The team began on foot, making their way towards the warehouse location quietly, with Maddox in front as lead. He brought them deeper into the woods, using a well-worn but weed-choked path, and when they rounded a corner next to a partially caved-in house, they saw the gray building, hidden behind a bunch of trees. Calling it a warehouse was a stretch since it looked more like a bunkhouse. Many of the windows had been partially boarded up, and there was very little light coming from inside.
Maddox put his hand up in a fist telling them to halt.
“Ready?” Maddox turned so he was looking at them, and although he phrased it as a question, it wasn't really one.
“Okay, listen up,” Maddox said. He kept his voice low because he didn’t know who could be lurking in the shadows, although Ro didn't feel any other presence.
“We’re going to take tonight to just watch and monitor the situation. If the moment presents itself, we will pounce, but only after the order is given. Understood?”
They all nodded their understanding and then they headed off in the direction of the warehouse. They stayed hidden, as best as they could, carefully looking between the structures they passed before moving on.
When they got to a set of trees that were no more than twenty feet from the warehouse, they stopped. “Just observe and wait,” Maddox reminded them. “Zander, Nix, you take left. Ro and I will take the right.”
Before everyone parted, Maddox was silent for a moment while looking over at Ronin, then he spoke in a low voice. "Ro, I'm giving you command of this mission. Your brothers called and asked you to come and free the omegas. Me and the team are here to help make sure you can.”
Ro held Maddox's eyes briefly before a small smile showed, and he replied, "Thank you, Mad."
Maddox looked to the rest of the team. "Everyone ok with that?"
They all nodded and then split.
Ronin and Maddox stayed quiet and still. They were used to recon, and Ronin's breathing was calm. His eyes periodically darted around the area, making sure they weren’t missing any signs that someone was coming or on to their presence.
The feeling that had hit Ro in the van grew more intense now that they were this close to the warehouse, but he refused to let it break his focus even though it was a battle keeping his wolf at bay.
He glanced at his watch several times, and when they had been there thirty minutes with no activity, he spoke up. “Looks like there's no security pattern.”
Maddox nodded.
“Same on this side,” Nix chimed in.
“So... what now?” Before Maddox could reply, Ro felt his cellphone vibrate.
Ronin pulled the phone out of his pocket and saw Rick’s name on the caller ID. Figured his brother would call to check up on him. Rick was such a worrywart, but that was what made him a good pack Alpha.
“One second, guys," Ronin whispered. “I have to get this.”
“You might want to move further away, just in case,” Maddox suggested.
He was right. They were being quiet—hell, they'd barely spoken—but his brother’s voice might carry, and wolf hearing being what it was, someone might hear.
“Don’t move from this spot. I'll be quick.” Maddox nodded, then Ro ran from the hiding place, making sure to be as silent as possible, and he didn't stop till he figured he was far enough away, and hoped like hell he was right. “Hello?” Ro finally said, although it came out sounding curt. He didn't like leaving Maddox with no backup. Sure, everything had been silent, but still.
“How’s it going?” Rick asked, ignoring his tone.
“We just got here a little while ago,” Ronin said, trying to tamp down the irritation in his voice. “We're doing recon at the moment. Your call interrupted... So, you know, I gotta go.”
“Was your phone on vibrate?” Rick asked.
“Duh! I would never be so careless as to leave it on loud... to be honest, I should have turned it off…”—but he'd known his brother would call—“I had to separate myself from the team so that no one inside would hear me talking. You put me in charge because you trust me, right?”
“Of course I do, little brother,” Rick sighed.
“You worry,” Ronin filled in for his brother.
“I do, but that doesn't mean I don't trust you,” Rick was quick to reassure him.
“Then trust me to do my job as much as I trust the team to watch my back, okay? We’ve got this covered. You don’t need to worry… nor does Rome. I’ll call you when there’s something to report. Alright?”
