God shook his head. “Gem and Nemo could easily set charges, but without knowing how deep to go, or which oubliette contained our men, we run the risk of blowing them up as well.”
Daleyza ran her finger along the northern and southern walls, tapping each area as she spoke. “The outer walls on the south form the legitimate portion of the household. Those were the security offices and where deliveries came in by truck. The outbuilding here is a storage facility. The road is unpaved, but it forms a circle for trucks to easily load in and out.”
“Do we have surveillance on deliveries, Midas?”
“Some, but we’ve only been watching them for a little over thirty-six hours. There’s no way to know whether anything comes in regularly or at specific times.”
Loki looked up at him from the map. “We could go a mile or two out from the structure. Lie in wait and ambush a truck that comes in or stow away, depending on what type of truck it is. Get in that way.”
“That’s a high-risk option. We have no idea who the drivers are or when those trucks will arrive. There just isn’t enough reconnaissance done for us to predict success, and there isn’t time to get what we need. I won’t eliminate it, but it should be our last option.” He looked at her. “Go on. What else do we have?”
“The northern portion of the complex is where the soldiers are housed. They’re small. Rudimentary. Three men share a dorm, butthey’re rarely in the same space at the same time because they work eight-hour shifts, seven days a week. And the southern portion of the quad holds the common rooms. Cafeteria. Entertainment room. Laundry facilities.”
“And the outbuildings?”
She pointed to each. “Armory. Training facilities. Small storage. This one is like what soldiers have on base for shopping.”
“An exchange,” Steel supplied.
“That’s it. The soldiers never leave the property unless they’re supervisors or higher.”
“What’s this building?” Loki asked, pointing at a barn structure on the northern end of the property.
“The motor pool. Not the big trucks. Those come from off-site, but I don’t know where. Smaller vehicles are kept and maintained here. Jeeps, SUVs, that kind of thing.”
“That’s the only blind spot I see,” Gilgamesh offered. “You can’t see the tree line there. Not perfect, but it would get us closer to the main structure.”
“Do you remember cameras, Daleyza?”
“Some. Back then, they were mostly at the main gate.”
“Midas,” God called out. “Scan for electronic cameras.”
“Already done. That’s one way he’s modernized. They’re everywhere. Property line at every fence post. Every external door, including those inside the quadrangle. They’re also throughout the residence.”
“Paranoid much?” Gilgamesh quipped.
“That they are. The highest concentration is in the northwest corner, which is the residence, and the southeast corner, where there’s an outcropping structure. Drone footage shows me that the farthest end is longer than the map you have.”
“So they’ve added on to the building. My guess is that’s where shipping and receiving are located. The last point before it goes out into the world. It’s only one story, but it’s long and could hold quite a bit of product.”
“Easy access for where the trucks load in and out. Makes sense.”
“How the hell are we going to get into this place? I feel like we’re missing something obvious,” God muttered.
Silence sat heavy in the room for several moments. A soft shimmer formed, causing the drawing of the mission itself to glow. “Tunnels,” he murmured.
Everyone looked at him.
He explained his thought. “In every situation where we’ve dealt with these Salieri fucks, we’ve dealt with underground tunnels. It’s how they’ve moved product. Where they’ve based the core of their activities. If Daleyza’s family is involved with the Salieri, there must be tunnels.”
Loki pulled the map toward his side of the table. “In the Caribbean, they stemmed from outbuildings, correct?”
“Yes,” Demon said, crossing over to them. “Barns and sheds. Could the motor pool be an area of entry?”
“Unless they’ve reduced the number of vehicles used in operations,” Daleyza told him, “it’s doubtful. The few times I was in there, it was packed to the gills. You’d have to move a lot of vehicles out of the space in order to open a trapdoor or something like that.”
“Midas, has your drone footage shown any outbuildings in the forested areas?”
