Page 64 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

Stretching out his legs, Max closed his eyes. They were heading to Turkey first, then on to their destination—an enemy compound in Iran where they planned a swift extraction of a prisoner, possibly of several, not to mention a Doomer or two. Except for the location, nothing about this mission seemed overly complicated, especially since they had assets like Yamanu and Drova with them. Between the shrouder and the compeller, what could go wrong?

He then remembered Ell-rom's unique talent. That weapon took their team's lethality to a whole new level.

Catching a murmur of conversation from the back, where Jade's team was sitting, he turned to look at them and was tickled by how excited they all seemed. Usually, the Kra-ell liked to project a stern or stoic front, but they weren't even trying to hide their awe. None of them had ever been on such a luxurious plane.

Jade stood in the center aisle, leaning over Drova and pointing out something on the touchscreen panel. The girl made a slight exclamation of wonder as she pressed the screen, and her seat started to recline. Jade flashed her a rare grin, then resumed her usual impassive expression.

Across the aisle, Ell-rom leaned over to talk to Jasmine. The two of them appeared calm, and Jasmine smiled at Ell-rom's comment, but Max didn't miss how Ell-rom's foot kept tapping the carpet in a restless pattern.

Everyone was keyed up.

Max rose and made his way down the aisle toward Jade. She wore a short bomber jacket that barely concealed her holster, and he was willing to bet she had several daggers strapped to her body. Her loose cargo pants could hide a whole arsenal of weapons, as did his.

Normally, passing through airport security with that arsenal would have been a problem, but Turner's guy had told them he would take care of everything and not to worry about the weapons.

Turner trusted the guy, and that was good enough for Max.

"Hey." He tapped Jade's shoulder.

She turned around. "What can I do for you, Max?"

"Mind if I ask how many of your team are packing firearms and how many are going old-school?" He jerked his chin toward the huddle of Kra-ell in the back.

Jade's eyes flicked toward her warriors, who had gone silent at Max's approach. "Anton and Dima are trained well enough to handle short-range rifles, but I made sure that the others refreshed their knowledge and know how to handle an assault rifle. Aim is a different issue, but I'm confident they won't shoot themselves in the foot. We prefer blades and have throwing knives strapped to our bodies where we can easily access them."

"Good." Max nodded. "I'd hate to rely on them for covering fire, only to find they can't shoot straight."

"They know their strengths," Jade said. "We'll rely mostly on speed and stealth. The rest is your job." She turned to her daughter. "And yours."

Drova had headphones on and was watching a movie, but she smiled and nodded, indicating she'd heard Jade.

Max wasn't comfortable with so much riding on the teenage compeller with a sketchy past, but he couldn't deny that she was indispensable.

"Compared to Drova, my job is simple. Catch the first human guard I encounter, who we haven't killed yet, and thrall him to see where the prisoners are kept. We need to get inside fast."

Jade's lips tightened over her elongating fangs. "My fighters have a taste for action, but I've told them we don't have time to play with our prey. They need to be quick and efficient."

Max glanced at the row of seats behind Jade, where the two Kra-ell hybrids were testing the seat recline buttons. Their eyes lit up in fascination, and their lips curled in goofy smiles as the seats glided back and forth. One of them noticed Max's gaze and immediately retracted the seat, looking embarrassed.

Dima and Anton, Max believed, were their names. He'd tried to memorize all the Kra-ell names, but he had a harder time remembering the females' names, or rather which name belonged to whom. Asuka, Rutza, Rishba, and Mehira, he believed, but had no idea who was who.

"They're excited, like kids with a new toy," Jade said. "But they are still lethal."

"I have no doubt." Max patted her arm, which earned him a raised brow. "Sorry. Old habit."

"Don't do that again."

"Yes, ma'am."

As she turned back to her team, Max continued toward Yamanu, leaning against the seat's headrest across the aisle from him.

"What's up, Max?" Yamanu asked without opening his eyes.

"I'm not used to this level of luxury. Did Kalugal have the interior redone?"

Yamanu shrugged. "Apparently, but I did not get the memo either."

"I sometimes forget how rich the guy is," Max said, then sighed. "I've made some questionable investments lately and lost a bunch of money."

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