Psy & Changelings 10 - Kiss of Snow

delay.”
    “If we don’t find that cache,” Judd said, “and they strike, what they have in there could give them a decisive advantage.”
    In the end, it was decided that since eliminating the compound now as opposed to later didn’t give either pack any tactical advantage, they’d hold off and spend the extra time intensifying the search for the weapons. “If we do locate the cache,” Riaz said, “the teams need to know not to let on.”
    Alexei was the first to catch Riaz’s meaning. “If Henry doesn’t realize the warehouse has been compromised, he won’t hesitate to launch the assault even after he loses the Pure Psy compound.”
    “Yes,” Judd said. “Riaz is right. Henry and his supporters won’t mobilize if he feels they’re at too much of a disadvantage.”
    That was not an option they wanted Henry to consider, because fact was, the packs couldn’t remain at “red” status forever. It would wear out their people, leave them vulnerable when the assault did come.
    “I’ll brief our teams and the Rats, too,” Indigo said, then glanced at Judd. “I meant to ask—can Tks ’port in with bombs?”
    “Components, yes. Functional bombs, no. They’re too unstable and tend to go off during the teleport.”
    “The vulnerable,” Jem said to Hawke after Judd finished speaking. “You still planning to wait to evacuate them?”
    Hawke nodded. “Less chance of Henry discovering their location and changing the focus of his attack.”
    “I’ve been talking with Mercy,” Riley said as Jem nodded, “and we both realized that there’s a last-ditch alternative if something goes wrong and we can’t get the children and elders a good distance away.” He pulled up a holographic map that showed the abandoned subway tunnels beneath San Francisco. “We get them down to the city—Rats will make sure the enemy never finds them.”
    Indigo shuddered. “Wolves inside those narrow tunnels? In the dark?”
    “We can tell them it’s an adventure.” Riley’s voice was pragmatic. “The elders will make sure the young ones are okay. And it’s not dark. The Rats have a nice setup down there—better than you’d believe.”
    “My wolf’s not a fan, but it’s a good plan to have in hand,” Hawke said, then looked around at his men and women. “We’ll not only survive this, we’ll come out of it stronger than we went in, because we have something the enemy can’t imagine: heart.”
     
     
    RILEY waited until after Hawke had left the room with Andrew—who’d been told to make certain the alpha was the first to leave—before speaking. “I realize this isn’t the best time,” he said, “but we need to do something for Hawke.” He told them his idea. “It needs to be finished before everything goes to shit. He deserves that much after everything he’s done for the pack.” They hadn’t had time before, but the virus had just given them at least a three-day reprieve.
    “He deserves a hell of a lot more,” Indigo said to a round of nods, then grinned. “He’ll fight better when he’s not in such a bad mood anyway.”
    Matthias shook his head. “I dunno, feral and mean is how I like him.” But it was clear he was joking. “Tactically speaking, we’re set—so, hell yeah, we can take a few hours to complete this project.”
    “The pack’s morale could use a boost, too,” Riaz pointed out. “Once word gets out about this . . .” His smile was broad.
    Judd rose to his feet. “It isn’t a done deal, you understand.” Quiet, solemn words.
    “We know.” Tipping back his chair, Riaz met the other lieutenant’s eyes. “But we have to hope. None of us likes the alternative.”
    Loneliness, Riley thought, absolute and unending, that was the alternative. No life for any wolf, but particularly not for an alpha who’d given his blood, his sweat, and his soul to the pack since he’d been little more than a child. “Then we begin in an hour. I ordered the materials two weeks ago.” Just in case.

Chapter 42
     
    THE GHOST LOOKED down at what he’d uncovered. To say that it was an unexpected development would be a distinct understatement. The next question, of course, was what he planned to do with his discovery.
    He could let things lie in peace. No one would ever know. Nothing would change. That might be to his advantage. After all, there was a reason for this secret, things the Council didn’t want the world to know—but didn’t want to lose, either. He could take and use