The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(61)

Torran studied the information she beamed at his pad. “I see where your concern is.”

“We have three aircraft entering the area. The two cargo transports and a tiltrotor. They will draw a lot of attention. I see a definite weak spot on the north side facing the evac site. In the last images taken by the evac aircraft you can see where one fence was already listing. It may have come down already.” Lindsey skewed her lips to one side, concentrating on images and how they translated into the plan.

“The good thing is that the Beta City depot won’t have as much to transport as depots in major cities. We can make it work.”

“We need to be in and out in twenty to thirty minutes, MacDonald.”

“We can attempt to push another location as our first mission,” Torran suggested.

Lindsey regarded him through her eyelashes. “You really think they’ll let us go for a bigger target?”

Exhaling through his teeth, Torran pondered her question. Finally, he said, “No. They won’t. The further out we travel, the more likely we are to run into unexpected complications. They will not want delays.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“We do think a lot alike, Rooney. Kinda scary.”

“Great minds, huh?”

Torran shrugged. “I wouldn’t say great… Scheming maybe.”

Lindsey gave him a sharp look while wondering if he knew about the secret mission that would be launched at some point during their excursions into the dead world. If so, what were his thoughts?

“What’s that look for, Rooney?”

“What look?”

Torran pointed at her face. “That look. Very intense. Very pointed.”

The corner of Lindsey’s mouth twitched upward. “Just estimating odds of success.”

“And how are we doing?”

“Are you a betting man, MacDonald?”

Running his hand over his hair, Torran lifted a shoulder. “Sometimes.”

“The odds aren’t exactly in our favor, but we’ll make it work.”

“Because that’s what people like us do.”

“Exactly.”

The doors opened to reveal a short woman with dusky skin and wavy black hair streaked with silver chopped short at her chin. In Constabulary gray, she had chief defender markings on her collar and arm.

“I’m Chief Defender Solomon. I’ve been assigned to lead the mission.”

“It’s good to see you again, sir,” Torran said.

A smile tugged on the woman’s thin lips. “And good to see you. Though I’m saddened that you’re not in a Constabulary uniform, MacDonald, I’m glad we’re working together again.”

Shifting his attention back to Lindsey, Torran said, “The chief defender and I enlisted at the same time. We were even in the same squad until just before the final push. She was promoted and transferred to her own squad.”

“It’s good to meet you, sir,” Lindsey said.

“Vanguard Rooney, I’ve heard a lot about you. All of it glowing and impressive. I look forward to getting to know you and working with you. I’m a little behind on the mission specs due to the length of time it took to select me for the job, so please bring me up to speed.”

“Should we adjourn to the mission prep room?” Torran gestured toward the door on the opposite side of the briefing room.

“Lead the way,” Solomon replied.

Inside the room was a bank of consoles, vid screens, and a table with a holographic image floating above it. Lindsey and Torran had spent much of their day studying all the intel and creating the mission dossier. Solomon glanced at some of their work, then settled her gaze on the image hovering over the sleek black table.

“Our first objective,” she observed.

Lindsey docked her pad into the side of the table as Torran gestured for her to take over. For the next hour, she gave a briefing on the mission parameters set by the higher ups, and the plan that she and Torran had been piecing together.

“We’re evaluating every bit of intel gleaned from satellite feeds before they expired a few years ago to identify any potential danger points,” Lindsey explained while indicating several spots on the satellite images projected on the table.

“It’s all danger points,” Solomon said with the shake of her head. “Let’s be honest with each other. This is a political mission. The food we return will only delay the inevitable elevation to Ration Level Four. I realize our orders are to bring back the maximum amount of food, but we won’t sacrifice lives for it. MacDonald, how good are the stealth suits?”

“Honestly, I’m not sold on them. I do think they might help if we’ve got a little distance from the Scrags, but up close, we’re f*cked.”

“More flash for the civvies,” Solomon groused.

Lindsey was in absolute agreement with the chief defender and liked her quite a bit already. “Yes, sir. I do believe so, sir.”

“Okay, so we take what the higher ups are tossing us and make it work,” Solomon said.

“Agreed.” Torran gave Lindsey a quick, questioning look.

She got the impression he wanted to see if she approved of Solomon or not. “My major concern for Beta City is how close the food depot is to the evac site.”