Under the Oak Tree - Time Before You

33 Ashes

Captain Calypse studied his surroundings with eyes trained to see in the dark. The team had been travelling for the past few hours, riding straight into the night to take advantage of its shadows. Coupled with a coniferous forest and heavy rain that started shortly after they moved, the environment was providing them ample camouflage to move around inconspicuously.

Pitter-patter.

The rain too lended a rhythmic melody to their commute. Large droplets of precipitation landed loudly on their metallic car roof, comfortably easing them into the dark night with a natural lullaby.

A light snoring was soon heard from the back. Without turning his head, Riftan knew who the culprit was. He was seated next to the driver of their militarised car, with Ruth and three other officers from Livadon at the back. It did not require a detective to note that the coroner was way too quiet during the journey. Not that Riftan was complaining, of course. While he did not need sleep, it was pleasant for his ears to rest too.

Peering at his watch, the man noted the time. Their journey north was extremely smooth, so they expected to reach the pitstop earlier by an hour. On the other hand, Quahel Leon's ride would be a tough one since they were travelling on mountainous terrains towards the southern caves.

Three hours had passed since the last message from Elliot. The encrypted text informed him that the other team had yet to depart.

I hope you'll travel well.

The two Anatolian police officers had a personal arrangement to update one another every four hours on top of the official communication from Leon.

Riftan folded his arms on his chest. The past days with the team had not reveal anything significant. The only clue he could find was the symbol seen from Leon's folder. This was easily translated to Riftan through a sketch to Garrow. However, the tech analyst had yet to revert about this side investigation, even though he was the best IT man Riftan had worked with. Elliot, who was also sent to spy around the other three, did not pick up anything in particular either. Project Rune was indeed a highly classified operation. Perhaps he had to work around the three individuals instead.

Captain.

Engrossed in his musings, Riftan eventually snapped out of his thoughts when the driver tapped his shoulder for the second time.

"Captain, we've reached."

Riftan stared out of his car window for a long time. He needed to observe the surroundings before sending his team out. Hidden deep with the coniferous forest was an abandoned tree logging farm. A dilapidated building stood amidst the barren farm; likely to be the centre of the logging logistics a few decades ago. It might not be the most comfortable accommodation, but would serve as a good resting area for his men who had been travelling for seven hours straight. The squad would rest for a couple of hours before picking up pace again to reach Breston's warehouse early next morning.

"Good. Let's start camping."

"Yes, sir!"

A collective response echoed across the line of vehicles as the men saluted him. Riftan waved his hand to dismiss the formalities and walked towards the building.

While the team prepared dinner and set up their temporary camp, Riftan identified a large table to work on. Cleaning off the dust and spiderwebs, he then spread out his map and documents over the wooden surface. Meticulously, Riftan ran through the plan again. It was his responsibility to ensure everything was foolproof, with clear backup plans should any hiccups occur. Time soon passed by quickly as he strategised, and it was only when a lieutenant from Livadon called him that he knew food was ready.