It was disturbing for someone to identify so much about her inner turmoil. It was something Finn learned of but not the depth or magnitude. “I would be more confident if I knew the surrounding people had the same goals.”
“Tessa, no one has the same goals. We are all individuals and have different motivations. We are all here because we have a common enemy. It is the thread that binds us together.”
“What happens when H.I.V.E is gone?” Tessa interrupted.
“I’m an empath. I sense emotions; not the future.”
“But motives can indicate future paths.”
“Sometimes. For now, feel at ease that everyone here seems happy and grateful to be on their current path. My husband is fighting H.I.V.E, which is what he loves. I sense Shadow is after revenge. H.I.V.E has hurt him. Sam and Arica would follow you to the end of the earth. Those two are loyal. And Finn is in love with you.”
The last part made her blush, “There is a new faction, and I need to know he is here to help and not sabotage my operation.”
“Tell me who and I will see what lies in his heart.”
“His name is Stonewell, and he is the leader of the original rebel force.”
Natalie’s forehead furled, “I sense this man has hurt you.”
“He has, which is why I can’t trust him.”
“I will watch this man for you.” Natalie seemed concerned for Tessa.
She left the airport feeling better than before. Tessa might glean some insight into Stonewell’s nature and reveal if he plans to derail her plans or use her again. She found her confidence strengthened by Natalie’s words and needed to follow her instincts and stop second-guessing herself. Tessa needed to be the leader she knew she could be.
15
The strike team completed the detailed plans for the H.I.V.E raid. Finn double and triple checked electronics, comms, and helicopter mechanics. Sam reviewed weapons and other essential combat equipment. Tessa worked on welding a laser rail gun to the bed of the chopper.
Finn teased her about the welding mask and bulky leather gloves. “Aren’t you an Alpha Evo? Couldn’t you weld that gun on with your mind?”
Tessa lifted the mask, “Where’s the fun in that. Believe it or not, but I enjoy working with my hands, technomancer.”
“Hey, I still use my hands.” He smirked at her and she blushed a little, hoping no one else noticed.
Tessa shook her head and fired up her torch, “Watch it. You’re playing with fire.” She pulled the mask back down to finish the job. The rest of the afternoon, she spent checking over her powered armor suit and weapons. With her powers, she had little use for weapons anymore but still felt better about having them just in case. Plus, it felt more natural for her to carry them, a reminder of how she was before her Evo transformation.
After dinner, the tact team suited up and packed everything into the chopper. They would mount their attack under cover of darkness. Shadow and Cyclone left days ago in the ARV to prep their ambush site. They selected a secluded section of the highway to prevent H.I.V.E reinforcements from easily coming to the caravan’s aid.
The team headed out before nightfall. There was little conversation over the commute. Stealing from H.I.V.E was an assignment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. On the totem pole of power, H.I.V.E stood at the very top. H.I.V.E had all the firepower and robbing one of their convoys rarely ended well. Even Evos with decent abilities failed to raid H.I.V.E envoys. H.I.V.E studied Evos, so they had protections in place to neutralize powered attacks. Tessa hoped having Finn on the team would help them in that arena. Most Evo safeguards involved some manner of tech, which she counted on Finn being capable of disabling.
Professor Green piloted the chopper with Finn in the copilot’s seat. Finn came on comms to notify the crew when they were on approach. The strike team started prepping for contact. Tessa and Finn would orchestrate the charge with help from the Professor’s wife Vanessa Green and GaleForce. The newest team members were Animal, the shape-shifting beastly leader of the Wildlings gang.
Tessa and GaleForce held back as the others prepared to use jet packs to exit the chopper. Their targets were coming into view on night vision scopes. Shadow and Cyclone joined comms to update the team. They laid spike strips across the main road in case the convoy attempted the run through them. They parked the ARV in the center of the main road with floodlights fully lit. They wanted H.I.V.E to see them there and positioned the vehicle to force the convoy off the main road and onto a narrower side road.
Once they were off the main road, it would be easier to assault, and it would take H.I.V.E much longer to respond to a distress call. As soon as the convoy ran into the road blockade, they would radio H.I.V.E. Finn intercepted the message and scrambled their comms to buy them even more time. Eventually, H.I.V.E would get the distress signal, or the lack of comms between the convoy and headquarters would alert them to a potential problem, and they would send a team to assess the situation.
Once the caravan redirected off their original course, the ARV pulled in behind, and the chopper approached from the front. The caravan positioned an armored assault vehicle in the front and rear of their group. Vanessa Green prepped to jump, and she would enable the front vehicle. On cue, she jumped and switched on her pack. As she slowly descended, she tapped into her ability while hovering above her target. A swarm of massive vines exploded through the pavement to entangle the lead assault vehicle. The vines grew fast and robust, pinning the vehicle in
