“How much longer do we have?” Kamat asked. The swelling in her face had gone down, and with a scarf wrapped around her head, her exotic beauty showed again.
“Not long. It’s time for more detailed planning. When you’re through here, after lunch, we’ll go downstairs and get started on the next phase.”
Rafe came into the kitchen, poured himself some water, and leaned on the counter. “We’re discussing tactics finally?”
“About to,” Ky said. “We’ve got the skeleton plan, all but where to take them after we’ve got them. And it’s time”—past time; she should have done this earlier—“to compartmentalize, let each one concentrate on a particular area of responsibility. Communications, surveillance, transport, medical, assault teams, local and community support, countermeasures.”
“There’s not that many of us,” Rafe said. “You know we need more people.”
“Yes. And the sergeant major is working on that with Aunt Grace. Each subunit will have a contact person, a leader. Just one. Only the leader will know who else is in the unit. Inyatta, you have relatives in the region we’re going to. You are the liaison for local support there. Rodney has connections with local militia; he’ll be the liaison for those personnel; everything they need to do will come from him. And so on: I made charts.”
“Based on what?” Rafe asked.
“On what we know so far. We can’t expect the charts to cover everything yet, but they’ll help us analyze what else we need to know.”
“I need to know how to get more ammunition,” Rafe said.
“Done,” Ky said. “Rodney knows a supplier; he’ll arrange that. Just be sure he knows what you need.” She looked at the women again. “One thing I need to know—and forgot to ask before—is how long it took you to recover from the drugs. How soon could you walk steadily across a room, or use stairs?”
The three looked at one another. “I don’t know,” Inyatta said after a moment. “I can’t remember what it was like when we first got there, at all. I know that right after we escaped, we had trouble—our balance was off, we were shaky. If we hadn’t been so scared, we couldn’t have made it even a kilometer. If we hadn’t found a place to hide until that wore off, we’d have been caught for sure.”
“So… those we rescue may not be able to walk from one vehicle to another,” Ky said.
“They might be unconscious,” Rafe said.
“Takes more staff to ensure they don’t choke,” Ky said. “But basically, we can’t count on any help from them—we have to be prepared to unload and load them.”
“If the others are rescued, I’m sure they’ll try to help,” Kamat said. “But how can we possibly help them while we’re stuck in this house?”
“One way or another, we aren’t going to stay here,” Ky said. “Even if we have to climb the back garden wall and crawl down it the way you did getting in. But I’m hoping Sera Lane will get Rafe, Teague, and me set straight with Immigration—then we can get out more easily. You three—you can’t be risked; if our mission fails, you’re the only ones who can testify to what happened to you, and them.”
“I wonder if the media could help,” Rafe said. Ky turned to stare, and he waved a hand at her. “No, listen. Right now the other side has a secret they want kept. What if rumors got out that such a secret existed—”
“They’d kill them,” Ky and the others said, voices clashing with intensity.
“I don’t think so,” Rafe said. “That many deaths are hard to hide. What if the question came from some of the family members? They haven’t been allowed to see their loved ones—even if they’re in the throes of a bad plague, they should at least be allowed to see them, talk to the doctors, all that. Betange has dependent siblings—there’s a tear-jerking story for you. For them. Kind of thing they love. Who’s taking care of those kids now?”
“But the rules—someone has to be suppressing the news about them already—”
“It’s too juicy a story,” Rafe said. “After all, they were willing to buck the system to embarrass the Academy ten years ago. As long as it’s from the families, not anyone here in Port Major. We can use Teague to make contact.”
“You called?” Teague said from the doorway.
“We’re into the detailed planning now. I’m thinking if we tickled the families of the other survivors—even yours—” Rafe looked from one face to another. “—they might be willing to complain publicly about the lack of information and contact. And that might attract media attention, and be a cover for our own fact-finding and actions.”
“Have you finalized the other necessary parts of the operation while I was downstairs picking satellite images?”
“Some,” Ky said. “I charted a command structure this morning, and tentative assignments for everyone. We know how many other survivors—if they’re all still alive—and where they’ll be taken, but I don’t know even how many vehicles—trucks, vans, ambulances?—we would need, or the medical staffing. This isn’t like anything I’ve ever done—”
“But I have,” Teague reminded her, calm in the face of her temper. “If this were Gary’s org, we’d want the information I was bringing, plus at least three hostage rescue teams. Rafe saw Gary’s in action. We don’t have those connections here, but I’ve been talking to Rodney about some of his friends. And since these are actual military we’re planning to deal with, I will bet that some other enlisted—not part of the scheme—would be eager to help their comrades.”
“Probably,” Barash said, with a glance at Inyatta, “except that we’re taught to follow orders. Most would just push it up the chain of command, and how do we know the top of the chain isn’t corrupt?”
“Ex-military, then?” Teague asked.
“Maybe—probably,” Inyatta said. “But we three—we don’t know that many ex-enlisted. I don’t, anyway.”
“Sergeant Major Morrison does,” Ky said. “She may have friends among them with the skills we need. We need to see her again.”
“She’s being surveilled,” Teague reminded them.
“Teague, can you give me a list? Everything your employer would use for something like this?”
“Show me your charts; I can probably fill in some things.”
Lunch wasn’t mentioned again. They all moved downstairs to the bunker, and Teague began talking. “Pre-zero: survey the relevant locations, decide on the ideal place for the snatch. Make an educated guess—with Gary it’s often certainty—about the force the other side has. Arrange for the extrication teams, post-extrication extraction from the location, and post-extraction medical and other care needs in a secure location. Slotter Key doesn’t have nearly the surveillance that Nexus Two has, but in this instance we’re talking about countering an official force, which is different and likely will have excellent surveillance.”
“Say—three or four survivors to extricate, possibly unable to ambulate or talk.”
“Mobile or static situation?”
“Mobile—we wouldn’t have to break into a facility.”
“Okay—you need a convincing reason for the vehicle to have to stop, something they won’t immediately suspect, so they don’t call for help or start shooting right away. Do you want to kill people or not?”
Ky stared a moment. She had considered Teague a neutral civilian, not a criminal. Now she wondered. “Um—would prefer not to kill anyone we don’t have to.”
“Then you need a knockdown drug and delivery system. Can be conventional-looking firearms, if your crew has a reason to carry them, or another method. A way of breaking into the vehicles they’re using. A way of moving your survivors—if they can’t walk, or if they’re partially ambulatory and might struggle. Two to a survivor. Plus whoever’s gaining control of the vehicle. If they’re on movable gurneys, that’s handy; you just unlatch them and go.”