“It’s something that we need to make a note of so that we can come back to it when you are called up there,” Van says. “I am assuming that I’ve read between the lines well enough, and that you want to investigate and gather evidence when you are called back?”
Raiden nods, “Absolutely. I can’t allow them to stay in power if they were never meant to be in the first place, and because of the damage they’re doing to the reapers. Plus, my father is on the council and has been for as long as I can remember. I know for a fact that he was on the council at the beginning, and he shouldn’t be. I want to find out what I can. I want to try to prove that they did something to ensure the original Reaper Council was trapped in Trieneliea, or even that they killed them. I wouldn’t put it past them to have done that.”
“Well, you know I’m in, man,” River grins.
“Me too,” Reed adds. “I’ll always be up for bringing those fuckers down a peg or two. It’s the least that they deserve.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Doc says, anger and darkness swirling in his gaze.
Raiden grins, “Thanks, guys. We did kind of do a Neith then and got way off track from what we were originally talking about.”
“That’s true.” I grin, liking that it was they who made us go off track this time instead of me. Because it’s usually my thing, and I’m used to skipping between questions I jump straight back into our previous conversation and hope that the guys have been around me enough now to be able to follow along, “I mean, how the hell did I know about the Luciorekis then, and specifically that kind of supernatural, not just the level in the Spirit Realm?”
“I have no idea,” Raiden replies thoughtfully.
“I don’t think that it’s accidental though,” Griff says thoughtfully. “I think that at some point we’re going to need to know about them.”
“I rarely say this, but I really hope you’re wrong. There’s just something about them I don’t like,” Raiden says, a shudder running through him.
“After we have closed down the wolf sales, we can look into it more,” Van reminds us, getting on track.
“Fuck,” I mutter. “We really did drift a bit then. So what’s the plan?”
“Well, we know the area that it’s going to be in,” Ransom says as he flicks his hands, and a huge map of the area spreads out in front of us like a big hologram.
“So fucking cool,” I grin, earning myself a smile.
“Thanks, Ransom,” Van says as he studies the map. “Using this, we can work out where we can stash teams as we wait for it to appear. We know it’s going to be in the area, but we’re going to have to narrow down the possible sites for it. Neith, could you text Rana and ask her if the building has to have a clear space to appear or if it can appear anywhere?”
I nod and pull out my phone, sending the message and immediately receiving a response. “She said that it needs a clear space.” I look at the map, “I’m assuming that the building is fairly big, so there are only two places that it could be,” I point, “Here and here. Although it might be a good idea to put ateam around this area, just in case. It’s not that much smaller than the others, and we don’t want to risk putting all of the teams on the other two areas, and The Owner realizing we’re there and moving it again.”
“Agreed,” Van says with a smile. “I think that’s the best way to approach this.”
“So, the whole building moves then?” Doc asks. Just to make sure.
River nods, “Yes. Which also means that the layout of the building doesn’t change.”
I raise my eyebrows slightly, “Did Rana include a layout for it?”
Ransom grins and flicks his fingers, making a map of the building appear next to the map of the land.
“She’s been really thorough,” Reed says with a smile.
“Absolutely, it’s so fucking detailed,” River adds.
“It’s the map of someone who desperately wants to escape and who knows that their only chance may be to catalogue every detail that they possibly can,” I say, my own map flashing through my mind.
It’s silent for a moment before Coen says, “We’re going to need people stationed on these three exits.” He points to them and then adds, “Rana said that they keep the prisoners in cells under the building until the auction. She also said that, despite what the name suggests, over the years, The Owner started to sell more than just wolves, as we mentioned before with Casimir, and who he was purchasing. The majority of the victims are still wolves, and when the sales first started out, it was only wolves who were sold. So the name stuck.”
“Yes, which is going to complicate things. I can imagine that the supernaturals are obviously not very well taken care of, and some of them can edge toward their baser instincts if they don’t get the adequate sustenance that they need,” Doc points out with a heavy frown.
“And that means that we need to be aware of threats from those who we’re rescuing as well as those who we’re rescuing them from,” I point out. “Plus, any of the buyers who are most likely strong supernaturals themselves. It’s a damn good job that we’re going in with backup.”
“It is,” Van agrees.
We spend the next couple of hours going over the plan and making arrangements for the other teams, making sure that they all understand the mission, where their positions are, and any extra responsibilities that the teams have. We go over where the medical team will be waiting and the signal to bring them in when it’s safe enough. It’s also decided that River, Ransom, and I will be the team that locates the imprisoned supernaturals.
Chapter Eleven
