Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
“So, sneak in and shoot our way out?” Cullen asked.
Crass as it sounded…yeah. We couldn’t kill the guards on our way in because they’d overthrow us once they’d sent all their forces to our location. We had to enter undetected to maintain the element of—
“We need the element of surprise on our side,” River said, dipping his bread in the soup. “We definitely have to go in without anyone suspecting a thing, and then…” He shrugged and shoveled more food into his mouth.
We were all on the same page. An explosive exit might sound easy, but it was also messy. Besides, we knew the Blancos kept children around—hell, from Crew’s updates, we were talking a whole community of people.
“Anyone else have anything to add from their shift?” Emerson asked.
No, it just annoyed me we couldn’t predict their guard changes.
“Only the confirmation that we didn’t see any modern tech,” Greer responded. “No thermal cams or surveillance this far out.”
“Not in our sector either,” Elliott said.
Same—River and I had paid attention to that too. Coach had geared us up good and proper, so we were equipped to detect everything from heat signatures to metal. As long as we moved under the cover of darkness tomorrow, we should be able to slip by their first line of defense, which, geographically, was the biggest hurdle.
We’d likely encounter a wall or some sort of reinforced barrier as we got closer to the Blanco estate, and it was the one thing I could imagine causing us another day’s delay. But before we knew what we were up against, it was useless to make elaborate plans. A wall could be scaled or climbed—everything depended on the security and Coach and Willow being able to locate the Blancos’ command center. A confined blackout would give us an advantage.
I broke off a chunk of chicken and dropped bits and pieces of it into my soup. Then I did it in River’s bowl too.
“So far, I’m not a huge fan of Colombia.” Cullen smacked something on his leg. “Does it ever stop raining?”
Elliott huffed a chuckle and jerked his chin to the east. “Skip over to the next valley. Every mountain has its own weather system.”
He wasn’t exaggerating too much either.
“I love this country,” Danny said bluntly. “We’ve had some really good times here.” The smile he and Emerson exchanged spoke of more than their training missions with Hillcroft recruits.
Coach smirked. “Have we reached the part of the night where we reminisce about our first gigs here?”
I let out a laugh and ran with it. “It was a warm summer’s eve in Barranquilla…”
“Ay-ay!” Danny lit up.
River groaned a chuckle.
I switched to Spanish, remembering the music, the fantastic food…and, of course, the coke problem they had with smugglers slinging their shit through the port. “La música increíble, la comida sabrosa, y la coca fluía por el puerto.”
Elliott grinned faintly and shook his head. “El reto es contar una historia que no tenga la palabra coca. O al final alguien va a terminar muerto.”
He earned some laughter from that, and he had a point; it would definitely be a challenge to come up with a story that didn’t revolve around coke and people ending up dead.
I sucked my teeth, mostly annoyed I’d never been able to sound like a native speaker the way he did. Elliott and Danny could move throughout Latin America without raising any suspicion whatsoever.
“I need a translator,” Cullen joked.
Emerson leaned forward with a proud little smile. “There’s a running joke at our agency from back in the day. Contract in Mexico? Send Elliott Jones. Colombia? Send Elliott Jones as a Mexican.”
I snorted in amusement and crammed more bread into my mouth.
“I’m glad I have one skill,” Elliott drawled.
“If it’s a gig that requires zero diplomacy, send Darius Quinn,” Danny quipped.
Ha! That was funny. Even River laughed
“Or Coach,” I said. “You’re almost as grumpy as Quinn.”
“Fuck you.”
I smacked my lips at him.
“So you were all with the same PMC agency in DC,” Greer stated.
I scratched the side of my head, glancing around us.
“I recruited the twins and Elliott,” Emerson confirmed. “Danny’s responsible for Mathis—I suppose we can both take credit for Darius Quinn and his brother.”
“Mathis and I were in the Army together,” Danny added.
“And you know the man my son’s with?” Cullen looked to Emerson and Danny for confirmation.
Emerson inclined his head. “Crew’s in good hands. If I’d managed to recruit Mercier, he would’ve been included in the running joke about Elliott. Unfortunately, Adrien’s a Fed through and through—but the best I’ve ever encountered.”
Cullen scraped his teeth over his bottom lip and nodded once. His worry for Crew sank in like a reality check for me. Here I was, laughing and shooting the shit, while Shay was…not here.
I dropped my stare to my food and swallowed hard.
Fucking hell.
River nudged me. “Don’t do that,” he said quietly.