Thursday, June 8th, 2017
Nuremberg, Germany
19:30 GMT+2 (17:30 GMT June 8th)
A few miles to the south of the city, Mindy pulled off the A6 and then drove a hundred yards up a road before she stopped so that they were hidden by tall trees on the edge of a forest.
Dave and Jennifer pulled up behind and everybody got out to stretch their legs after the long trip. Stephanie and Abigail had been getting rather tetchy for the final fifty kilometres and both girls needed their space. A few minutes later, three more vehicles - a Bentley Continental GT Speed, an Audi S8 Quattro, and an Aston martin Rapide S - pulled into the road and stopped opposite them.
With a mad scramble, the occupants rapidly abandoned the vehicles and there was a melee of hugging and welcoming as everyone greeted one another. It had been a while since they had all seen one another and it was also an emotional meeting for Stephanie, Yvette, and Electra who had not been together in quite a while. While the children mingled, the adults discussed the pending operation. With the arrival of Vengeance and Honneur, they were now twenty-two strong, although of that number, four were non-combatants: Andrew, Naomi, Jennifer, and Alya. For the assault, Alya would be in overall charge of the technical side and she would setup close to their destination in the Audi SQ7. She would be joined by Naomi, Jennifer, and Andrew. The remaining eighteen would actually assault the facility deemed to belong to Eidolon.
Once all the hugging was over, there was a great shuffling of seats in cars before they headed off to a small warehouse just around the corner from their ultimate destination.
The following night...
Friday, June 9th
Nuremberg, Germany
21:30 GMT+2 (19:30 GMT June 9th)
The facility was large and spread out over about three acres.
Outwardly, it looked just like most of the other commercial units arranged around the complex of roads which formed the estate. Which was probably the intention – it was not like they would build a facility which screamed 'evil' and mounted an 'Axis of Evil – Eidolon Branch' sign over the door, although it would have made things so much easier, Mindy considered. The day had been spent with everyone gearing up and preparing their weapons. The previous night had been spent with the adults attempting to get some peace and quiet so that they could go over the plan while the children – not that the likes of Saoirse and Shannon were really children – caused mayhem around their impromptu safehouse. However, Shannon and Saoirse seemed to be very much at the root of the mayhem, not that the younger children minded joining in! Thus, it had taken a while to get them all bedded down for the night.
However, after a successful day of preparation, all the 'children' had put aside their bickering and immaturity, and they had become true professionals as Mindy knew that they would.
At that moment, the teams were approaching their targets, ready to attack.
21:38 GMT+2 (19:38 GMT June 9th)
Eidolon Facility, Nuremberg
Alpha One: Kick-Ass, Le Chat Noir, Tempest, Rage, Electra & Termino
"Alpha One: west side is clear. Move up."
"Copy, Akuma, Alpha One moving up," Kick-Ass responded.
Kick-Ass nudged the shoulder of Tempest who had point and the boy stepped forward, his suppressed MPX-SD to his shoulder. The remaining members of the team followed on after Kick-Ass. They were a dozen yards from the security fence which marked the border of the Eidolon facility. While the Eidolon security was first rate for their IT systems, those of the surrounding buildings was not which had therefore allowed Marty and Abby, earlier on in the day, to breach several firewalls and gain access to several CCTV systems which had ultimately provided them with an almost perfect view of the area surrounding the target facility. Their first task, however, was to breach the perimeter fence which was fitted with sensors and topped with razor wire – and potentially much worse. They would also have to hope that they were not spotted on any CCTV cameras.
Tempest examined the fence from two feet away, his trained eyes checking out the construction and the security measures. Then he grinned – the builders had made a mistake with the trembler installation – there was a small section of fence which was unprotected by the tremblers which meant that it could be cut without setting off any alarms. That section of fence appeared to have been damaged at some point and then repaired but the tremblers had never been reconnected. However, the weakened section had been secured with some rather nasty razor wire which would take some getting past.
