Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Chapter 106

The next morning, at the Command Center’s helipad, twenty people stood in two silent rows.

Lyra stood with Lana at the front of the squad. As she scanned the line from left to right, she spotted Zoe standing at the very front of the first row.

Zoe’s boots were polished to a shine, a gun and knife at her waist, her hair tied back neatly. When she caught/Lyra’s gaze, she gave her a quick wink.

Looking further back, Lyra recognized a few more faces from the 7th Assault Squad, the ones who’d run the border patrol with her last week.

Garrett walked over to Lana, holding a roster. He flipped to the first page.

Garrett said, “Squad assembled, twenty in total. Vital Flame values for all three categories are between 26 and 32. Everyone here comes from special ops.”

Lyra tilted her head. “Who’s got the highest value?”

Zoe stepped forward from the line, standing tall. “Ma’am, that’s me!”

Lyra’s eyes lit up as she gave Zoe a double thumbs-up. “Zoe, you’re amazing!”

Lana stepped to the front of the line, her gaze sweeping over every face.

She said, “Our target is the Sunvale Wraith incursion zone.”

“Comrade Vance will head into the core area to get a read on what’s going on inside. The rest of you will cover the perimeter,” Lana continued.

“Garrett and Zoe will be your squad leaders,” she added.

She paused for two seconds. “Sunvale is the seventeenth safe zone we’ve lost. Every unit that’s entered the fog has gone missing, no exceptions. I don’t need to tell you how critical this mission is.”

All twenty shouted in unison, “Understood!”

Lana’s gaze shifted from the squad to Lyra. “Lyra.”

“Yeah?” Lyra replied.

“Don’t be reckless,” Lana said.

Lana’s hand landed on Lyra’s shoulder, her grip firmer than usual. “This time, we’re just here to check things out, not to charge in. Once you see what’s inside, get out. If we need to do anything else, we’ll talk it over later.”

Lyra flashed her an OK sign.

Lana didn’t let go. “Check in every five minutes. If you’re out of contact for ten, you’re out. No exceptions.”

“Okay, Lana.” Lyra chirped.

Lyra patted Lana’s hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

Lana pulled her hand back, stepped away, and called out, “Move out.”

Five military helicopters sat on the tarmac, their rotors roaring to life. The twenty-one of them boarded in groups.

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Chapter 106

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Lyra sat by the window, her face pressed against the glass as she looked down. The city’s rooftops shrank into tiny boxes. getting smaller and smaller as they flew farther away.

They flew for two and a half hours.

The helicopter touched down on a temporary helipad just outside Sunvale’s perimeter, sand and dust swirling everywhere from the rotor wash.

Once they were out, Garrett pulled up the map on his tablet and pointed to a red circle.

“We’ve got thirty-two kilometers to the edge of the incursion zone,” he said.

Zoe reached over to check the map. “How’s the road?”

“It’s a buffer zone highway. The pavement’s pretty busted up, but the vehicles should make it,” Garrett replied.

“I’ll drive,” Zoe said, handing the tablet back to him.

Garrett frowned. “Let me drive…”

“So, what’s your Vital Flame value?” Zoe asked.

Garrett just frowned, staying silent.

Zoe patted his shoulder. “Uncle Garrett, the closer we get, the faster our Vital Flame values drop. Whoever’s got the higher value should take the wheel. Makes sense, right?”

Garrett held her gaze for a couple seconds, then nodded. “Makes sense.”

He unclipped his comms device from his belt, pressed the talk button, and reported back to the command center.

“Chief Advisor, we’ve reached Sunvale’s perimeter. We’re about to drive out to the edge of the incursion zone. Zoe will be behind the wheel, riding with Comrade Vance. The squad will stay thirty-two kilometers out, ready to back you up.”

Lana’s voice came through the comms, “Copy that. Stay safe.”

Lyra stood next to an SUV when a comms specialist with a ponytail approached, carrying a pile of equipment.

“Major General Vance, you’ll need these,” she said.

The specialist crouched down and helped Lyra gear up, one item at a time.

First, she clipped a radio to Lyra’s belt.

Then she slipped an earpiece in and tuned it to the right channel.

Next came a tiny camera. The specialist twisted the clip on the back and fastened it to Lyra’s collar, then grabbed another and clipped it to the back of her waist.

“We can usually get the feed from these cameras when you’re outside, but once you’re in the fog, the signal will almost certainly drop,” the specialist explained, pulling out a couple of signal flares from her pocket.

“These won’t fail. Just yank the ring, and the red smoke will blast up two hundred meters. We’ll spot it from the perimeter.” she added.

“What does red mean?” Lyra asked, tucking the flares into her pocket.

“Danger, means you need to evacuate,” the specialist replied.

14:09 Tue, Jul 7 MAA

Chapter 106

“Is there a color that means ‘I’m okay, don’t worry about me?” Lyra asked.

The specialist blinked, then explained, ‘Green means everything’s normal and safe. Yellow is a warning, either be careful moving forward, or use it to mark something important.”

Lyra grinned. “Give me extra greens. If the comms go down inside, I can use them to let you know I’m safe. Skip the yellow ones. I’ll just use green and red.”

The specialist hesitated for a moment, then followed Lyra’s instructions, swapping out the yellow flares for more green ones

Once she was fully geared up, Lyra patted her stuffed pockets and climbed into the passenger seat.

Zoe twisted the key, the engine growled, and the SUV sped off.

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