“They’ve made it a nationwide announcement to all law enforcement agencies.”
Blake turned on his signal indicator and stopped at the corner of the street. “Then I guess we’ll avoid law enforcement.”
“And border patrols.”
“Which means airfield extraction.”
“It does indeed.”
“Who’s setting it up?”
“Well, me, of course.” Con sounded offended.
“Con, she’s important to me, and Rook will be with us. Nothing asinine.”
“Look, I love to mess with your old man. He gets spun up in a thousand different directions, but I respect him, and I respect the fuck out of the things you guys do. I would never mess withan extraction or a mission. That you can take to the bank. And then loosen up a bit, you know what I mean?”
“That isn’t going to happen. We aren’t wired that way.”
“Which is why it’s so much fun to watch your old man spin at a thousand revolutions per second.” Con chuckled. “Okay, I’m finishing up the details on the extraction. Give Zane the timing, and I’ll get your exfil set in stone.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“Whatever it takes, Havoc.”
“As long as it takes,” Blake finished and tapped his ear. Con was a child in a man’s body. He was certain of it. But he had more important things to think about.
Blake left the affluent neighborhood behind and slipped into the city’s arteries with practiced ease. The warm glow of Ilona Brzek’s home gave way to narrower streets, the cracked pavement damp from an earlier rain. He drove the vehicle back to the alley parking lot, and left a wad of notes on the driver’s seat, and left. He walked a mile to where he had left the car Guardian had provided and then drove out of town toward Zajac’s compound.
By the time he reached the wooded ridge overlooking the compound, the last light had drained from the sky. He crouched in the cover of brush, night-vision optics pressed to his eyes, and felt the difference immediately. The place hummed with activity.
Last time, the guards had been lax but attentive with two men at the front gate and one half-hearted patrol along the perimeter. Now, there were twice as many. A black SUV sat idling just inside the gate, headlights off, but the soft glow of its dashboard confirmed someone waited inside. Blake watched for two hours, observing everything. The guard rotations had tightened, their paths deliberate and overlapping. But there were patterns, and they were timed. An advantage if he factored his infiltration correctly.
He noted that floodlights had been angled higher along the wall and that the floodlight now covered one small gap in the lighting that he’d noticed on the first visit. The entire place carried the sharpened edge of expectation.
Zajac was coming home.
Blake adjusted his position, cataloging each change.
He lowered the optics and let the night sounds settle into his awareness—the crunch of boots on gravel, the muted bark of an order in Hungarian, the faint smell of diesel mixing with damp and cold autumn air. The compound was shedding its lazy façade and pulling on its armor.
Blake’s jaw tightened. Zajac wasn’t inside yet. The preparations proved it. But soon, the target would arrive, and once he did, the compound would become a fortress.
He sat in the darkness below the ridgeline, the map spread across his lap, with the pale moonlight illuminating it just enough to see. Everything now narrowed to a list he could check off and a series of contingencies he would ensure were accessible and feasible. Zajac was the mission, and Zajac would not walk away from that compound.
Blake made the plan the way he always did. First, the facts. Then the angles. Then the worst-case scenarios and how to survive them.
His facts were simple. Zajac was expected in the compound in roughly forty-eight hours. The compound had increased guard rotations. A black SUV sat on constant watch. Dogs weren’t used but kenneled instead. Were they only used in an emergency? He didn’t know, but he’d prepare for them anyway. Januse Brzek was an employee, loyal and professional, not a conspirator. If he could avoid killing the man, he would.
Next, he put his objectives in order. First, get inside the compound and confirm Zajac was present. Second, eliminate histarget. Third, exfil to Elise and Rook, make sure they are safe, and get them out of the country.
So, for entry and approach, he needed some information. He tapped his ear and turned around, lifting to the crest of the grassy ridge where he’d been studying Zajac’s compound. “Do you have access to the power grid?”
Jewell chuckled. “Always. What do you need?”
“Shut it down for fifteen minutes.”
“Give me a sec.” Jewell’s fingers raced over her keyboard, and he listened to the rhythm as the tapping slowed, then sped up, and then slowed again. “And now,” Jewell said with one final click. Blake watched as the power failed and timed the startup of the generators.