While the rest of team kept watch, Tempest set to work as carefully and as silently as he could.
Alpha Two: Hit Girl, Resolute, Splinter, Psyche, La Terreaur & Fury
The task for Alpha Two was a little simpler as they would be gaining access via the main gate.
There were four guards on duty in the gatehouse with two actually on watch at any one time while the other pair simply watched TV until they rotated on and off the CCTV screens every hour. There was very little vehicular traffic at night which only made the boredom of being a security guard all the more difficult to bear. However, the nightshift was manned by a higher calibre security guard than those employed for daytime service. Hit Girl had picked up on that as she had watched them check in a large truck onto the site earlier that evening. Their diligence with a mirror and the ability to get down and dirty under the truck had shown that sneaking in that way would not be tolerated. Therefore, a much more direct route was required. One which both Hit Girl and Psyche were very keen on. However, Hit Girl chose Fury to accompany Psyche on the initial assault, a choice Psyche relished.
"You get me killed, bitch, I'll haunt you till the fucking day you die!" Fury growled to her friend as they moved in to take down the gatehouse.
"Never going to happen, dick wad!" Psyche responded as they moved slowly but steadily through the darkness, their weapons up.
The two girls were each armed with a suppressed Sig Sauer MPX-SD assault rifle but instead, the rifles were slung behind their backs and they each held a Sig Sauer P225 A1 pistol with a cylindrical suppressor mounted to the muzzle. It was to be a stealth takedown without alerting the other guards onsite – something both girls were perfectly capable of accomplishing.
Psyche went first with Fury covering her partner's every move.
Alpha Three: Nemesis, La Coccinelle, Foxtail, Stormtide, Intrepid & Glide.
Coming in from the northwest, the final team were parked up, fifty yards from the main gate, in two identical black Mercedes G-Class 4x4s which they had rented that very morning.
The moment the main gate was clear, they would steam in and the vehicles would be used, hopefully, to haul off anything they found of intelligence value. It was an all-girl team and they were determined to prove that girl-power was best. They were also armed with Sig Sauer MPX-SD weapons, but they also carried heavier (and noisier) weapons should the need arise. They were all masked just like their companions in the other teams and they all had every intention of getting in, gathering intelligence, and then getting out, all undercover of darkness and with no one any the wiser.
Through night vision equipment, they could see Psyche and Fury closing on the gatehouse, and Alpha Three knew that it would soon be time for them to move.
Sierra One: Akuma, Allegiant, Surgeon & Prowl
Two hundred yards away, in the back of a rented Mercedes Sprinter panel van, Akuma and Allegiant sat at laptops, studying the CCTV footage, and searching for anyone approaching the three teams.
Surgeon was on tenterhooks, as she always was when any of Fusion went into action. She hated worrying about what injuries they might return with, assuming they lived to return at all. As for Prowl, she was annoyed about being kept out of the fighting, but she had a job to do, and that was to monitor the camera feeds. Each member of the assault teams was fitted with a small 1080p video camera which would allow precise command and control for the mission as well as allow every member's location to be monitored in real time.
At first Prowl had thought the task to be mundane and beneath her, but then she had watched in awe as Psyche and Fury had begun their advance. The night vision capability of the cameras was top notch and Prowl could make out every detail as the pair moved. Prowl was speechless as Psyche stopped at the side door to the gatehouse, her pistol raised as she kept to the side of the door while Fury moved in and she swiftly holstered her pistol before she expertly picked the door lock.
Then Fury stowed her lockpicks and she drew her pistol.
Alpha One: Kick-Ass, Le Chat Noir, Tempest, Rage, Rigour & Termino
With the greatest care, Tempest had created a way through the fence without triggering any alarms and without cutting himself to shreds on the razor wire.
The gap was large enough even for Kick-Ass. One by one, as Tempest kept watch, the team wormed through the hole in the fence and into the enemy facility. Rigour had gone through first and she had quickly moved to a position from where she could provide covering fire for her compatriots as they came through the fence. She was quickly joined by Rage and then Termino with the adults appearing last before Tempest then slipped through the fence.
