Page 116 of Resolve
Elias’s expression darkens to one I’ve never seen before. He nevergets upset. Not so visibly, at least. But I also know how important it is to him to keep the people he’s taken in safe. And we’re putting them all at risk by being here.
“Aiden, he’s right—” I start, and he cuts me a look.
“Every time we’ve fought with Charles, he pushed us into it. Whether we were aware at the time or not, he crafted the event that forced us to react so we would do exactly what he wanted. We won’t be reacting when we go after him. We’ll actually be ready.”
Elias’s jaw tics. “My people are not collateral to your war, Adams.”
“He didn’t say that,” Dane snaps. “Obviously, we’ll do everything we can to help you protect them, too. Whatever we can do, just ask. But don’t tell us to go in guns blazing without a real plan just to take the heat off your back.”
Kellan laughs. “Relax, Rapunzel. Elias isn’t used to the heat like we are.”
“What can we do to help?” I ask Elias, my voice soft to counter the others.
He looks at me. “I’ll handle it. But if he comes after Hype, there’s nothing I can do to stop him from finding you and your Guild. What else do you need for your plan before this ends? How will you beat him?”
“The cuffs. He’s too overpowered for us to face head-on. With the cuffs, he’ll be an ordinary human who can be killed easily. It’ll be a checkmate,” Aiden explains. “And we have two sets. One from the late congressman and now a pair from Bea. That gives us two chances.”
“Wonderful. What’s stopping you from going after him, then?”
Dane scoffs. “The problem is how we get them on him.”
“The guy loves to teleport,” Kellan drawls.
“We’ve already solved that,” Aiden remarks, his thumb tapping the rim of his mug.
“The Tower,” Jackson inserts, and Aiden nods.
“You built something to block teleportation in the Tower with Cibrina and Reid,” he says to Dane. “If we have that and can plant it in a room, then lure him to it, we’ll only have to contend with his telekinesis.”
And sleep and frequency gifts. The telekinesis gift on its own is difficult. But if he can’t teleport, it just takes one of us getting close enough to put the cuff on.
“There’s a problem with that plan,” Elias remarks. “One of the developments that occurred before your return was that the Tower was seized. It happened several hours after you brought down the second headquarters, so it was most likely in response to that. As its landlord, I requested access, and I was denied with a court order spewing nonsense that I could have thrown out if I took it to court.”
“How long would that take?” Dane asks.
“A few weeks to a couple months depending on how much influence he has to slow down the process. Seeing as he already has a judge and the police chief on board, I’d expect the longer timeframe.”
I curse under my breath. “He’ll find us here before then.”
Elias dips his chin. “Precisely. The Tower is now locked up and guarded by police. You won’t be able to get in without a fight withlaw enforcement. Even with your invisible team, there are likely alarms on the entry doors and guards posted within sight of them. I highly advise against conflict with them if you wish for the Guild to exist after GE is gone.”
Damn.
Of course, he retaliated by taking our home.
“That’s not a problem,” Aiden replies smoothly. “We have alternative methods for entering and exiting the Tower than the front door. Do you know if anyone is inside the building?”
“I can’t say I do. During the day, I would assume so. However, at night...”
Aiden nods. “We’ll still assume there are or, at the very least, Charles has access to the cameras inside.”
“Sounds like we’ll still need some invisible friends, too,” Jackson muses with a smile.
Elias fixes his cuffs and smooths his hand down the front of his jacket, his attention on Aiden. “I’ll leave you to that planning, then, while I handle the rest. Once you have these teleportation-blocking devices, you’ll be able to move on Charles?”
“Then we’ll hunt him down.”
Chapter thirty-seven
