Page 70 of Warrior Security
“Spotty at best,” I said. “I’ve tried to make calls from the back fence line, and half the time they don’t go through. You’d need a booster or something.”
“I can set up a radio relay,” Travis said, already typing. “Along with cameras at the shed and the south fence. I’ll have eyes on both by this afternoon.”
The questions kept coming. Hunter asked about alternate routes onto the property from the north. Logan described theterrain he’d been walking at night when he couldn’t sleep, the ground conditions, the sight lines in the dark.
We handed the answers back and forth without stopping to decide who should speak. Logan described a tactical concern, and I filled in the physical detail. I mentioned a feature, and he added what it looked like after midnight.
Somewhere in the middle of it, I’d gotten to my feet without deciding to, my hands tracing the property layout on the map while I talked. Logan stood beside me, and the ease of it surprised me. We didn’t need negotiation about who answered what. We were just two people who knew the same ground and both wanted the same thing: for Pawsitive to be safe.
The plan came together fast after that. Travis would have cameras and a comms relay in place by afternoon. The team would stage on the property after dark, positioned at the points Logan and I had mapped. Lachlan would hold the county route exit: anyone who ran would hit a badge before they hit pavement. He’d also be ready to come in and make arrests on property.
“Logan, you take the north approach,” Hunter said. “You know that ground better than anyone.”
“No problem.” Logan’s voice was steady. No hesitation, no bravado.
“Lark.” Hunter turned to me. “You’re our relay from the house. If something changes on the ground, you know this property better than any of us. You hear something on the radio that doesn’t track, you tell us where to go.”
“I want to be out there.”
The words were out before I could measure them. Every head at the table turned.
“It’s my land.” I kept my voice steady. “I should be out there.”
“You should be where you’re most useful,” Hunter said. He wasn’t dismissive. He wasn’t gentle either. “And that’s at theradio. You know terrain none of us have walked. If someone gets turned around in the dark or the situation shifts, you’re the one who can redirect in real time. That’s not a small job, Lark.”
He was right. I knew he was right. I’d be a liability in the field and an asset at the house, and wanting to be out there didn’t change that.
“Okay,” I said. “I can do that.”
Logan inched his hand over mine on the table. “This isn’t busywork. What you’ll be doing is critical to mission success. But it’s better for the people with tactical training to actually be the ones out there. We’re not babying you.”
The fact that he understood made me feel better. “I know. I’ll do my part, and you guys do yours. Just…everybody be careful.”
Hunter pushed back from the table. “We meet at the property at sundown. Travis, I want the feed live by noon.”
“It’ll be live by ten,” Travis said, and the monitor went dark without another word. Travis being Travis.
Chairs scraped. Beckett pushed back from the table. Cooper stood and stretched, unhurried as ever. Lachlan caught my eye on his way out and held it for a beat longer than necessary.
“We’ll get them off your land, Lark. And hopefully take them down for good.”
“I know you will.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and headed out. Logan held the door, and I stepped into the parking area, where the air hit my skin and I realized how warm that room had been with all those bodies in it. Truck engines turned over around us, headlights sweeping across gravel, and then the lot emptied and it was just us.
We got in the truck. Logan drove, headlights cutting a narrow channel on the ground through the darkness on either side. I sat in the passenger seat with my hands in my lap and watched thefence posts tick past and said nothing about the thing sitting in the center of my chest.
The team had a plan. Hopefully in twenty-four hours this would all be over.
“Rounds start at five thirty,” I said. “We should try to get an hour of sleep before then.”
“Yeah.”
“I need to move the medication log to the house before tomorrow night. And make sure the barn is locked up earlier than usual.”
“I’ll handle the barn.”
“The cats need their enrichment rotation updated. And Frank probably figured out where I hid the treats.”