The team found themselves behind a dozen parked lorry trailers – all unmarked and painted white. Slowly, they moved between the trailers, searching for movement of any kind and any threats. There were pole-mounted cameras surveilling the site, but they were unable to see what was going on in between the trailers. The six vigilantes advanced swiftly, closing on the lorry loading bays which numbered fifteen and stretched along the west side of the main building. They ran fast but kept to the shadows cast by the parked trailers and lorry cabs.
One by one, they ran out into the open and they jumped up onto the loading bays and rolled back into the shadows.
Alpha Two: Hit Girl, Resolute, Splinter, Psyche, La Terreaur & Fury
Psyche twisted the knob and she pulled open the door, just enough for Fury to slip through and check that the way was clear.
Psyche followed – the pair were at the end of a narrow passageway which led to the right into the main control room and past a window from where the guards could speak with drivers. Leading off the passageway was a toilet – by the signage, it was the men's toilet. Psyche pushed open the door and the two girls entered to find a man pissing into a urinal, a magazine tucked under his arm. Without hesitation, Fury shot the surprised man in the forehead as he turned his head to see who had just entered.
"Ooh, Hustler!" Fury commented as she swept up the magazine and she shoved it under her torso body armour. "Josie Sparks – nice!"
Psyche did not comment as she checked that the man with his dick hanging out was actually dead.
"X-Ray down!" Psyche radioed as she stepped over to the door and Fury ducked out into the passageway beyond.
As Fury covered her partner, Psyche moved down the corridor towards where they could hear voices – male voices.
Sierra One: Akuma, Allegiant, Surgeon & Prowl
Prowl stared at the screen with Surgeon at her side.
As they watched the screen labelled 'Psyche', they saw a pistol come up into view and then the pistol lined up on the back of a head and...
"Fuck!" Prowl exclaimed as the head was shattered by a single nine-millimetre bullet.
It was not the first time Prowl had seen such a thing – indeed, she had taken that same shot several times herself – but knowing that it was taking place not so far away, and live, was very different.
Surgeon was horrified by what she was watching, and her hand went to her mouth as a second head was blasted apart by a pistol on a screen labelled 'Fury'. Seeing people executed live was shocking and she had had to look away as the fourth security guard was taken down by the 'Psyche' pistol.
"Three X-Rays down!" Fury reported.
The comment from the eleven-year-old was cold and clinical with zero emotion – Surgeon knew that they killed; it was what a vigilante did, but to see it in high definition like a Hollywood movie but knowing that it was very real, was simply stunning and shocking at the same time.
"Cool, ain't it?" Prowl grinned.
Surgeon declined to comment.
Alpha Three: Nemesis, La Coccinelle, Foxtail, Stormtide, Intrepid & Glide.
It was time to move.
"Gatehouse is clear," Psyche advised. "Alpha Three, time to move."
Nemesis pressed her foot down and accelerated forwards. Behind her, La Coccinelle did the same and as they approached the facility, the steel wire mesh gate slid open noiselessly to allow them to pass through. Once they were through, the gate slid noiselessly closed behind them. Intrepid and Glide rode with Nemesis while Foxtail and Stormtide rode with La Coccinelle – neither girl would ride with Glide; they both found her far too annoying!
The two Mercedes G-Class 4x4s moved fast, only stopping once they had reached the loading docks where they were met by Rage of Alpha One.
Alpha One: Kick-Ass, Le Chat Noir, Tempest, Rage, Rigour & Termino
With Alpha Three providing backup, Alpha One entered via a partially open roller shutter into the main warehouse.
Rigour rolled through first and she instantly regained her feet in a kneeling position, her weapon raised. Her eyes and weapon scanned the warehouse for a threat but nothing untoward was visible. The very first thing that she did was move slowly towards where she could see a cabinet for the computer network. As Termino and Rage covered her actions, the girl checked the cabinet for alarms. Finding nothing, she broke the lock on the glazed door, and she opened the cabinet. The young girl pulled a small boxy device from her body armour and she connected it into the network switch mounted inside the cabinet.
