Roman said, “Roger that. Keep us updated, and don’t let him leave the building.”
“Got it, boss.”
The next few minutes were… anxiety-inducing and frustrating. Brinik Norfiel rode the elevator down to the main floor. For a few minutes, I thought we were going to have to go in early or possibly catch the bastard on the way to his car, but then Ryo spoke again.
“Brinik Norfiel and Calarel Kelhorn are at the basement door. I think they’re going down.”We all waited another thirtyseconds.“They went down to the basement. I repeat, Brinik Norfiel and Calarel Kelhorn went down to the basement. All targets are in the basement.”
“Got it, Ryo,” Roman said before looking at me. “Looks like we’re all going down together. Are you gonna be okay sticking to Brinik Norfiel and Calarel Kelhorn down there?”
I gave him a nod. “Yes. I’ve got this.”
He grinned at me. “I know you do.” Then he spoke into his mic. “The plan stays the same. Alpha Team is on Brinik Norfiel, secondary mission is Calarel Kelhorn. Got it?”
Basil’s voice said,“We got it.”
Rome continued, “Bravo Team, you’re to stay on the captives. Shield them, keep them safe from the fighting, work on breaking them out of those cages.”
Ailin said,“Roger.”
“Charlie, you work on getting the servants to a safe place and covered in shields.”
Jed said,“We will.”Most of the vampires were on that team since they moved fast and could potentially grab the servants and dodge any flying spells or bullets while they got to a safe area. There were two witches on that team as well who were responsible for getting shields up.
I’d spoken to them all several times about how important it was to keep them safe, and Jed had assured me that they would find Isidore and protect her.
I was counting on them.
Roman said, “Delta, you’re responsible for apprehending or using lethal force against any and all soldiers and cult members. We cannot let anyone get away.”
Thayer said,“Don’t worry, Roman, we’ve got this.”
“Hell yeah, we do. Echo, you make sure none of them get away.” Echo Team was staying outside, watching all the exits,just in case we had any runners. We weren’t letting anyone get away with all this horror.
“Will do,”a voice I didn’t recognize said, likely one of my dad’s guards. Rome definitely knew him.
Roman grunted and took a breath. “Ryo, we’re ready on your count.”
Our overwatch guy said,“Be ready in ten, nine, eight…”
I held my breath, trying not to move and bounce on my toes in anticipation.
“…three, two, one, go, go, go!”
As one, everyone moved in on the building.
We were all wearing black with light armor, helmets, and had guns raised, looking like any kind of tactical unit in a movie. Except, along with guns, several people had spells glowing at their fingertips, ready to let loose on these evil sonsofbitches.
Many of the witches had small bags strapped to their backs or waists, and a lot of them were carrying extra clothes for the shifters in case they ripped their clothes during a shift.
We were going to be fighting indoors, which meant Rome, Dad, and I couldn’t shift because we were too big, but Tan had insisted on bringing clothes for all of us. When Hiro had seen how big his bag was, he’d taken some of the clothes and stuffed them in his own, which I thought was rather nice of the gruff hunter.
After Roman counted down, our snipers took out all of the guards on the outside of the building. Now it was up to us to stay quiet and take out anyone we saw that might raise an alarm. My team entered through the same side door we’d used yesterday, and we quickly made our way to the basement stairway.
This was the part that sucked. We had to shield ourselves before going down because once we opened that door, there would be no hiding our raid, and there was only one way up and down. So Bravo Team—Ailin and Seb’s team—was going downfirst since they’d be able to shield the cages quickly. We didn’t want to give any of the goons a chance to use the hostages against us.
Bravo Team made it to the door at the same time as us, and I saw a few people—likely other trafficking members—already on the ground and cuffed with our guys guarding them. Clearly, no one was messing around, and anyone who got in our way was going down.
Ailin gave Rome a nod, and my viramore yanked the door open for him.
