Page 71 of Iron Willed Warrior

My hand rested on Brynn’s shoulder, massaging the tension there. “So Westwick isn’t just here to teach a seminar. He’s using the seminar to create the appearance of a legitimate trip without the need to publicize exactly what they’re doing.”

Both Masterson and Westwick had high profiles, relatively speaking. They couldn’t move around completely unnoticed. But the surface reason for the trip could conceal something more nefarious. Stillwater was all about hiding in plain sight.

Brynn nodded. “And that just makes me wonder. Is this solar plant really all that’s out there?”

“You want to find out what they’re up to in the desert?” I asked.

“Of course I do. Which means I have to get River’s virus onto Westwick’s devices asap. Tonight. Before Westwick changes his schedule yet again. I have to get him alone.”

Over my dead body, I thought. “Or we could gather intel at the source. We drive out to the site of this solar plant after dark, and we find out if it’s connected to Stillwater or not.”

“You think we can get close enough?”

I gestured for her to let me take the seat. Brynn got up, and I slid into the place she’d left. River had included maps of the area around the solar plant, as well as more satellite images. Great resolution, too. These had come from government satellites, not just Google Earth.

I zoomed in.

“Looks like the main highway will take us within a couple of miles. The turnoff to the facility is here.” I pointed at a narrower road that spurred from the highway. “There’s a fence surrounding the perimeter. A gatehouse at the entrance.” I tapped the screen. “And the front office building is here.”

Brynn nodded along with my assessment. “Might have guards on patrol at night, but it’ll be a skeleton crew,” she mused. “They’ll rely on their remoteness instead of a large security force.”

“If this is really a Stillwater facility, they won’t want too much personnel.”

She laughed without humor. “Exactly. They’ll happily send dozens of operatives to kidnap or kill a target, like the lieutenant governor. Wreak as much havoc and chaos as possible. But more guards around a place like this would mean more mouths to talk. Westwick likes his privacy.”

“A weakness we can use.”

The photos showed large trucks visiting the facility, probably with deliveries of materials. Plus construction vehicles in areas that looked unfinished. Were they still expanding?

“What about this?” She leaned over me and tapped on another building towards the middle of the property. “Another staff building? Electrical components of some kind?”

“I don’t know what goes into maintaining these solar farms. Or what kind of machinery and electrical infrastructure they require.” I was a bounty hunter, not an engineer.

“That’s what Google is for. Right?”

Snorting, I pulled up the browser and searched. We spent some time reading up on solar energy plants. Most were either owned by utilities or by private investors who sold the energy wholesale to local power companies. “They’ll haveinverters and transformers to convert the power to a form that’s usable by the utility,” Brynn read. “Connections to the main power grid.” But neither of us could identify everything we saw on the satellite images for Westwick’s facility.

We sent a secure text to River, asking his opinion on the images. After all, he was the Protectors’ resident nerd. And I meant that in the best way possible.

A few minutes later, River sent back the satellite photo with some parts labeled. He’d identified the centralized inverters that served each rectangular block of solar panels, as well as the other electrical equipment.

Then I added labels for the buildings that appeared to be for staff. “Building A” for the front office near the entrance. “Building B” for the one in the middle.

But there were other structures that didn’t seem to fit the solar plant layout or the official public plans the government had approved. River couldn’t identify them either.

“We need to get closer,” I said. “Find out what’s really going on there.”

She nodded. “I say we hike in, time out their security guard patrols, and get a better look. We could approach from this side.” Brynn pointed at the west perimeter of the facility, where the desert flora was thicker and the terrain more rugged. Small hills and canyons would provide cover.

“Perfect. You’re pretty good at this, honey.”

“Watch it.” Grinning, Brynn wrapped her arms around my neck and playfully bit my ear. “You’re not such a bad partner yourself. When you behave.”

I turned my head to kiss her, anticipation making my pulse race.

I had a feeling that this excursion with Brynn would bealmostas fun as partnering with her in bed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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