"I have a connection," Battle Guy commented from hundreds of miles away. "Connecting to their database now."
While Battle Guy infiltrated the facility's computer systems, Alpha One spread out while Alpha Three covered their rear and the loading bay which was to be their escape route. The warehouse was devoid of activity, but various caches of packing crates and cardboard boxes were stacked upon wooden pallets, most wrapped in shrink-wrapped plastic to keep the loads together prior to shipping. They were aware that the cargo business was a lucrative front for Eidolon's more nefarious activities of drugs, money, and weapons which were illicitly shipped around the world along with masses of perfectly legal and openly declared cargoes.
"I've gained access to their computer network database – they have a good-sized datacentre here," Battle Guy advised. "I'm going to try and download as much of the database and the files as I can."
Kick-ass waved Rigour and Termino to the left while Rage and Tempest moved over to the right, leaving Kick-Ass and Le Chat Noir to cover the centre sections. There were a dozen different locations for security guards to be patrolling where they could not be seen from the main warehouse floor. Therefore, Rigour and Termino leapt up a steel staircase to a mezzanine floor from where they were able to obtain a much better view of what was waiting for them.
"I have a security guard ten yards ahead of Rage and off to his right," Termino radioed.
Rage raised his left hand to acknowledge the warning and he ducked behind a large stack of packing cases to his right and then darted forward a few yards. He could hear footsteps approaching and forty seconds later, he saw a security guard appear from behind a pile of shrink-wrapped cardboard boxes – the security guard was armed with a compact submachine gun, possibly a Steyr of some kind, Rage's mind told him. The boy pulled his combat knife from its scabbard and he grinned as he stepped out behind the security guard. The man was tall, well over six feet in height, and he towered over the nine-year-old boy who was stalking him. Not that the height difference fazed Rage one bit as he closed and then in a lightning move, he rammed his blade up into the man's kidney and then twisted the blade violently. Rage yanked the blade out and then stabbed the shocked security guard in the neck. The man's hands could be seen shaking and flexing as if he could not decide whether to go for the hole in his side or his weapon. Then the man simply sagged to the floor, his throat gurgling as it filled with blood.
"X-Ray down!"
Rage showed no compassion as he sidestepped the spreading pool of blood and the body which had collapsed within that very same pool of spreading blood.
Alpha Two: Hit Girl, Resolute, Splinter, Psyche, La Terreaur & Fury
Hit Girl had been very pleased to see Psyche and Fury reappear from the gatehouse uninjured.
"All good?" Hit Girl asked her daughter.
"No problems – Fury gained herself a porn mag," Psyche responded.
"I'm saving it for tonight," Fury commented.
"Not if I'm in the same room, you're not; you dirty bitch!" Psyche shot back.
"I'm sure Rage will enjoy watching," La Terreaur laughed as they all ran towards the main building.
"Let's focus," Hit Girl said as she grinned beneath her mask.
The group stopped at a set of glass sliding doors which did not automatically open as the sensors had been turned off for the night.
"Let me help you, my queen," Battle Guy quipped as the doors sprang open.
"Thank you," Hit Girl responded as she stepped inside the Eidolon facility followed by her team.
Resolute and Splinter checked out the reception area which included a small kitchen and declared it to be clear. The two boys then moved through the downstairs offices, checking and clearing each one as they went.
"Offices clear," Resolute reported. "Send the girls!"
La Terreaur led Psyche and Fury up a staircase to clear the management offices on the first floor.
..._...
La Terreaur stepped out upon the soft carpet of the first-floor management offices but before she could begin her search, bullets struck her torso.
"Contact! Contact! Contact!" Fury shouted.
