The day went quickly enough. The location given to them by Basq was an open square. Most likely not the actual place but a rendezvous point. They could be sniped down there but they could be sniped anywhere. It didn’t really matter what Basq had planned for them they had to go and be alert.

They waited there now. They were wearing some loose fitting clothing that didn’t draw attention to themselves and could easily fight in without getting in the way. The sun was beginning to set, colors weren’t as sharp as midday and the sky had a warm glow to it. A breeze was beginning to pick up that cooled down the air.

Basq arrived at the minute that was supposed to. No longer dressed in a suit he could now get dirty. It would be tough to pick him out of a crowd he just blended right in. He gave Charmalina and Eru a drink.

“Don’t worry it’s not poison.” He laughed.

Eru took a sip and laughed breaking the tension.

Charmalina did too, “I’m not dead yet.”

“Come with me, I will explain on the way there” Basq laughed and started to walk down a pathway.

Eru and Charmalina followed him. It didn’t look like anyone was following or watching them but with enough people you never could tell. Basq explained to them that the target was a rich businessman that had bribed Senator Stillman on numerous occasions and was a friend of the Senator’s as well.

“Why do need us then? That doesn’t sound too hard.” Charalina asked Basq.

“Businessman Brown has no ordinary residence. It may appear to be a normal mansion but it is bunkered down well with highly trained guards, defensive positions and strong security systems. We need to get in and not let Brown get word out or escape before we get to him. I need some teammates that won’t slow me down and can do things quietly. Okay?” Basq replied.

“Ya we are good, how much further to Brown’s place?” Eru asked.

“We’re getting closer, I just need to be sure no one is following us or watching us. Brown has spies, the government always likes to watch me, and who knows who is watching you guys. I have to be careful.” Basq casually responded.

Clouds were forming. The air was getting quite cool and the wind became gusty. A storm was coming. Thunder could be heard in the distance. Light drops of rain started to fall on the ground. The warm soft light was replaced with darkness.

“Just in time,” Basq said, “This storm will make it easier to get into mansion undetected.”

They could see the mansion at the top of a hill. Infrared spotlights were used at the guard towers to scan the hill Basq told them. The hill itself was dark. A lighted driveway up the hill was the only lights between here and the mansion.

“How do we get in?” Charmalina asked Basq.

“I hope you are ready to get dirty” he said. “We are going to crawl in under the bushes here and make our way to the nearest guard tower so we don’t have to worry about the spotlight.

The night sky was lit up brightly by a shot of lightning, quickly followed by a very loud boom of thunder and a heavy downfall of rain. They could sneak around easily now without being heard but so could the guards.

They crawled one by one underneath the bushes. Some small rodent creature must have created the path. The rain started to run through the path and it would quickly fill up. Eru hoped that Basq had a better exit plan.

Once they were through they saw a guard covering the door to the watch tower. Basq motioned them to continue down the beside the bush to the tower’s entrance. He went up the hill a bit and as Eru got close to the guard Basq threw an incendiary device at a bush. The bush and the surrounding ground lit up immediately in a bright red flame even though it was soaking wet. The guard turned to look at it and Eru rushed him from behind putting his arm around the guards neck and choking him until he passed out.

Basq came back towards them and took a key card from the guard and got Eru and Charmalina to move him to the bushes. Using the key card Basq opened the door and let Eru and Charmalina into the guards tower.

“Stay here and cover the door while I take out the power to the tower. Once the power is out we will have to run up the hill to the mansion.” Basq told Eru and Charmalina.

They heard Basq splish splash his way down to an electrical room. A few minutes later a loud bang was heard and the room went pitch black.