Page 61 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

"So, how do we solve that?" Onegus asked.

"Two things. Altitude going in, and a false heading coming out." Turner sketched a low arc across the pad. "The ingress runs onthe deck, as low as the terrain and the sea state allow. Radar can't see through the curve of the earth, and a platform hugging the water stays under the horizon until it's practically on top of them. Their array is located up on the central ridge, which buys them more reach than a sea-level installation would, but I'm still not worried, because we won't give them anything above the horizon to paint until we're too close for the bearing to mean anything."

"The drones have to come back," Lokan said. "That's what worries me. Inbound tells them nothing. Outbound points home."

"Which is a problem because of the proximity, and it's the part I've built the flight plan around." Turner tapped the pad. "The egress doesn't run toward Safe Harbor. The platforms break off on a heading that's off by a wide margin, hold it well past any horizon visible from the island, and only turn for home once there's nothing left to watch."

"What does the dogleg cost us?" Kian asked.

"Fuel. Which matters, because there's a second wrinkle." Turner set the pen down. "A hundred miles is twenty to forty minutes of flight time depending on the platform. We can't launch when Losham gives the word and arrive while the room's still full unless he keeps them there with a very long speech. We have to launch early, loiter offshore, below the horizon, and wait. That means the birds are already in the air before the confirmation, burning fuel."

"How long can they hold?" Onegus asked.

"Long enough if the timing is precise."

"We don't need to wait for confirmation," Kian said. "Even if we don't get everyone, whoever we eliminate is one less headache for Losham, and the message delivered is a powerful deterrent. Whoever is left will not dare come after Losham once he establishes what he can do. Losham lets Bertram assume he's got a mercenary force outside the Brotherhood's chain of command, loyal only to him. It makes Losham look powerful and explains the attack without implicating us. Bertram and whoever is left from the Brotherhood's top brass now know what Losham can do to anyone who crosses him."

He looked at Lokan. "Thoughts?"

"I like this plan. A weakened Brotherhood brings us a step closer to taking over that island and liberating everyone trapped there."

"That reminds me that we haven't heard from Burda yet," Onegus said. "Her little device is back online, but I don't want to contact her and put her in danger. She needs to contact us when she can do so safely."

The chief seemed worried, and so was Kian, but there wasn't much they could do about it. Burda didn't sleep alone, so they couldn't even call her at night. She had to find a way to contact them first.

"We need to wait," he said. "If she's lost, she's lost. It's sad, but there is nothing we can do." He let out a breath. "Let's give Losham his miracle."

Onegus dialed, set it to speaker, and the line rang once before Losham picked up.

"Checking on your puppet to see if I'm still alive?" The male sounded as if he was running on fumes and spite.

"Glad that you survived to live another day," Kian said. "We came up with a plan to make it so you have many more to look forward to."

"Can't wait to hear it."

After Kian had laid out everything apart from the actual strike details that were none of Losham's business, the silence on the line stretched so long that he wondered whether the guy was still with them. Losham was smart. He didn't need that much time to process information that had been laid out plainly enough for an average person to understand.

"When are you planning to attack?" he finally asked.

"In about a month," Kian said. "Maybe sooner."

"A month is a long time." Losham sounded deflated. "Why wait so long?"

"Logistics," Kian said. "Are the radar systems back on?"

"They are not. I ordered replacement parts, but they won't get here for another two weeks."

"That's good. Make sure the parts don't get there anytime soon, and once you get them, delay repairs as long as you can. Same goes for the tunnel. Don't get it fixed before we implement the plan."

Losham snorted. "I don't know if I can even salvage that tunnel. It would be easier to dig out a new one."

"Perfect," Onegus said. "That will take months."

"What will your so-called help cost me?" Losham asked, sounding suspicious.

Kian chuckled. "We don't need to bribe you to do our bidding. We are just protecting our asset."

"Does the clan own fighter jets?"