The bullets struck from her right breast down to her lower abdomen, three in total, and the ten-year-old fell back against the doorframe, her hands across her stomach as the girl struggled to breathe, the third bullet having punched the air from her lungs. Fury caught their French colleague as she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Psyche leapt over the two girls and she triggered off a three-round burst into the darkness to the right of the stairs. Fury pulled La Terreaur into the area at the top of the staircase as the boys came running up the stairs.
"She was hit the moment she stepped into the passageway," Fury briefed Termino and Resolute. "Just shock - nothing penetrated her armour."
The two boys glanced down briefly at their wounded friend and then ran after Psyche to provide her with covering fire just as they heard the shattering of plate glass. They found her exchanging gunfire with two, maybe three, security guards who had taken cover behind a large oak conference table pushed over onto its side. The glass walls of the conference room had shattered under the onslaught of Psyche's bullets as she had taken cover behind a smaller table in a seating area outside the conference room.
"Hi, boys!" Psyche called out as they dropped down on either side of her. "Welcome to the party!"
"Can't leave it all to some dumb blonde," Splinter commented.
"We are going to talk," Psyche growled as she fired off a rapid burst at their opponents.
"It's a date," Splinter grinned.
"When you two have quite finished," Resolute chuckled as his own bullets stitched a line across the conference table.
"If you two boys can provide me with covering fire, I'll take them out from behind," Psyche suggested.
"Knock yourself out," Splinter commented with a wave of his left hand. "Ready, Resolute?"
"Bring it on!" Resolute challenged. "Go for it, Psyche!"
With that, Psyche laid down her submachine gun and she drew her twin Sais from where they were stowed on her lower back.
Alpha One: Kick-Ass, Le Chat Noir, Tempest, Rage, Rigour & Termino
The team was moving quicker now that the cat was out of the bag and gunfire was being exchanged.
After Rage's kill, no further security guards had been identified – it was surmised that most were on a break and had gathered upstairs in the management offices. However, they were not out of the woods quite yet. They had discovered the data centre in the centre of the warehouse. The room was built of brick and was air-conditioned. It was also very secure, partially dismantled, and wired with explosives – it was obvious that nobody was allowing the data to be easily removed. It was also possible that the facility was no longer required.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Termino commented to no one in particular.
"For once, I have to agree with you," Rigour commented.
"I want every inch of this facility checked and I want any intel uncovered to be taken directly to Alpha Three," Kick-Ass directed. "Move, I don't think we have long."
Everyone scattered to search offices and storage areas.
Alpha Two: Hit Girl, Resolute, Splinter, Psyche, La Terreaur & Fury
As the gunfire from the boys ramped up, Psyche ran from cover and she somersaulted over and through the smashed glazing, landing to the boys' left and on the security guards' right.
The security guards had their heads down due to the incoming bullets which peppered the wooden conference table and the plasterboard wall behind it. None of the three men saw the slight form of Psyche as she landed six feet from them and none of them noticed when she sprang up again. The sharpened central tip of a Sai plunged deeply into the neck of the closest security guard, severing his airway and carotid artery simultaneously. Even as Psyche withdraw that Sai, her other Sai had plunged into the neck of the second man. The first man gagged on the blood flooding into his lungs as he fell, never knowing how he had been slaughtered. The second security guard had been just as oblivious to the cause of his demise as he choked out his own life next to his colleague. The third security guard had turned at the last minute and avoided the outthrust Sai. But he only forestalled his death by mere seconds as his chest was punctured by the pair of matching weapons. A look of stunned surprise spread across his face as he saw the two prone forms of his colleagues collapsing to the floor beside him. He then looked up into the anonymous masked face, the piercing luminous blue eyes showing no emotion as his life ebbed away.
"Three X-Rays down," Psyche hissed.
"Not bad, I suppose," Splinter commented as he stood up and moved over to admire Psyche's handy work.
"Messy," Resolute commented.
"That's normal for Psyche," Splinter commented.
"I do what I can," Psyche agreed.
