The quiet way Caleb and Riley work, each doing their own thing, but clearly appreciating having pack members nearby, is comforting.And it doesn’t take long for me to drift off again.
The tablein the library is covered in all the maps and other information we’ve got about the brothel.
We’ve been over them more times than I can count now, but with the raid only two weeks away, we’ve got to pin down the final details.Plus, with the pictures of the pack in the media these last couple of days, we need to account for the Hearts changing their security and anything else they might get up to.
Derrick has sent a couple of his people to keep an eye on the place around the clock, so that if the Hearts do make any big changes, like moving large groups of people out or receiving suspicious deliveries, we’ll know about it immediately.
They probably won’t change anything structural about the building.Even if they would like to, they can’t just hire any construction company, they can only use specific ones and it’s not likely they’ll be able to get to the top of the work list in just a week or two.
But they might add extra security cameras, which means that we might be visible at angles we weren’t aware of before.That’s something we’ll have to plan for, especially any cameras they might add that overlook the street or alleys and things like that.
“They’ve put some extra people outside last night.Though only during the night and they seem to be on the same schedule as normal.”Derrick points to a few locations on the map.“They’ve doubled the security that was already there.”
“That shouldn’t change the plan much.”Mathew reaches out and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close, like having me in his arms brings him comfort.“I’m more worried about extra security inside and how all of this impacts the kids and other people there.They used to severely restrict where we could go if the people in charge got nervous.They used to lock us up in two or three rooms in the basement instead of letting us sleep in our own rooms.”
“They still do that.”I point to a new set of stairs they put in four years ago, when they also did other work on the basement.“The new doors downstairs are much stronger, reinforced with metal, from what I recall.”When they carried the doors inside, they looked very heavy, and when we’d been locked downstairs in the time since, I’d also noticed that sounds had been extra muffled.
“Nothing some tools shouldn’t be able to get through.”Weston, the leader of the security team Erika left behind grins.“They’re not vault doors and from what you said, they’re also not that high security.Just extra strong doors.Some good tools should make easy work of them.We’ll just need to make sure that we do it in a safe way, as we won’t know how the kids on the other side are doing.”
“We’ll make sure that nobody’s going to disturb you while you work.”Derrick stands up, walking around the table.“I’ll draw up some extra plans in case the doors do turn out to be more of an issue than expected.We can’t leave the kids inside, so wehaveto get them out, preferably in a way that they’ll see as little of the rest of the raid as possible.”
If my own rescue was anything to go by, making sure that the kids don’t see any of that is going to be a priority.I don’t have any feelings for any of the people who run the brothel, but I want the kids and the people who are there under duress —like I was— to get out of there as safely and as little traumatised as possible.
Vera climbs out of Riley’s lap, where she was listening in on us.“We’re still going to try to get the kids out through the back?”She eyes the maps.“That route is longer than getting them out through the front or side door.”
“Yes.It’s the safest route.Most of us will be in the front and on the higher levels, there’s going to be more violence and danger there.We’ll just have to try to keep the escape route for the kids as clean as possible.”Mathew eyes her, raising an eyebrow.“Which we can, right?”
She flashes him a smile, her eyes sparkling.“I’ll make sure to try.I can’t promise anything.I’ve not been trained to do this work for the last decade, so I might ‘forget’ about that...”
I fully believe that if Vera gets pissed off by anyone she encounters in the brothel, that she might find taking out her emotions more important than making sure to keep things as clean as possible.
Derrick makes a sound in the back of his throat.“On that note, I’ve made some changes to the teams.”
That seems to get everyone’s attention, as Caleb, Riley and Jorge are now also at the table, everyone staring at Derrick, who looks a little uncomfortable under the attention.That can’t be a good sign, as the guy normally has no problem with it.
He closes his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.“Vera and Riley will be on one team and Mathew and Caleb on the other.Jorge and Luca are still going to stay outside, waiting for the kids and coordinating things from that side, just like before.”
The mood in the room shifts.Yeah, they’re not happy with that change.
“Vera and I work together the best.We’ve been working together for years.Not putting us together is a bad idea.”Caleb crosses his arms over his chest, glaring at the other Alpha.
“Yes...I’m aware of that.That’s part of the problem.”Derrick looks around the room, his eyes finally landing on Timothy, who takes a step back, holding up his hands, clearly not wanting to get involved.“Putting Vera and you together on a team makes sense when I look at it from a practical and efficiency point of view.But the risk that you two break from the plans and go off on your own is too large for something like this.”
I look from Caleb to Vera, who don’t seem to disagree with his assessment.
“Putting Vera and Mathew on a team is a no-go from the start.”Derrick shoots Mathew a look and then raises his eyebrow at Vera when she tries to object.“You would be two loose cannons.You might want to stick to the planin theory, but if you see something bad, you won’t correct each other, you’ll just encourage whatever idea you come up with.Not a bad team-up in other situations, but we can’t have that this time.”
I can’t help my smile as I look at the two Omegas, who seem to agree with what he’s saying.I’ve seen how they feed on each other when they get ideas, and doing that in such a controlled situation is dangerous.
Vera is starting to look upset.“That makes it sound likeI’mthe problem.Like you can’t trust me.”
“Idotrust you.”Derrick holds up his hands, like he’s trying to protect himself.“But teaming Mathew or you up with an enabler isn’t going to help us this time.Plus...”He lets out a deep sigh.“Both Caleb and you have no experience with these things.This way, you’re both teamed up with someone who does know what they’re doing.And hopefully balance you out.”
Riley steps behind Vera and wraps her arms around the Omega, pulling her close, grinning.“It means we get to have the boy team against the girl team.One Omega and one Alpha each.”
I feel Mathew’s chuckle against my back.“I like the sound of that.”
“No.”Derrick tries to be firm, but he’s losing control over the conversation as everyone starts talking through each other.“There are no competitions.No competing.Just follow the plan!”
