“Fuck me, brother, is there anything hotter than competent women?” Blaze mutters from next to me.
“Nope,” I agree just as Bull calls out.
“All right, people, let’s get into place. Ladies, you stay on that fucking roof for as long as you can and keep safe. Josie and Skinny, let’s get you over to the veterinary office and get you set up.”
Those of us who had women gave them one last kiss, and then we were out the door, waiting as Noni secured it. When we heard the last of the locks engage, only then did we move out, surrounding Josie and Skinny as we walked them over to the veterinary clinic.
Skinny had an office at the hotel, but when we built the clinic, he’d insisted that we build an office for him, and now I was glad. He had a basement put in, and that’s where he’d set up. Because of the issue with electricity, the clinic ran primarily off solar, so it was never without power.
Josie made her way through the animals that she had housed here, and we helped her move the cages down the stairs so they’d be safe in the room with her and Skinny.
Skinny had a bank of monitors set up along one wall; we had cameras covering the whole town, including the roads leading in. Josie was used to helping him, so we left them to it, closing the reinforced door behind us as we left, making sure the corrugated panels were pulled down over the doors and windows, ensuring they were as safe as could be.
There was a slight click, and then Noni’s voice came through our earpieces, “We’re in place.”
Bull tapped his earpiece, and the clicks came through loud and clear as he let Noni know we’d heard her.
We stopped off at the garage where we’d left some of our bigger arsenal locked up in the one office there. When we walked in, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot more than there was this morning, including a rocket launcher.
My eyes widened at seeing it, “Holy fuck, is that a rocket launcher? Where the fuck did we get that from?”
“Jill,” Blaze answers dreamily, picking up the rocket launcher. Cairo, Bull, and I exchange amused looks.
“Um, brother, you know she’s not one to stick around, right? Even though she’s said she’ll take the job with Noni, it doesn’t mean that it will stick,” I remind him.
Blaze sobers, “I know, and there’s no interest there from her, but I can’t seem to help myself.”
Clasping his shoulder, I shake it gently, “I’m sorry, brother, I’ve been there, and it sucks.”
Blaze shrugs, “It is what it is; now let’s load up.”
Understanding that he didn’t want to talk about it, we armed up and filled our backpacks with anything we thought we’d need. Cairo and I picked up the spike strips we’d made. They weren’t as good as the industrial ones, but they’d work for what we needed them to do. Huh, maybe Jill could get us some with her connections.
“Remember, we let the first car through and then throw those down,” Bull reminds us.
“Do we know how many cars they’ll be in and where he’s likely to be in the entourage?” Cairo wants to know.
Rochelle’s voice came through, making us realise we’d been on open comms all the time which meant the women had heard our conversation with Blaze. We’d have to deal with the fallout from that later, though.
“With the number of men he’ll be bringing, I’d say there would probably be three vehicles. He’ll be in the last one because he’s a coward and will send his men in first.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“No problem, we’re switching off open comms now,” Rochelle informs us before the line goes quiet.
“Okay, brothers, we’ll deal with the fallout of having open comms after this clusterfuck is over. Get to your places, stay safe, and for fuck’s sake, stay alive,” Bull orders as he loops the strap of his AK47 over his head.
“Sir, yes, sir,” we call out, saluting him.
Bull chuckles, “Fucking idiots. Get going.”
We laugh and jog off to our assigned places. It had been good to laugh, though. We needed it, and it took the focus off Blaze.
Dismissed, we each jogged to our assigned places, only stopping to put additional weapons in easy-to-reach places. After this was all over, we’d go through and pick them up.
Once that was done, I settled into my assigned place to wait. This was the boring part, and what I found that I hated the most. Sending up a quick prayer that we’d all come out of this alive and unhurt, I hoped someone was listening.
CHAPTER 16