The game was on.
“What kind of surveillance do we have on them?” Rav asked.
“Two-man crews following the westbound trucks. We’ve got a drone on the one heading north.”
“Did you get approval for the drone?” Rav asked, his brow furrowing.
“Small unit,” Bobcat replied. “We’ll keep it low enough to stay off radar. HQ is trying to provision a satellite for better coverage.”
“Satellite?” Will’s voice came through the laptop’s video call. “Brie, we need to launch one of those.”
Scarlett leaned on the table, over the phone. “Those have to be decoys. There’s no way they’d transport Greek Fire with hazard placards. It would be in something nondescript—a Sprinter van at most, probably a pickup truck or something smaller.”
“Agreed,” Rav said. “Noah’s smarter than that.”
Scarlett frowned at him. “Unless Noah’s not involved anymore.”
“What about the lab itself?” I asked.
“I’m watching it,” said Bobcat. “No visual on Martinelli.”
“Did you request authorization for the lab raid?” Rav asked.
“No. After that scientist called in asking questions, I opted to keep things locked down.”
“Keep tracking those trucks,” said Rav. “They’re likely a diversion, but we’ve still got nine hours before the concert starts, so there’s plenty of time for an intercept. Do you have trackers you can put on them?”
“We’re going to set them as soon as we can.”
After Bobcat disconnected, Scarlett turned to the team. “Let’s confirm assignments for tonight. Malcolm and Jayce will be backstage with me as VIP guests. Brie’s hack into the event planner’s system let her add our fake identities to the guest list. I don’t expect any issues there.”
“I’ll be in the audience with the crowd,” said Drew, eliciting a frown from Jayce, who was on her third pastry since we’d started. “I’ll find a seat in the upper rows so I can access the fireworks displays.”
“I’ll get some field test kits for you,” I said. “If theyareplanning to disperse the powder that way, you’ll only need to swipe one or two of them for a positive result.”
Drew nodded.
Emmett gestured to one of the tablets in the middle of the table. “Zac and I will each be in separate vehicles nearby, ready for transport or exfil, if necessary.”
Zac added, “The park’s too big to circle, so I’ve mapped out some slower-moving and faster-moving streets, as well as several locations that are safe for stops. We’ll never be more than a five-minute run from the amphitheater.”
“Grab the phone and earpiece?” Drew said to Rav, who dug into the large case in the corner, where Will’s drone had been stored.
Rav handed me a phone and a tiny earpiece, both sleek and clearly custom-built. “Your primary comms.”
Brie piped up from the video call. “I programmed a software update so you can switch to Pendragon’s frequency if needed. You can do it by phone or with the buttons on the earpiece, though they’re a little small. You can listen to one team or both, but you’ll only be able to talk to one at a time. If I’d had more advanced warning about this, I could have?—”
“It’s perfect,” said Rav.
I examined the device. My years with Pendragon had acquainted me with high-end equipment, but Reynolds tech—from such a small company—consistently impressed me. The integration of multiple communication channels into a single device and the seamless switching capability were very effective.
“And I have a quick update on Dr. Norris,” Brie said. “He made a few phone calls yesterday to colleagues about the suits and the coatings, but it doesn’t look like he’s actually digging for more information.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
Malcolm held up his phone. “When I was in his lab with you yesterday, I got close enough for Brie to do her magic, and now we’ve got access to his calls.”
The casual admission of unauthorized surveillance didn’t surprise me. Ethical boundaries blurred when lives hung in the balance. I’d long ago made peace with such compromises, though I still felt the occasional twinge of the idealistic scientist I’d once been.
