Page 93 of Statler

They needed to extract her, and keep her safe.

But once they had her, all bets were off on keeping STUDS’ raid on the down-low.

Statler’s heart sank.

Eliza’s disappearance would raise all kinds of red flags with William, and it might cause him to shut down his deliveries for a while, which would put a goddamned crimp in their plans to infiltrate next month, while everything was up and running.

There was only one thing for it.

Their take-down was going to have to be fast-tracked to tonight. Just in case the man got spooked.

“I’m calling Dark,” Statler told his crew before he gave orders.

“Tonka, Pipes, you two head over to Eliza’s house and keep watch on the road leading to her house.”

Thank cripes there was only one way in, and one way out.

“Even though Lansard said that Eliza won’t be back until much later, we’ll take no chances. The minute you see her on the street, stop her and grab her before she goes to her house. Then get her the hell out of town.”

Statler wanted, very badly, to be the one to take care of Eliza, but he knew it was his place to lead the raid. He hoped, once Eliza knew, she’d understand.

“And Jeremy?” Hazard asked with an evil smile.

“We leave him. For now. It will buy us some time to have him twiddling his thumbs in Eliza’s living room waiting for her, before he finally reports to Flazer that she never arrived.”

“What do you want us to do in the meantime, boss?” Dizzy asked, not a trace of his usual humor present.

“Let’s see what Dark has to say.”

Statler made the call.

The General wasn’t happy after Statler explained the situation.

“The intel you collected and sent over is solid, and because of it, I was able to get a warrant in hand for the factory to be breached. But Statler, we’re not ready. This was all supposed to go down next month. The team I was planning to send in as back-up for you is out on another mission until at least Monday.”

“We can’t wait that long,” Statler hissed.

“I agree. We can’t,” Dark grunted. “But there are too many players for you to do this all on your own. Keeping that girl safe is going to play havoc with our carefully laid plans.”

Surely Dark wasn’t suggesting…?

Statler growled.

“No, no, no. We’re not leaving her to the wolves,” Dark snapped. “I’m not a monster, and I’m not blind. I know what she is to you, Statler.” His voice lost its edge. “I’m fully aware that you have a vested interest in her…”

Damn, Blue.

“…and even if you didn’t, we still wouldn’t make an innocent woman a sacrificial lamb. Now, however, since you most assuredly have to remove her from the area today, it means we’ll have no choice but to strike tonight. I don’t like it.”

Statler could hear the hesitation in Dark’s voice, something that rarely occurred.

“I’m confident in your team’s skills,” he finally continued. “But the numbers are too unbalanced not to have me worried. I can get a few FBI agents on site to assist, but your coverage will still be thin.”

Statler’s mind immediately snapped to the SWAT team in Bangor.

It could work.

Statler didn’t hesitate.