Page 32 of Dark Princess Emerging

"What about Turner?" Peter asked. "Perhaps he can give us some insight."

Onegus shook his head. "This is not what he's used to dealing with. He deals with hostages in the hands of militias and drug cartels, and he can handle military operations. He has no experience with this type of criminal activity." Onegus rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I've been around for a long time, and I've never encountered depravity on such an industrial scale."

It seemed that even the chief had trouble dealing with this filth, which meant that the Guardians he needed to recruit would have a hard time as well. Perhaps they needed a little help from the clan's therapist.

"I wonder," Peter said, "if the Kra-ell will have the same emotional response as we do. To be effective, we need to lock our feelings behind a steel door, or we could get ourselves killed even by well-armed humans."

"They do," Onegus said. "I spoke with Jade, and she reacted like any decent person would. She was shocked and disgusted."

"Then we need Vanessa to help prepare us for this."

Onegus nodded. "Good suggestion. It wouldn't have occurred to me to ask her. Although I'm not sure she will be able to help. This is even beyond the scope of what she's dealing with at the sanctuary."

"If she can't, she will know someone who can," Peter said. "Show me what you've found so far," he said to Roni.

The hacker began laying out the network he'd uncovered, pointing to various photographs and documents. "This guy here seems to be one of the main coordinators, but he's not at the top of the food chain, which makes him an easier target. He operates behind a dozen shell companies, but they all lead back to this estate in Beverly Hills."

Peter studied the aerial photograph of a sprawling estate. "Security?"

"We need to find out," Onegus said. "We can hire a human team to do the snooping, or you can do that after you assemble your team."

"I'll do that." Peter was already calculating how many people he would need for an operation like this.

"But here's the kicker," Roni said. "You need to be careful because they might have kids on the property."

Peter felt his jaw tighten. "That's not a problem during the recon mission. But later, when we go in, we might need a blanket thrall. Did you speak with Yamanu?"

Onegus nodded. "As usual, he's available on a case-by-case basis."

"I'll need at least eight people," Peter said after a moment's calculation. "Not for the recon, which can be done by just two Guardians with experience in that sort of operation, but for the extraction. Two for perimeter control, four for entry, and two for extraction. I will also need surveillance drones."

Onegus lifted a hand. "Slow down. We are not there yet. You're getting married on Sunday. Take the rest of the week to put your team together and review the intel. We can plan the first operation for the week after."

"I'll take Monday off, but I can go out on Tuesday." Peter's mind was already racing with possibilities, considering which Guardians would be best suited for this type of work. "I'll have a preliminary team roster for you by Thursday."

He was pushing it, but the sooner they began, the sooner they would get this ball rolling and the sooner the monsters would be six feet under.

"One more thing," Roni added, pulling out another document. "We've identified several smaller operations that might make better initial targets. Places to test the team's capabilities before we tackle something like that estate."

"Smart," Peter reluctantly agreed. In his mind, he and his team were already storming the mansion. "We'll need to work out our dynamics before attempting anything too ambitious."

Roni put everything back into the folder and handed it to Peter. "Homework. I'll probably have another stack just as big by Thursday."

"Thanks." Peter grimaced.

"See ya in a couple of days." Roni clapped him on the back. "If you need me sooner, you know where to find me."

When the hacker left, Onegus leaned forward. "There is one more thing I need to discuss with you that I couldn't bring up with Roni here."

Peter arched a brow. "What could you possibly be hiding from Roni? The kid knows everything."

"He doesn't know this, and I need you to keep it to yourself. Don't say anything to your teammates until you get the green light from me."

Peter's curiosity was piqued. "You have my word."

"Our mellow and charming Prince Ell-rom can kill with a thought, and I need you to bring back disposable targets for him to practice on."

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