Deep Sleep (Devin Gray #1)(87)

“I agree,” said Marnie. “If we can do it without waking them up. Don’t forget that we’re dealing with brainwashed zealots here, and this is sacred ground to them. All bets are off if someone raises the alarm.”

“You bring up a really good point. I hadn’t thought of it that way,” said Rich. “Come to think of it, they probably have some kind of emergency procedure for trespassers that get too close, whether they stumble in here on purpose or unintentionally. I’d be willing to bet there’s a history of unexplained disappearances in this county. That said, I still think we should stick around and try.”

“WWKD,” said Jared.

“Huh?” said Marnie.

“What would Karl do?” said Jared. “When in doubt. WWKD.”

“I like it,” said Marnie, stifling a laugh. “So. What would Karl do?”

“Something a lot more drastic than a late-night breakin,” said Rich.

“Like what?” asked Devin.

Don’t encourage him, she wanted to say. Marnie had a good idea what Karl would do.

“He’d position most of us in a line at the edge of the camp center, facing the active community branch. Anyone that jumped out of their cabin to investigate our noise would experience a steel-jacketed aneurysm.”

“What if they all came out?” asked Devin.

“A massacre,” said Marnie, not entirely believing this idea hadn’t already crossed Rich’s mind.

“We’d be acting in self-defense,” said Rich. “And in the interest of the United States.”

He had thought of it. Had she just stumbled on some kind of soft coup, unintentionally exposed by Jared’s careless joke?

“We’re not going that route,” said Devin. “I’m not saying we don’t set up security when we start poking around the buildings, but we won’t be holding the line if we stir up a hornet’s nest. We defend ourselves according to the ROE, as we retreat to the boats.”

“That’s the plan,” said Rich.

“It better be,” said Marnie.

Rich looked as though he wanted to get the last word in but thought better of it. Her earpiece crackled.

“This is Scott. We’ve compared notes. The outer rows have thirty to thirty-five cabins. It’s impossible to get an exact count from here. The middle is harder to determine because of the bathhouses, but I’d say around twenty-five.”

“Anyone good with math?” said Rich.

Devin was ready with an answer. “Three hundred and forty cabins. Assuming each cabin houses one family, which looks to be the case, but needs to be confirmed—we’re looking at close to seven hundred second-generation sleepers instead of the one hundred and forty-six she identified. Assuming a twenty-five percent attrition rate, which is roughly what she calculated, we’re looking at around six hundred sleepers embedded in US society instead of one hundred and nine.”

Rich and Devin were right. They had to do more than take pictures. The stakes were too high.

“What would Karl do?” she said, turning a few heads. “Without killing every man, woman, and child in the camp?”

“That’s the trick here,” said Rich. “In this business, sometimes you pull a tiger out of the hat instead of a bunny.”

“Then we’ll have to feel around inside the hat for a while before the big show,” said Marnie. “Sit on the place until we’re certain we can investigate the buildings without pulling out a tiger.”

“WWMD,” said Rich.

“Exactly,” she said.

What would Marnie do?





CHAPTER 45


Felix Orlov woke from a light nap, the phone on his chest buzzing. He gripped the phone and sat up on the shiny concrete hangar floor, taking a few moments to regain his bearings. When the phone kept buzzing, his stomach sank. Felix assumed he’d just received a text message with a code to access a mission update on the dark web site. He stared at the unfamiliar number for another second, surprised they had called him directly. Pichugin’s proxy never arranged direct call protocol.

“Hello?” he said, accepting the call.

“Give the order to start the helicopters. I’ll wait.”

The voice was modulated to disguise the speaker. Felix yelled at Oleg, who stood in the open pedestrian doorway adjacent to the closed hangar bay door. “Get the helicopters ready for takeoff! Everyone else up and checking their gear.”

Oleg bolted out of the hangar, while the rest of the team shook off their naps and got to their feet.

“The order has been given,” said Felix.

“The pilots will fly you to the two athletic fields north of SITE ZERO. One helicopter in each field. You’ll lead the team to the coordinates I will text to your phone the moment I hang up. The coordinates correspond with a hostile team’s boat infiltration point. Friendly forces at SITE ZERO will engage the hostile team and force them to retreat. Our assumption is that they will immediately return to the boats at their original infiltration point, where you will ambush the hostile team.”

The high-pitched whine of the helicopters’ engines resonated inside the hangar. The blades would reach their full rotor speed in just under a minute.

“We’ll pay everyone on your team fifty thousand US dollars per prisoner taken, but there is no penalty for killing the entire team. The hostile force is comprised of nine mercenaries. Nongovernment affiliated. Seven of them to be considered top-tier special operators. The other two have a high level of military firearms proficiency. Do not take any catastrophic risks with your team to capture any of them. You’re up against a highly skilled crew. Handle them as your equals.”