A Plan To Break Into School

Sky says, "Seeing as how unfortunately I ran out of guns and knives during that last altercational fracas, so I'z was wondering if you know a place where I can get at least two or three some-more of everyt'ing. And a new deck of cards. And some new threads. My narrow tie, green checked suit, spats, and Trilby hat is all sumwhat mussed. Naturally, I can pay, or I roll you for it. Nothing or double."

Van Cortlandt smiles a little.

"Mr. Masterton, anything you can describe, my agents can purchase in St. Louis and have waiting when we arrive. A day is a very long time."

But he does roll Sky for it, and for a wonder! Sky wins.

With Belle conning the light sport-ship, Van Cortlandt devotes his attention to Healing Janet, Sonny-boy, Voinovich and anyone else discommoded by battle. He also pulls tired muscles free of strain, and invigorates weary blood.

Voinovich has his gas-damaged lungs repaired, which necessitates some painful coughing. Kaze helps him with acupressure.

The night passes quickly, with most of the Grimnoir falling asleep after the excitement of battle wears off. By the time the ship arrives in St. Louis, it's late afternoon.

The local paper carries a national wire story; apparently a train crossing the Rockies hit a sabotaged bridge and crashed, with the loss of almost all aboard. Police are investigating but already have noticed the absence of tracks that characterize sabotage by Travelers.

Van Cortlandt suggest that, as the Atlanta knights all know each other, they operate together, while the New Yorkers do their own thing. A visit to the tax office by hired investigators has produced a map of the grounds of the Pringel Academy for the Gifted, as it is known. It's a large mansion with outbuildings on a meadow with a woods in back and a pond not far away.

Saburo is able to draw in the floor plan. The headmaster is Walter Pringel, a Reader, whose office is on the first floor. The left wing is sleeping quarters above classrooms, the right wing is a gymnasium, the center is offices, library, kitchen and dining room, and the garage, rifle range, pool and hangar are separate outbuildings.

If Hitomi is holding Richter, it would make the most sense to have him in the rifle range, which has no windows and is soundproofed.  That long, narrow building is 50 yards from the gym, attached by a covered and walled walkway with windows. So someone in the house would not be able to see people approaching the rifle range from the right side. The only place from which they could observe an approach would be from the hangar, whose doors face the rifle range.  The arrow on the rifle range indicates which way the rifles fire.

"So we need to come in from the right, and make sure no one sounds the alarm from the hangar. Which means we have to have someone secure the hangar, too. But QUIETLY. The students outnumber us by a lot, and they've been given at least some training in cooperative Power combat," says Lauren the Torch, gesturing at the map.

"Gas?" says Saburo. "Travel or Fade into the hangar and gas it?"

"It's too big," says Voinovich. "It would take minutes to fill the place, and they'd smell it."

"Well, then, what about reconnaissance?" Van Cortlandt suggests. "We have two Fades. They check out the hangar on the sly, tell us exactly where everyone is, then the New York team hits them all at once. Then, once the hangar's secure, the Atlanta team hits the rifle range through the right-hand door, here."

Voinovich rubs his chin.

" I like it," he says. "And then New York covers us when Atlanta pulls out with Richter."

"Of course," says Van Cortlandt. "What does everyone else think?"