I salute."Yes, sir, Mr.Balfour, sir."
Kirk slaps my ass."Cheeky lass."
But now it's time to get to work.Having my dad here is both reassuring and disconcerting.I still can't wrap my head around Kirk's calm acceptance of the danger we're facing.
"Still worried?"he asks me.
"Uh, well...yeah.But I'll get over it."
"Aye, you'll do fine," Kirk assures me as he squeezes my shoulder lightly."You're smarter than you give yourself credit for."
With that, he turns to leave, and panic suddenly surges through me.
"Wait!"I call after him."Where are you going now?"
Kirk pauses at the door, his expression unreadable."Final preparations.We move at first light."
"Be careful, sweetie, please."What do you say to someone who's about to infiltrate a criminal stronghold?'Don't die' seems too blunt, but also the most honest.
"Always am, lass."He gives me his favorite half-smile that always makes me feel like I can do anything.
Then he's gone, vanishing into the twilight with his long, confident strides.I watch the door for a moment after it shuts, as if I might somehow keep him safe through sheer willpower.
"Don't worry about Kirk," Dad says, coming up beside me."That man knows what he's doing."
Jesus, I hope he's right about that.
Dad gives me a quick hug and a knowing look, the kind that used to drive me crazy as a teenager."Military men recognize their own kind.Kirk's been in combat before."
Why didn't I know that?"He never mentioned serving."
"Some guys don't talk about it."With that vague statement, Dad returns his attention to the equipment.
And I spend the next hour learning the communications setup from Thane and my father, who seem to have formed an instant bond over frequencies and encryption protocols.The technical jargon flies thirty thousand feet over my head, so I focus on memorizing the control panel layout instead.I understand what each blinking light means.But now I'm struggling to keep my brain occupied.At least the fear has abated, and I feel like I'm ready for whatever actions become necessary.
"We've got visual confirmation on MacWraith's patrol patterns," Thane says, pointing to one of the monitors that shows thermal images of figures moving around the perimeter of what must be Cairntorran.
"They're clockwork precise," Dad observes, studying the patterns."Every fifteen minutes, same route.That's either military training or excessive control issues."
"Most likely both," Thane replies grimly."Dougal was dishonorably discharged from special forces years back.But he brought his training home and twisted it into depraved skills."
I lean closer to the screen, squinting to see through both the glowering sky and the trees around Dougal's hideout.But I can't see anything.
"Time to go silent," Thane tells me."Magnus will give us the go signal very soon."
And so our covert mission has begun.
Chapter Forty-Two
Kirk
I crouch behind two bushes that provide only enough cover that I can make out what's going on at Dougal's hideout.The moon still hovers above us but it willnae give MacWraith's mates much light.I have my earpiece firmly inserted, which means I'll hear every word our team members might say.Keltie bought us all special military-grade earpieces that are meant to be undetectable by any jamming devices.I can only hope she was right about that, because my life might literally depend on it.
Keltie also provided camouflage clothing for our entire team.
"Kirk, status check," Tam says through the earpiece.His tone is all business, nothing like the baker brother I'm used to.
"In position," I whisper back."I can see the east entrance.Two guards, just like in the briefing."
