Page 59 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

Yamanu nodded. "I will need to shroud the choppers both ways and also cover the operation. This is going to stretch my ability." He turned to Max. "Can you shroud?"

Max winced. "Only myself and perhaps one other person."

"You're no help." Yamanu looked at Jade. "You?"

She shook her head. "We have our version of shrouding and thralling, but it doesn't work like yours. It's not going to help you."

Onegus waited to see if Yamanu wanted to add anything else, but when he shrugged, indicating that he was done, the chief continued, "If the intelligence we have is correct, the compound is not heavily guarded—some soldiers, but not a full complement. They might call for reinforcements, though, which is why speed is essential." He looked at Max. "Get into as many heads as you can until you find one that can tell you where Kyra is. That's much faster than using brute force to get people to talk."

Max nodded. "I know. Yamanu will be busy, Ell-rom and Jasmine can't thrall, and Jade's people can't either."

"I can compel, and of course, so can Drova," Jade said. "My ability is weak, but hers is formidable. Drova can compel answers from the humans and the Doomers." That was a relief. Max wasn't a strong thraller and didn't want to be solely responsible for extracting the information.

"It is not how I saw Drova's role, but that is a great idea that may save us precious time," Onegus said. "Max and the both of you go to work on finding Kyra right away while the rest of the team fights the guards. You will split into two squads. One will protect Yamanu so he can keep his shroud up, and the other Ell-rom and Jasmine, as neither has combat training."

Jade inclined her head.

Max wondered if Ell-rom needed protection. They still didn't know if the guy could kill more than one person with a thought because there had been no time to continue his testing. Perhaps this mission would provide the perfect opportunity to do just that.

If Ell-rom could take out an entire squadron of soldiers with just a thought, the Kra-ell would have little left to do.

They would be so disappointed that Max almost hoped Ell-rom's ability wasn't that good.

Almost.

Perhaps after the mission was done, he would show Ell-rom pictures of the ayatollahs and tell him how many people they'd killed and maimed, hanging human rights activists in barbaric public spectacles. It might be enough to activate his death ray.

40

KIAN

"The choppers will land about two miles from the southwestern corner of the base. There is a hill there that will provide cover." Onegus flicked on the screen behind Kian and pointed at a grainy picture of the compound. "This looks like an adequate flat area. It's expansive enough for both choppers to safely land and take off simultaneously, even with the expected winds. We don't anticipate any challenges at the landing zone, but if you have to hold off an attempt to take down the choppers, plan B is to fly to the compound, drop off the team, and continue here." He motioned to a spot that was a few miles away. "The extraction window is tight. You'll have about an hour before reinforcements can arrive from the nearest outpost. Possibly less if the Iranian chain of command is functioning."

"Understood," Jade said. “Do we cut their electricity? Destroy their communication ability?”

Onegus shook his head. “We don’t have info on the layout, and you’ll have no time to deal with that. It’s a shock and awe type of operation.”

Yamanu and Max nodded.

Onegus tapped the map. "After you find Kyra, immediately button up the scene and retreat to the choppers. If, for some reason, you can't make it back to the helicopters, commandeer whatever vehicles you can and head out into the mountains toward the alternate pickup zone. And if that is not feasible, find a spot you can defend." He pointed at several possible locations. "We will extract you from here, but let's hope that's not going to happen."

Max let out a short laugh. "The moment they see Jade's warriors bounding around with their fangs exposed, they will run for the hills, but you can’t allow anyone who saw you in action to escape, and once you are done, you need to destroy all evidence of your attack."

Kian raised his finger to focus everyone's attention on him. "I want to remind everyone that if the opportunity presents itself to grab a Doomer for later interrogation, try to get a senior one. The foot soldiers are rarely well informed."

"Let's talk timeline," Onegus said. "Departure is five o'clock tomorrow morning. Okidu will take you to the airstrip. Flight time is about eighteen hours, including a refueling stop."

Jade pursed her lips. "It gives me a little more time to train my people so they can at least identify safety switches, reload mags in a pinch, and fire short bursts."

"Do I get to carry a gun?" Jasmine asked.

The chief arched a brow. "Do you know how to use one?"

She shook her head. “I do, but only a handgun. My father took me to this hunting cabin when I was little, but he didn’t let metouch his rifle. Also, I don’t know if I will be any good under fire. Shooting at a range is very different than actually aiming at people.”

Onegus glanced at Ell-rom. "Max and your mate will protect you."

Ell-rom winced. "Supposedly, I know how to use a sword and a dagger, but since I don't remember that, I'm not going to risk it, and I certainly don’t know what to do with a gun."

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