Chapter 129 Briefing
Caden's POV
I take my place at the head of the room and all the noise and chatter dies down instantly. No more talking, not even a whisper. I have every men's undivided attention. Good. That's what I need.
The cave schematics globe behind me. Every tunnel and chokepoint burned into my memory.
"Alright men. Thanks for coming on such short notice. As you all know, we have been having quite a few threats lately. Our Allied packs took out two targets already. The dark fang pack, and the river pack. Three fourths of the Dark Fang Packs army is demolished while a little over half of the river packs army is still intact. I say as I paused and look around the room. Giving them just a minute to catch up.
"Melvin and Blake, I know you all have been hearing rumors. They are coming for us in just two days. So, that being said, this can't wait any longer." I look over at Trixie. She's still asleep on Coban's lap.
"This briefing will be short." I say, as I flicker my eyes around the room to all my men. "Listen close. I'm only saying this once."
Mark stands to my left, alert and coiled like a blade ready to strike. Kevan sets at the table, steady and calculating, already running contingencies in his head.
Darien and Lucian position themselves near the doors. They are silent. They are watching everything. Nothing gets past them.
I jester to the map. "We have confirmed cave systems with multiple entrances and exits. Lookouts are already in place. We have information already from them. What we don't have is visual confirmation on Melvin or Blake." I say, as I turn around from the screen and my eyes scanned the men in the room.
I pause for a minute. I let them take that information in. I don't have time to repeat anything. The news we got this morning was clear. Our lookouts we have placed already confirmed they will be an attack. They said two days, but rumor was they're making a move sooner. They know that much. That's why this is important.
"That doesn't mean that they are not there." I say and I continue.
Mark breaks the silence. "Strike team size." he asked as his eyes are focused on the screen.
"Small" I answered without pause. "We need it to be silent. No prolonged engagement."
Kevan adds calmly. "Rotations every 30 minutes. If we lose contact, we pull back and reassess. No lone Lycans." he says as his fingers are still moving quickly on his keyboard.
I nod once, then continue. "Rules of engagements are simple. If Melvin or Blake is found." I don't raise my voice. I stay calm and collective. "They are to be killed on site." I say as my eye scan the men in the room. No one flinches.
"They are actively moving against the crown and against your queen." I say as I'm still flickering my eyes between them.
"That makes them an existential threat to the kingdom. This mission is defensive. It ends the danger before they make their move." I say, and I continue as I stare at each and every one of them. "And they are definitely going to be making their move in the next day or so." I say as a few whispers are heard.
Elliott nods "Confirmation" he says short and clipped. "Mandatory." I reply as I bring my gaze to him. "Visual, scent, and body. No assumptions." I say, as I finally look away from him. I glanced over at Trixie, still in Coban's lap. Still fast asleep with our pups. My eyes then goes back to my men.
Franscisco put his hand up like it's a classroom. I nod my head at him, giving him confirmation for him to speak. "Fallback positions?" he asked with one brow raised and his arm still halfway up in the air.
Kevan gets up and points to the map. "Exits Alpha through Delta are locked down. If they run, they die underground." he said as he sat back down and straight back to typing.
I sweep my gaze across the room meeting every pair of eyes once again.
"No prisoners. No warnings. No mistakes." I glanced briefly again at Trixie sleep still in Coban's arms.
Darien's posture tightens. Lucian subtly shifts, already guarding her without any thought.
"This ends tonight." I say quietly. "You move as shadows. You leave nothing behind except silence." I say, as I sweep my eyes back around the room.
I step back and ask the men if they have any questions that wasn't covered. I answered everything quickly.
Elliott brought up a very good point or two. We discussed that as well.
"If there's nothing else." I say as I step back.
"Prepare to move."