The Neverland Wars

Chapter 16

Emma

"Natalia and Chris, you will head into the party about an hour prior to the second team," DeWitt nods to two of his soldiers standing opposite us on the long briefing table. Natalia is a slight girl with wild curly hair pinned back into a ponytail. Chris has unsettling dark eyes. "We have no surveillance inside the False Shepherd at this time, so your job is to try to establish a connection for us to be able to see inside. Cameras, audio bugs, anything you can plant without being seen."

"Team Two will be Adrian, and young Miss Saint Clair," his green eyes slide over to me. "You will enter the party at a quarter past nine o'clock, which should put you in the grand foyer about a half hour prior to the start of the first art piece being put on display. All of the guests will be gathered into that main area at that point, which will give Emma a nice distraction to slip out of the room and search for any sign of Elizabeth."

"Gotcha," Natalia confirms.

"Cohen's parties require all guests to wear a mask to preserve their modesty and conceal their identities. Yours have been provided to you and will be waiting for you in your quarters prior to this evening. Any further questions?"

"If Elizabeth is there," I begin. "If I find her, does this mission then turn into an extraction operation?"

Adrian wrinkles his nose as Natalia and Chris snicker behind their hands covering their mouths. I raise an eyebrow at DeWitt.

"No need for all the secret agent talk, Saint Clair," he muses. "Yes. If you find her. Get her out. But right now, the goal is to find anything that could get us closer to Elizabeth. My number one priority is finding out where my daughter is and having all of you return safely."

We all voice a quiet agreement before turning to leave.

"One more thing," the General's voice stops us, making us turn around. His green eyes are set on Peter. "The masks are your invitation into the False Shepherd but you'll need to prove that you belong there."

"How's that?" Peter muses. "A blood oath?"

None of DeWitt's soldiers laugh at his joke, though I find it amusing.

"You'll need to demonstrate your plasmid," DeWitt says, and I feel my heart pound a little bit faster in my chest. He finally focuses his eyes on me. "Saint Clair, use Telekinesis. Do something simple. Float a glass or something. You and Adrian arriving together and both being users of the same plasmid will give the impression you're a young couple and therefore won't raise suspicions."

My eyes flick over to Adrian, who offers me a small nod. I return it.

"It's important that plasmid users don't mingle with non-users," DeWitt says, crossing his arms over his chest. He nods at Peter, pointing between me and him. "Don't be seen together."

"If I can't demonstrate a plasmid, how am I supposed to get inside?" Peter asks.

"You will not be attending as a guest," DeWitt explains. "We're having you go through the service entrance. You'll be arriving an hour before the start of the event and will cover as a bartender this evening."

"You want me to infiltrate the False Shepherd as the help?" Peter asks incredulously. DeWitt is unfazed.

"Yes."

Peter's eyes catch mine, silently asking me what to do. At this point, we have no choice but to trust DeWitt. I allow a slight nod, to which Peter finally exhales, looking back at DeWitt. "Fine."