"And with such style!" Splinter teased.
"Were you watching my arse again?"
"Maybe," Splinter responded cagily.
Psyche grinned beneath her mask, pleased that Splinter was paying her notice.
..._...
Downstairs, Hit Girl was checking over La Terreaur who had been helped down the stairs by Fury.
"I think you'll live," Hit Girl told the youngster.
"Living with Psyche for so long, I'm perfectly used to constant irritation and pain," La Terreaur confided.
"I bet," Hit Girl responded, but then she froze as she heard a sound. "Did you hear that?"
"I heard a beep," Fury confirmed.
"Over there," La Terreaur said as she pointed to a small hatch set into the wall beside the glazed entry doors.
Hit Girl stepped over to the hatch and she carefully checked it out for booby traps. The hatch was about two feet by two feet in size and not locked. Hit Girl eased the hatch open and she peered inside with the aid of a torch.
"Oh, crap!" she muttered.
"A problem?" Psyche asked as she came down the stairs.
"You could say that," Hit Girl said, indicating the hatch.
Psyche stepped over and she peered inside – her eyes went wide as she laid eyes on a bundle taped to a vertical steel support column.
"That's five pounds of C4 taped to the building's structure and a timer which has started to countdown from fifteen minutes," Psyche advised everybody.
"That much C4 will crush the girder and the steel column, cutting it," Resolute said.
"They plan to destroy this facility," Hit Girl reasoned. "All Alpha Teams – time to depart; the building is rigged – everybody out and back to the rendezvous point. We have twelve minutes."
Everybody moved with haste as they gathered up what intel they had found, and they quickly ran for the loading docks where they found Alpha Three waiting with engines running.
22:08 GMT+2 (20:08 GMT June 9th)
Eidolon Facility, Nuremberg
All Alpha Teams
It was a tight squeeze but the two Mercedes G-Wagon 4x4s sped away from the loading dock with everyone aboard from all three teams plus their collated intel.
The two vehicles paused briefly at the gatehouse while Psyche bounded out to trigger the gate then return to the vehicle as they both sped out of the main gate with just a few seconds to spare. They had barely turned the corner past another warehouse when there was a succession of thunderous explosions and then the night sky was illuminated by a fiery glow as the Eidolon facility imploded in on itself.
"What did we get?" Hit Girl asked Battle Guy.
"I got about ten per cent of the data before I was cut off," he responded. "Any chance of reconnecting?"
"I don't think so," Hit Girl replied as she surveyed the thoroughly destroyed facility where out of control flames were reaching dozens of feet into the sky. "Anything we can use?"
"I'll let you know once I've had a chance to sift through things."
"Thanks, Battle Guy."
The ride back to the rendezvous point was completed in virtual silence.
23:20 GMT+2 (21:20 GMT June 9th)
A semi-derelict farmhouse
Feuchter Forest, Germany
The forest was about eight kilometres to the southwest of the destroyed Eidolon facility and on the outskirts of Nuremberg.
They were very safe where they were and after some juggling, the Mercedes G-Wagon 4x4s had been 'disposed of' by Marinette and Adrien once everyone had been unloaded at the farmhouse, along with their equipment and intel. Parked outside the farmhouse were their six cars as well as the silver Mercedes Sprinter panel van which had been used by Sierra One and which they were going to retain for the moment.
Inside the farmhouse, the younger members of the combined Fusion, Vengeance, and Honneur forces were settling down to sleep once they had washed and eaten. Mindy was just exiting the bathroom after a brief but relaxing shower, a damp towel draped around her neck as she dried off her hair. Stretched out on the bare wooden floor of a bedroom to her right, her son and daughter lay next to Abigail and Yvette. Electra, Kaitlin, and Naomi were across the bedroom a few feet away in their own group. The other four boys were in another bedroom on the far side of the house with the older girls grouped in a bedroom next to the younger children. The adults were spread out over three further bedrooms.
