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be on his watch. How do you tell someone as fine and as capable as Visara that she can’t fight because she’s a woman.
“You don’t,” he thought. “Not one as forthright as she was, and that is why she is going in. Still, she is a woman. And if anything happened to her on this gig, I would never forgive my- self.”
He had to admit she had earned the right to be part of the mission and reap the benefits and perils of glory.
As the trucks reached a different part of the urban area, Seige’s men dismounted their truck when it stopped and ran to the second one to get their gear. The air was crisp with talk and laughter as the team rapidly donned its equipment. This was always a good sign. Seige felt it allowed the extra nervous energy to be expended before the fight. He lined the team and sub- jected them to the familiar inspection ritual before dismissing them to the rehearsal site. They walked to the building and started up the stairs to the roof.
“We’ve got a long way to go, so get a move on,” Seige or- dered.
Five flights later, he regretted prodding the team and being the last man. Everyone was in good shape but with the weapons and special equipment everyone’s breath was labored. There could be fifty floors Seige knew none of his men would wimp out. Ev- eryone was ecstatic to reach the roof taking a moment to catch their breath before starting the exercise. Seige bent over to re- cover quickly trying desperately to breathe with his mouth closed. After a few seconds of deep breathing, he looked up into Visara’s eyes.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled then opened them and smiled.
“Okay,” he uttered, suddenly feeling refreshed, “let’s get this party started. Remember, the roof will be the assembly area after we land and the first one on the ground secures the door.”
Both teams rehearsed for the remainder of the day using very little light inside to simulate darkness. Both teams finished just
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