Wednesday, late afternoon…
Drenar checks the time. Ten minutes to six, and they're in position.
For the previous day and this afternoon, they scoured over footpaths, and satellite images, and used his scout drone over the derelict ranger station structure in the Maiden forest, just at the edge of town. They planned every scenario they could. Nick had even drilled into them the sense that this could be a very delicate situation, and made sure to equip them properly for this stake-out.
And this time, he’s going all out.
“This vest feels tight,” Angela comments after adjusting the now camouflaged vest that they're now all decked in, and she shifts uncomfortably. “Is this kevlar?”
“Mage weave. Spidersilk armor, layered with ablative resin. It's chemically resistant to all common acidic attacks, and it’s fire resistant. It looks like Kevlar, but it's much more robust. Autobow rounds will still chew through it. That's what those plate inserts are for.”
Nick opted to keep this operation as quiet as possible, and they had instructed Kelly to not call them, and wipe her message data. They needed this as natural as possible. Nick had also opened his portable armory and gotten them geared up defensively while he grabbed observation equipment.
Drenar also saw him tuck away the dragonslayer rifle in that impossibly small pack on his back–just where did that thing go in that folded space? They couldn't afford to tip Jonaleth off, or whoever he was working with. Drenar peers through the scope of the autobow, and keeps both eyes open in order to maintain his peripheral vision. “This place is a dump. Why are we not going in?”
“Glamor charm is active. There's distortion in the scope. Get close enough, and the illusion dissipates. It can be done for clothes and items, but it's much tougher to maintain. It's easier on static structures and fixed locations. Most are powered by a low-level emitter and a mana crystal for a power source.” Nick had even brought multiple autobows, now that they were sufficiently trained. “With a trained eye, you can spot them. Sometimes there's a lensing effect or things don't line up, even distortions. Dragons can pick it up with their vision.”
“It's weird, not having to wear glasses.” Drenar winces, it feels like he is naked, without wearing them. But, being able to see this well, even in human form, is one hell of a boon. He scopes the structure again. And frowns.
“I see it. The porch distorts where it touches the ground. Like it clips into the earth.” Angela nods after borrowing the weapon for a moment. “Nick, James, are you seeing it at your angle?” she whispers over the radio channel.
“Can confirm,” Nick says, along with James grumbling softly. “Keep your finger off the trigger, James. You don't put your finger inside the trigger guard unless you're ready to fire, and prepared for what follows after."
“Alright, fine. Guess it's better to not pop the cork early."
“Good discipline makes for fewer mistakes or panicking,” Julia emphasizes over the radio, barely over a whisper. She's already got a perch and is as incognito as a pile of leaves and vegetation further up on the hill. Drenar peers through the strange scope with an unusual prism lens. He's surprised, too.
“I see it. There's light where there shouldn't be. No one would notice this just walking by. Talk about hiding in plain sight.”
“Evan, report in. Has Jonaleth arrived yet?” Nick asks quietly over the radio.
“Nah. The roads are clear. It's getting dark here, we should make sure not to flash any light.” Evan isn't keen on being anywhere close to combat on this one, and there's a good chance the Talons are lurking inside. They had all taken up a vantage point on a rocky outcropping and were easily concealed. “Nick, we really should consider looping in our parents. This is getting dangerous.”
“I agree. Jonaleth’s aggression in school is either sanctioned by the staff, or his recklessness knows no bounds. Drenar, after this, Diane and Dave–”
“You’re just going to drop that on them?” He barely can contain his anger, and makes sure his weapon is pointed downrange. “You’re just going to flat-out tell them that their foster kids are dragons, if they don’t know already? And that they could be in danger?”
“That’s exactly what’s going to have to happen. If they weren’t out of town, I would have already done it. Which is why I haven’t mentioned it, until now. I already tasked an agent to keep an eye on them.”
“So now you’re spying on them?!” Julia hisses.
“Keeping an eye on them, a big difference. The Talons have shown demonstrable competency. If they knew this much about your lives before, who's to say they aren’t looking to make sure they tie up loose ends? You guys made one hell of a spectacle at the mine. This ‘Val’ may be trying to put two and two together already. She’s a probable serial killer, if your observations hold up,” Nick rebukes. Julia doesn’t let up.
“You guys have no respect for how disruptive this is going to be for them.”
