part0093

K ane checked his watch and knew from his steady speed he was about ten minutes out from the compound. So far, there was no evidence of pursuit, and he hadn’t been intercepted. If his cover had been blown, then it appeared they were taking him down at the compound where they could control the situation, rather than do it on a public road and risk an incident with the locals, or the life of the buyer.

It was exactly how he’d do it.

He activated his comm. “Control, Whiskers. I’m about ten minutes out. I’m going to need to know what I’m doing when I get there.”

“Copy that, Whiskers. Regretting your callsign choice yet?”

Kane grinned at Leroux’s question. The answer was yes. Hell yes. “Not at all. Fang said it was cute. So, what’s the procedure?”

“We’ve been monitoring the compound. A vehicle entered there about fifteen minutes ago. It looks like the procedure is to approach the gate, let it open, then drive through.”

“It looks like they rely on recognizing the car. I’m guessing they don’t get too many visitors.”

“Let’s hope there’s no secret hand signal. Okay, so I go through the gates, then what?”

“The vehicle we monitored went through then proceeded to the motor pool to the left. However, since you’re dropping off a guest, we’ll assume you’re going to the main entrance. When you come through, you’ll be in a courtyard. Go to your right and circle the outer edge then stop at the steps that lead up to the main entrance. Exit the vehicle, then open your passenger’s door as a good chauffeur would. If all goes well, you’ll get back in the car, then go over to the motor pool, which will be straight ahead of you at that point. Park your vehicle, then the rest is up to you.”

“Yeah, but we know that isn’t going to happen, don’t we?”

“My guess is that their suspicions have been raised, so you’ll be surrounded the moment you arrive there, then possibly shot.”

“So, what are my options? I’m thinking I can bail on this guy now and save my life, but that means the professors are probably toast. Or I go through with our plan, and I allow myself to be captured without resistance. That distraction might give the boys the opportunity to get inside undetected while all eyes are on me.”

“I’ll leave it up to you, but they could shoot you the moment you arrive.”

Kane shook his head. “No, if I’m a good little terrorist, I’ll want to interrogate me, especially if there’s no need to kill me immediately.” He debated his choices for a moment, coming to a decision that he was confident had the best chance of saving the professors. “I’m going to go for it.”

He was certain it was the best choice, though not entirely on whether he’d survive it. “Yeah. But if this ends up being the stupidest decision I ever made, tell Fang I love her, and keep Niner away from her. That horny little bastard will be homing in on her in no time.”

Leroux laughed, though he could tell his best friend was fighting to control his emotions. “I’ll have Sherrie guard her virtue.”