Jaci cleared some files off her desk so they could work while the captain and I walked into his office. He put his finger to his lips and wouldn't let me say a #word until he'd swept the room for bugs. This was too important to let information fall into the wrong hands.
***
We'd been at it for hours. Every idea we came up with had flaws that could get Stevie killed. I knew we'd never be able to come up with something perfect, but it was #unfathomable that we couldn't come up with a decent plan. I stared into my coffee hoping for inspiration.
***
I stared at the black depths of my bad-tasting coffee and realized that the odds of us succeeding were #insurmountable, so it really didn't matter how good or bad the plan was.
It just had to be good enough.
I looked back through our notes and saw one that could work.
***
"You're crazy," the captain said when I explained it.
"It'll work," I told him. "All she has to do is pretend that she's run away from home. Grace will take her in, no questions asked. It'll be a completely #normal thing for her to do."
The captain sighed. "Let's talk."
***
The captain sat behind his desk and read over my hastily-prepared proposal, grunting every now and then.
"I don't see anything about her wearing a wire," he said.
"She can't. She'll be living with other women. She won't be able to hide it. It's not a #foreign concept."
***
"Not wearing a wire means she's deep undercover. It's dangerous," he said.
"I know, but it's our only shot."
The captain sighed again. "OK, let's go tell the others and get some of those #stroopwafel things."
"Great! We'll give that homicidal crazy what she deserves."
***
With the plans set in place, things moved quickly. We put Stevie in the system as a runaway with a note not to approach, but to notify the captain if spotted, then we dropped her off in the park where the street artists plied their trades. The #mannequin was one of ours.
***
The mannequin and the #robot were both going to be dead drops and lookouts for us. As long as she could get away from Grace to pass messages, we would be able to know what was going on and have some contact with her, and hopefully learn what was going on in the compound.
***
"I need to go," Jaci said.
"Now?" The captain asked.
"I have to pick up my daughter from #kindergarten. Annie can take care of this on her own."
"Fine, just get back here as soon as you can," the captain said.
"I'll drop her off with her father and be right back."
***
"Stevie knows what the codeword is for us to send in the #armada, right?"
"Yes, but you mean cavalry, don't you?"
"Cavalries rescue people. Armadas destroy what they attack and we're going to destroy this cult. I don't intend to let them go on trial. I want them dead."
***
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