The Fringe Wars

5.13

If the night turned sour, Reyne trusted his crew, and only his crew, to handle the cleanup and cover their tracks. He armed himself to the teeth and waited for his crew. Sixx and Bree arrived first.

"Lily?" Reyne asked as they entered.

"She's safe. She's staying with a friend," Bree said.

"Good," Reyne said, and turned to see Boden stride into the office.

"How was your date?" Sixx asked with a crooked smile.

Boden grumbled something under his breath.

"Okay, everyone," Reyne began, "here's how this is going to happen. We're going to stop by Mark Leonard's residence to discuss a red flag on his file. Then we'll play it by ear. Hopefully, he's a good enough fellow to be honest. We arrest him if he's Laciam and get him off Playa as quickly as possible. I spoke with Seda, and he really doesn't want to have to deal with a dead ex-Corps General."

"Did you tell him that you really don't want to have to deal with someone trying to kill you?" Bree asked.

"I think I may have mentioned that once or twice," Reyne answered.

"I think we're on the same page," Sixx said. "Can we go do this already?"

***

The group drove to the Collective residences, located a mile from the stationhouse. Night had come and brutal cold along with it. They still had nearly four hours until the "dead hours," when no one would survive outdoors.

The residences had been built into the side of a dense hill in which the Collective had wasted no time laying its stake. The hill had natural caverns, making it easier and less costly to build out than many other sites. It also stood apart from the rest of Tulan Port, which Reyne suspected was the real reason the Collective had chosen the site.

With a guard post not yet established, they drove directly into the parking ramp and found a spot near a side entrance. Reyne scanned for cameras. He didn't see any, but that didn't mean there weren't any. The Collective had more advanced technology and could easily have discrete units already in place throughout its property. In this place, they'd have to play it safe and not do anything that could be misconstrued as Alliance aggression.

They entered the residences to find the hallway warm and well lit. The Collective had clearly seen to comfortable apartments before working on the docks and stationhouse. Reyne looked for a list of names and their residence numbers but found none.

"Names are listed on each touchpad," Boden said, several steps ahead of the rest of the group, and motioning to a touchpad on the wall next to a door.

Reyne frowned. "This could take a while."

And it did. They covered three hallways before reaching a door near the end of another hallway that read M. LEONARD above its touchpad.

Reyne stood for a moment before casting a glance to each of his team members. "Well, here goes nothing."

He tapped the keypad, and it lit up with a message that a bell was ringing inside the residence. They waited for a minute. Reyne noticed that both Sixx and Bree held their hands inside their coats. He had no doubt their hands were on guns already powered up to fire.

The touchpad chimed and instructions appeared on its gray surface. It read: For identification, press your hand on this pad.

Reyne lifted his hand, only to have it grabbed by Boden. "Let me," he said.

Reyne stepped clear from the door in case its occupant started shooting the moment it opened. He understood Boden's intent. Unlike the rest of them, Boden was a citizen and would be more likely to be seen in residences occupied by citizens, and it made sense not to have Reyne's identity logged into the system. Of course, all of that was assuming their entire team hadn't been picked up by cameras or microphones already.