Chapter 21
"Ranger, we have initiated. The teams are inbound. ETA for first arrival is sixty minutes."
Reece was instantly awake. He'd been lying in the darkness of the safe room, fully dressed, waiting for this moment.
"Acknowledged," he said quietly.
Beside him, Maggie stirred. "Guardian's here?"
"One hour out." Reece sat up, checking his gear. The Glock 19 that Dex had smuggled to him, leaving it at the dead zone, was already holstered at his back. He checked the magazine one more time. Loaded. Ready.
Maggie sat up, wrapping the sheet around herself. "What do you need me to do?"
"Stay here. Lock the door behind me. Don't open it for anyone except me or someone who gives you the code word."
"Orangutan," she said. “Whoever gave you that word really has a great imagination.”
“Thank her for me,” Max said in his ear.
"He says thank you." He crossed to her, cupping her face gently. "I need you safe, Maggie. I can't work this operation if I'm worried about you."
"I'll stay here. No one has ever called me stupid," she promised. "Just come back."
"I will." He kissed her, hard and fast. Then he was moving toward the door.
"Reece?"
He turned back.
"Be careful."
He winked at her. "Always am."
* * *
Reece moved through the darkened corridors with practiced silence.
Max was with him through his comms, routing him around camera coverage that wasn't looped, past residential sections where people slept, and down toward the operational levels.
"Timeline update," Max said. "First wave hits entry point one at 0330. Submersibles carrying Viper and Raptor teams at lower docking ports. Wolf and Cougar teams coming in on the supply vessel Mercy, also docking at entry point one."
"Acknowledged. Second wave?"
"Entry point Bravo. Upper docking area. RHIBs carrying Tiger and Falcon teams at 0335. Cobra and Bear teams on the second submersible, also hitting Bravo at 0335."
"Linkup point?"
"Level Five, central junction. You'll stage there and coordinate final positioning. All teams will hold at their designated staging areas until you give the go signal for simultaneous assault."
"Copy. What about Dex?"
"Security hub, Level Four. He’s on duty."
Reece adjusted his path, boots silent on the metal grating.
He reached the security hub at 0312.
Dex Franks looked up as Reece entered. No tension but a hell of a lot of surprise.
"Dude," he said, "Are you crazy? There are cameras everywhere.”
Reece shook his head. “Not anymore. We’ve got them offline or looped.”
“Fuck. That means your people are coming in hot."
"Fast and quiet," Reece confirmed. "Forty operators. Eight teams. Two entry points. We need your people to stand down and stay clear of the hot zones."
"I can make that happen," Dex said. He gestured to his radio.
"I'll pull them back to designated safe zones. It’s a skeleton crew tonight anyway. Most personnel are asleep. Anyone loyal to the executives has already been flagged. One is on duty tonight. I’ll handle him myself. He won't be a problem."
"Good work."
"I can assist," Dex offered. "My people know this platform. We can guide your teams, help with—"
"Negative," Reece interrupted. "Guardian won't know you from hostiles. The best thing you can do is keep your people clear and let us work."
Dex nodded, understanding. "Fair enough. We'll stay out of your way."
"Appreciated."
Leaving the security hub, Reece moved toward Level Five, the designated linkup point.
At 0328, Max's voice came through. "First wave approaching entry point one. Viper and Raptor teams ready to dock."
"Copy."
Reece reached Level Five's central junction. The space was wide enough to accommodate multiple teams. Emergency lighting cast everything in dim red. Perfect for staging.
At 0330, the platform vibrated subtly. Almost imperceptible.
"Viper team docked," Max confirmed. "Entering the platform now. Raptor team thirty seconds behind them."
"Copy."
"The supply ship is docking. Wolf and Cougar teams deploying from the supply vessel."
Reece waited, weapon ready, scanning the junction.
Shadows moved in the corridor. Five operators materialized from the darkness. Viper team. They gave him a quick nod and took up position along the far wall.
Thirty seconds later, Raptor team arrived. Then Wolf. Then Cougar.
Twenty-one operators staged and silent.
At 0335, the second wave hit.
"Bravo teams incoming," Max reported. "Tiger and Falcon on RHIBs. Cobra and Bear on submersibles."
Two minutes later, the remaining teams flooded into the junction.
And then they were there. His people, his responsibility.
Deacon and Echo moved as one, with Ace, Bandit, and Rip right behind them.
Deacon grinned when he saw Reece. "About damn time you went to work." He handed Reece an M-4 and a belt with spare ammo, a hooligan tool, and two grenades. “Just in case.”
