Oncewe arrive at the staging area, we check our backpacks again to make sure we have all the equipment we need and load our cargo pockets up with everything wemight have to access quickly.Thenwe begin the hike.Theother teams are hiking in, too, taking different routes to better avoid detection.Eachteam is using dedicated frequencies for communication with encrypted channels so the enemy can’t easily take them out.
It’sa little chilly out, but with our gear and the hiking, it’s the temperatureI’dpick.Thenight is clear, and we’re far enough away from civilization that there’s no light pollution at all, and the sky is incredible.EventheMilkyWayis visible from here.Iglance atZoe, wondering if when she looks at the stars, she also thinks about lying against my chest in the canoe on the lake as we both looked up at the night sky.
Theforest is beautiful, too.Weeach have lights strapped to our foreheads so we can hike to the fortress in the dark, but they’re pretty dim so we won’t be seen from a distance.Wekeep our voices quiet, too, so they won’t travel.Notthat they really could in the dense part we’re in right now, or over the sounds of the forest.Besidesthe cacophony of insects doing their thing, we’ve heard the howling of wolves and a few yowls that we think might be lynxes.
“How’syour leg?”IaskZoeas we hike.
“It’snot one hundred percent,” she says. “That’sbecome abundantly clear.ButI’vehad worse.I’llbe fine.”
Inod and fight the urge to offer to give her a piggyback ride becauseIknowZoewouldn’t go for that in a million years.
Wereach a clearing and can see thefortress on the other side of it.Thepicture we saw yesterday in the briefing room didn’t do it justice at all.Thething is majestic.It’sbuilt right into the mountain, and it’s as if you can feel how ancient it is.Howmany people have come here before.Thestone is weathered, and moss and ivy are creeping up the sides in some places, and honestly, it kind of makes it feel mystical.
Thereis a narrow, winding pathI’mpretty sure was made by animals that cuts through the trees, shrubs, and rocky terrain and looks like it emerges near the fortress, so we take that.Oncewe get close, we stick to the forest but head in the direction of an entrance on the side instead of toward the main entrance with the massive wooden and iron gate that’s flanked by guard towers.That’snear where the distraction team will do their magic.
Westay hidden in the trees, not far from the small door inset in the fortress that, ifIhadn’t known it was there, would be invisible to me.I’mglad the surveillance team did their job well.Weall put in our earpieces and make sure our cameras are on and strapped to the fronts of our vests.Thenwe each take turns saying “testing” in a low voice to make sure they’re working.Throughmy earpiece,Ican hearZoe,Jace, andMileshere, andCharlie,Kella, andPackstonback home.
“Abrahamis here, too,”Charliesays. “Hetold me to tell you all ‘Goodluck, have fun, and don’t die.’”
“Willdo,”Isay.
Ourhandlers are coordinating with the other three teams and their handlers so we don’t have to haveeveryone in our ears.Wesit back and wait silently for the go-ahead once the distraction is in play.
It’snearly two-thirty in the morning, local time, when we hear an explosion.Basedon the way it lights up the whole area without causing the ground to shake as much asI’dexpect with an explosion that size,Isuspect that the distraction guys might have added some fireworks to the mix.Someof those booming loud ones.Theguys are all making quite the ruckus themselves, too.
Itdoes what it’s supposed to, and moments later, we see ten guards running out of the fortress, armed, ready to take on whatever threat has presented itself.Ifonly they knew that the threat was here to arrest them.
“Youare cleared for entry,”Kellasays.
“Go, go, go!”Packstonadds.Likewe need the extra prodding.I’vebeen bouncing on my toes for a good fifty minutes.
Jace,Miles,Zoe, andIquietly run the rest of the distance across the rocky ground from the trees we were taking cover under to the side door.Ithas a modern electronic lock, andJaceplaces the disruptor device on it.Amoment later, it clicks, and we all hold our dart guns at the ready and go inside.
Wefigure that most of the people were drawn out of the fortress by the distraction team, but we will likely run into a few more.We’reonly here to arrest people, and we can’t exactly have sounds of a fight carrying through the fortress walls if we’re going to stay stealthy and get the information on that server.
Along hallway runs parallel to the fortresswall, soJaceandMilesgo right, andZoeandIgo left.Thehallways have cold stone walls and flagstone floors worn smooth by centuries of use.Theair’s a bit musty-smelling, which fits.
Thereare torch sconces on the walls, but they aren’t in use— instead, the corridors are lit byLEDlights strung along the walls.Theguys who set up base here didn’t make the installation of the modern lights pretty, or even permanent-looking, which tells me that they probably haven’t been here for long.Andthey’re emitting kind of a bluish light, which doesn’t go with the fortress at all.
Atthe end of the hallway, just before it makes a right turn,Zoeplaces one of the surveillance devices just below the wall torch sconce, hidden in its shadow.It’llscan the area and send live video feed back to our base and on to our handlers.Thedevice also contains signal boosters that will amplify our communications as we take out theirs.Ican see thatJaceis doing the same thing at the opposite end of the hallway.
Thenext hallway is short before it splits into two.AsI’mplacing the surveillance device at the corner,Zoesays, “Iguess this is where we split up.”
Iknow we are in the most active part of an active mission, and now is not the time to bring up anything relationship-related.Ialso know that the camera and the comms are going to catch every bit of this, but still,Ireach forZoe’shand.Shemeets me halfway, andIgive it a squeeze.Inthe bluish light,Iscan her eyes for a moment, wishingIcould tell her everythingIwant her to know.Instead, in a voice that betrays the emotionsI’mfeeling,Isimply say, “Let’sgo make history.”
Shenods, seeming to not want to pull her eyes or her hand away from mine, either, and says, her own voice affected by emotion, “I’llbring the pen.”
“Splittingoff,”IhearMilessay through my earpiece.
“Us, too,”Ireply asIlet go ofZoe’shand and head down the corridor away from her.
Iquickly make my way through the dimly-lit corridors, dart gun raised, placing surveillance trackers at every corner and in every roomIfind, confirming into my comms asIplace each surveillance device.EveryroomI’vecome across so far has been small and feels like it hasn’t had a human inside it in decades.AsIgo,Ihear everyone sounding off in low voices about their progress.
“Ijust found a big storage area,”Milessays.
“Taggedthe entrance hall,”Jacesays. “I’mgoing to find a way around the backside to avoid walking through it.”
“Oh,”IhearZoesay. “Ithink this is a chapel.Ithas stained glass windows and benches.Tagged.”
