Page 120 of Drift

Ah. Gray saw what Jan was doing, why he’d asked to keep any tour small, to the summerhouse. Drift kept his look low onthe hall, the wealth and space behind it all, and anger simmered lightly in his eyes. He came from a rundown home, with six kids at least to a room, where beds were earned and fought for. Here? Here came with a half-a-dozen empty rooms, with enough food in storage to take into account any pandemic long before it started. So the anger wasn’t for what Drift hadn’t had, but what went to waste when it came to kids. But his look came with a two-way thought process: himandthose back home, and if they weren’t hungry, he knew someone back at home could be if restrictions were being put in place so brutally. Jan more than most would understand all the complications and angers that came with going hungry and having family to look out for, then being shoved into a manor that had none of those issues.

Gray went over, winking Jan’s way over his quiet ask to ease off on swamping Drift. He offered a hand out Drift’s way instead. “We weren’t informally introduced a few nights ago. I’m Gray.”

Drift stared at it for a moment, then took the offer. “No surname thrown in with that?”

Gray offered a soft smile. “Trust. Works both ways, right?” The offer of a handshake did that too, especially when it came to pin pricks and bloodborne warfare.

Drift snorted. His return handshake had come with a lot of wariness of more than just a street kid. Gray offered the same to West.

“So you own this place, huh?” West took the offer as well, but her touch was a lot warmer, although the fading bruise to her jaw under her makeup stole his attention.

“It’s home,” Gray said eventually, and Drift’s frown made him look his way. “Problem?” added Gray.

Drift finished his look around the hall. “Newham,” he said eventually. “Someone was feeding you information on Grant.” He looked at Gray. “Where is he?”

Ah. The real reason behind why Drift had broken in a few days back. Gray tapped his ear. “He’s listening in for intel, but would like to meet you once we’re done, if that’s okay?”

“Hm. I definitely want to meet him. Tell the kid I’m damn sorry.” It came through softly off Raif, and Gray nodded as he did just that, then Raif mentioned something else.

“He says he knew Grant before he met you and Jackson,” said Gray. “And that someone called Suki… she was no parrot.”

Drift choked a warm laugh, and Gray was damn glad to see some of the tension finally break in him.

“Damn psychotic fucking pigeon.” Drift wiped a hand over his face as West laughed too. “Night after night of keeping it in that bloody cage and trying to get it to talk, it drove me, West, and Ava bloody insane.”

West’s smile fell, but Gray didn’t know why. She’d known Grant too, though.

“The jumpers he knitted for it did me in.”

“Oh don’t.” Drift looked her way, tried so hard to bury his smile and failed. “All the dresses he made her wear.” But then he seemed to sober as he looked Martin’s way. Gray’s. “You said intel.” He frowned. “That’s rozzer talk. But notstreet-levelrozzer talk. Neither is the tech setup and knowledge you have here on biological warfare. So who are you behind all the money?”

Jan flicked a warning look Gray’s way, one that seemed to warn on over-swamping Drift too much again.

“MI5,” Gray said eventually. “Counter-terrorism.” He kept it at that, mostly to judge if Drift took it in honestly or showed signs of knowing something more. “I was the lead officer called into Wales to look into potential use of biological warfare.”

Drift looked him up and down. “So that was you, huh? Hm,” he mumbled quietly, which meant he’d been keeping track of what went down in Wales after he left. “Tell me. Do you trust the motives behind the hierarchy who sent you there?”

Gray tilted his head slightly. “I trust Isacc Newton: how every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Doesn’t matter who’s behind the motion, the pushback is just as hard all ways until life is forced to settle.”

“Yeah?” Drift came over, so much balls behind it. “I hope so for your own sake. I really do. Because if you’re smart enough to know they could be moving their poison from blood to airborne and you’re insane enough to go up against it on your own, not trusting those who sent you to do just that, then you’re also smart and insane enough to see that this has been years in the making, with a lot of people turning a blind eye to everything that fell off the back of those lorries to get it done.”

“Hm,” said Gray, folding his arms. “I think we need that talk now, don’t you?” He didn’t wait for a reply as he looked Light’s way. “Head on over to yours. Get them settled. We’ll talk over there.”

As Light nodded, Simon came over, not looking comfortable with taking them… home, but it was a copper’s mistrust, one Gray wouldn’t ever begrudge him.

Drift threw Martin a glance as they headed out. Martin stood rubbing at his head, and waiting for the hall to empty, Jan went over.

Gray joined them a moment later as Jan rubbed at Martin’s arm. “You all right?” said Gray.

Martin looked up at him. “Oh I’m gonna be. Right after I work out why that kid would rather walk into these Night-walkers and take a faster death than live life at cattle pace with Red there.” He looked at where Drift no longer stood. “And why West looked like she’d happily end life for him when it comes to the Night-walkers.” He tensed his jaw. “She lost her smile on Drift’s mention of himself, West, and this… Ava.”

Light pushed on through to the summerhouse, then held the door for West and Drift as they followed him in. Then he paused in the kitchen and awkwardly nodded around. “So… this is, well, mine and Si’s.”

Simon gave him a wink as he came in last, and Light wasn’t surprised he’d come over. Always the copper, especially in his own home. But he kept his distance now, mostly getting the kettle on for a brew, and maybe just having a quick tidy up before Gray came over. Light buried a smile, loving the subtle giveaways to living life under Gray’s walk-in checks Light knew Gray wouldn’t ever do, but Simon still tidied up anyway, just in case.

As they stood in the kitchen, Drift and West glanced at each other, but Drift looked as awkward as Light felt. He looked too used to finding his own way into a home and walking aroundwith no one watching him, where Light was too used to his own space, with no cameras or security here to watch him. He gave a sigh and glanced back briefly to the door, never feeling more displaced himself with having anyone but Brin around him outside of Simon. He’d left the guitar in the reception hall after the amp had been taken off him at the main gates, but Drift had picked it up, and Light gave a small nod seeing it, then took them off him. Again.

“Okay.” He tapped lightly at Drift’s abs as he eased into a smile. “Come on. Got just the thing to maybe ease the tension here.”

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