Chapter 25
Once they realized that they had found Adam's location, plans were made quickly. They agreed to take the next day for research, to find out as much as they could about the area. The morning after that, they would drive down there, stake out the area during the day, and infiltrate in the evening, when there were likely to be fewer people around. It was decided that they would take two vehicles. "Just in case," Brennan had said. They didn't want to be stuck somewhere without transportation again. Jesse decided to bring with him several pounds of C-4 explosives. His plan was to place them in strategic locations and detonate them as necessary as distractions. If they didn't need them, he was going to detonate them anyway, in order to destroy the facility. He planned to get as many people out of harms way before that, though.
Once these big decisions had been made, Jesse stood up from the table where the five of them had sat. "Come on, Shal. I want to take care of this now."
"Jesse, you really should wait another day."
"It's been over twenty-four hours since I fixed Brennan's genetic structure. I'm fine. Plus, you're a feral, and your expiry date's pretty far away. That means it will be less painful for both you and me. Now let's go."
A little surprised by the vehemence in Jesse's voice, Shalimar stood and followed him into the medbay.
Katie blinked and looked over at Lexa and Brennan. "What was that all about?"
Lexa sighed. "He's scared. He's angry too. The poor guy never talks about his emotions, but he doesn't have to. He's an open book when it comes to them."
"Well, I understand why he's angry. When I found out what Noah had done to him, I wanted to rake the man over the coals. But why scared? He's not afraid of confronting the Dominion again, is he? He's done it before.
"No, I don't think so. He just wants to heal Shalimar before we go in case anything happens to him."
Katie looked worried for a moment, so Brennan did his best to reassure her. "I'm not going to lie, this mission is dangerous, but we all look out for each other. He'll be okay. Now, I'm gonna go to medbay, just to make sure everything goes okay. You guys – er, girls – want to come?"
They did. They rose from their seats and followed him.
Jesse had been right about Shalimar. It had taken him less than three minutes to adjust her structure. And while the process had drained his energy, he had not passed out this time. He was alert enough, in fact, to insist that he check Lexa's and Brennan's cellular structures, to make sure that everything was progressing well. It was.
They drove down in two separate cars late the next morning, with the girls in one and the boys in the other. Jesse, had spent the first couple of hours of the six hour drive sleeping, but spent the next four in contact with Lexa. The two were using wireless networks and communicating via comrings, trying to dig up some more about the building or DMS in general. The only thing they had managed to find were blueprints from when the building was first built, 5 years ago.
"There is no way of knowing what kind of changes had been made since," Jesse said, broadcasting his voice over the comrings so they all could hear him. "But the biggest open space was in the east wing of the building. Based on how big the Creator's lab was at Dominion HQ, I'm guessing that's where he, and thus Adam, will be."
"Agreed," Lexa said. "Jesse – the south side is where the power lines connect to the building. I'm sure the facility has back up power, but there will be a delay before it does. That would be a good place for some of the C-4."
Brennan nodded as he drove, agreeing with what was being said, although no one was looking at him. "Sounds good. Shalimar – do you think you can hunt down Adam while Lexa and I provide cover."
"Sure, but let's hope it's not needed. But why don't you or Lexa go with Jesse, give him some cover, just in case."
"No," Jesse said. "I'm going to be phasing into some tight spots. If there's just one person, there's less of a chance of being seen. Plus, you guys will be going through some of the more heavily guarded locations. You'll need all three of you."
Grudgingly, Shalimar admitted that he was right. "Fine. Hey, Jesse?"
"Yeah?"
"You remember that shield the Creator put up when we tried to get to Adam? Do you have any ideas how we can get through it?"
"My best guess is that it acts a lot like our shields in Sanctuary. We might be able to disable it with a sonic frequency modulator. Lexa made one this morning. I wouldn't count on it though. You'd only have time for a few tries, and the chances of finding the exact frequency aren't good. Your best shot is getting through there before they have a chance to use it."
"Okay. Anything else we should know?"
"Lexa and I will update you on the layout of the building once we arrive, but that's about it. We should get there about 5 o'clock and have a few hours to stake the place out before we go in. Katie, can you do that satellite search and send it to Lexa and me?"
"Yeah, give me five minutes," Katie said from the safety of The Cave. Jesse had given her a crash course in their computer systems the night before, and she had taken to them like a duck to water. All communications were going to be routed through her, and she would be able to provide them data as it became available. "Okay, patching it through now."
"Looks good," Lexa said from the other car. "The photos show movement on the outside on each of the five sides. Katie, let us know if and when it clears. Based on the size of the building, I have the feeling the day staff will don't live on site and will be going home. If the security guards are following standard protocol, there will be a gap in patrol at some point. We just have to watch for it."
"Keep an eye out for security cameras too," Shalimar said. "Brennan, Adam and I got in a little too easily last time. I have the feeling the might have increased security. Brennan, do you think you could short some of them out?"
"Maybe. It depends on what type of cameras they have. Some of the newer ones can only be shorted out for a few seconds. They switch to internalized back up circuits, which immunize themselves against that electric frequency."
"We'll just have to move fast, then." Shalimar flexed the fingers on her right hand as she drove.
At 7:30 that evening, the four mutants were hidden in multiple locations around the building that housed Desis Microchip Supply. Darkness was upon them, giving them an advantage with the glaring, setting sun behind them. Lexa, Brennan and Shalimar were concealed in a tree line 30 feet from the west side of the building. Jesse was on the south side, waiting for the right moment to move in and plant the explosives. Katie had been monitoring the guards for the past two hours, looking for patterns in their movements. Finally, the time came. Katie's voice came in softly over their comrings. "Okay, guys. There should be a gap in the patrol in 5…4…3…2…1…Go, now!"