not saying this her best idea ever, but it’s not a bad one given our current circumstances and timeline. I’m giving her my full support.”
It wasn’t the rousing cheer I’d hoped for, but regardless, I appreciated his vote of confidence.
Wally ran his fingers through his hair, causing it to stick straight up. “I’m iffy about this situation, but you know I’ve got your back, Angel. However, we have an additional technical issue to worry about. The black silicon cloth will cloak your presence if it’s properly held, making you invisible to the sensors most security cameras use at night. However, Remington’s cameras also have motion sensing.”
Bo shot Wally a look. “What does that mean?”
“It means that even though you’re invisible behind the black silicon, you’ll have to move slowly to avoid activating those sensors,” he answered.
“We can do that,” I assured him. “We have to.”
Jax stood up and faced everyone. “Okay, everyone, Mike was right. We don’t have a lot of time here. Let’s get things moving. I’ll make the j-hook tool. Mike, you need to help Angel get familiar with the laser mic, including assembling and disassembling it. Hala, Bo, and Kira, your task is figuring out how to drape the black silicon to hide our intrusion team. Mike, in addition to providing Angel instruction on the using the mics, you need to figure out how we’re going to communicate with each other tonight. Wally, you need to check, and double-check, the security system and alarms. Frankie, help everyone as needed, and keep us on task. Everyone should figure out their personal logistics and pack any other tools or equipment you think we might need. We should be dressed in dark clothes and ready to go, no later than ten o’clock. If Angel needs to be inside Remington’s house to hear the conversation by eleven thirty, we need to have her in place no later than eleven.”
We stared at Jax in surprise before he stood up, lifting his hands. “What? Don’t look at me like that. I can be a leader, too. Fall in behind Angel, team and get your head in the game. Tick tock.”
And, just like that, Operation Remington’s Reveal was on.
Chapter Thirty-Three
ANGEL SINCLAIR
Okay, so maybe this hadn’t been the best idea I’d ever had. In fact, it might have been my most insane idea ever, and that’s saying a lot, since I like to think and act outside the box. But here I was in an NSA director’s backyard, wearing a pair of borrowed black stretch pants and a pouch filled with burglary tools. Strapped to me was a backpack containing one of the high-tech laser mics. I crouched nervously behind the silicon cloak held by Bo and Jax, which hopefully shielded us from detection by Remington’s security cameras.
While the “invisibility cloak” wasn’t magic, it was a technological wonder—a battery-powered blanket covered with black silicon, which masked our bodies’ heat signatures. Frankie had sewn handles onto the back side of the blanket so we could hold it without exposing our hands. We’d done some testing, and it had held up okay, but there hadn’t been time for a more thorough check.
Tonight would be the real test.
Wally was our designated general for the evening. He was a virtual conductor, directing everything from the back seat of his car, which was parked nearby, using only a laptop and an extra monitor perched on a cardboard box.
For all his foresight, the one thing we really needed, besides a Star Trek transporter, were some of the wicked-looking earpiece mics Secret Service agents always wore. Unfortunately, we had to improvise a solution using each person’s cell phones, earbuds, and a conference call to hook us all together. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked if we maintained communications discipline. I fiddled with the earbud in my right ear as we hunkered down behind the cloak just at the edge of the bushes in Remington’s backyard. We had edged out slowly and stopped so Wally could tap into the video feed to the security company and check and see if we were visible.
“It’s working! You’re completely cloaked.” The glee in his voice was palpable. “The infrared night vision of the camera isn’t picking up anything. May I take a moment to say this is totally cool? Now, continue to move slowly, to reduce the risk of being detected by the motion sensors.”
“Roger that,” Bo whispered.
While I shared Wally’s appreciation for the technology, I felt a lot less enthusiastic about it since, at the