Oliver nodded as he pulled his tactical goggles over his eyes. “You do the same.”
The jet shuddered as the engines switched from forward thrust to the vertical take-off and landing mode in midair. He felt the descent in his stomach, ears popping on the way down to the earth. The ramp opened without the warning alarm or flashing lights going off. They were running dark for as long as possible, unsure if the Reborn IRA had their hands on antiaircraft weaponry. Considering what Bennett had probably inherited from Declan Wolcott, it wasn’t so far-fetched.
Liam stepped out of the way as the SAS members, MI6 agents, and UMG agents got ready to deploy. The ramp locked in place, the jet hovering mere feet above an empty intersection between warehouses. Oliver didn’t look back as he exited. Liam didn’t look away until Oliver disappeared from sight, the ramp door closing and sealing in seconds.
“Prepare for deployment two. ETA thirty seconds,” their pilot said.
Samaira came to join Liam in the rear of the jet, steadying herself with a safety handhold. A bit of her dark hair peeked out from beneath her hard helmet at the base of her neck. Her gaze was clear and steady through her tactical goggles.
“Southampton police have erected perimeter barriers. Base says Murphy is within the containment zone,” Samaira said.
“And Bennett?” Liam asked.
She nodded sharply. “Strong possibility. Our telepaths have sensed a handful of metahumans in the field.”
“If the teleporter is present, let Viper or one of the others take her out. I don’t want any of our people removed from the field to some out of reach location.”
“She’s priority number one after Bennett and Murphy.”
The jet shuddered through another VTOL switch and they started to descend. Liam adjusted his assault rifle in his grip and checked where the connection point was clipped to his tactical vest.
“Shall we, Europa?” Liam asked as the ramp lowered.
“Always, Knight.”
They exited the jet together, leading their team into the field. Kyle stayed onboard while Jamie joined them on the ground. Liam’s tactical goggles switched over to night vision, the green-tinged illumination compensating for the lights interspersed around the warehouse district.
“Royal Legion in position,” Liam said over comms.
The other UMG teams sounded off, along with the supporting ground crew. Chapman’s voice came through on a command override moments after everyone had checked in.
“Satellites are showing movement around the east quadrant in the containment zone. All teams move in,” Chapman ordered.
“Peregrine,” Liam said, “get eyes on the prize.”
Abigail gave him a jaunty salute before speeding off, wind blowing against them in her wake. The Port of Southampton’s warehouse district was huge. Cargo ships lined the docks and warehouses were built tall to compensate for the sheer tonnage of cargo the port accepted. The warehouse district was heavily automatized, with self-driving lorries and robot attendants handling the movement of everything taken off the ship. People whose jobs were mostly regulated to oversight ran on twelve-hour shifts, which meant someone was working every hour of every day at the port.
The UMG had weighed the risk of informing dockworkers of the impending mission and evacuating the area or not. Enforcing the order would certainly tip their hand to Murphy and Bennett, but the risk to innocent lives and the optics of not giving a warning had won out.
All dockworkers had been advised to leave. Southampton police were checking their identities at the perimeter before escorting everyone to a holding area. Considering the order and what it involved, it was no wonder satellites had caught suspicious movement.
Abigail arrived after they’d put two long warehouses behind them. A convoy of lorries hauling cargo containers rolled past them as she blurred to a stop beside Samaira, hopping from one foot to the other.
“Reborn IRA are setting up a defensive perimeter. I didn’t get eyes on Murphy, but they’re holding ground around Warehouse 275,” she reported.
“Pilots, drop our snipers around Warehouse 275,” Liam ordered.
“Acknowledged,” multiple voices said over the comms.
Snipers would provide overwatch coming and going now that they knew what direction their target was located in. According to the map that overlaid his tactical goggles, they were one klick away from where the Splice lab was possibly being held.
Samaira shouldered her assault rifle. “Europa to base. We need to borrow some of these lorries, copy.”
“Understood,” a crisp voice responded.
“Viper, what’s the number of people you can keep control of with a merge?” Liam wanted to know as Glenn and Tariq headed toward the two lorries ahead of them that had suddenly braked to a stop.
“The UMG wants as many alive for questioning and a trial. We can hold upward of forty between us, but we’re sensing at least one hundred of the enemy,” Katie said over comms rather than through a mental link.
