Chapter 155: Pre-Battle Meeting
That evening, Bryan, Sam, Jim, Wright, Owen, ASH, Hotshot, and Heartbeat all gathered around a long table.
The dim lighting in the meeting room flickered occasionally due to unstable voltage.
"Becky, hand out the documents," Bryan instructed.
Silly White Sweet quickly stood up and obediently distributed the materials.
Each document was only a few sheets of paper, making everything clear at a glance.
As she handed them out, she explained, "These are the blueprints of the villa based on Alex's statements this afternoon, along with the layout of the escape tunnel. I also printed out some satellite images from Google—hope they help."
Owen glanced at the documents in his hands. The Google Maps images provided a clear aerial view of Brancato Montel's villa.
The massive estate featured a large swimming pool in front, followed by an expansive lawn, all enclosed by a perimeter wall separating this paradise from the outside world.
The lawn was so vast that the Montel family even kept a few horses for recreation. The satellite images showed a large and a small horse on the grass, with the smaller one likely being a pony for children.
The tiny black dots on the map represented guards—the cartel's private militia. Owen made a rough count—there were dozens of them. At first glance, it seemed like a lot, but with them scattered across the villa, it didn't appear overwhelming.
However, Owen knew these were just the ones visible outside. There were undoubtedly more inside the villa, likely the more elite forces.
Sure enough, Bryan began explaining, "Alex revealed some details about his home. Outside the perimeter wall, there are 30 regular guards, divided into two rotating patrol teams.
Inside the wall, there are an additional 40 guards stationed at various locations—the swimming pool, power room, watchtowers, and more.
Inside the villa, there are approximately 30 more guards.
Additionally, their security alarm is directly linked to the nearest military base. If triggered, around 100 soldiers will arrive within five minutes."
Everyone except for Sam and his team was visibly shocked upon hearing these numbers.
They had initially thought "1 versus 200" was just an exaggerated metaphor to describe Alex's fortress-like home. Who would have guessed it was a literal situation? How the hell were they supposed to pull this off?
Bryan had anticipated this reaction and continued, "Becky's blueprints and tunnel map, based on Alex's confession, should be accurate. The tunnel is a Montel family secret, known only to a few direct members, so we could consider infiltrating through it…
However, both the entrance and exit of the tunnel are equipped with alarm systems. The tunnel's entrance is hidden in the villa's underground storage room and is permanently weighed down by a crate of gold bars. Moreover, it can only be opened from the inside. So, even if we bypass the alarms, we still can't use the entrance to enter the villa."
The group exchanged glances.
Not because the entrance was blocked, but because of the crate of gold bars.
If it was being used to hold down the exit, it must be pretty damn heavy.
A million dollars at the very least.
This family was so rich that they used gold bars to block doors—no wonder they could casually offer a hundred million dollars for their own survival.
"If we go in with a full-frontal assault, I can handle the entry. But if we need to infiltrate quietly, that's going to be tricky—I can't do it without making noise," Hotshot said first.
A direct attack meant he could simply blast open an entrance like they did when they rescued Alex. But a silent infiltration? Not his style.
One by one, the others voiced their opinions. Owen studied the tunnel map and suddenly thought of Alex.
ASH and the others didn't know, but Owen had been with Bryan in Paris—he had personally witnessed Bryan's interrogation methods. The level of detail in these plans told him exactly what Alex had gone through.
"Are there women and children in the villa?"
ASH asked an unusual question.
"Yes."
Bryan's answer was firm. "According to Alex, besides his father, his mother and younger sister are also there, along with some household staff."
"What do we do if we encounter them? Unrestricted engagement?"
ASH had hit the core issue.
If they were infiltrating, they needed to remain undetected. But what if they encountered civilians? Subduing them was risky, but killing them outright—these were women and children.
Bryan remained silent.
From a mission perspective, eliminating them was the most efficient option.
Many in the room, especially Sam's old operatives, had been executing covert missions for years. They had undoubtedly killed innocent people before—but that didn't mean they wanted to.
Owen also didn't want unnecessary bloodshed.
According to Bridge's intel, Alex's sister was just a child. Maybe she would grow up to be another Alex, but right now, she was still just a kid.
Seeing the group fall into silence, Owen felt he had to speak up before the CIA guys made a "kill all" decision.
"We can time it for Sunday morning. Bridge mentioned that Alex's family are devout Christians—they go to church every Sunday.
Brancato Montel never attends. That's when we strike."
"But Sunday is also his collection day. His men from all over will be bringing in cash to settle accounts. His forces will be even stronger at that time," someone countered.
"No choice. We'll have to be in and out fast."
Speed seemed like a viable solution—strike before the enemy could react and retreat immediately. But this introduced another problem.
"We still don't know where Monica is," someone pointed out. "Alex couldn't confirm her exact location either. They never let outsiders within 50 meters of the villa, let alone inside."
A raid relied on precise intelligence. The biggest issue now was lack of critical information.
If they had time, they could attempt other methods—like bribing a servant—but time was not on their side.
If they showed up a day or two late, they could still justify it as logistical delays in escaping the U.S.
But if they delayed too long, people would start asking questions.
After a long discussion, no foolproof plan emerged—every option involved significant risk.
A raid had to be fast—infiltrate, secure, locate, and eliminate—all within minutes.
If they couldn't find Monica immediately, they'd have to abort, effectively signing her death warrant.
"I have an idea…"
Owen pulled out a device he had brought from CTU and began explaining his plan.
As he spoke, the team's eyes lit up.
"It's feasible," Bryan admitted. "But you'll be in extreme danger, and you'll be going in unarmed."
Sam and Bryan agreed that the risky plan had a chance of success, which boosted Owen's confidence.
"That's why I need you all to coordinate with me. We'll establish a signal—if I say the code phrase, it means things have gone south, and you immediately switch to full assault."
"What's the signal?" Sam asked.
"I'll say I have a cold."
Sam burst out laughing, exchanging a glance with Wright, who smirked back.
Owen was confused. "Why 'I have a cold'?"
"Haha…"
Sam and the others chuckled.
"It's an old CIA joke," Sam explained. "Back in the day, if someone said they had a cold during an operation, it meant things were about to get loud."
Owen rolled his eyes. "Fine. Then it's 'I have a cold.'"
…
The plan was debated, refined, and finalized.
Now, all that was left was to wait for Sunday.
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