“I do, actually. It’s going to be a nightmare for them. You think you guys are the first people I’ve had to do this for?” Nick says. Drenar sees that he's not even taken his eyes off the target area. “No. People stumble across the Veil all the time by accident. Not in huge numbers, but often enough. I’ve been in this situation before. We don’t truly live in separate worlds. Plenty of people have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when things go bad, and our world spills over for everyone to see.”
“So why did everyone tell us jack shit, Gorbash?” Julia growls.
“Not everyone gets the automatic heads up, Julia. Kids talk. Kids do stupid things. You guys have held up remarkably well, but what you did at Mount Syren was ill-advised. You should know that, so you can learn from the experience.” He pauses for a second, then laughs. “I'm cooler than Gorbash, though. I don't need to eat limestone to fly like a dirigible.”
“Fates, you're nerdier than us if you have that memorized,” Julia groans. “You still didn’t answer the question. What’s so damn important that Drenar and I were given zero heads-up? What, is my mom some kind of magical superhero or something?” she asks snarkily.
“It’s a possibility, given her military training,” Drenar suggests. “Look, let’s sort that one out later. James, thoughts on our situation?”
“Just one. How many magical felonies have we tallied up?”
“Um…” Drenar trails off for a second. “Have we?”
“Breaking and entering. Discharge of a firearm in concurrence with a felony. Assault with deadly intent while committing another felony. Magical discharge on mooks, destruction of property, and destruction of my sanity.” James’ biting wit isn’t exactly surprising.
“Um, okay, first off, we broke into a bad guy's secret lab. Second off, the corpse pile–they murdered people in there. Third off, we defended ourselves. They shot first.”
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“Um, technically, you armed a grenade first,” Angela pointed out. Drenar sighs softly.
“See point two. Barbequed humans. Plus they were aiming weapons at me first. Nick, back me up on this one.”
“I…will stay notably mute on this one. The fact that no one died during that whole disaster is amazing. Well, I doubt the Talons would own up to being slaughtered by a bunch of teenage dragons, if that had been the case.”
“I aim to knock people out of the fight. Not kill them,” Drenar states solemnly. “That’s a thing I realized early on. We have abilities and skills that can kill. Which means it’s important to use restraint, when we have the option to do so.”
“...That’s a surprisingly mature point of view,” Nick says after a second, and James grumbles.
“So, we’re trying to not become murder hobos,” Julia quips softly. “Reasonable enough for you, Nick?”
“When this immediate crisis is over, proper law enforcement like myself will step up to the plate. I can’t believe we're stretched this thin.”
“Not that I like to agree with Legolas here, but he’s got a point. We are going to end up on the Talons’ radar soon enough, and what happens then?” James asks quietly. Drenar knows what the natural conclusion to this thought is. Especially after Jonaleth.
“They come after us, and try to kill us, and our families. That’s what happens.”
“Good. You’re learning,” Nick concludes.
“Kind of a bad time for lessons,” Julia grunts.
“Learning now keeps you from getting in over your heads. It’s been a fresh change of pace to work with people who learn fast. Keep doing that,” Nick says firmly. “Actions have consequences. If this goes poorly–”
“We’re here for recon, we’re not here to crash the party–” Drenar starts to say.
“No. Thinking of multiple scenarios is necessary to survival--yours, or others. Let’s say the meeting goes badly. Kelly and Jonaleth get into a fight. The Talons’ handlers panic. Someone gets hurt or killed. Do we intervene, or do we pack up and write the report?”
No one answers for a second. Not even Drenar. Julia’s tone is as chilly as the grave after a pause.
“If you tell me to stay put when she’s in danger, I will stick my boot so far up your–”
“Answer the question, if that scenario occurred, what would you do? Do you have a backup plan? We can’t plan for every scenario, but we can plan for the most likely ones. You always need a good contingency if plan ‘A’ fails.”
“Nick’s right. We need to be closer up if we need a fast intervention. That's why Drenar and Angela are at intercept range, and Julia covers us from afar, the hillside just to our left. Good vantage point, and lets you cover most of the second floor and part of the first. Nick, you stay put here, that gives us overlapping fields of fire in case we need to make human pincushions. Angela is back up at close range with Drenar.” James gets straight to the point like he did before.
