Page 51 of Dark Chains: First Link
Yaaf forced the images into a mental compartment and imagined locking it. It would hold for now, but it would open again the moment his attention wavered.
The security command center operation was handled the same way it had been done two nights ago. The same operator was instructed to log another maintenance cycle for Losham's residential feeds because problems were still being reported with them, and the same supervisor confirmed the authorization.
It was all done in under four minutes.
They exited the building, released the entrance guards from their wall-facing thrall, and regrouped behind the same garden wall two houses down from Losham's property.
The sky was overcast, which worked in their favor. The moon was hidden, and the darkness was dense enough that even enhanced eyes had to work harder to resolve shapes at a distance. The smell of salt and vegetation was heavier tonight, the humidity oppressive even after sundown. Summer was fast approaching, and soon, every day would be like that.
Could they escape the island before it got bad?
The guard positions around Losham's house hadn't changed. Two at the front door, two concealed in the eastern hedges, one on the roof, and one behind the neighbor's garden wall. The perimeter patrol maintained its formation of three soldiers performing fifteen-minute circuits.
Routine was good for infiltration.
The patrol rounded the corner, and the gap opened.
Number One and Number Three moved first, crossing the street low and fast toward the eastern wall. The thrall hit the two concealed guards simultaneously, the same suggestion as before.
Nothing unusual.
Continue your watch.
The night is quiet.
Number Five and Number Seven took the western approach, the rooftop sentinel, and the neighbor's wall guard. All were neutralized within seconds.
Twelve seconds from street to front entrance matched the previous operation's timing.
The two guards at the front door received their instructions.
Stand down. Authorized visit. You will not remember.
A thought bubbled to the surface of one of the guards' minds, and the collective scooped it up.
The alarm was armed, and the code had been changed.
The guard on the right had seen Losham and his assistant put in a new code. The memory was fresh in his mind, sitting right on the surface because it had been the most noteworthy event of an otherwise tedious shift.
The Eight couldn't enter the way they had the other night.
They didn't know the new code.
Losham must have suspected that his home had been breached. Otherwise, why change the code?
Why activate the alarm before retiring for the night?
He usually took the clan's call in the backyard, sitting outside afterward with his cigar, but he seemed to have deviated from that routine tonight, which created a big obstacle in their plan to retrieve the phone.
They had to retrieve the new code from Losham's mind, but sifting through his memories while he was awake was not an option. He was sharp enough to realize that someone was in his head, which was why Dave never skimmed more than surface thoughts. Luckily, they had been able to collect the previous code while Losham was still in the process of memorizing it and wondering whether the sequence of numbers was complicated enough.
Doing that while he was asleep would be even more difficult because the thoughts would be scattered, and steering them toward something as specific as a string of numbers was next to impossible.
Still, they had to get inside somehow. They were supposed to call K at the same time they had called the other night.
The assistant, Number Five, thought.Rami most likely knows the code.Losham trusts him with everything.
More importantly, Rami's mind was not as formidable as Losham's, and they would have a much easier time getting inside of it and leaving with the code without Rami noticing anything was amiss.
