41. Kyra
41
KYRA
A s the rustle of her tent flap pulled Kyra out of her shallow sleep, she bolted up in bed with the dagger she always kept under her pillow.
"Don't kill me!" Zara threw her hands up in the air.
"Zara? What's going on?"
"Sorry about giving you a scare." The woman crouched beside her cot. "The supply run was successful. No ambush. But we've heard through the grapevine that new prisoners are about to be delivered to the compound. I thought you would want to know right away."
Kyra was immediately wide awake. She'd been expecting the current prisoners to be shipped out but not new ones to be delivered, not before the higher-ups' visit that had the entire staff in a flurry of cleaning activity.
Unless the higher-ups were arriving with the new prisoners, then it would all make sense.
Most of the cells were occupied, though, so if they were bringing in new people, they had no choice but to take the old ones out, and hopefully not with a shot to the head, but to transfer them somewhere else. The cells in the compound were meant for interrogation and not for long-term incarceration.
"When?" Kyra asked.
"Tomorrow. That's why I'm here instead of hitting the shower. They will most likely arrive in the evening because that's how long the drive from Abjid takes. We didn't get any information about who the prisoners were or who was bringing them in, but there is only one road they can take through the mountains, and we can stage an ambush there."
The question was whether to ambush the convoy on the way to the compound or on the way out, and Kyra preferred the second option. It might have been unfair, and the new prisoners might have been more important than the ones currently being held, but Kyra needed to save Twelve.
"Thank you." She got out of bed. "I'm betting they will have to empty the current holding cells to make room so that the same transport will be heading back with them, probably the following day. We will hit them on their way back. I am just hoping that Twelve will be among them."
It was a gamble, but it was also all she had.
"Wake up the others and tell them to come to my tent. We need to plan the ambush."
A mocking smile lifted Zara's lips. "Aren't you going to leave it up to Soran? I thought you wanted him to take the lead."
"I do, but this is still over his head." Kyra was already pulling on a pair of loose fatigues. "Tell the others to be here and then go to sleep."
"I want to be here." Zara crossed her arms over her chest.
Kyra arched a brow. "You can't keep going after a night mission. You'll have to sit this one out."
Zara shook her head. "I'm so pumped with adrenaline that there is no way I will be able to sleep. This is the biggest mission since we freed the other prisoners."
Kyra winced. "I'm surprised they didn't pursue us after that rescue and are still bringing people here. It almost feels like a trap."
Zara shrugged. "Those people weren't all that important, and we shipped them out the same day. Your decision to make our base here, right under their noses, was brilliant. All they can see are a bunch of refugees living in tents and half-ruined houses."
All their vehicles looked beaten up and old, with dents everywhere and missing glass in the windows. When used during the day, they rattled and groaned as if their engines were about to die. It was all for show, and once the noise makers were removed, they moved like the well-maintained machines they were.
"So, can I join?" Zara asked again.
"Fine." Kyra waved her off. "Go, now. I need to get ready. Oh, and tell Parisa to come here and get her things. I'm not going in her place today."
The woman was enjoying collecting pay for work she didn't do, so she wouldn't be too happy about returning to mopping floors.
A grin spread over Zara's face. "Hallelujah. Finally, this is over."
"Let's hope so." Kyra pushed her feet into her boots and collected her toiletries.
She hoped that this would be the end of her compound infiltration duties, and after this mission they would probably need to move their base somewhere else.
But it was worth it to free not just Twelve but also the other prisoners who'd suffered their share of incarceration in that vile interrogation center.
Regrettably, they couldn't save the incoming prisoners as well.