He grabbed her hand and while still levitating, he slid to the right and landed in the corner at the back of the room. The space had a clearing of at least ten feet to the nearest monitor.
A large security detail arrived from an upper level and fanned out to begin a search of the entire level. The security room wolves examined the shattered glass and bullets. He could hear them asking one question after another. Their energy ramped up and one of the men started shouting.
The diversion had worked perfectly.
Warren turned his attention to the security center. He took his time as his gaze moved slowly around the room. He had similar equipment at Caldion.
The far wall, which several desks faced, held three large monitors. The two left screens showed live feeds of the front and the back of the compound. There were at least twenty stations in all. Whatever Julio’s philosophies might be, he believed in electronic surveillance. At least fifteen people remained in their chairs despite the activity outside. Within a few seconds each returned to scrutinize the activity on their monitors.
He could see that the front parking lot was still as quiet as when they’d arrived. The back area continued in a mass of dust.
Nearest to Warren’s position, three wolves were gathered around a monitor and started cheering. A sick feeling sank his gut. He leaned in Kiara’s direction to get a better view and could see what the men were watching. Kiara could see it as well and had grown very still.
He reached for her hand and squeezed it. Don’t watch.
We must do something.
We can’t. Not yet.
She turned into him away from the sight. He slid his arms around her shoulders. This must have felt very familiar to her since a woman was chained down to a table. Only in this case, several men were taking turns, some with strap-ons designed to cause pain.
Two other women were chained to the walls of what looked like a bedroom.
In the security room, a wolf boosted the audio. The woman’s screams grew louder. More cheering.
Suddenly, Julio’s face was in the camera up close. His black hair was wolf-long, and he wore it in several braids accented with light blue and silver beads. He had a thin nose and dark cruel eyes. His cheekbones were pronounced. “I understand we’ve been breached, but where the hell is my report? I want it now.”
His authoritative tone prompted the wolves to action. From the front of the room, one of the wolves stood up. “You heard him. Those of you with feeds to the hallway, get on this. Find out who fired that weapon.”
Another wolf near the front responded, “I’ve got my men hunting through this level. But we already confiscated all the guns, gone through every locker, every room.”
“Do it again.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The leader then spoke quietly into his shoulder com and asked for an update.
Warren had seen enough of the set-up. What he needed now was the location of the power source to the compound and current plans for the construction. If he could get his hands on the architectural drafts, he’d know how to deploy his troops.
He’d held back taking action against Julio for two months. He’d wanted to take him on, but until now he’d had no way of gathering the intel he needed. The last thing he would do was put his wolves in jeopardy by going into battle unprepared.
Kiara squeezed his hand. We need plans for this place.
I was thinking the same thing.
When we moved past the courtyard area, she said, I saw a table with schematics, just inside the room, in the corner. Maybe we would steal a set of the plans.
That would draw too much attention and ruin any chance of a surprise attack. But I’ve got my phone with me. I could take photos?
She smiled up at him. Or I could take them.
You’d probably be quicker.
When she turned as though to head for the door, he gave a tug on her hand and held her back. We don’t want to give away our position. We’ll need someone to open the door again.
Right. Of course.
The lead wolf called to one of the guards at the back. “Check on the search party and I want to know what kinds of shells those are.”