Ogidu returned with the teapot, put it down on the tray, and retreated to the kitchen.
His appearance had been a welcome respite that had put a pause on the emotional whirlwind that was threatening to swallow Annani.
When the doorbell rang announcing Kian, Ogidu rushed to the front door, and a moment later her son entered the sitting room.
"Good afternoon." Kian walked toward Annani, bent down, and kissed her cheek.
He kissed Alena's cheek next and lowered himself onto the couch beside Annani.
"Help yourself to some tea." Annani gestured toward the tray. "Ogidu made a fresh pot just minutes ago."
Kian poured himself a cup, took one sip, and set it down again.
"The mission is scheduled for Friday night, island time," he said. "Friday morning here."
Despite expecting the news, there was a sense of tightening in Annani's chest, but she forced the anxiety to loosen its grip so she could keep her composure in front of her children.
"That is sooner than I expected, although later than you originally planned."
Kian nodded. "We delayed the excavation efforts by compelling Losham to halt the night shifts. The scientists and the others on the island needed more time to organize their end, and the team at Safe Harbor needed more time to test the equipment and run another simulation. Being over-prepared is always better than being under-prepared. That's why I added more Guardians and the two Odus to the team. Okidu and Onidu will help the excavation go faster, and another team of Guardians will serve as backup on the submarine, ready to deploy in case things go south."
"Wasn't the EMP the backup plan?" Alena asked.
"The EMP is the backup to the backup." He smiled. "We have a submarine that's EMP-hardened, which means we can deploy the EMP without disabling our own means of escape. Same goes for the diving equipment and communication devices. We have eight inflatable waterproof casings for the chests, three extras in case some become defective."
Kian paused as he sipped more tea.
"The EMP device is built into a delivery drone that can be launched from Safe Harbor and reach the island's airspace from above the radar threshold. If we have to use it, the device will be detonated over the central ridge of the island. The blast radius will cover both the military and the resort sides. The ridge is the highest point on the island, and the EMP propagates radially. Detonating at altitude gives us the widest coverage. Deploying it from a lower altitude would mean a blast that hits a smaller area and might leave some of the island's electronics operational. We don't want that. At least, not until our people have retrieved thechests and made their way off the island and far enough out that they are safe from pursuit. There is also the issue of the enhanced soldiers and the women they plan to rescue being able to leave the island. The EMP will disable the ships docked at the harbor, preventing their departure. We want to give them an opportunity to leave beforehand.”
Alena reached for another cookie. "But you are not going to use it unless you have to, right?"
"The whole operation is designed to avoid the EMP. It's a contingency. If everything goes well, we go in stealthily, the cameras get looped, the alarms get bypassed, the chests come out through the cove and go straight to the submarine. No one on the island will know we were there until the chests are missed, and by then we are long gone. The soldiers help the scientists and the women they extract onto a supply ship, and they are gone as well."
"You mentioned something about bombing the cross-island tunnel," Alena said. "Is that also still a contingency?"
"Yes. We have six assault drones with an EMP-hardened build that are configured to bomb the tunnel connecting the military and resort areas of the island. If our Guardians face danger or an issue arises, we can delay reinforcements arriving from the military side. Without access to the tunnel, it will take them quite a bit longer to get there."
"So, it will not prevent them from reaching the resort side," Annani said. "It will only delay them?"
"Correct. But the delay should be enough to get our people and the chests out of there. Once we are beyond the island's territorial waters and into the open ocean, we are clear. Theydon't have a navy to chase us, and we'll be out of range of their weapons, if those are still functioning after the EMP is deployed."
Annani did not like the idea of bombing tunnels and detonating EMP devices over the island where many innocent people lived, both the trafficked women in the brothel and the human laborers brought in for the construction work and the staff of the resort. The contingencies might cause a lot of damage and harm, which everyone in the clan preferred to avoid.
But the safety of the Guardians and Khiann's retrieval took priority.
She set her cup down. "I would rather have our people home and bear the guilt over what the contingencies cost than to have our people lost and bear the guilt of not having done what was necessary to protect them."
"My thoughts exactly," Kian said. "I'm glad we are on the same page. But just to ease your mind, according to Turner, most of the consumer electronics will likely remain physically intact but will be unusable for a time because the supporting infrastructure is down. Most of the phones and communication devices will function once the towers are repaired. And a small device like the transmitter we gave to the enhanced soldiers might not be affected at all."
Annani let out a long breath.
"I worry that something will go wrong before Friday. Another collapse. Another explosion."
"The delays worked in our favor," Alena said. "The Fates have been merciful."
"That is what I have been telling myself."
"We should pray," Alena suggested.
