"What about the north end of the property?" Aaron asked, confused.
"You can put some people up there if you've got anyone to spare," Laura shrugged. "But we'll be coming in from that direction, so between the three of us, we should have him covered. Besides, this is uphill, and I don't think he can out run us, Cadence anyway, uphill."
"Okay," Aaron said, crossing his arms, but resting his chin on one fist in concentration. "So, if that's the highest ground, I need Elliott up there."
"I wouldn't recommend it," Sam chimed in.
Aaron eyed him questioningly. "Why not?"
"Woods are too thick. I climbed up there last night and couldn't see a damn thing. We were thinkin' it would make more sense to have Elliott out there next to the driveway with me. It's the clearest view on the property," Sam replied in his grizzly voice.
"We'll have the choppers," Elliott reminded his boss.
"I know," Aaron agreed. "But I don't like taking his recommendation."
Cadence was the only other one in on the conversation. She agreed with Aaron; why were they being so specific about personnel? But she didn't say anything, choosing to see what the next suggestion was instead.
After a very long pause, Aaron finally said, "Fine. Elliott, we'll put you out there, then. But, Meagan, I want you over there, too. You're fast, and if they break the perimeter, you could potentially catch them." She nodded, and Aaron had the satisfaction of changing things up a bit on Laura. He continued. "Jamie, we'll put you out there with Camilla, but I need you ready to go if someone gets hurt." The Healer nodded in understanding. "That leaves Hannah and Christian with Finn, I guess," he shrugged.
Laura made a disagreeing ticking noise with her tongue but didn't say anything. It was enough. She had Aaron wondering why she didn't like his placement--which could only serve as a distraction.
"I assume you're going to want to inspect our weapons," Sam volunteered.
"Absolutely," Aaron confirmed. "We'll handle that once we get there."
"How do we know they are there?" Cadence asked, her arms folded across her black leather fitted shirt.
"Zabrina knows we're coming. We made contact yesterday. She's already confirmed they're in for the night," Laura explained.
"All right then, let's get this over with," Elliott exclaimed, clapping his large hands. "Ready to rock and roll?"
They loaded into the vehicles that would take them to the staging area. Inside the LIGHTS vehicles, there was complete silence; nothing was even happening on the IACs. Inside the renegade's SUV, there was nothing but laughter and congratulatory chatter.
Sam and Laura insisted that they park the vehicles almost two miles away, out on the road that led to the driveway. Aaron had agreed, but he'd also taken the keys to the Enclave; it was his anyway. He also took the opportunity to strip the renegades of their existing weapons--much to their chagrin--and replace them with pre-inspected Glocks, each containing only two bullets, as a compromise. Despite their outrage, the outsiders eventually agreed, and Christian locked their other weapons inside one of the SUV's that happened to have bulletproof glass so there was no chance they could get them back. Aaron checked on the IAC to make sure his team were all wearing bulletproof vests under their clothing, and everyone was except for Jamie, who could not be persuaded to put one on.
They walked in as quietly as possible, hoping not to alert the squatters of their presence. Laura pointed her own teammates into positions, and the LIGHTS members followed. Cadence still had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, and she hugged each of her friends as they stepped away.
Upon leaving Elliott at the end of the driveway, she squeezed him tightly. "Be careful," she cautioned. "I don't trust them."
He smiled. "You, too, kid. See you when it's all over." He kissed her on the cheek. "Go get 'em," he encouraged her.
She nodded, returned his smile, and caught up to Aaron and Laura.
Only distant lightning occasionally illuminating the sky provided any source of lighting in the thick woods other than a few wayward stars which peaked out from cloud cover occasionally. The LIGHTS team members had night vision in their IACs, but the renegades had to use night vision goggles in order to see. Cadence, Aaron, and Laura had the furthest to go. As they picked their way through the trees, Aaron let Cadence know he had told Eliza she could observe but not to interfere in anyway and asked her to contact Cale to see how far out he was.
"Cale, are you almost in position?" she asked as the outline of an ancient, dilapidated barn came in to view. The feeling in the pit of her stomach, like dragons were chasing one another, alerted her that there was, in fact, a Vampire present. But she knew immediately that there was only one--and it wasn't Giovani. These dragons were just babies, and if Giovani were nearby, her stomach would be flipping over. She stopped mid-stride, the confusion overwhelming her.
Aaron had stopped about ten feet in front of her, as well, clearly surveying the primary location. But she realized that Laura was no longer in her field of vision. She glanced to her left, just in time to see her duck behind an old wood pile. Suddenly, she realized exactly what was going on--why the renegades had requested to work with LIGHTS, asked for specific personnel, been willing to give up their weapons, and placed everyone just so. Instinctively, she flung herself across the fifteen-foot void to where Laura was crouching, yelling "AMBUSH!" Simultaneously, shots rang out around her, off in the distance. She landed on top of the petite blond, knocking the Glock from her hand and the night vision goggles from her eyes. Cadence's head made contact with a wayward log as she fell. It was all Laura needed, and she shoved Cadence away, taking off on foot.
