"Sounds good," Brent agreed. "What about the security systems, though? They probably have cameras, right?"
"I can handle the electronic surveillance," Noah said. "I can get you thirty minutes."
"That's not much time," Charlie worried.
"It's all we'll get." Viktor's expression hardened. "Once we're inside, we move fast. Charlie, your job is to reach Simon first. The bond between you might be enough to break through whatever Reuben has done to him."
Charlie's hand moved to his chest, where the bond had faded to almost nothing. "What if it's too late? What if he doesn't recognize me?"
"We take him anyway," Viktor said grimly. "And figure out how to deprogram him later."
"How do we even know he's still there?" Brent asked. "Couldn't they have moved him?"
"He's there." Noah's certainty was absolute. "Reuben will want to complete the reconditioning personally. It's a point of pride for him." He glanced at Charlie. "And he'll want to use Simon against you. Poetry, in his mind."
Charlie felt a chill run through him. "You think he'll attack me?"
The room fell silent.
"I'll sedate him if that happens," Viktor said finally. "I know the right dosage for someone with his enhancements."
Charlie's throat tightened. "And after? What do we do with a brainwashed vampire hunter?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Noah said after a moment. "The important thing is getting him out first."
Viktor squeezed Charlie's shoulder. "Get some rest. All of you. Tomorrow will be... challenging."
Chapter
Thirty-Four
Charlie crouched in the shadows of the Organization's service entrance, his heart hammering against his ribs. The night air carried the scent of rain and wet concrete, but beneath it lurked something antiseptic and clinical. The building loomed above him, all smooth concrete and tinted windows, like a fortress disguised as an office complex.
"Comms check," Viktor's voice crackled through the earpiece. "Everyone online?"
"Here," Charlie whispered, pressing the transmitter clipped to his shirt.
"Ready at the front," came Brent's voice, tight with nervous energy. "Man, this is just like a spy movie, isn't it?"
"Focus," Noah's voice came through. "Surveillance disabled in sectors one through four," he added. "You have twenty-eight minutes before the systems reset."
Charlie took a deep breath. Twenty-eight minutes to infiltrate a building full of professional vampire hunters, find Simon, and somehow break through whatever Reuben had done to him.
Easy, right?
He gulped.
"Here goes nothing," he murmured, clutching the tiny backpack that held a cloth for him to cover himself with when he came back out of rabbit form later.
Though maybe the shock of seeing him naked would help convince Simon?
No, this was not the time to be entertaining such thoughts.
Charlie focused inward, seeking that strange shimmer that preceded transformation. For once, his body cooperated immediately. The tingle started in his fingers, spreading up his arms and across his chest.
Once he was transformed, his sensitive ears caught the first notes of chaos from the front entrance. Shouting, a car alarm, Brent's voice rising above it all with impressive theatrical outrage. Whatever he was doing, it sounded effective.
Charlie looked toward the maintenance door just as a uniformed guard stepped out for a smoke. He froze, pressing himself flat against the wall. The guard lit his cigarette, exhaled a plume of smoke, then frowned at something in his earpiece.
