Chapter 56

It was just on the cusp of daylight when they gathered in their living room. The excitement bore thick in the air. They had set an early meeting the next morning together after that tense exchange with Kian earlier in the night. Beyond the gallery, Victor stood at a narrow window looking out into the woods. Sitting on the lip of the couch, Emma twitched her foot. Across town, Julian was busy but for the first time in years not with his Sales team, instead he paced back and forth looking at random camera shots on a smartphone that fed directly from his surveillance systems.

Finally, Fiona came in and set a tray of coffee on the table. Dogs 5 & 6 She looked weary but strong for the next challenges of tomorrow. Kian was sitting at the kitchen table on his laptop He had been up for hours checking last-minute details. He may not have been well rested, but he was awake and aware.

Fiona passed around the coffee, and she too sat at the table with all her attention trained on Kian. “Any updates from your team?”

Kian nodded and then visibly sobered up. “They’re ready. We've mapped clinics, escape routes, and Cross's safe houses. It took some pressing but we can confirm, that he has at least three major exit strategies. If we want to stop him before he catches on, we have to move fast.

The two of them, gyrated further from the center till Julian quit his pacing and pivoted to Kain. “What’s the first step?”

Kian leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. “First, we strip it of its comms relays. To ensure that things continue running smoothly, Cross uses a network of secure servers and carefully vetted couriers. All we have to do is throw him off balance by disrupting his network — He will have to scramble, and that is when we can strike.

Victor steered away from the window, giving it some deep thought. “How secure are these hubs? We are not prepared for a full-on assault.

Kian nodded in agreement. This is not going to be a direct frontal attack. Two of the three locations have already been combed through by my team. We just have to signal them and they will crash the servers from within. The third hub is trickier. It was one of those places, put in a high-security warehouse on the outskirts. That's where we will have to combine forces.

Until that point, Emma had been silent. “What about Gregor? "Cross knows something is going on, if his spell breaks you'll be a target, Gregor.



“Oh Fiona,” she mumbled, “First thing first.”

“It seems like Gregor is the next target,” Kian grinned mildly. “Cross will always be after him whenever he deems him a threat. There is already a safe house set up for him; one that even Cross's people are not aware of. It has good arrangements of isolation and protection and it is also all provisioned. Before proceeding with their plans, they will have to transport him there first.”

Victor, arms crossed in thought, “How do we know that this so-called ‘safe house’ isn’t yet compromised by someone? We can’t afford to make mistakes.”

Kian’s stare held firm against Victor’s gaze as he spoke without flinching, “I oversee its security myself. My permission is required for anyone to enter or leave. There is also a small team which I trust with my life.”

Everyone was silent for an instant; at last, Fiona said something with strong resolve, “Okay then. First, we Move Gregor into the sanctuary. After confirming his safety, our next step will be to take down communication links. Finally, we zero in on Cross’s escape routes.”

Julian had checked his phone more times than he cared about then looked up at them in surprise “I can establish surveillance around the warehouse during my free time but before doing anything we have to know what it looks like inside.”

Kian nodded, already thinking ahead. “I have a friend who can get us the blueprints. It won’t be easy, but it’s doable. We’ll need to coordinate carefully. One misstep and Cross will vanish.”



pt yourself from the media. But life has to go on, and I need to acknowledge this.”

Victor was facing Fiona with determination on his face, and he spoke out, “Then let’s be vigilant enough not to make any mistakes at this stage. We’ve come too far for us to lose him now.”

As everything fell into place or rather started coming together, tension in the room lifted but no one was under any illusion about what they were about to face. Nothing was trifling because everything was at stake for each of them. They all sensed that they were about to change everything by something greater than human beings had ever done before.

Fiona stood in charge: “I’ll take care of Gregor’s move while Emma goes doing other things.” It seemed like she said those words without thinking about it. “Julian work together with Kian to get those blueprints and then go watch over that warehouse. Victor, I want you to work with Kian’s group to take down the two other communication stations as well.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement immediately accepting roles given unto them without any question at all though the team had gone through so many challenges in the past but today things felt somewhat different from what was earlier observed. This time it was no longer just about surviving but rather what they originally set out to accomplish; bringing closure to their mission.

When another meeting came to an end their discussions so Fiona approached him sitting back at his laptop, and during this moment she asked him “How soon can we move Gregor?”

Kian paused looking above at her “Tonight if possible. It would be better if we hid him as fast as possible.” Fiona replied affirmatively.” I’ll arrange everything I must do so quickly and quietly.”

Even though Kian’s face wore solemnness, there was still a sense of admiration in his voice as he spoke “You are talented at hiding things from the Loosman more than me.”

erywhere.

She sighed and observed her team surreptitiously examining their surroundings. In contrast to previous occasions when they had to be cautious against any threat that may present itself, at that moment they had only one worry—keeping safe the man whose life was in jeopardy.

“Take care of him, okay…” Fiona said before disappearing behind the fortress-like walls of Kian’s bastion.

“I have you”—Gregor voiced out before she vanished from earshot.

The place showed no signs of life save for dogs barking somewhere in between the forested stretches of the compound.

Fiona’s heart raced as she noticed Gregor’s uneasiness which would not go unnoticed by people like her still hoping for the best.

“What did you tell those idiots at the safe house?” he asked, his hand shaking slightly as he continued biting on his nails; after all, he had learned many things about life.

“We didn’t talk about anything important.”

At that moment everything returned to normal except for a few moments scattered across time. Everyone agreed that they wouldn’t go against their words again—well, maybe not everybody!

They were holding their breath before making any move because they knew it wouldn’t end well if someone made noise or just moved abruptly from his seated position.

“Let’s get started,” Fiona ordered.
“You look tired Gregor,” said she softly.
He shrugged his shoulder like had Lilian said before.

No one responded except silence hanging heavy over them all while dawn broke bringing with it new hopes but old sorrows too if only to keep him alive just another night.

They all stared hard at one another knowing how much stuff differed throughout their lives by then since around midnight when everyone went to bed together along those lines where life had been captured eternally neath mists like dark brown pebbles frozen amidst snowdrifts until sunlight broke through sometime around April except then these became mere shadows within themselves even though they went about gliding soundlessly through the house mingling together without even a whisper falling among the swaying curtains during early afternoon.

Their hearts were still racing; trembling with anticipation. The thought of how much someone would take to stay alive was something that brought tears to her eyes as she looked up toward heaven.

But not before she tasted the sweetness of victory—and what could be sweeter than avenging ourselves on those who made us suffer so much?

Gregor seemed to shake himself out of a stupor. “Shall I keep my mouth shut then?” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Would you like to?” Fiona asked softly.

“I don’t know if that’s going to help anything,” Gregor replied. “How come nobody mentioned it before now?” Excuse me!

Fiona wondered about this man with big hands and a face full of mistakes looking as if life had been poured out of him in countless doses a long time ago.

“Be careful and remember that you’re in charge,” she said firmly.



And this time, they wouldn’t stop until he was brought to justice.