Page 130 of Rule of Wolves

Nikolai nodded. “We have an airship docked on Vellgeluck.”

“Of course you do.”

“It’s equipped with cables and winches and can manage a big cargo load.”

Kaz pointed to the map. “The base is located on a scrawny spit of land that juts out into the sea. The weather there is perpetually bad. High winds, rain.”

“I can manage that,” said Zoya. She could silence a storm as easily as she could summon one.

“The problem is getting any boots on the ground inside the base. There’s an armed checkpoint blocking the road in, and we don’t have time to gin up fake credentials.”

“Not to mention, we’re all extremely recognizable,” Wylan said.

Kaz lifted a shoulder. “One of the unfortunate side effects of success.”

“Is there any chance we can approach by sea?” asked Nikolai.

“There’s no safe place to land even if you’re flying Kerch flags. Our only way in is to create a distraction for the guards and disable the spotlights in the towers. Then we just cut through the fence.”

“Sounds like an opportunity to be noisy,” said Jesper, fingers tapping the table in an eager rhythm.

“Like I said,” Kaz continued, “we have need of your particular skill sets. Once we enter, we can locate the titanium and signal our people in the air. But we’ll need a way to cover the sound of the airship moving into place.”

“I can provide some rolling thunder,” said Zoya. “How is it you know so much about how to get into this place?”

Nikolai grinned. “Because he was thinking about stealing the titanium himself.”

“Truly? What possible use could you have for so much titanium?”

Kaz’s gaze was cool. “If someone wants it, I can sell it. It’s as simple as that.”

Maybe, thought Zoya. Or maybe Kaz was like Nikolai, a boy with an unquiet mind, a man in perpetual need of challenge. He’d decided the base was a puzzle and he couldn’t resist finding its solution.

“One question,” said Wylan. “What are you going to use the titanium for?”

“Why does it matter?” asked Nikolai.

“Because unlike Kaz, I have a conscience.”

“I have a conscience,” said Kaz. “It just knows when to keep its mouth shut.”

Jesper snorted. “If you have a conscience, it’s gagged and tied to a chair somewhere.”

“This is a lot of metal,” said Wylan, unwilling to let the subject go. “You’re going to use it to build a weapon, aren’t you?”

Zoya waited. It was up to Nikolai to decide what to disclose to this little band of monsters.

To her surprise, he reached into his coat pocket and tossed a sheaf of papers onto the table. David’s rocket schematics.

Wylan unrolled them, his eyes moving rapidly over the plans. “These are missiles. You need the titanium to improve their range.”

“Yes.”

“And you want to build something bigger.”

Now Nikolai looked surprised. “Yes. Maybe.”

“This is for Ravka. Because of the bombing at Os Alta. You blockaded Fjerda for them and now you’re helping them build a weapon.”