Page 14 of Sergi (Of Blood & Dreams #7)
Chapter Thirteen
Devon dropped his duffel by the front door and strode to his office. Their expanded team had spent most of the day gathering data and reviewing reports. Rafael continued to check in at four-hour intervals, but his status hadn’t changed.
Bella had been monitoring the red dot on the map that represented Rafael’s GPS monitor since his first report. Earlier in the day, she’d been sullen when she reported the other red dots were still dark. Devon had squeezed her shoulder.
“The dot doesn’t tell us whether he’s alive or dead. They either found it or something is blocking the signal.”
She nodded in agreement, but her voice was thick when she replied. “If they took them into the mountain, there could be any number of materials blocking the signal.”
“Exactly.”
Though she’d said the necessary words, her spirits hadn’t risen, and he’d known not to push her. Bella handled crises better when she kept busy and stayed on task. And, in doing so, she’d found another lead.
When Devon joined the group in his office, he was a bit shocked at seeing it transformed into a command center of sorts. The teams had broken into groups—mission preparation, tactical for the assault, and the exit strategy.
Bella led mission preparation, and when the group settled to provide their updates, she hit a key on the remote control, and a face appeared on the wall display. The man was ordinary with a ruddy face, curly black hair that appeared disheveled, and dark, heavy brows behind black-rimmed glasses. His lips were thin and, at the time of the photo, seemed pinched.
Before Bella could provide her report, there was a sharp intake of breath from Cressa.
Devon turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I know that man.”
Bella, who thought better on her feet, moved to stand in front of Cressa. “How? I was lucky to find him just a couple of hours ago.”
“Who is he?” Remus stared at the photo before glancing at Decker, who sat next to him at the bar, but Decker shrugged, as clueless as everyone else.
Bella was going to answer but looked to Cressa instead.
It took a moment for Cressa to realize they expected her to know, but she shook her head. “I don’t know his name, or more likely, I hadn’t paid attention. Lorenzo might have mentioned it or assumed I didn’t need to know. He was the vamp Lorenzo invited to dinner while I was on the island and still under his influence.” When no one responded, and Bella crossed her arms over her chest, she continued. “He was some type of scientist and was excited about some new formula he thought would be ready for field testing soon. Lorenzo’s mood changed after that, but I was sent back to my room before anything else was said.”
“This was the memory you recently relived.” Devon wasn’t sure if he should be concerned about the timing of Cressa’s dream and Bella finding the man’s pictures hours before the team was set to leave. This all assumed that the man’s discussion with Lorenzo involved the lab they’d been searching for.
Cressa seemed stunned herself. “Yes. Maybe it was all the talk about finding the lab and that memory finally surfaced from my subconscious. I don’t know.”
Bella stared at Cressa for a long moment, but whether she was waiting for more or simply digesting what she’d heard, Devon didn’t know. It only lasted a minute before she turned back to the wall display and pointed at the photo. “This is Dr. Garner Krasinski. I’ve been watching the video feeds Remus was kind enough to provide of visitors going to Shadow Island.”
“For what period of time?” Lucas asked. He’d driven over from Oasis with Ginger and a security motorcade for a couple of days to help the team prepare for the mission.
“For the last six months.”
“That must have been exciting to watch.” Ginger turned red when the team glanced at her, but then everyone chuckled.
“You have no idea,” Bella replied, bringing the conversation back to her. “The feeds come from several cameras of the parking lot, so I caught this guy arriving in a limo. He appeared a bit scattered when Lorenzo’s security led him to one of the go-fast boats. He hunched over when he walked, kept looking back at the limo, and held his briefcase under his arm and tight to his chest. He seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else and was terrified someone might take the case.
“After the first couple hours of watching, only certain people appeared important enough to take over on the go-fast boats rather than the ferry, but it was his actions that made me dig further. Let’s just say I called in a debt and was able to run his face through a face-recognition program and found his passport photo. I assumed he was likely vampire, so I ran his name through the House rosters and got a hit.” She glanced around, but it was more theatrics than anything. The room was glued to her every word. “Dr. Krasinski works for House Larkin, who we know owns the lab that has been studying the fertility issues for Lorenzo and the Council. He spends most of his time outside the US and his passport stamps reflect travel between Bucharest and San Francisco by way of London. He comes to the US at least once every three months.”
“To report on the lab work,” Lucas suggested.
“Most likely.”
“So what does this give us?” Decker asked.
“A direct connection between this vampire, House Larkin, and Lorenzo.” Devon considered if it gave them anything else. “It also puts the good doctor in Romania. The question is, where is he now? Though I assume he’s locked up in his lab.” Devon considered their options. “Send a copy of the photo to Remus to share with the shifters on the docks.”
“If he shows up, do you want us to intercede?” Remus asked.
Devon nodded. “On his return to the airport.”
Remus nodded with a grim smile.
“This doesn’t help us get into the mountain,” Lucas said.
“No.” Bella changed the display to show the location of where the red dots disappeared. The next shot was of a single-lane dirt road that disappeared in and out of the dense forest canopy. “We backtracked this road to a small village. The road appears to only run between the lab and village, with no other connecting roads. There are a few small trails, most likely created by hikers, horses, or motorcycles.”
“It would be dangerous to use the road,” Lucas said. “But it would be worth checking out the town.”
“Agreed.” Bella turned to the team. “However, if we have a three-member team on motorcycles with all-weather camping gear and hunting bows, they would look like hunters if intercepted. The plan isn’t to reach the parking lot but to build a defense parameter about a mile from the entrance.
