“Have you wondered if maybe they know best?”
“Of course.”
“And?”
“And my concerns haven’t diminished.”
“So—what?” Leira said. “You go rogue?”
Liam prepared himself to respond, but Allyn beat him to it.
“Yes,” he said. “If we have to.”
The room went quiet, the tension palpable.
“The council has already decided that fighting a war is not in the Order’s best interests,” Allyn continued, unperturbed. “If we give this to them, they’ll do nothing with it, and we’ll lose the only legitimate lead we’ve had since this war began.”
“The council has already ruled, though,” Leira said. “What you’re talking about is treason.” She turned to Liam. “Are you honestly thinking about this? Is this how you want to define your legacy?”
“Nobody has decided anything,” Liam said. “Like I said before, I brought all of you together so we could decide what to do with it. Together.”
“What’s there to decide?” Leira asked. “We take it to the arch mage.”
“Leira,” Allyn said. “Listen—”
“No, you listen,” she snapped, spinning on Allyn. “We just got this Family readmitted into the Forum. What you’re talking about will not only guarantee that we’re banished for good but that we’ll be executed for our sedition. I will not let my Family be disgraced or my brother hung because of your personal vendetta against the magi leadership.”
“Let’s all calm down,” Liam said. “Please.”
“I can’t do this.” Leira stormed across the room.
“Leira,” Liam said, filling his voice with every ounce of strength he could muster. “Sit down. Please.”
She stopped and let out a frustrated breath, her eyes darting between Liam and Allyn.
“For me?” Liam added. “Please.”
Leira leaned against the wall near the door, her body language still tight, as if she might rush out at any moment.
“Thank you.” Liam turned back to Allyn. “She makes a good point. Acting against the council’s wishes isn’t something we can risk. I don’t like it any more than you, but we’re going to have to put our faith in the council’s decisions.”
Allyn opened his mouth to speak, but Liam cut him off.
“This is my information to give,” he said. “And while I appreciate your counsel, it’s also my decision to make.” He stood and took a deep breath. “I’ll think on it some more and let you know of my decision tomorrow.”
Liam nodded his dismissal, and his counselors made their way out. Leira was first, though she seemed much less agitated now that she thought he wasn’t disobeying the council’s wishes.
“Allyn,” Liam said. “Please hold up a second.”
Allyn stopped and eyed Liam from the doorway.
“Close the door.”
Allyn complied and stepped back into the room.
“My sister is right. I hope you can see that. She only wants to protect her Family.”
“If you say so,” Allyn said.
“Blatantly disregarding the council’s judgment sets a dangerous precedent, and it’s not something I’m willing to do.”
“I understand.”
“But,” Liam said, hitting the word hard, “nothing is stopping someone from discovering the information on their own. The data is in the vehicle you drove, after all. If someone were to learn of the Rakkarran garage and investigate to decide whether it was worthy of the council’s attention, that wouldn’t be treason. It would be allowing the council to focus on the matters at hand, not chasing whispers on the wind.”
Liam watched Allyn, looking for a hint that his words were understood.
“If someone were to investigate,” Allyn said slowly, “they wouldn’t be able to do so alone. They’d need a team.”
“True,” Liam said. “Fortunately, the arch mage has requested that all able Families reinforce the Order numbers with additional magi. Someone could pick up the McCollum contingent and investigate the location before returning to the manor.”
“Yeah,” Allyn said, nodding. “Someone could do that.”
“Before that person made up their mind,” Liam said. “I’d want to make myself perfectly clear and ensure that they understood that if something went sideways, I would deny any involvement. This would be an unsanctioned investigation, and the person leading it would bear all responsibility for its results.”
“That person wouldn’t accept failure, then, would they?”
“I suppose not.”
Liam pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Allyn. “The McCollum reinforcements will be here tomorrow morning. That is their flight information. And that”—he pointed at the German address written at the top of the itinerary—“I’m not sure what that is.”
“I don’t, either,” Allyn said wryly. “I guess I’ll have to look into it.”
“I guess so,” Liam said. “Good luck, Allyn.”
Chapter 20
Allyn stood with a mass of valets, chauffeurs, and anxiously waiting family and friends, watching for the McCollum contingent. Midmorning sunlight streamed through a large wall of windows, lighting the interior of the airport in a welcoming hue. Stifling a yawn—he’d had to leave before sunrise—he thought back on his own trip to the same airport only a couple months before. The irony of the similarities was not unnoticed by him.
As before, he was about to embark on a mission that was equal parts dangerous and secretive. Only before, they had accepted the terms outlined by Arch Mage Westarra himself to get the Family reinstated in the Forum; now they were embarking on a mission against the same man’s wishes. If they were caught, all of their previous work would be undone in an instant, and the conspirators, including Allyn and Liam, would be banished—or worse.
We cannot fail.
