The Spirit Guardians Book 3: Fated

Chapter 40

Marc glanced out the window, watching a few orange leaves drift down onto the ground outside. The clouds had been moving in, bringing in a cold breeze. He hoped it wouldn't rain during their mission to siege a Preserver military base the following morning.

Marc turned back his head to the living room. Cherie had gathered the others up for a pre-mission discussion. He sat on the couch with Cassie, keeping an eye on Elijah playing with his toys on the floor. Marc did his best to hide the sweat gathering in his palms when he thought about the next day, but by the awkward quiet and nervous looks on everyone's faces, he was sure he wasn't the only one worried on what the outcome of the next day's events would be.

The lamp to the corner created a faint orange glow, reminding Marc of cold winter nights and a burning fireplace. This time though, the conversation was serious. Cherie laid out her paperwork, and Francesco took a seat directly across from everyone, going through a few notes of his own.

"Everyone's here, right?" Cherie asked, popping her head up quickly.

There were silent nods from everyone sitting on the couches.

"Well," Cherie said, standing up, "Tomorrow is the big day! Who's prepared?"

There were unenthusiastic groans from nearly everyone, including Marc. He knew that this was what would happen eventually. Mission after mission, battle after battle, all leading up to the big event of attempting to overtake the Preservers' headquarters.

"You all need to be more enthusiastic. This could be a big gain," Cherie said. "I just got some more last minute information from The Tiger, just confirming coordinates and detailing the security system."

"Will they be there?" Lillian asked curiously.

"No. I think The Tiger likes to remain anonymous for a reason. I'm sure Lynch will be on their case eventually. We have all the coordinates, and have armies coming from multiple locations. We'll be leaving at five in the morning to drive over to a safe house about ten miles from the base."

More groans echoed.

"So you all need to go to sleep early tonight!" Cherie warned. "You need to make sure you're energized for tomorrow. Now that I got a new minivan, we can seat you all comfortably, so you can all sleep tomorrow on the way. Still, you need to all eat a good breakfast in the morning."

"What's the actual plan itself?" Marc asked.

"At seven thirty, there will be a security black out. Our techies will be able to keep the system down for a suspended time, allowing us to get into the gates. The first army will then enter around eight in the morning, weapons in hand. We're going to try to be civil, but I doubt the Preservers will hand anything over.

"A second army will be sneaking into the tunnels surrounding the base. They'll hopefully be able to disengage some of the weapons so that our siege is not completely hopeless. More troops will be sent in with each passing minute. Your group will be with those taking guard, making sure that the Preservers are not calling any back-up. It will be your job to keep any more Preservers from entering the base once our troops have entered. It's one of the safer jobs, and we'll have Cassie in the middle. Would you mind saying a few words before we head out tomorrow, Cassie? You'll have a large audience waiting to meet you."

Marc felt Cassie stiffen beside her, but she slowly nodded.

"You'll do great," he whispered. He grabbed onto her hand and rubbed his thumb against it, trying to calm the stress he knew she was facing, even if she hadn't verbally expressed it.

"I'll cook breakfast for all of you," Francesco offered. "I'm sorry I can't join in on the fight, but someone's got to watch Elijah."

"You've done enough already," Cherie told him. She turned her eyes back to the others. "Francesco will be here relaying updates to our other allies. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow, for everyone out in hiding. You'll be given your weapons and such tomorrow. Wear clothing you can move around in, as well as some durable shoes. Other than that, you should all probably be getting ready for bed."