He placed them in exactly the positions that Reese would have. Apparently Garrett had done some independent scouting of his own.
She bit back a lick of irritation at his covert activity, because it wasn’t as if she showed every card she had to the rest of the leaders. “Nice intel, Garrett.”
“Can never have enough,” he admitted. “But I’ve told you everything we know. Don’t worry, I’m not dumb enough to hold out on you.”
Reese didn’t argue. At this point, if she didn’t trust him, they’d be fucked.
“That leaves eight in the West. There’s no way you and Connor can handle all of those,” Mick protested.
“Seven,” she corrected. “We’re not going to bother with this one right now—” She tapped the southwest corner of the map. “It’s just a watchtower, no supplies, nothing that’ll make it worth our while. We can deal with it after we take out the bigger stations.”
“Fine. Seven. Which is still too much for you and Con.”
Connor raised a brow. “You an expert now on what I can and can’t handle?”
“These outposts aren’t going to be a problem,” Reese told Mick. “Each one is fortified the same way. Land mines spaced in a precise square three hundred yards out. The wall security is exactly like the ammo depot we hit earlier. The council isn’t very creative.”
Granted, lending twenty-two men and women to Brynn and Mick left Reese’s squad thin, but Con’s men could probably take down half the targets alone and Reese had handpicked the team members that would go with her.
But as confident as she was that they could handle it, the tightness between her shoulders refused to ease. It had nothing to do with the number of enemies she’d face, though, but the friend she’d have to deal with at the end of this meeting. Because she was a chickenshit, she’d put off telling Sloan about who would be on the Foxworth team.
“The council relies heavily on passive defense systems when it comes to these outposts,” Connor added when Mick opened his mouth to protest. “Most of them aren’t much more than watchtowers used to relay signals and provide a way stop for Enforcers in the field.”
“How many men per outpost?” Brynn asked.
“Five to ten,” Reese replied, laying down a few kernels of corn next to each bullet. “Maybe more if there’s an Enforcer sweep going through, but the council prefers to keep the majority of its troops close to home.”
“How reliable is this intel?”
Mick was looking to poke holes wherever he could, but Reese didn’t mind it. She’d rather argue with Mick all day long than face the battle she was going to have with Sloan once this business was concluded.
“We gather it regularly.”
“Meaning it’s only as good as your last spy run.”
“Sure, we could send out another set of runners to scope out each outpost, and by the time they got back, the GC could have changed the configuration. There’s no guarantees here. This is the best information we have.”
They all waited for Mick to lodge another objection. When it didn’t come, Reese figured it was time to bring the meeting to a close.
“Brynn and Garrett should leave first because they have the longest distances to travel. We don’t want everyone converging on Con’s camp at the same time. So space out the visits. Con and his men will provide you with the ammo you’ll need for the attacks.”
“How much are we getting?” Mick rubbed his hands together, finally showing some excitement over the plan of action. Or maybe he was anticipating his new toys.
Reese didn’t care either way. “Enough to blow up twenty outposts, but hopefully you won’t have to use it all. Any leftover ammo will be stockpiled until we’re ready to strike against the city.”
Brynn and Garrett spoke briefly about their departure plans. When Garrett tucked his knife away, Reese knew the meeting was over. The easy part had been dealt with.
She rose to her feet. “Kiss your loved ones and go screw your partners. This mission is risky as shit, so I’m not going to pretend that we’re all coming home.”
Brynn gave her a smile. “You always make the best speeches, Reese.”
She grinned, then exchanged a quick hug with Brynn and a solemn handshake with Mick. Garrett stepped up to her next, hugging her and whispering, “This is the right thing.”
Reese clung to his shoulders a moment longer than she intended before pushing the man away. The three camp leaders filed out the door, heading off to get a drink and maybe some food. Brynn planned to leave that day.
“Connor, a minute,” Reese called before he could leave.
Sloan had moved to the doorway, watching for a nonexistent threat, but she knew he could hear every word she said.
Connor drew up. “What is it?”
“I’d like to borrow Rylan.”
Reese swore she felt a breeze generated by the speed at which Sloan’s head whipped around. She ignored him and focused on Connor, who looked puzzled.