While he trusted Dan, he couldn't help feeling that Lana was more capable of fending for herself than they gave her credit for, if only because she knew how important it was to keep the Horsemen safe. She'd been learning how to defend herself and watching how his people operated for a few days before the accident. Someone as bright as she was would figure out a way to get somewhere safe.
At least, he hoped she would. Brady ate until he was too stuffed to eat more, his mind racing.
Precisely at six the next morning, he strode through the medical facility's maximum security barriers. His body didn't feel right, but he had enough drugs with him to get him through a couple of weeks, when his body would be fully healed. He emerged from the thick steel walls into the sunlight. A smile spread across his face.
Tim stood in his black fed uniform, comfortable with the soldiers eyeing him. Dan and Elise were there with three others. Brady had no doubt Dan had chosen the team; the cheerful man was nonetheless shrewd when he needed to be.
"Before you leave," Tim said, stepping between Brady and his team, "I've briefed your team already. The decision was made at levels higher than mine that we are sending in everything we have in three days. PMF are spreading the word to the populace to hole up in the underground railroad. We've gotta crush this before it wipes us all out."
"We'll be back by then," Brady said.
"You must be. This isn't something I can influence."
"You can influence anything, Tim, so I assume this is your idea and your window."
Tim's smile was faint. "The politics are changing slowly. Seems someone ordered hits on a few key politicians in the way. I can influence everything on this side of the Mississippi."
Brady didn't ask. He didn't want to know what Tim did behind the scenes. Tim moved closer and lowered his voice.
"What your grandfather planned with mine so long ago is about to happen. If we don't act, the country will be split by civil war. The era of fractured power and corruption is about to end. It may not happen peacefully."
"You always have my support," Brady said. "Just let me do what I do best."
"I'm counting on it. Do you have anyone you'd rather I not purge?"
"All of my men."
"Very well. Good luck. Bring back the Horsemen. And, be careful. I need more than your brawn, Brady."