The Edge Of Justice

The Edge Of Justice Chapter 32

I pressed the button to retract the blades, and watched them snap back into the gauntlet. "Anything else?"

"That'll do it," Wight said, shoving the katana back into its sheath and stowing it near his desk. "If you have any ideas for equipment, I'd be happy to hear them."

"Nothing just yet," I replied, and turned toward the door with Katrina on my heels. "How much time to we have to get to Russia?"

"Just under seventy-two hours," she said, closing the door behind us.

"Please tell me they're not putting us on another military transport."

"They might, but I doubt it. We usually fly commercial for things like this."

"You expect me to get on a plane without my weapons and equipment?"

"Your equipment is already on the tarmac, being shipped and stowed somewhere safe until we get there. I made sure to remove one of your smaller blades and had Wight fashion a kydex sheath for it. You can carry that one on the plane."

"You sure the TSA won't tackle me once I try?"

She chuckled. "We're CIA. I'd like to see them try it."

We were back at the Hive by then, she opened the door for me, and we walked around and through the mass of rushing people to get to the meeting room, where Dexide and Prince were huddled over the table, which had turned to a touchscreen display. "We got the satellite pictures of the adress on the whiteboard in Malcom's office," Prince said.

"Stacey got them, you mean," Katrina quipped, and Prince rolled his eyes.

"Who got them is irrelevant," Dexide said, just as Stacey came back into the room, a tablet computer held on her left forearm while the fingers in her right hand flew over the display.

"Irrelevant now am I?" she replied, plugging the tablet into the table with a USB cable.

The two dimensional picture of the building quickly turned into a three dimensional diagram,  and I swiped a finger across the glass, sending the four story building spinning like a top. "Irrelevant my ass."

"Thank you, Christian," she giggled.

I nodded, and then the smile fell from my face as I studied the structure, tweaking the display to make the walls transparent, to paint the ducting and piping red, and then asked Stacey to optimize a route from the ground to the top floor. "We had planned to airdrop you. The skylights are large enough to open and sneak in" she said, complying with my request anyway. 

"Never needed airdrops before, don't see a need for them now," I replied thoughtfully, stroking the stubble on my chin. "If there's anyone in the building, a low flying aircraft will alert them, and I don't know how to parachute. We go in from the ground, climb to the roof if we must."

"Actually," Katrina said, extending a finger and touching an elevator, which flared red. "If that isn't moving, we can climb the shaft."

"You'd have to go in the front foor for that," Prince said, bending over the display.

"Wrong," I replied. "See that tunnel? It's the elevator maintenance, and it should have a...there! An outside entrance." The door I pointed to shone red, and Katrina leaned closer, her mess of red hair tickling my cheek.

"I suck at picking locks," she said. 

I laughed. "I'm pretty good at it."

"I'll bet you are," she whispered seductively, elbowing me in the ribs.

"Doesn't matter if you can pick locks, that lock is biometric access only," Stacey said, tapping away on her tablet and ripping my incredulous stare from my former student.

 "Do we know who has access, and do I need their finger or their eyeball? I don't mind taking either one."

"Hold on," Stacey muttered, swiping at her screen. "Let me see if that specific system has any weaknesses and... Boom."

I stood up, sending a look her way. "Did you just say boom? Please tell me you didn't say boom."

She turned her tablet around so I could read the screen, and I raised my eyebrows. "Boom," she said again.

"You're good, darlin', I must admit, so you've earned you weird little boom, but can we do that?"

"We can't, but I can."

"Smart-alec bastard," I muttered, turning back to the table. "So that's our way in."

"Get on it then," Prince said, and Katrina and I turned for the door, but Stacey's voice stopped me in my tracks. "I need to be there to do this."

I turned around quickly. "Hell no."

"It's the safest way," she said. "We can't do an airdrop, neither you or Katrina have the technical skill, and any other infiltration method runs the risk of you both being detected and or killed."

"She's right," Katrina said, crossing her arms. 

"I don't care if she's right," I said, "I'm not taking untrained personnel on a combat mission! This is why I work alone. Hell, I don't even want you with me, Katrina."

I could see I hurt both of their feelings with that one, and dialed my emotions back quickly. "That came out wrong. Stacey," I said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You've never done wet work, and it's not for someone untrained." I turned to Katrina. "And I don't even have to explain to you why I work better alone, so don't pull that pouty-lipped shit."

"You're a dumbass, you know that?" Katrina said, shaking her head. "Stacey is approved for field work, and this won't be her first op."

I felt really dumb, and felt my cheeks get hot. "Oh."

Stacey turnd on her heel, looking back over her shoulder as she exited the room. "I'll make sure to pack all sorts of unnecessary things to shore up my inexperience, Christian."

"You're an ass," I said to Katrina, making for the door. "You decided to leave out the fact tat she is field approved?"

Prince was chuckling at me all the way into the hallway, and I flipped him the bird over my shoulder and through the window, keeping my finger up well past the window's end.