Page 78 of Kai
“I had him in my sights.” I expelled a huff. “More than once.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Guzman crumpled his foils into a ball. “You’ve got impeccable aim and could’ve taken him out. But we want him alive, remember?”
Point Guzman.
“Our analysis suggests that Li will eliminate Levine as he is no longer an asset,” Bozeman reported. “Moses estimates Levine has twenty-four to forty-eight hours left to accomplish his mission before Li issues a kill order.”
“This means he’ll have an accident soon,” Goof said, as if I needed clarification. “He’ll fall out of a window, trip down the stairs, or turn into shark chomp. You know. The sort of accidental death we associate with the NWO and the rogue nations that partake.”
“We estimate they’ll be out of the region in three days,” Bozeman added.
“So,” I concluded. “Exfil in three?”
“Affirmative.” Guzman threw his head back and finished the last of his water. “But whether Levine is dead or alive, we must assume Li will be on the lookout. Satellites, drones, infrared. He’ll keep his tech active. You’ve got two choices.”
“Go,” I said.
“Option Alpha.” He leaned forward and tapped a stout finger on the table. “We come back in three, hauling the necessary gear, and we do an underwater extraction at oh dark hundred. Our diving incursion tonight lays the groundwork for Alpha. It’s demanding but doable. You get a deep dive escort, and we take Cece Astor out to rendezvous before we hoof it back to Astor House.”
Shit.An underwater extraction. At night. A deep dive. Cece was brave, and she’d made progress on the swimmingfront, but given her fears of being under the water and the challenges of a protracted swim, she might not be able to handle what was likely to be a long, grueling dive.
“What’s my second option?” I asked.
“Option Bravo,” Guzman said. “Bravo entails you solo-sailingSerenityout of here through the reef under the cover of night. Is it even viable?”
“It’s possible.” Even though I hadn’t sailed through the reef in the darkness before, I knew the way better than anyone else.
“We know BB’s cloaking shield loses effectiveness with movement,” Bozeman reminded us. “It has failed once. It could fail again. There’s a risk thatSerenitycould be traceable to the enemy.”
“Understood,” I said. “What’s our destination?”
“You’ll rendezvous at this set of coordinates.” Guzman un-velcroed a watertight pocket and handed me a paper tucked in a ziplock. “It’s code, so you’ll need to decipher it.”
“No problem.” I had the table memorized. Shaking the bag in my hand, I met Goof’s eyes. “This is so old-style. First, you guys swim here. Then you hand me a paper with some chicken scratch?”
“Lots of interference online and in the airwaves,” Guzman said, confirming my suspicions. “The high-tech war with the NWO is heating up. We’re in their shit, but there’s a chance they’re in ours, too. Intercepts are a genuine threat.”
“Omega didn’t wanna risk giving the NWO a sliver of intel.” Bozeman extracted a small tin from his utility pouch. “He doesn’t want to endanger Cersi Astor’s life.”
I was a hundred percent with Dagger on this one.
“If you choose Bravo, you will need to park at those coordinates exactly on time,” Bozeman warned, smearing the salve on his lips. “No room for error.”
“Right,” I said. “No pressure.”
“After that, we’ll take care of the rest,” Guzman said, catching the tiny tin Bozeman slid across the table.
I scoffed. “Because that doesn’t sound mysterious.”
“Sorry.” Goof greased his chapped lips to prevent saltwater damage. “The rest is need-to-know only. It’s all staying in Omega’s head for now, in case you get caught. Hell, I don’t even know what the rest is.”
Guzman was a disruptor like Cece, and one of the few people on earth who had the gift to throw me off kilter. “I. Won’t. Get. Fucking caught.”
“Just yanking your chain.” Guzman laughed and returned the tin to Bozeman.
“And you do it so well,” I reminded him, processing the facts in my head.
“What’s your choice?” Bozeman asked, tucking the tin away.