“I want Rafael to relocate to the village and monitor the road for a day or two. He could provide some valuable intel on how often it’s used and what type of vehicles are going in and coming out. That would still give him time to meet us at the first checkpoint.” She turned to Devon. “I’ve asked Rafael his confidence rating on whether he could do this without being noticed. He believes the risk is low.” She winked at Harlow. “It appears he’s learned a trick or two from Jamal. He can stay under the radar, and we can monitor his movement.” She paused and glanced at the room before turning a concerned gaze to Devon. “And to be honest, I think he’s a bit stir-crazy. We should put him to use.”
“What about the motorcycles?” Devon asked.
“Rafael believes he can have them waiting for us.”
“Alright. Rafael has a go. What about the entrance?”
“Two teams would be best.” Bella changed the screen to show a parking lot in a forest with various red, blue, and yellow marks drawn over it. “Based on Rafael’s input, this is the best software rendering of the parking lot we could put together. These red circles are where the underground blinds are. We don’t know if there are more security measures in place, but from what Rafael reported, these seemed efficient enough to capture a small group of infiltrators. The yellow line is a best guess on perimeter security. There are a lot of woods. It’s possible, since the lab has been there for over a century, that they’ve had time to build a solid defense grid.”
“You don’t sound like you believe that.” Lucas, as Devon had expected, was becoming a well-rounded cadre member. His specialty wasn’t security, but he had a knack for it, which was a reason he and Ginger had survived the hunt for the De f?rste dage .
Bella shrugged. “The satellite images and Rafael’s report tell us this is rough terrain. The facility is in a mountain which means the underground blinds were created with explosives. If they had additional underground security outside this yellow line…” she pointed to it. “The landscape around it would be vastly different than the old-growth forest. If they hung cameras or other monitoring devices, the wild shifters would eventually dismantle them. The team believes there’s an underground tunnel that leads from inside the mountain to these blinds. When an alarm is triggered, they send a security team through the tunnel to the blinds. They could send as many guards as needed for any type of incursion.”
“But this is just a guess,” Remus said.
“Yes. The only other option is for the security team to rush out of the building and jump into the blinds. It’s possible they might keep security details down there 24/7, but an underground tunnel makes more sense.”
“And if they used explosives for the blind,” Decker added, “it’s easy enough to blast a tunnel.”
“Let’s prepare for both options.” Devon stared at the screen. “With only one way into the facility, we only have to worry about one access point and possibly the blinds. On the other hand, that also means the lab’s security team only has one point to focus their defense.
“This is why the plan includes a second team. We know they’re using tranquilizers, so the first team will be fully covered with a mesh suit designed for shark divers. It should prevent any dart from piercing it. The second team will be heavily armed. We’re not taking prisoners.”
Bella glanced around the room, but no one seemed to have a problem with Devon’s kill order.
“How are you getting in?” Lucas asked. “Rafael might not have spotted them, but there must be other security measures at the doors.”
Bella grinned and pointed at the blue circles on the display that identified two oversized roll-up doors and a separate double-door entry. “We’ll blast the doors open. As far as additional security, we’ll have to make those decisions on the ground. We might have to wait for the first team to get darted and see what they do. Then we go in Level One infiltration.”
Lucas whistled. “And I’m going to miss it all.”
Devon chuckled, but his gaze settled on Remus. “This is a discovery and rescue mission. But we’ll be prepared for a full takedown if necessary.”
Harlow shook his head and threw back a shot of whiskey he’d poured when they started the meeting. He scowled at the burn. “You don’t have nearly the numbers to overtake whatever security they have in that building."
Devon leaned back, happy with the plan. “It’s not always about the numbers.”
“No.” Remus shared a wolfy grin. “Sometimes it’s all about luck.”
Devon followed Remus and Decker out of the office, but as he stepped into the hall, Cressa grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the others. She turned into the library, shutting and locking the door behind them.
“What’s all this about?” Devon asked. The team would be gathering in the foyer, preparing to leave for the private airfield.
“You haven’t said goodbye, and I don’t want to do it in front of everyone.”
He grinned. “My mistake.”
She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest. “Did you make a decision on whether you’re landing in Hungary or Romania?”
“I only considered Hungary because I thought we’d be flying commercial. Remus preferred to take his own plane, and Jacques found the perfect spot to land in Romania. This helps with logistics, and we’ll only have to deal with customs and not a border crossing. Once we’re dropped off, the plane will fly to a private airport and wait for retrieval.”
“And everyone has their GPS trackers?”
He pulled away and tapped his forearm. “Roxie tested them earlier today. We’re good.”
“And you have your satellite burner?”
He muffled a chuckle. She was being a mother hen, but he understood her fear. Rafael had survived, but they’d lost two in the process, though he was working under the premise that Sergi and Carlos were still alive. Remus had lost many more.
This mission was risky and dangerous, but he’d be damned if he’d leave Sergi without personally attempting a rescue—and hoped it wouldn’t be a recovery. “Each team member has one.” He tapped his chest, where he kept the phone in his pocket.
“Bring him home.” Her eyes shimmered, and he lowered his head.
There wasn’t anything he could do to prevent her worry. He could tell her not to obsess over watching their red dots because she would simply nod in agreement and then do the exact opposite. No reason to waste words.
His kiss was long and deep, and her response went right to his soul.
When they broke apart, she ran a hand over his cheek, her tears now breaching her defenses.
“You come home. You bring everyone home. And find the evidence we need.”
“Remember to use Decker wherever you can. Don’t be worried about calling in extra resources if necessary. Venizi shouldn’t know we’re gone, but once we breach the lab…”
She placed a finger over his lips. “He’ll think he has an opening. He doesn’t. You have nothing to worry about here.”
They kissed one last time, and then he wiped away her tears. “Time for your game face.”
She grinned as she rubbed her eyes. “Let’s get this done.”