He doesn’t like agreeing with James, but he has a point. They need to be smarter. Bulldozing through this could be a disaster. “Alright. We stick to plan, but be ready to move if things go south. A telekinetic blast should knock out the wall. We need to move like ghosts if things go bad,” Drenar instructs. “Nick, keep the cameras rolling.”
“Got something better. Levine, is that UAV up?”
“You know this took a lot of favors. Belmont is pissed at us for that mess over at the logistics company. Your paperwork still isn't finished,” Levine answers.
“They can fire me later. Right now the Talons are recruiting child soldiers. This is getting ugly. If this is what they can do with minimal personnel and one artifact, scaling this could be a disaster on a scale that'll shatter the geopolitical balance. So, thank you for getting me eyes in the sky.”
“Why didn’t you mention the drone before?” Drenar sighs.
“I wanted to get your tactical assessment and planning first. It was decent between you and James calling the shots,” Nick reasons. “Nothing better than a field task to set it in stone. How long a window do we have, Levine?”
“It has to land for refueling in three hours. USAF was given the green light on this one for sovereignty reasons.”
“Noted. When are you coming in person?”
“Tonight, as soon as we wrap up. Talons back chatter is going silent, it's down to next to nothing. They're planning something big. That theft at Mishra armory is a big tell. A lot of weapons stolen, two contractors dead. It was a bold move in broad daylight, they caught the guards unaware. Messy.”
From what Drenar knows of Levine, he doesn't embellish, he tells facts the way they are, even if it's inconvenient for some. “Nick, the Talons that Drenar and the others saw at the mine. What weapons did they have?”
“GRC-15’s, and various small arms. They were well equipped, well armored, too,” Drenar relays after Nick offers him the radio. “You guys have worked together for a long time, huh?”
“Twenty-two years? Nick carries the physical age more gracefully than me, but I've got the aged wisdom down,” Levine offers with an amused tone. Nick simply sighs. “Ah, cheer up, Nick. Drenar, has he got that sour look on his face?”
“Yep. Wow, you've got quite the read, don't you two?” Drenar says with a smile.
“You have to, in this business. Drone's coming into range, I see your signatures, plus Evan's. This drone has optic camo and noise-canceling enhancements, but it's not undetectable. I'm keeping it as high up as I can with the pilot. Smith, keep the mana scope up. I want to know the second something activates. That glamor is too much effort to dress this up as a derelict structure.”
Someone in the background chatters indistinctly. “Alright. Recording now, let's make this count. Rules of engagement, no firing unless fired upon, emphasis to disengage. I'm correct in assuming civilian teens will be there, who have no affiliation with the Talons?”
“Three. Jonaleth will be present plus presumably his handlers. We’re armed, but treating this as recon only.” Nick adjusts his grip and leans into the enhanced optic scope he's using after giving his autobow to Angela. “You didn't tell us you were this close to awakening, you good, Angie?”
He keeps using her truncated name. They're a thing, I'm telling you! Alex says heatedly.
They're friends, and Angela and I haven't exactly talked about our situation. He hates it when Alex chimes in on sensitive matters that he's still figuring out himself.
So talk about it, then! What are you, a teenage dragon or something…oh. Drenar rolls his eyes at this discourse. Never mind that.
“I'm good, Nick. Fatigued, but good,” Angela says with a hint of warmth.. “You trust me with this thing?” She asks when she grips the autobow.
“Better to have it, and never need it. For a situation like this, you pack light, but you don't leave yourself defenseless.”
“I'm a Maridian silver, Nick. I'm a biological tank who can claw through a tank, too,” she retorts. “Still, glad to see you’re opening up to us.”
“Not gonna lie, you guys…are surprisingly adept. We need to be ready to move into position. We’re coming up on time.” Drenar sets his watch, and hopes that this goes smoothly.
If the past several days are any indication, it probably won’t. He clicks the radio. “Evan, change of plans. Take the truck and go. I want you out of the line of fire, we have our egress by the teleportal we set up earlier. Nick, he's got his license, but–”
“No, it's a good call. Evan, drive it and park it outside my house's garage, and wait there. After this, we’re relocating there, because my house is warded against prying eyes with a full suite of countermeasures.”
“Relegated to the bench again,” he growls. There's the slam of a truck door. “I'm still playing Beastie Boys at full volume. Hope you don't mind.”
“Ah, I miss those days when music actually was music,” Nick sighs contentedly.
“Fates, you're old, Double-O Dragon.”