Allyn spotted Mason before he noticed anyone else. The hard-faced magi walked with a slight hitch, no doubt a byproduct of his prosthetic leg. Made of carbon fiber, the prosthetic blade was black in color and of a similar design as those used by athletes in the Paralympics. It wasn’t ideal for normal everyday use, but Mason had grown used to its flexibility, and besides, there was nothing normal about their general day-to-day.
Mason saw Allyn, nodded, then waved at the rest of the group behind him, making for their driver.
“Welcome to Zurich,” Allyn said as he approached. “How was the flight?”
“Happy to be on the ground,” Mason said, scratching at his prosthesis absently.
“I bet,” Allyn said. “It’s a long flight.”
“That it is.”
“This everyone?” Allyn asked, looking over the group. Behind Mason were Rory, Topher, Andrew, and Charlotte.
“It is.”
“Let’s go then.”
Allyn led them through the airport and back to the car, where Nolan was waiting.
Mason looked at the former FBI agent, his face disapproving. “I wasn’t aware anyone would be joining us.”
It took Allyn a moment to realize Mason still distrusted the man. Allyn couldn’t blame him, exactly. The last time Mason had seen the man was when he’d still been one of the lead FBI agents investigating the death of several police officers who had died by Lukas’s hand. That investigation had brought the police, and Nolan in particular, to the magi’s doorstep. Mason hadn’t been through what Allyn and Nolan had been through, hadn’t seen him in action or fought alongside him.
“There’s been a slight change of plans,” Allyn said.
“Oh?”
Allyn looked around the parking lot. Various families and loved ones climbed out of vehicles, grabbing luggage and saying tearful goodbyes. “Get in the car,” he said, �
��and we can talk about it.”
Once inside, Allyn brought the McCollum magi up to speed, covering recent events, battles, and the council’s decision to adopt a more conservative strategy. He also told them of the information Liam had discovered and explained how it offered a unique opportunity they couldn’t afford not to explore.
“Make no mistake,” Allyn said. “If we do this, we do it alone. No other help is coming.”
“This is Grand Mage McCollum’s wish?” Mason asked.
“It is,” Allyn said carefully. “Though if we’re caught, he’ll deny all knowledge of our actions.”
Mason glanced at the magi sitting with him, looking for approval. All four of them nodded.
“We know nothing of Forum politics and know only what you have told us,” Mason said. “I trust Liam knows what he’s doing, and if he believes this is our best course, then who are we to argue with him? Let’s see what he’s found.”
Stuttgart was two and a half hours north of Zurich, making it early afternoon by the time they arrived. Using the SUV’s GPS, Allyn drove to an industrial part of the city, rife with manufacturing plants, warehouses, and storage facilities. He spotted the warehouse before the GPS announced they’d arrived, recognizing it from the Google Street View that Liam had pulled up the night before.
In the light of midday, the warehouse was even more nondescript, offering little indication of what waited inside. The windows were dark, the building silent, the two garage doors and metal man-door closed. Allyn drove slowly past the building, one eye surveying the garage, the other on the road, so they didn’t hit any of the semitrucks or forklifts cruising down the manufacturing lanes.
Allyn parked kitty-corner to the warehouse and shut off the car. Workers wearing yellow-and-orange safety vests came and went from other buildings, taking lunch and smoke breaks. More than one gave them a questioning look, no doubt wondering what a black SUV with blacked-out windows was doing in the manufacturing district.
“We should move,” Nolan said.
Allyn agreed and moved the vehicle to a street several blocks over with less foot traffic, parking beside a group of service trucks. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ve got an idea.”
He stepped from the vehicle, scanning his surroundings, then seeing that the coast was clear, he began inspecting the beds of nearby tucks. He quickly found what he was looking for and returned to the SUV, carrying hard hats and safety vests.
“Put these on,” Allyn said.
Once the team had their new equipment on, Allyn ordered them out, and they proceeded toward the warehouse on foot.
“Nolan and Rory, with me,” Allyn said once the warehouse came into view. “Mason, you take Topher, Andrew, and Charlotte. We’ll take the far alley; you take the nearer one. We’ll meet at the back.”
“What are we looking for?” Mason asked.
“Anything that stands out,” Allyn said. “And a way in. Come on.”
Allyn led them in a slow walk across the street, keeping the brim of the hard hat low to shield his face. They needed to avoid being stopped, but he was also concerned about surveillance outside the warehouse. The element of surprise was their greatest advantage. If any of them were seen, the Knights would likely abandon the garage, leaving the magi grasping at ghosts again.
As they neared the closest alley, Allyn pointed and said something he thought a surveyor might say. Mason and his sub squad moved down the narrow alley, while Allyn led Nolan and Rory to the next.
Bits of paper and cigarette butts littered the pavement, pockmarked with pools of oily water. There were no windows or doors in the building, save for an emergency exit accessible only by the fire escape. Unfortunately, the ladder to the fire escape was out of reach for even Nolan.
“We could lift someone up,” Nolan said. “Maybe two. And they open the door for the rest of us.”
“Let’s talk to Mason first,” Allyn said, “and see what he found.”
The other squad leader was already at the back of the warehouse by the time they arrived.
