

“Like hell, you will,” she retorted.

Smiling faintly at what he heard in her voice, he sent a subvocal check around to each team member to make sure they were all hooked in. The props of the Chinook behind them continued to grind to a half power-down, moving slower over the grass as the whine of the rotors lowered in volume and tone.

He appreciated Kalgi’s sentiment.