“Can we get them out in forty-five seconds?”
“If everything goes perfectly. But nothing ever goes perfectly.”
“So we plan for complications.”
“What kind of complications?”
“More security than expected. The mother showing up. Teachers interfering. I want contingencies for all of it.”
Marcus nods. “You’re going to need at least eight people. Four for the extraction team, four for backup and blocking.”
“Get them. The best people we have. Professionals who can stay calm under pressure.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning. Eight a.m.”
His eyebrows raise. “That’s?—”
“Not enough time. I know. Make it work anyway.”
He leaves, and I sit there alone with the photos.
Finn and Liam. Walking into that school every morning holding Nadia’s hands. Backpacks on, uniforms neat, no idea their father exists and wants to know them.
That ends tomorrow.
It’s midnight, and the team assembles at my office.
Eight men total. Marcus and three others for the extraction. Declan and three more for backup and blocking. All of them have worked for me for years. They’re loyal, skilled, and they don’t ask questions they don’t need answered.
I spread the school photos across the conference table.
“This is a child extraction,” I say. “Two boys, five years old, twins. They’ll be arriving at the school tomorrow morning around eight. We’re taking them during the walk from the car to the building entrance.”
“Who are they?” one of the guys asks.
“Mine.”
That’s all the explanation they need.
Marcus walks them through the plan. “Two vehicles. First one blocks Vance’s security, second one grabs the kids. Extraction team moves fast, gets them in the vehicle, drives out immediately. Backup team covers the exit and handles any complications.”
“What about the kids?” another guy asks. “They’re going to scream.”
“Handle them carefully,” I say. “No violence unless absolutely necessary. They’re children. I don’t want them hurt.”
“And if they fight us?”
“They’re five. You can restrain them without hurting them.”
“What about the adults? The mother?”
“She won’t be there. Julian’s wife does the morning drop-offs.”
“And if she shows up anyway?”
“You still take the boys. I’ll deal with the mother.”
