Page 72 of Rebel

“I still think --” Ashes began.

“It’s decided,” Charming interrupted.“Rio takes point.Renegade and Rebel on surveillance.Samurai coordinates from here with Shade monitoring communications.”He looked around the table.“Anyone got a problem with that?”

No one spoke, though Ashes’ scowl deepened.

“Right.”Charming nodded to Shade.“Walk us through the details.”

For the next twenty minutes, Shade outlined everything we needed to know -- building layouts, security systems, daily routines of the targets.As he spoke, Rio began methodically checking her gear on the table beside her.A hunting knife with a serrated edge.A gun with a silencer.Zip ties.Duct tape.Each item placed with deliberate care, like a surgeon arranging instruments before an operation.I hadn’t questioned her when she’d brought it with her today.She’d noticed me grabbing weapons and had done the same.We’d both wanted to be prepared for anything.

I watched her hands move with practiced efficiency, and a chill ran down my spine.This wasn’t just revenge.This was justice.She’d made up her mind and now she was ready to act.

“You’ll need this,” Shade said, passing Rio a small electronic device.“Jams any cameras in a thirty-foot radius.Gives you a fifteen-minute window before the system registers a malfunction.I have reason to believe they’ve installed some around the complex.”

She pocketed it without comment.

“When?”I asked.

“Tomorrow night,” Charming replied.“Target One gets off work at midnight.Usually stops for a drink, then heads home alone.That’s our window.”

Rio nodded, continuing her preparations.

“I need to know you can keep a clear head,” Samurai said, addressing Rio directly.“These men hurt you.While you handled them last time, you decided to let them go.Couldn’t follow through with ending their lives.Seeing them again…”

“I’ll be the last thing they ever see,” she finished, her voice deadly calm.

I remembered what Java had looked like, broken and bleeding on that makeshift stretcher.The rage I’d felt then.The desire to inflict that same pain tenfold on those responsible.Rio had been carrying that same rage for a while now, letting it burn slow and hot, waiting for this moment.

“This isn’t just about revenge,” she said, as if reading my thoughts.“It’s about making sure they never do to another woman what they did to me.I should have killed them when I had the chance.”

The room fell silent again.Even Ashes couldn’t argue with that.

“We roll out at 2300 hours tomorrow,” Renegade said, breaking the silence.“Full tank of gas, comms checked and double-checked.Rio, you ride with me in a club truck.Rebel follows in the SUV with the extra supplies.”

I nodded my agreement.The practical details helped ground the conversation, pulling us back from the emotional edge where we’d been teetering.

Rio stood, gathering her gear into a black duffel bag.“I need some air.”

No one tried to stop her as she headed for the door.I caught her eye as she passed, trying to convey a silent message of support.Something in her expression softened for just a moment before the steel returned.

After she left, the room erupted again, voices lowered but no less intense.

“She’s not stable enough for this,” Ashes insisted.

“None of us would be,” Samurai countered.“But she’s focused.That’s what matters.”

“And if she decides to make them suffer?”Ashes pressed.“Gets caught up in it, takes too long, misses the window for the second target?”

“Then we adjust,” I said firmly.“That’s what backup is for.”

Charming rubbed a hand over his face.“This isn’t ideal.Honestly, other than Jordan, I’d never let one of our women do something like this.But Rio needs this.And we need her whole, not broken by what those men did.”

The conversation continued, hammering out details, preparing for contingencies.I half listened, my mind already on tomorrow night.On what we might find in those apartments.On what Rio might become in the process of getting her justice.

Eventually, the meeting broke up.Members drifted away in twos and threes, talking in low voices.I remained seated, staring at the empty chair where Rio had been.

Samurai paused beside me.“You good with this?”

I considered the question.Was I?Could anyone be “good” with what we were about to do?But then I thought about Rio’s face when she talked about her attack.The nightmares that still woke her screaming.The way she flinched sometimes when a man moved too quickly near her.

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