Page 96 of Dark Night of the Soul

I liked where this was going. And since he wasn’t offering up a plan, and I’d been thinking about it, I plowed onward. “You go in first. Take out security. I follow, make noise, destroy the research.”

“And if they have Watchers?” he asked.

“Then I use what you taught me.” I sounded confident. Felt confident, too.

His jaw tightened. He wasn’t thrilled with this plan, but he didn’t argue.

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

“You better be,” he said. “What do we know about the security system?”

My heart fluttered for a fraction of a second.

“According to the notes, standard setup for a research facility trying to stay under the radar,” I said, pulling the security schematic closer. “Perimeter cameras, keycard access at main entrance, motion sensors in the hallways after hours. Nothing military-grade.”

“Guards?”

“Silas estimates three to four on night shift. One monitoring cameras, one at entrance, one or two roaming.” I traced the layout with my finger. “The security station is here. Central location, monitors all camera feeds.”

“Take that out first,” he said. “Blind them.”

“What about cutting the power?”

He shook his head. “Too obvious. Backup generator kicks in within thirty seconds, and they’ll know someone’s coming. Better to take the guard in the security station. Loop the feeds.”

“You can do that?” I asked.

“Try not to sound so surprised. I’ve done it before.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “A few hundred times.”

Right. Two thousand years of breaking into places.

“So, you go in first,” I said, working it out. “Service entrance here—” I tapped the rear of the building. “Less monitored. Take out the security station. Loop the feeds so I’m invisible.”

“Then you come in the same way. We move through together until we reach the research wing.” He studied the floor plan. “Server room is here. That’s your target. Destroy everything. Hard drives, backups, paper files if they have them.”

Paper files. Did anyone do that these days?

“How do you plan to destroy the data files?” he asked.

“Easy. Fire and fury, baby.”

He laughed.

And that was my intention. Light the match. Watch it burn. Leave a message for Vormund. Then out.

“When do we go?” I asked, already humming with anticipation.

“Tomorrow night. We move after dark.”

I liked it. Definitive.

“Good,” I said. “I’m ready.”

But his expression told me he wasn’t ready to watch me walk into the place as the weapon they forged.

Then I asked, “What about gear? We can’t walk in empty handed.”

“Already done,” he said. “Silas arranged a drop. We pick it up tonight, inventory tomorrow, and hit the facility tomorrow night.”