Plan B

Sky says, "Wait. Which team am I? Atlanta or New York? I mean, I like Chicago."

Voinovich says, "Yes, why doesn't Chicago have a team?"

"What can I tell you?" shrugs van Cortlandt. "We don't have many Knights from there. Your table's getting pretty large ... you might consider sending some Knights to Chicago to start one. It's how you get to be an Elder, after all."

While they are setting up future plans, Kaze carefully packs a sling, a knife, throwing blades, and a coil of rope on her person. She also carefully adjusts a non-reflective hair clip that has a black lotus design on it.

Sky squints at the map. "Wait. I don't like the plan.

"Lookit here. If the rifle range gun are all pointed south on this map, then we should not enter by the south door. Cause then someone will shoot us as we move up an empty room with no cover and no concealment.

"Let's hit the connecting corridor between the main house and the rifle range, going in through the big south window." He points.

"... and put one of us with a gun to cover that south door, and then we can bottle up anyone trying to get out of the rifle range, guards or whoever might be loitering in there.

"Then, as I figures it, it would only take one or two guns to block the door leading into the main house. No one comes up on us from behind. See?

"And splitting into two teams is a suckers' bet. Have the Fades find out where he is. We smash in the directest route, grab it, beat it, all of us together."

Van Cortlandt says, "What about it, Janet, Kaze? Can you locate Hitomi for us, without being seen?"

Kaze says, "It depends. I was... completely Faded before..." She sighs and admits, "...Invisible. And he still noticed me."

"But I was not taking any pains to be stealthy, Aside from using my power. I was in the street."

This time, I will use more common tactics to avoid his attention."

So Janet and Kaze sneak away after midnight, with everyone else hidden on the grounds of the school, waiting for their signal.

Neither woman makes a sound as they cross the lawn, avoiding the trapezoids of light cast by frequent windows. They reach the wall of the rifle range.

Janet pokes her head through the bricks, then comes back.

"It's lit up, but there's only one guy there," she reports. "A Japanese man, standing there holding a rifle. But not aiming it. Like he's guarding the place."

"There is no sign of Mr. Richter, or Hitomi, or the other Iron Guards?"

"Look for yourself if you want," Janet says.

Kaze does. She's right.

The Fades recross the ground, quietly, slowly, without being seen, as far as they can tell.

Once they report, Van Cortlandt winces.

"Guess you were wrong, Saburo," he says. "If they're not in there, what's next most likely?"

"The hangar, I believe," Saburo says. "It is far from the main house ... though not as soundproof."

"Kaze, Janet, you ready for round two?"