As Mindy stepped into the living room, she found Dave seated on a camping stool at a collapsible table on which sat two laptops. He held out a phone to her.
"It's Marty."
"Hello," Mindy said. "I'll put you on speaker."
Mindy set the phone down on the table and she pressed the speaker icon on the touch screen.
"We have a new destination for you, Mindy," Marty advised.
"Somewhere nice?" Mindy replied uneasily.
"South of France - Marseilles," Marty chuckled. "Sun, sea, topless women..."
"I'll take the sun and the sea," Mindy mused.
"I'll take the topless women!" Jamie grinned as he peered out of the bedroom.
Stephanie appeared beside her brother and she simply slapped him, very hard, a disgusted expression on her face.
The following morning...
Saturday, June 10th
London Heathrow Airport
London, United Kingdom
06:07 GMT+1 (05:07 GMT June 10th)
THE PHOENIX
Aboard the Boeing 777-300ER, the forty-three passengers and crew sat strapped into their respective seats as the twin General Electric GE90-115B high-bypass turbofan engines thrust the giant aircraft down the longest of the airport's two runways, the northern 09L which stretched a little over 2.4 miles in length.
First Officer Michelle Martinez monitored the airspeed while her left hand guarded the twin throttles on the centre console as they accelerated. "V1," she reported as she removed her hand from the throttles. "Rotate."
Captain Reginald Anderson gently pulled back on his yolk and the heavily laden aircraft lifted off the runway, rising into the sky. "Gear up," he directed.
Michelle reached for the lever on the vertical console before her and she moved the lever upwards. The aircraft climbed upwards as it tipped over to the left and turned towards the south coast of the United Kingdom. Ahead of them, they had a 1,042-nautical mile flight to the Spanish city of Malaga. Flight time was expected to be about two hours and twenty-eight minutes. Aboard the aircraft were thirty-five passengers, a fairly even split between Fusion and Vengeance.
Representing Fusion, there were Chloe Bennett and Joshua Williams, Marty Eisenburg, Abby Hunt, Lucy Ford, Hailee Richards, Anne-Marie and Daniel Lizewski, Patrick Millar, Mathilda Lando, Becky Bennett, Annabelle and Iain Millar, Eva Horton, Ruth Anders, Curtis Bennett, Megan Williams, Willow Rhys, Xiāngxìn and Lin Staite – twenty all told.
For Vengeance, there were Jasper Collins, David Montgomery, Rachel Clarkson, Cameron King, Amber Dawson, Scarlett Radford, Harper Sharp, Craig Montgomery, Olivia Kensington, Dakota McFadden, Simon Dalton, Rylee Clarkson and Tanya Enfield – a baker's dozen.
Also, along for the ride, there were Ariana McKenna and Freya Thompson.
Everyone else (Emily, Lauren, and Lizzie Edwards, Taylor Millar, Brad Murphy, Hunter Graves, and Kendra Rhys) had deplaned and headed into London to join up with the remaining members of Vengeance at Safehouse VL.
Later that same morning...
Saturday, June 10th
Malaga Airport, Spain
09:35 GMT+2 (07:35 GMT June 10th)
THE PHOENIX
The giant Boeing slowed and turned towards the aviation terminal.
Anne-Marie looked out of the window, past her brother, with a confused expression on her face before she turned to look at Hailee in the seat beside her.
"Remind me, why are we in Malaga?" the youngster asked.
"The runway at Gibraltar is too short to handle The Phoenix so we have landed as close as we can, and we will board a smaller aircraft for the onward flight," Hailee explained to the curious youngster.
"Oh, I see."
..._...
The replacement aircraft was tiny in comparison in every way.
The Bombardier Q200 was powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW123C turboprops producing just 2,150 horsepower and weighed in at barely 80,000-kilogrammes loaded. At just twenty-two metres in length and with a wingspan of twenty-six metres you could lay three Q200 aircraft end to end and still not exceed the length of the Boeing. However, thirty-five passengers crammed aboard with very little elbow room or height. Once all were aboard with their luggage, the aircraft trundled down the runway before leaping into the air after a mere thousand metre take-off run.
