The van pulled up to the health center and came gently to a stop. It had been set on autopilot, so that Qi Lian could talk with the other occupants of the van. Now they each jumped out, with the exception of Martin. Martin still needed to nurse his wounds.

Qi Lian had managed to figure out how to make each and every person in the vehicle useful in the attack on the Red Tide forces. For Jeffrey and Clayton it had been easy to find them tasks. The others less so. Lian had decided to put Martin's gun skills to use, which made him happy. He needed to feel useful that much Qi Lian could tell.

The group began walking toward the SUV that Clayton, Martin and Qi Lian had been riding in. Qi Lian walked past the passenger seat, and she could see that it was all bloodied. She reached for her side now, nursing the wound which had produced the blood. This reminded her that she was still in pain, but the adrenaline had mostly taken over up to this point. She was healing, and the pain was reduced, but it was still present.

Qi Lian watched as Clayton grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV. He unzipped it revealing his sniper rifle. He then zipped it back up and set it back in the SUV. Qi Lian moved in next to Clayton and reached down. She picked up the sniper rifle and put it down further back. This allowed her to open the area containing the spare tire. She unhooked the spare tire and lifted it, revealing a small usb device.

"What is that for?" Clayton asked.

"I thought at some point I might need to override a car's AI system. This allows me to do so from my watch, and I can reprogram the vehicle how I wish. Didn't you wonder how I was able to steal this car in the first place?" Qi Lian asked.

"Well yes, but that still doesn't explain what you intend to do with it." Clayton replied.

"I plan to override a vehicle's system, I figured that would be obvious by now..." Qi Lian responded wryly.

"But, I mean... oh forget it. " Clayton said.

At this point Qi Lian laughed.

"It is all part of the plan Clayton. This is the part that I need to execute, you just need to worry about your part. Now you know what Han Xin looks like and thus your job should be easier." Qi Lian explained.

At that moment several SUV's pulled into the parking lot. At once several car doors opened and then shut, revealing the occupants of the vehicles. They were all Code Blue soldiers and they all looked strikingly similar. They were assembling at the health center as Qi Lian had requested.

Before engaging with them Qi Lian turned to her group.

"Doctor Dhruv and nurse Noah, please get all medical supplies you would need to help heal anyone during battle. We are going to need you to be a sort of field medic. Jeffrey you need to be in the van with our medical team and Martin. Darnell and Clayton will be in the SUV with me as we discussed. Does everyone understand?" Qi Lian asked.

"Yes." The group said nearly simultaneously.

Then Qi Lian walked toward the Code Blue soldiers.

"Is this all of your troops?" Qi Lian asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"No ma'am, there are a few more cars on the way. We have about 70 troops in total." One Code Blue soldier responded, apparently a leader of the group.

"What is you name?" Qi Lian wondered.

"Benjamin Roth." The soldier answered.

"OK Benjamin, I believe that wherever Han decides to hole up it will be marked with landmines. It is a technique we learned in the Chinese military. The mines are marked with an isotope of Beryllium that has a half-life of about 2 months. We are provided with special goggles that can identify the area with the signature and thus can avoid stepping on the mines. Do you have any equipment that could identify this?" Qi Lian asked.

"I am sorry, we utilize a different technique for our landmines. So our equipment will not be useful for this purpose." Benjamin replied.

"That is too bad. I have an alternative idea to at least help a bit with landmines. I just don't quite know the location yet that Han is going to choose for us to fight against them." Qi Lian stated.

"Unfortunately you called our troops off, so we do not have intel on their location." Benjamin said, clearly a bit frustrated.

"I completely understand your frustration, but we need to all work together if we are going to get Han. He is very crafty and he likely has more troops than you think. If some of your troops had gone in and been slaughtered how would that help our cause now?" Qi Lian questioned Benjamin.

"The remainder of our force will be here soon. I have been ordered to trust your judgment and to follow you into battle. Just don't think that I am going to do it happily." Benjamin responded.

Qi Lian had been hopeful that the Code Blue soldiers would accept her as their leader in battle. However because of this interaction she began to feel as though she had been too optimistic. She certainly understood the bond that these troops felt, she had that very same bond with her fellow soldiers. Being raised for 18 years together, while isolated from the rest of the world tended to cause such bonds.

In this moment though Qi Lian needed these soldiers to trust her. She needed them to carry out her plan in order to avoid disaster.

"I am not asking to be the leader of your force. In fact I want you to keep that role. All that I am asking is that you trust my plan. When the time is right, it is you who will lead the troops into battle, not me. I will follow you at that point. But first we need to set up the assault. We need to catch them off guard, and we need to eliminate as many of the landmines as possible. I assure you there will be landmines. We will also need to kill as many of the guards and snipers before commencing the attack. The more confusion the better. This is all that I am asking. Once we commence hand to hand combat, your troops are yours to lead." Qi Lian explained, hoping to convince Benjamin to follow her plan.

"Fine, my troops are at your disposal, until hand to hand combat begins." Benjamin said.

Behind her Qi Lian could hear Clayton and Darnell.

"Come on pops, turn that thing off, now is not the time." Clayton said.

"I just need to hear something Clayton." Darnell said, walking further away from Qi Lian.

"So what is your plan for finding the Red Tide troops?" Benjamin asked.

"I don't exactly have the answer to th..." Qi Lian began.

"Hold up everyone listen please!" Darnell yelled.

Darnell now was quickly walking toward the group and turning up his handheld radio.

"Good evening, in Plattsburgh New York there seems to be more terrorist activity. A bombing earlier today left 40 people dead and numerous others injured after causing a building to collapse. And now we have word that a group of terrorists has apparently taken over one of the town's prized landmarks, the bluff point lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on Valcour island, and the heavily armed terrorists reportedly stole boats from a local Marina, killing several people who tried to stop them in the process...."

Darnell then turned off the radio.

"You see son, you should pay more attention to the news." Darnell stated.

"I guess that solves our problem of where to find them." Qi Lian observed.

"Now I need to pull up photos of the lighthouse and surrounding areas. We need to be prepared for all sorts of trickery too. It seems suspicious to me that Han would have all his men holed up on an island that they can't easily escape from. We need to be prepared for an attack from our rear when we approach the island." Qi Lian said.

"We are ready to see your plan now. Please show us what you are thinking." Benjamin requested.

The group set to work discussing what Qi Lian had in mind.