Page 46 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

Yamanu and Dima had taken position near Soraya's more heavily guarded residence while Jade and Kyra monitored Parisa's apartment building. Rishba and Asuka had stayed behind at the safe house with Nadim and Fatima, protecting Yasmin and her children.

Max wasn't happy with the arrangement. If it were up to him, he would have collected the sisters and the remaining kids right now and headed to the airport, but Kyra and Yamanu wanted to wait for nighttime so the extractions would attract as little notice as possible.

That was all fine and dandy if the Doomers never showed up to collect the rest of Kyra's family, but there was no guarantee of that despite the excellent cleanup job their team had done in the compound last night.

Yamanu believed that all the local Doomers had been dealt with, but Max seriously doubted it. Tehran's population exceeded ten million people, so chances were that more Doomers were scattered throughout the city, and they could be mobilized to complete the job.

Especially now when pride and revenge were involved.

"Vehicle approaching from the west," Anton said.

Max shifted his binoculars, catching sight of a black SUV turning onto the quiet residential street. Nothing about the vehicle stood out—no government plates, no identifiable markings—but it was clean and new, and it didn't match the profile of other vehicles they'd seen passing through this street throughout the morning.

The SUV slowed as it approached Rana's house, eventually coming to a stop at the curb. Two men in civilian clothing emerged from the vehicle, but their postures and synchronized movements screamed military or secret police.

"Shift change, perhaps?" Anton suggested, though his tone indicated he didn't really think that.

"Maybe," Max murmured, studying the newcomers.

The men knocked on the door, which was a good sign because Doomers were not usually that courteous. Perhaps the replacement guards were plainclothes cops. Still, something in the way they moved raised his hackles.

They were too smooth, too fluid, and that more than anything marked them as immortals.

One of the guards inside the house opened the door, and a moment later, he and the other uniformed guard left while the two newcomers walked in and closed the door behind them.

It all seemed suspicious, but Max wasn't sure that the newcomers were Doomers, not until he saw theoriginal guards walking down the street like a couple of automatons.

"The old guards have been thralled," Max said. "There are Doomers inside Rana's house. We need to move in."

Anton swore softly in his native Kra-ell. "I thought we eliminated them all at the compound."

Unlike the Doomers who had taken Yasmin, these were careful and subtle—maintaining the appearance of normal security rotation, which was easier since Rana was alone in the house.

Max activated his comm link. "Yamanu, we have a situation at Rana's location. Two Doomers just replaced the human guards. They thralled them and sent them away. I expect them to march Rana out any moment now. We need to stop them before they disappear with her."

"Understood," Yamanu said. "We're seeing similar activity here. A vehicle just stopped a few houses down, but it looks suspicious."

"Jade, what's your status at Parisa's?" Max asked, switching channels.

"All quiet so far," Jade reported. "The one human guard is still with her, the other three with her sons at school. Doomers wouldn't want to attract attention by grabbing them there. They would wait for them to return home."

Max's mind raced through scenarios. If the Doomers were taking positions simultaneously at the homes of Rana and Soraya but not Parisa,whose sons were still at school, chances were that they were planning a simultaneous operation and were just waiting for the boys to return. That was what he would have done in their position.

Still, he wondered how many more Doomers were in the area. They'd eliminated all of those who had been at the compound, but clearly there were other cells operating in Tehran.

This was a puzzle to solve some other time, though. Right now, they needed to get what they'd come for, which was Kyra's family.

"We need to move now," Max said. "We shouldn't wait until Parisa's kids are back from school. We should take Soraya and Rana now, and Kyra should take Parisa to the boys' school and have them pulled out. "

It wouldn't be the smooth operation it could have been if they had everyone in one spot with just human guards. Yamanu could have thralled, but with Doomers changing the equation, different maneuvers were needed.

"Agreed," Yamanu replied. "All teams, prepare for immediate extraction."

Max turned to Anton. "We'll need a diversion to draw those Doomers away from the house. Something that won't put Rana at risk."

The Kra-ell warrior grinned, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I will knock on the door, and when they open, I'll disable them both with a knife tothe head. You come in, and we finish them off together."

It was a crude plan, but it might work. The Doomers wouldn't expect anyone with Anton's speed and power. They would be taken by surprise.

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