This is domestic, normal. This is everything I was designed not to have.
I'm having it anyway.
"Okay." Jinx claps his hands, making everyone wince. "Planning time. The hangover will help us think clearly."
"That's not how hangovers work," Elliot says.
"It's how my hangovers work. Sit down. Let's talk about Kreiss."
We gather in the living room, documents spread across the coffee table, tablets and laptops open to various files. The morning light is brutal through the windows, but none of us move to close the curtains. Pain is clarifying. Another thing the Foundry taught us.
"Werner Kreiss," I begin, pulling up his file. "Geneva-based. Handles money for the Custodians and about a dozen other organizations who can't afford paper trails. He's been doing this for way more than thirty years, which means he's careful, paranoid, and very well protected."
"He's also dirty," Jonah adds.
“Right, Elliot saw that pattern too.”
"Either way, he's vulnerable." I say with a sigh.
"Vulnerable how?"
I pull up a map. "He maintains a private residence outside Geneva. Not his primary home. A safe house where he keeps hismost sensitive records. Physical documents, hard drives, things that can't exist on any network."
"His insurance policy," Jinx says. "Smart. If anyone comes for him, he's got leverage."
"Exactly. And if the records aren’t at the facility, this is where they will be."
Jace studies the map. "Security?"
"Substantial but not insurmountable. The property is isolated. Three buildings: main house, guest cottage, garage. Perimeter cameras, motion sensors, two guards on rotation. The records are in a basement vault accessed through the main house."
"That's a lot of exposure for a small team."
"Which is why we go in smart." I zoom in on the property layout. "The guard rotation has a gap every four hours when both teams overlap at the main gate. Ninety seconds. Enough time to breach the perimeter and reach the main house if we move fast."
"And once we're inside?"
"Jonah and I handle the vault. You and Jinx handle security. Elliot stays with the extraction vehicle."
"I'm not staying in the car," Elliot says immediately.
"You're our exit strategy. If something goes wrong, you're the only one who can get us out."
"If something goes wrong, you'll need backup inside. Not a getaway driver."
Jace puts a hand on his arm. "He's right. This isn't a combat op. We need clean extraction more than we need extra bodies. What if we fuck the Geneva facility and just get the records? That should be enough to tighten the noose and take out the Custodians that are dirty."
Elliot's jaw tightens, but he doesn't argue further. I make a note to talk to him later. He's not wrong about wanting to help, but his value is in his skills, not his fighting ability.
I think about that for a minute. I want to save the kids, but it is more of a risk than doing it this way. “Sure. That makes sense.”
Elliot throws his hands up. “How on earth do you three ever accomplish anything? First it’s this, then it’s that, then it’s Elliot make us food, Elliot make us coffee, now it’s Elliot stay in the car.”
Holding down a chuckle, I put my hand on his shoulder. “You are important to our family, Elliot. We are trained, you are not. Us changing plans is just how we get to the absolute best statistical chance of success. Nothing personal. We need you, but we need you in a position that doesn’t compromise the rest of the team.”
That seems to calm him because he nods and shuffles off to the kitchen, grumbling, “I’ll just get started on more coffee then,your highness.”
"Timeline?" Jinx asks after Jace is done laughing at Elliots sass.