Reece clasped his hand briefly. "Good to see you, brother." He put the gear on quickly.
The junction was now filled with forty-one tactical operators. Silent. Disciplined. Waiting.
Reece keyed his comms to the all-teams channel. He confirmed their assignments, which they’d received beforehand. “Viper, watch the door into level two when you join Raptor. It catches and then groans like hell. Keep that bar held down and shove it fast. It’ll stop the noise.”
“Copy,” Viper One acknowledged, then looked at his breaching specialist, who gave him the thumbs up.
“Raptor has level two, and Viper will come up to help after they secure access points on level one. Wolf, you have level three. There should be minimal people in the area, but you’ll have your hands full with keeping them from freaking out.”
“Copy, we’ll keep them quiet,” Wolf One acknowledged. “Alarms deactivated?”
Max came across the comms. “Affirmative.”
“The same goes for Tiger, Falcon, and Bear. The higher we go, the more people are present. Level Seven is the residential level. The rooms will be locked by our comms specialist, and no one will be coming out. No need for a team to take that level.”
"Good," Reece said. "We have eight levels to secure simultaneously.
Most personnel are asleep. Skeleton crew on night shift only.
Our objective is to lock down this platform without casualties.
We want compliance, not combat. Rules of engagement: non-lethal preferred, lethal authorized if threatened. "
He pulled up the platform schematic on his tactical display, knowing Max was feeding the same image to every team leader.
"Viper, you have Level One. Secure lower docking ports, mechanical systems, and storage areas. Lock it down tight. Nothing in or out."
"Understood."
"Raptor, Level Two. Maintenance sections, corrosion control, and engineering spaces. Same objective. Secure and hold."
"Acknowledged," Raptor one said.
"Wolf, Level Three. Operations floor, systems monitoring stations. There will be night shift personnel at their stations. Secure them in place. No one touches a keyboard without Guardian authorization."
"I copy."
"Cougar, Level Four. Security hub, administrative offices, secondary operations. Dex Franks and his people are standing down. They're friendlies. Don't engage them, but secure them if it needs to be done."
"Cougar copies."
"Tiger, Level Five. Dining facilities and shops, east and west corridors. Personnel will be sleeping, so only two or three people will be working there. Lock down the corridors. Seal the sections.
"We’re on it."
"Falcon, Level Six. Communal areas. The gym, library, and multiple leisure areas, including a theater. All should be vacant, but someone could be up there. Same protocol. Quiet lockdown. Minimize disturbance."
"We’ve got it," Falcon One stated.
"Bear, Level Nine. Secure the helipad and upper docking areas and establish perimeter. Once we have prisoners, you coordinate the infil of our Mercy and apprehension teams via helicopter."
Bear one smiled. "Meet and greet. We’ve got it covered."
"Cobra has Executive level with me. We have high-value targets.
Carson Phelps, senior VP of operations, and Adam Lewis, chief financial officer.
Plus two priority arrests. Jonah Pike, director of strategic intelligence, and Marta Voss, infrastructure specialist. Pike and Voss ordered the hit on the analyst who found out what they were doing and risked her life to get the information for us. They're priority one. Any questions?"
Silence. Every operator understood the plan and was ready to engage.
"Guardian One has control of all platform systems," Reece continued. "Locks, cameras, communications. He'll open doors where we need them, seal doors where we don't. Outbound communications are jammed. Darkwater is isolated. No one is calling for help."
"Time hack," Max said in Reece's ear. "0347."
"All teams," Reece said. "We move simultaneously at 0355. Eight minutes. Get into final positions. When I give the signal, we take this platform level by level, room by room. Questions?"
Silence.
"Move out and standby for go signal."
The junction emptied in seconds. Teams flowed toward their assigned levels with practiced efficiency. Silent. Professional. Deadly.
Cobra team stacked on Reece.
"Ready?" Deacon asked quietly.
"Let's finish this," Reece said.
They moved toward the stairwell leading to the executive level. Where the people responsible for trying to kill Maggie were sleeping in expensive suites, believing themselves untouchable.
They reached the executive corridor at 0353.
The heavy security door was closed. Locked. Waiting.
Reece positioned his team. Deacon, Echo, and Ace on the left, Bandit and Rip on the right, and Reece in the center.
Reece spoke quietly. "All teams report ready status."
One by one, the confirmations came from each team.
Reece keyed his comms. "Cobra, ready. Guardian One, the mission is a go."
"Time hack," Max said. "0355 in ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven."
Reece's finger moved to the trigger guard. His breathing slowed. His focus narrowed.
"Three. Two. One. Go."