Noah tightened the strap under his chin, making sure the helmet was in place and wouldn't slide around. The fact that the helmet had been put on over gauze, rendering his head a Frankenstein-style masterpiece, didn’t make him feel any better about this outing.
Beside him, Walter reached out and bare-knuckle tapped on the head of GJ’s helmet, which was already in place. GJ was checking her weapons almost by rote—a better soldier than he’d given her credit for.
“Third time's the charm,” Walter muttered, and Noah stopped cold.
They now had Wade gearing up beside them. All five of them were getting ready to go this time, but Noah was not willing to rely on charms.
“Weapons check?” he said to the group. He wasn’t the leader of this outing. He wasn't second, third, or even fourth in command, but he also wasn't walking out without knowing what he had in his pocket and what tools they commanded, should they need them.
Walter held up her gun, her eyebrow raised and her mouth quirked. Christina tipped hers and frowned at him, as though to say the answer was obvious.
But it wasn't. Not to them. So Noah clarified. “What weapons does the other side possess?”
He didn’t know how else to ask it, but he watched their faces and, of course, it was GJ who caught on first. “They have people like me and Walter. Humans—non wolves.”
Noah nodded. “True.” Though he wondered why she didn’t list him and Christina in with them. He was definitely a non-wolf.
“There are people like him,” GJ continued, pointing to Wade.
Noah nodded and wondered what the ratios were on the other side. Previously, he would have thought it would be just a few wolves. But now, it was likely half or more. It turned out the wolves were running the show, not being used by it.
Christina picked up the thread. “They have a massive unknown.”
“Yes,” Noah agreed, glad he’d gotten the conversation rolling. It was hard to work against unknowns, but that was the whole point of this mission: make the unknown known. “But what is known about it?”
“They have bombs,” Walter threw out. “He can bomb the entire area.”
“But does he?” Noah found his brain taking different paths, as even the conversations between the agents were enlightening to him. They looked at him oddly. “It’s true that both blasts killed people. But the shrapnel from the first one was bizarre.”
“We haven’t been able to find any of it to test it.” GJ’s weapon was lowered, aimed at the ground, as her brain was her primary concern right now. “Some of Will’s people went out to scour the grass, but it was gone.”
“The cuts were real,” Christina argued, as though to contradict GJ.
“True.” But GJ didn’t have an answer. She only shrugged.
“It seems,” Noah said, “and correct me if I'm wrong, but the blast gets you. You sustain whatever damage you get as it's going off. That’s yours. But afterwards, it’s over. All the evidence is gone.”
Christina twitched one eye as though he was being ridiculous.
But he shook his head at her. “The shrapnel is all gone. Even the piece Walter had in her arm. No one can find it.”
Next to him, Walter nodded in agreement. “The trees are still standing. There's no evidence. No cracks in the earth, the soil isn’t out of place. Hell, even the grass is barely bent. Two hours later and it's upright again! So far, Will has claimed to have found a ten-foot-radius scorch mark. And that’s it. A backpack of C-Four does more damage than that.”
Christina began nodding, finally understanding where he was going. “We don't know what else he can do, but we know about these bombs,” she filled in.
Wade, who’d stayed silent and listened through most of it, tossed out the most damning piece of information. “We don't even know if there is an Aegis. We just assumed that’s what it is. The bombs might be the extent of the weaponry.”
“Even though Dr. Marks stole the bones? And everything lines up?” Walter asked. She seemed to sincerely wonder.
Wade shrugged. “As far as I know, it’s a fairy tale. That doesn’t mean they don’t have it. But it also doesn’t mean that they do.”
There was no solving that one, Noah understood. Not until they saw it with their own eyes. Maybe not until everyone walked away… if they could.
Time for the other side of the coin. “What do we have?”
It was Wade who spoke up again. “We have the normies over there.” He grinned and pointed at Walter and GJ. “And we have me. We’re evenly matched. Wolf against wolf, human against human. Roughly the same as what they have.”
He was right, Noah thought. Their gear and weapons were similar, although honestly, Noah wasn't quite certain if anyone was like Walter Reed—or even GJ. Who knew?
“But Christina...” Wade said, pointing an almost accusing finger at her. “I don't think they have anything like Christina.”
Then his finger swung back to Noah. “And I've heard about you.”
Holy shit, Noah thought.
He didn’t fit in. He wasn’t a wolf or a psychic. Not a super soldier or a genius. And yet, somehow, he and Christina were the only weapons at NightShade’s disposal that weren't matched by the other side.
“Oh!” GJ cried out, an idea clearly forming. “Oh! I’ve got it!”