Chapter 125
“Yes, it is rather quick. I’ll give you that,” Cadon said with a nod. “But I think we need to strike while Crimson is still discombobulated.”
“Yeah, Ash,” Elliott said. “We don’t want to give him time to get bobulated.”
Chuckles filled the room. Cadon knew that Elliott was just trying to lessen the tension, but he didn’t feel like it was the time for jokes.
“How are we getting to Alcatraz?” Cale asked. “I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be able to take a plane in there.”
“No, but helicopters would work,” Cadon said with a nod. “Do we have any in the hangar?”
“Not that aren’t obliterated,” Brandon said. “Most of the vehicles we left here are junked now.”
“Shit,” Cadon muttered.
“There’s an air force base in Knob Noster,” Martin Green, another Healer who had been with Jamie at the Capitol all this time, offered. “I don’t know specifically about that base, but I heard enough of Crimson’s assholes talking about air force bases around DC to have a pretty good idea that they were keeping as many birds at the ready as they could.”
“Why? Were they going to fly overhead and spew venom on all of the humans on the ground?” Elliott asked.
Martin didn’t seem to realize he was joking. “I don’t know why they were keeping them, but I don’t think it would be too hard for us to drive over there and take them.”
Cadon considered that possibility. Knob Noster wasn’t that far away. “All right. But there’s another problem. If we steal a helicopter… we’re going to need a pilot. A helicopter pilot. It was hard enough to find an airplane pilot before. What are our chances of finding a helicopter pilot?”
“I’ll get you a pilot,” Margie said, finally unfolding her arms long enough to wave at him like he was a nuisance, a pesky fly. “You make your plans to go steal the damn helicopter, and I’ll get you someone to fly you out of there.”
“Won’t we need more than one?” Elliott asked. “Once we land on the Rock, how are we going to get off--with all of those prisoners?”
Cadon tried not to look exasperated. He didn’t know the answer to that question either.
It was Heather McGraw, the other Hybrid, besides Cassidy, who chimed in. “Getcherself a big ol’ boat,” she said. “Any damn person can drive one of them barges. Have it at the ready, and y’all can get off the damn island and onto the boat.”
“That’s a good idea,” Cadon said. “I like that idea.”
“But why did you say ‘you’?” Brandon asked her. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“Hell if I know. The kid ain’t told me diddly squat yet. Well, kid? Who’s going where?”
Cadon realized he was ‘the kid’ in question. “Basically. Margie’s people will go to New York, and the rest of us will go to Alcatraz.”
“That’s too many damn people for one helicopter,” she said. “Besides, yer gonna wanna leave some folks here to make sure them damn Vampires don’t get back here why we’s gone.”
Cadon opened his mouth, intending to agree with her, but all that came out was an exasperated sigh.
“How many prisoners are there in Alcatraz right now?” Elliott asked--not even looking at Cadon. Just a general wondering.
“Last I heard, thirty-four,” Brandon said. “Aaron had talked about going in there right before the Holland sighting, remember? He’d popped out of the portal for a couple of days last spring, and we talked about what our next objective should be.”
Elliott nodded. “All right. I’m guessing they don’t have too many more Vampire guards than that. Maybe sixty tops. We probably need… twenty people?”
“You think we need that many?” Jamie asked. “Cale and I can patch up anyone who gets shot.”
“Tell that to Aaron,” Emma Burk muttered.
“Fair enough,” Jamie said, giving the younger girl the stare down. “But we can be fairly certain that none of the Vamps on the island are going to have some sort of supercharged scandium bullet ready to launch at one of us.”
Cadon’s eyes went over the people in front of him. He didn’t even know everyone’s names. Some of these people had been with Jamie in The Capitol Building. Some of them had come back to LIGHTS headquarters as soon as they’d heard that the team was taking the facility back. He knew there were other people elsewhere in the vicinity, too. He needed someone he could trust to stay behind and keep the headquarters safe and running smoothly--but he didn’t know who he could spare.
“I’ll stay here if you want,” Ashley said, raising her hand. “I think… when Scott comes back, it’ll probably be here, and I want to be here when he arrives.” She looked at her husband, and Jamie nodded, even though it was clear they didn’t want to be apart again.
Ashley was an experienced Hunter who knew what she was doing. Cadon nodded. “Great. I need to leave a Guardian with you, too, to head up the other Guardians that will be coming in.” People were coming from all around to rejoin the team, and it would seem odd not to have a Guardian there as well as a Hunter.
A short, balding man in the back raised his hand. Cadon didn’t even know the guy’s name. He could’ve used his IAC to look it up, but he found himself nodding at the gentleman before he had a chance. “I’d be happy to stay.” The guy sounded sort of mousy, like maybe he was afraid of his own shadow. Cadon wasn’t so sure he’d make a reliable leader, but he definitely couldn’t see him going on the mission.
“Great, thanks… you.”
“Schmidts,” Elliott said in Cadon’s head.
“Schmidts. Thanks.” Cadon knew he probably wasn’t fooling anyone, but the guy nodded and smiled. “All right then. It sounds like we’ve got our two teams. Margie’s people are going to New York City, and the rest of us, except for Ashley and Schmidts, will be headed to California, as soon as we obtain the vehicles to get us there--and get us off the Rock, once we have our team members freed.” Cadon said the statement with an air of finality, but he knew that the hardest part wasn’t behind him. Not even close.
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