Cale caught up to her outside beneath an expansive oak tree. He hesitated to say anything, unsure whether or not she was still working. After a moment, he finally whispered, "So, what do you think?"
Cadence smiled. "I think it's fine. I mean, I think it's doable." She was nodding, her hands on her hips. Glancing down momentarily, she realized she had collected some cobwebs on her black capris, and she absently swiped at them as she returned her attention to the doctor.
"Good," he smiled, still not quite sure exactly what that meant. He paused again, trying to get a read on exactly how she operated. After another long break, he asked, "So, do you think we can come up with a plan of attack, or..."
"Yes, absolutely!" Cadence agreed. She realized, suddenly, that he had no idea how to communicate with her when she was "in the zone" as she often referred to this mind set. She began to come back around and take on her typical disposition. "I'll want to consult with my girls, but I think it should be fairly simple, honestly. I mean, covering the exits on the ground floor is going to be our biggest concern. Of course, the windows on the top floor should all be considered exits as well. Vampires can easily leap from that height, no problem. What would you think about torching that upper floor so they can't use it?"
Cale's eyes widened. "You mean, lighting it on fire?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "Oh, wow, I hadn't thought about that. But, won't that alert the authorities? And there are so many trees around here. We could end up taking out another structure. Oh, gosh, Cadence, I don't really think that's a good idea at all."
Cadence was surprised to hear him disagree with her plan. "Don't you have someone to run interference?" she asked, referring to the job that Elliott typically did for the Kansas City team, which involved brainwashing any human who may come into contact with a member of one of the Ternions into believing that what they were witnessing was perfectly normal.
"Sure," Cale admitted, crossing his arms across the light purple shirt he wore, clearly considering her recommendation. "That's Nick's job. But what does interference have to do with setting the building on fire?"
"Well, I think the trees are far enough back that secondary structure damage isn't going to be an issue. If you have someone who is good at running interference, you don't need to worry about the firefighters or other emergency response personnel questioning how the fire began," she explained.
He considered her words, rocking back and forth and taking it in. He held one hand to his chin, and shook his head from side to side slowly. Cadence couldn't help but notice he was somehow even more attractive when he was deep in thought. Finally, he said, "I don't know, Cadence. That seems sort of extreme for us. Do you think there's another way?"
As he was speaking, Aurora and Meagan approached. "Whatcha thinkin' girl?" Aurora asked, eyeing Cadence.
"You tell me," Cadence replied, wondering if their thoughts were the same as hers.
"Gotta match?" Meagan asked, her hands on her hips. All three of them were dressed in black and only Aurora's bright red hair stood out in the darkness beneath the tree.
Cadence snickered and turned her attention to Cale, waiting for him to answer. His teammates began to wander over as well. She recognized Nick and Phoebe. There was also a tall, thin African American male and a tiny female that instantly reminded Cadence of a pixie. Even her bright blond hair was cut short like a fairy.
The Reno Area Leader addressed his team before replying to Meagan's question. "Well, guys, the ladies have finished their observation. What do y'all think about setting the top floor on fire?"
"What?" Phoebe exclaimed. The rest of the team looked equally shocked, glancing at each other wide-eyed. "Why?"
"To eliminate the exit points," Meagan explained. "Those windows are all means of escape."
"Wouldn't it be less obvious if we just cover them from the ground?" the pixie asked, running thin fingers through her blond bangs.
"Less obvious but not as effective," Cadence replied. "We have other options," she offered, addressing all of them. "But as far as initial gut feeling, we all came up with the exact same thing. Set that top floor on fire so they can't use it to hide or to escape, cover that back vehicle exit, and the front cargo door, and load up on heavy weaponry to cover the pedestrian exits." She glanced around to see if they were still following her before continuing. "Personally, if it were just me, I'd put Meagan in the front, Aurora in the back, and I would go in, guns a'blazing. I'd set that top floor on fire, and hopefully I'd get them all before they could get out one of the ground floor exits. But, if they managed to get out, I'd know my girls would catch them on the way."
"Leaving that top floor is giving them some distance. Leaping from there is gonna let them jump out over the top of whoever's on the ground, which will make it a lot harder. They could even get to one of our own vehicles," Aurora explained.
"So we take the keys with us," the tall guy smirked. "Can you imagine the attention we would get if we set this place on fire?" He was appealing to his boss.
Cale would have to play the middle man to keep the peace between his own team and the consultants. "All right, so let's just take that off the table for a moment," he said, ignoring the audible grunt that escaped Aurora's lips. "What were you saying about covering the front cargo exit?" he asked, going back to Cadence's plan.
"They could potentially get a vehicle through the back and out the front," she explained, sharing the picture she had taken with the rest of them, those she could access anyway. As she went through her IAC, she could see through Cale's that the other two team members’ names' were Archie and Nora. She quickly gave them access as well.
"There's a ton of furniture in the way," Archie pointed out.
Keeping her tone even, Cadence replied, "I know. But if you have a Hummer, or another higher-end SUV or truck, you can make it through that. You might get a few scratches, but you'll make it through." She didn't miss the eye rolling and other expressions that seemed to indicate that the Reno team was not in agreement with her assertions.
Cale was also aware that his team seemed to be unreceptive to the newcomer's suggestions. "I'll tell you what," he started, "why don't Cadence and I have a little discussion, plan things out, and then get you all back together once we have a solid, agreed upon proposal. Does that work for everyone?"
Nora objected, "But it's getting late. They'll probably be home soon. Weren't we going to do this tonight?"
"Oh, I wouldn't suggest we try to do this tonight," Cadence chimed in, realizing too late that she had overstepped by offering her opinion to a question that was not addressed to her.
While the rest of the team looked at her as if she had two heads, Cale didn't seem to mind that she had responded to the question. "How's that?" he asked, his tone curious, not judgmental.
"Well," Cadence stammered, aware of the daggers pointed in her direction by the rest of the Reno team. "I just don't feel like we are on the same page at all, at this point. It will probably take us at least another hour to iron out a strategy. After that, getting into position will take a while. Oh, I was just thinking... we should really plan on coming back tomorrow, once we have everything in place."
"We hardly ever have an outlined plan before we go in," Nick offered.
"Maybe that's why you haven't been successful," Meagan stated under her breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear. She realized she may be offending Cale, but she couldn't hold back her remark.
Once again, he didn't seem offended. "All regions operate a little bit differently. We do plan ahead," he said, eyeing Nick decisively, "though, it seems, perhaps not to the degree that you are used to. Let us chat, and we will get back to you," he stated dismissively.
"Should we go home then?" Phoebe asked.
Once again, Cale glanced at Cadence. She was still standing in the same spot, her arms crossed, waiting for him to answer. Seeing that she was not going to back down from her statement, he finally replied, "Yes, go ahead. Go back to headquarters. We’ll implement the plan tomorrow."
Though there were verbal protests, his team followed directions and headed to their vehicles. For a moment, Cadence wondered how Cale would get home, but once they were all loaded up, she realized that he must have rode separately. She saw a motorcycle very similar to her own parked beneath the trees close to where her team had left their own bikes. LIGHTS definitely didn't skimp when it came to purchasing vehicles.
"What do you want us to do?" Meagan asked as the BMW S5 carrying the four members of the Reno team disappeared in the distance.
"Head out," Cadence replied to both of her teammates. "Cale and I will work it out, and I'll keep you posted, all right?"
Both Aurora and Meagan agreed. "Stay safe," Aurora said squeezing her arm, before saying goodbye and making her way across the parking lot.
