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“ACCORDING TO MATEO’S intel, the Citadel’s basic layout looks like this.” Garr sketched a diagram on a scrap of paper. “It’s four floors high, hexagonal in design, with a central core running from ground level to the top of the structure.”
“Hexagon means it’s got six sides.” Amos poked Don in the ribs. “And a hole in the middle. Like a doughnut.”
“I know what a hexagon is.” Don nodded at Garr’s sketch. “And it’s not a hole, it’s a structure within the structure.”
He caught Amos’s quizzical look. “Connor told me about it on the way over. As Darcy’s adopted son, he’s got the inside scoop.”
“Lucky for us,” Jane muttered. She and Aubrey hadn’t said much since re-joining the group, each appearing lost in her own thoughts.
Amos felt a twinge of unease as he stole a glance at her. There’s no good way to find out you’ve been Implanted. I just about lost my mind.
Garr scribbled, shading the circle at the center of the hexagon, and adding lines from the center to the outside. The diagram resembled the spokes of a wagon wheel. The Colonel used his pencil as a pointer, indicating each section between the spokes.
“Everything connected to the Givers and their technology is stored inside this building.” His pencil tapped from section to section. “There are meeting rooms, like any other office complex. And depending which floor you’re on, there’s also facilities for weapons manufacturing, an armory, and research and development labs for their unique technology.”
He paused, his expression grim. “And, on the top floor, the surgical facility where the condemned are re-made into Trackers. As an added bonus, that’s also where the Givers have their personal bunker.”
A simmering silence followed. If Megan had any reaction to Garr’s blunt recitation, she gave no indication.
“What about the nodes?” Sheila asked, her brow furrowed. “Are we assuming they’re manufactured and monitored from the Citadel?”
Connor spoke for the first time. “They’ll be analyzed by another department in the Surveillance Division. But the main signal will be broadcast from the Citadel. And the nodes are manufactured there, as well.”
“The Givers are pretty tight-fisted with their toys.” Don peered over Amos’s shoulder at the diagram. “Let’s hope alien paranoia works in our favor.”
Garr leaned his full weight on the table. “Don raises an important point. The Givers are, first and foremost, aliens. We know nothing about how they think, what they feel, or why they do what they do. We don’t dare assume anything about their objectives, or try to second-guess what they may or may not do.”
He paused for emphasis, looking around the cramped clinic. “We have two objectives. Stop Darcy from activating our Implants, and put an end to the Givers’ ability to use their technology against us.”
Amos leaned forward, jabbing a finger at Garr’s drawing. “We take out the Citadel, and no more Trackers. We take out Darcy, and no more Implants. It’s that simple.”
Amos saw Connor’s stunned reaction out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t care. Do the math, kid. Your father doesn’t care who he Implants. You should know that by now.
“Once we arrive at the Citadel, we’ll split into teams.” Garr took decisive charge. Amos recognized the subtle shift in the Colonel’s voice and demeanor. “Connor has the Citadel’s security codes, so getting inside will be relatively easy. Darcy will be focused on his strategy, but he has no idea we’re on to him. He won’t be expecting us.”
He jotted notes, point-form, outlining their game plan. “Most of the staff will have left by the time we arrive. The only people present should be a skeleton crew and what’s left of the Council. And the Givers, of course.”
“Mateo’s gone ahead,” Sheila said. “He took Logan with him. They’re Trackers—they’ll get there faster on foot than we will in vehicles.”
Don raised his hand. “What about weapons? Knives aren’t much against the kind of firepower Hoarders have.”
Megan interrupted from the opposite end of the table. “The doors are equipped with built-in scanners.” Her warning silenced everyone. “Any advanced weaponry will activate the security alarms.”
Connor jumped in on the heels of her sober comment. “But once we’re inside the Citadel, we’ll have access to any weapons we need.”
He patted his jacket pocket for emphasis. “I can get us past the locks on the armory. Codes are codes.”
“See? There’s more than one way to skin a Hoarder.” Don nudged Amos, grinning wickedly. Connor winced but said nothing.
Garr tossed his pencil on the table. The simple gesture spoke volumes. “Okay, everyone. Let’s get this over with.”
Next stop: the alien heart of Hoarderville. Amos took a deep breath as that sunk in.
For once, his inner voice could suggest nothing worse.