Maddox’s mind wanders back to last night and a part of him wishes he was back in that clearing with Amara, bringing a smile to her lips and having her laughter replace the sounds of her sobs as she cried in his arms looking lost and devastated. He quickly diverts his thoughts, it took every ounce of willpower not to stay by her side and wrap her up to keep her safe from the world.

"-is that correct?" Carter finishes off a question bringing him back to the serious topic at hand. With all the mental strength he can muster, he locks all thoughts of Amara away in the recesses of his mind. Now is not the time to get distracted, there is a job to be done.

"It's a risk but if it works the reward will far outweigh it. As it stands we aren't making enough headway in our investigation" Min is correct and Maddox nods his agreement. "The council and I along with Min worked the plan out. By allowing the prisoner to escape we can have a stealth team track him. What we hope is that he will lead us straight to his Alpha. If nothing else he will go somewhere associated with the ulfhednar which will at least give us answers."

"If it does not backfire on us that is. How do you plan to let him escape? If we just set him free he will know we are up to something" Carter crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the desk. "Really? I thought we could just walk him right out and thank him for staying at our quaint bed and breakfast" Min jokes like the smart ass he is from his relaxed position in one of the leather armchairs.

"The idea is to make it seem like security has relaxed then create an apparent opening for him to escape. We stopped all interrogations days ago as you know. That alone will make him feel like we are no longer paying him any attention, too busy trying to find his pack."

"What is the opening going to be? Whoever is on guard duty would have to somehow be gone or distracted enough that he could sneak away unnoticed."

"Twice a day we unlock his chains when food and water are brought in. At first, we had four of our men going in to do this but the number has dwindled as he has gotten weaker. This week we purposely cut the number down to just one although backup has always been close but out of sight in case of emergency" Min begins explaining but Maddox takes over to explain the rest.

"The idea is that on that day the guard will go in as usual but be called away urgently, haphazardly chaining him up in a rush, not realizing the chains are loose. The cell will be hurriedly locked but not secured by additional locks and measures as usual. With the chains just loose enough to get out of the thought is he will take advantage of the lack of security and break the single lock to make a run for it."

Carter nods but stays silent obviously in thought before speaking up "Assuming all goes according to plan, who are we trusting to tail him?" Min raises his hand with a cocky smile "You want the job done right, you send in the best."

Carter groans but it is clear he approves of Min being the one to do it. This mission is dangerous with a lot of aspects up in the air. Min is the best suited for the job and having him on it gives them some peace of mind. Normally Maddox would never send a man out alone but the stealth nature of this plan means more men will just heighten the possibility of exposing themselves.

"This will be purely recon, correct? If any contact happens we need men close enough that they can back Min up" Carter voices his concern. "We will have a small team in constant contact with Min through the mind link so they can follow in a different direction in case anything goes south" Maddox reassures him wanting Carter to know that although their plan is reckless they have also tried to cover the bases as much as possible.

"I will go with the backup team. I want to be there in case anything occurs" Carter looks between Min and him gauging their reactions. Carter is very strong and far faster than both Min and Madd but Carter usually deals with the logistics. Of course, in times of battle, they all go to the field but on specific missions or objectives they each take on a different role.

"It'll be nice knowing you're around to watch my back. If Madd signs off on it you and Kane can be the reinforcements” Min says and they both look to him for an answer. "I'm good with that. Channels of communication will be open to me so I will be ready to go in case the situation gets complicated. In the best-case scenario, you go unnoticed and can find their base. You all return and report. Then, depending on who the real enemy is, we can decide if diplomacy or violence will be the answer."

"Hopefully we can end this without bloodshed although I have a feeling whoever is backing this rogue will be more trouble than we expect" Carter's words are far away like a thought he accidentally muttered aloud. Min and Maddox share a look that reveals they've all been on the same wavelength. Finding out their identities will only be the beginning.

With the plan hashed out and due to be set in motion soon, Min goes to meet up with Kane and the guards that will have to play a part to lay the details out for them. Carter and Maddox dive into a separate meeting about food shares and the groundwork being laid out to construct a new school for their community.

It is strange, going from planning a mission straight into daily pack business but that is the job. As long as they can succeed while managing to have the pack unaffected and mostly unaware that there was ever even a threat then it will be a win for them. He momentarily considers talking to him about Amara but decides against it. That is her conversation to have when she is ready to and he won’t speak for her.