“Anything?” Allyn asked.
“Yeah,” Mason said. “There’s another door on the side of the warehouse.”
“Locked?”
“Yes,” Mason said. “But that won’t be an issue.” Allyn gave him a questioning look that Mason seemed to ignore. “I can take care of the lock, but I can’t do anything about an alarm.”
“That’s not going to do us a lot of good then,” Nolan said.
“These places are meant to be mobile and easily left behind,” Allyn said. “Do you think they would really take the time to install an alarm system?”
“It probably comes with the building,” Nolan said. “This is when it would be nice to have Canary.”
“I know,” Allyn said. “But we had to keep the group small. I had to talk Liam into letting you come as it is.”
“Thanks for that,” Nolan said sarcastically. “So what do we do?”
“We have to see what’s inside,” Allyn said. “We’re going to have to risk it. Show us the door, Mason.”
Mason quickly led them to the door on the other side of the building. “You sure about this?”
Allyn took a deep breath. “Yes. Do it.”
Mason nodded and began to wield. The polished aluminum knob turned a milky-white color, encrusted in a thin layer of ice. Into the keyhole itself, Mason delicately projected more thin shards of ice.
“You’re picking the lock with ice?” Allyn asked in disbelief.
Mason ignored him, continuing about his work. A few heartbeats later, Mason reinforced the ice and, in one motion, twisted the handle. To Allyn’s surprise, the ice shards held, and the door opened.
Allyn’s breath caught in his throat as he waited for the sound of the alarm. One heartbeat. He didn’t hear anything. Two heartbeats. Still nothing. Allyn turned to Nolan. “We good?”
“I think so,” Nolan whispered, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would set off an alarm that opening the door hadn’t. He held out a hand before him, gesturing toward the open door. “Be my guest.”
The inside of the warehouse was dark. Dust hung in the stale air, glowing in the dim light and giving the environment an eerie quality. Tucked between concrete beams and parked near the center of the space were five BearCats.
This is it. We did it.
Allyn shed his reflective safety vest and hardhat, tossing them beside the door, and ordered the rest to do the same. Once his squad had removed their disguises, he stepped inside, his shuffling footsteps echoing throughout the vast space. Nolan and Mason followed him, the rest trailing closely behind. The door squeaked on a dry hinge as Rory closed it. He looked at Allyn, offering a silent apology. Thankfully, the warehouse seemed to be otherwise empty.
“Spread out,” Allyn said. “Take pictures of anything you think is important, but don’t disturb anything. The Knights can’t know we were here.”
Allyn made for the BearCats near the center of the warehouse. Just as the one he and Nolan had stolen from the Heilig Estate, these were matte black and covered in mud—the same vehicles from the assault.
The doors were unlocked, keys still in the ignition. He briefly considered stealing them and taking them back to the Klausner Manor or hiding them somewhere else, but as he’d said before, the Knights couldn’t know the magi had found the warehouse. They needed to find the headquarters. Beyond that, Allyn had no idea how many similar facilities the Knights utilized. If the warehouse was one of many, then they would have given up their greatest advantage for nothing.
Each BearCat’s cab was empty, save for mud and gravel on the floorboards. The rears, however, were stocked with guns, ammunition magazines, and explosives. Allyn’s gut twisted at the sight of the explosives. He wondered if they were the same kind that had killed Nyla.
>
After finding nothing in three of the BearCats, Allyn gave up his search and sought out Nolan at the back of the compound, where a computer with dual monitors sat on a wood desk. Compared with the rest of the warehouse, it looked strangely out of place.
“What is it?” Allyn asked.
“I don’t know,” Nolan admitted. “I was thinking about turning it on to find out.”
“Do it,” Allyn said. “Let me know what you find.”
“Will do.”
Allyn went to each of the magi to see what they’d discovered. By the time he made it to Mason, he was growing discouraged.
“There has to be something here,” Allyn said.
“They don’t look like that kind of outfit,” Mason said. “If this is only a staging post like you think it is, what did you expect to find?”
He didn’t have an answer but was too irritated to admit it.
“Allyn,” Nolan said from the computer station.
“Gather the squad,” Allyn said to Mason. “We’re leaving in two minutes.”
“What do we do then?”
“I’m working on that,” Allyn said. “But I’ll sit in the car and stake this place out before we leave with nothing.”
Nolan had his arms crossed and a frustrated expression plastered on his face when Allyn returned.
“What’s up?” Allyn asked.
“That.” Nolan pointed at the first computer monitor. It was asking for a password. “We’re really unequipped for this, Allyn. I know you want answers, but maybe we should come back with the proper people. I’m sure Liam could crack this in seconds.”
“Yeah…”
“But,” Nolan said, obviously hearing the hesitation in Allyn’s voice, “you don’t want to leave.”
Allyn frowned and shook his head.
“Well I’m sorry to break it to you, but—” Nolan’s eyes suddenly darted past the computer monitors toward the front of the building.
Capture (The Machinists Book 4) Page 17