With Anne-Marie grumbling bitterly about the space and lack of creature comforts, the aircraft turned southwest for the fifteen minute, fifty-two-nautical-mile flight to the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.
Saturday, June 10th
Gibraltar International Airport
British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar
10:50 GMT+2 (08:50 GMT June 10th)
The temperature was a pleasant twenty-four Celsius as they deplaned.
The 426-metre monolithic limestone promontory towered over the airport and immediately caught the attention of Anne-Marie and Danny who were quickly joined by Harper, Becky, Xiāngxìn, and Lin as they stared upwards. Chloe grinned down at the six awestruck youngsters and she allowed them a few minutes to enjoy the view.
"Come on – we have work to do," Chloe pointed out.
While Jasper and Patrick rented a small van to collect all their luggage from the aircraft, the rest of the group split up into their two crews and made for the Mid-Harbour Marina. It was a fun thirty-minute stroll, covering a little over two kilometres. For everyone, it was easy exercise and welcomed by most. Amber was not all that amused by the walk, but she was motivated by Scarlett who would not allow her moody friend to lag behind the group. Scarlett was pleased to be able to breathe in the fresh sea air and enjoy the cool breeze, although she did accept that Amber was still suffering from her humiliating treatment just over a week earlier, she hoped that the change of scene would be good for them all. As they walked along the L-shaped jetty which extended out into the Port of Gibraltar, Amber stopped dead and Harper slammed into her.
"Hey, Amber, what the fuck!" Harper exclaimed.
"Those are gorgeous!" Amber exclaimed as she laid eyes on two of the biggest yachts she had ever seen in her life.
"That one in front of us, that's the Caledonia," Harper explained. "That's where we're going – that's for us Brits."
"That other one," Joshua said, pointing further along the dock, that is the Ocean Vigilante, and she belongs to the American contingent."
"They are amazing," Amber admitted.
The two yachts were moored alongside the jetty and arranged parallel to the shore and stern to stern with about two hundred feet between each vessel. Extended out from the stern of each vessel, was a gangway to the jetty. Two men strode down the gangway leading aboard CALEDONIA. Joshua strode up to the man and smiled.
"Hello, Greg, thanks for getting these two ready to go at such short notice."
"Not a problem, Joshua," one of the men responded as he stepped onto the jetty. "Mindy had us preparing them both for sea over a week ago. Both have full diesel tanks and freshwater tanks. We've ensured that the fridges and freezers are full as well as the food stores. There is plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in the galleys which was purchased this morning from the market. The engines are warm, and all systems are in the green."
"That's perfect, Greg," Joshua responded as Jasper and Patrick arrived on the jetty in their hired van. "Okay, everyone, grab your kit and get aboard."
There was a flurry of activity as each member of the group sought out their luggage and then split into two groups, each headed for their own vessel.
Saturday, June 10th
Leaving Nuremberg, Germany...
09:00 GMT+2 (07:00 GMT June 10th)
They had a long trip of around a thousand kilometres ahead of them, so they started early after a not so satisfying breakfast.
Dave and Mindy, along with Cassie and Marinette, had collaborated on a route to Marseille which would take two and a half days of travel through central Europe and through countries where the enemy could be waiting for them at every turn. The first leg of the journey was to the south, a gentle 172-kilometre journey which would take them two hours – or maybe just twenty minutes the way Mindy drove!
The convoy of seven vehicles headed south now consisted of the deep purple metallic Bentley Continental GT Speed coupé (which Mindy had positively drooled over), three Audi S8 Quattro saloons – two in a deep grey metallic and one in a deep blue metallic, an Audi SQ7 in light grey, the Aston Martin Rapide S sports coupé in scintilla silver, and the sliver Mercedes Sprinter panel van.
Naturally, the seating arrangements had changed somewhat.