CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

 

 

JEAN EASED HERSELF into position between two small trees and under some brush. She didn’t need her night vision anymore because the lights of the compound gave her more than enough light to see.

She was on a ridge above the compound and could see most of the buildings and the open area and the stone guard building beside the front gate.

She had her custom-made sniper rifle set up in front of her and covered slightly in some lose brush. It was a pure black color and deadly.

The drones were going to drop in another fifteen minutes, but until then, she needed to stay completely hidden and still.

Since there had been no explosion or alarm, she knew that both Susan and Mary Jo were also now in positions, rifles ready.

Jean had kissed Mary Jo goodbye as they had parted from their staging house. They wouldn’t see each other for almost a week as they made their way back to New York, changing identities and looks a few times along the way.

They all had to make sure that there was no chance that what happened here could ever be traced back to any of them in any fashion. Being completely careful like that had kept her alive and working and out of prison for a couple thousand years now. She didn’t plan on changing that status any time soon.

And she loved how both Mary Jo and Susan were equally as careful. The three of them worked well as a team, of that there was no doubt. This entire plan would have never worked without all three of them, actually.

Jean settled in and used the scope on her rifle to study the compound below her. It looked a little like a California subdivision, with houses on both sides of a large common park area. And a large mansion set back up the hill.

Everything was clean, almost too clean, and well-landscaped. All the green grass and lush trees showed that this church didn’t believe in any water shortage.

Every morning at sunrise, Carson had a regular schedule. He came out of his mansion and led an exercise routine in the park area near the front entrance. She and Mary Jo and Susan were betting Carson would do that again today.

The evening news had been full of reports about the church after the packages of proof that it was a scam reached the news outlets. It hadn’t taken some of them long to collaborate the proof and get it on the air. So Jean had no doubt that the fake Carson knew he needed to pretend everything was all right.

It was when the fake Carson was to do his exercise that the actor they had hired was due to arrive. He would pull up and say he was Jack Kelsall and needed to talk to his partner, Carson White.

Either the normal routine or the fake Jack Kelsall showing up would be enough to bring the real Kelsall, aka Carson White, out of his mansion.

The backup plan if either of those things didn’t happen was to stay in place and kill the real Kelsall when the police came and arrested him.

To Jean that third backup felt very risky, but they all had their routes to get away carefully planned. It would work, just not her favorite option by a long ways.

Jean felt the watch on her wrist tingle slightly against her skin.

Two minutes until the fake Carson appeared and walked down to the exercise area.

Jean took a deep breath and made herself focus forward.

It was time.

Above her a drone went past without seeing her.

And from her position, far down the valley, she could see the car with the actor playing the part of Jack Kelsall coming up the valley.

Everything was in motion.

Perfect so far.