risk, and we have the time to discuss solutions. Even if you get up now, that plane won’t be taking off any sooner than possible.”
“Copy that.” I stand down. There’s nothing I can say to refute what CJ said. He’s right. We still have time.
“As I was saying…” Mitzy’s pinched expression speaks volumes. She’s used to hot-headed Guardians, but that doesn’t mean she tolerates our unique approach to problem solving. “I’m pretty certain it’s Moira. She activated the Facility SOS, but didn’t complete the authentication…”
“You believe she’s under duress?” Once again, my voice rises, and once again, Max glares at me. I should keep my mouth shut, but that isn’t going to happen. Moira’s out there, alone, undefended, unprotected, and likely fighting for her life. Meanwhile, I’m sitting around a conference table shooting the shit about why she didn’t input her personal code.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Mitzy turns her irritated glare on me, but I meet her stare with one of my own. “For fuck’s sake, Griff, back the fuck down. We’re spinning up as we speak. If you’d let me finish, we can line all the ducks up in a row. Or maybe you like going into a mission hot, without a care about thinking things through?” She crosses her arms and taps her foot. Mitzy’s a tiny thing, but damn is she ferocious when challenged.
“All I’m saying is that if that is Moira, this conversation should be happening on the jet as we’re flying in…”
“This briefing isn’t happening on the jet because Moira failed to complete the code,” Sam speaks for the first time; his voice is low and far calmer than mine. “For all we know, this is an attempt to flush out the Guardians. Bravo team walked into a shit show not too long ago, or did you forget about that?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten about that.” Mollified, I tuck my chin. I hate that Sam’s right.
Not too long ago, Alpha and Charlie teams worked together to rescue a dozen girls off a containership in the Gulf of Mexico. Initial intelligence led Bravo team to the docks in Cancun. The mission was to find the container holding the girls and free them while still in port, before the container could be loaded.
Bravo team walked into a setup. The container they thought held the girls blew up in their faces, and the container with the girls inside of it had already been loaded on a different ship which left port less than an hour beforehand.
“Someone out there is testing our organization.” Sam crosses his arms. “I know what this girl means to you, what she means to all of us. Nobody in this room wants one of those we’ve rescued to fall back into the hands of monsters. Moira has, and the failure to protect her affects all of us. Some more than others.” His astute gaze lands directly on me. “This briefing is to decide whether one team, or two, head out.”
He’s right. Sam is a great leader for a reason.
“I get your caution.” I glance around the table, taking in Forest, Doc Summers, CJ, and Sam. Mitzy glares at me, but I see the worry in her expression. She’s not that hard to read. “But we all know it’s Moira. If she’s in distress, it doesn’t matter. We’ll extract her. It’s what we do. I just wanted to know why we aren’t already on that plane.”
“Like Forest said, the jet is spinning up.” Sam scoots back and rises, taking over control of the conversation. “I will not send a team in unless I’m sure it’s not a setup. If it is, we’ll be prepared for them. Whoever took Zoe Lancaster went to extreme lengths to capture her, not once, but twice. Moira Stone was not their target, but she is an opportunity. I want to make sure we know what we might be facing. I won’t send a team into a trap again.”
“Sometimes, the best way to find out who’s behind a trap is to set it off.” I can’t help it. Their caution is going to cost Moira her life. “Do you think she would’ve given over the Facility SOS?”
“It’s always a possibility.”
“You don’t know her at all. I don’t believe Moira would do that. She’s smart as a tack, a true survivor, but Moira can be flighty at times. I think it’s more likely she forgot. Maybe she didn’t have time to enter her personal code and only the initial text? There’s no way to