Page 161 of Patching Over

However, as important as this particular mission is, outside of the night sounds filtering through the air, none of us is making a peep.

“Night goggles on, guys,” Dragon commands through the mic system we’re wearing, and I watch as all of my brothers comply.

“I’m through the first obstacle. Give me five minutes to dismantle the one inside that guard shack and we’ll be ready to go,” Selah apprises us.

After what seems like an eternity, she opens her laptop, and her fingers fly over the keys as she begins setting their feed on a continuous loop. Not that I grasp what that means, but from what I was able to gather, anyone inside will see what Selah wants them to see, not us as we creep through their facility to find our people.

“How do we know they didn’t see us before now?” Scythe asks her.

“I ran their lines. It won’t trigger them that we’re here until we cross that barrier there,” she says, pointing to some wires that you wouldn’t see upon first glance. “Until then, they’re blind. Whoever their new tech is sucks at his job.”

“That’s a good thing for us,” Butcher says. “Damn good thing.”

“I’m glad she’s on our side,” Wrecker mumbles.

“Beast, I need you to follow this program and every now and then, add the secondary loop to their feed,” Selah tells him.

“Got it, little lady,” he replies.

“We’re set to go?” Dragon asks her.

“As good as we’re gonna get,” she remarks, placing her equipment back into her backpack.

Banshee, Phantom, Jingles, Scythe and I take off together to go in search of Moira. Dragon, Wrecker, Python, Animal,Butcher, and Selah stay together as everyone else branches off into their pre-appointed squads. They’re going to be finding Hannah and getting her out safely as the other teams eliminate any threat to us.

While I focus, I can hear the other brothers talking discreetly through our comms. I’m confident, however, that no matter what, we’re going to achieve what we’re here for.

Coming for you, roisin, hold on a little longer,I think.

“Heads up, security check happening at our six,” Wrecker whispers through the mic, allowing us all to hear what’s going on around them.

The comms continue to crackle in real-time inside of my ear as they converse. “Did y’all bring your silencers?” Dragon asks.

“Do we ever leave home without them?” Butcher asks, causing me to silently chuckle as I stay in step with my group. “We’re like American Express, brother, we never leave home without ‘em!”

“That says so much about you,” Selah says. “I like it!”

“Great. Now that we’ve established y’all are the perfect rabid couple, can we continue what we were doing?” Wrecker asks.

“Please, almighty enforcer, lead the way,” Butcher retorts. I shake my head in amusement, they remind me of a few of my brothers when we’re on jobs.

“Children!” Dragon snaps. “Enough, already. For fuck’s sake, it’s like rounding up a bunch of toddlers. Hell, maybe even a herd of cats in a room full of rocking chairs.”

Since Brick often laments over our behavior at home, which is so similar to my Cedar Creek brothers’ right now, I’m glad that I wasn’t RiffRaff’s son. Because I sometimes want to whack my brothers when they get going, only as the Sergeant at Arms, I have to behave. Well, that’s what Brick and Ban remind me whenever I bitch about it to them.

“I resent that, I’m at least old enough to wipe my own ass,” Butcher teases.

“Shut the fuck up, Butcher, and take them out,” Dragon demands.

“It’d be my pleasure,” Butcher announces. I hear the popping of muted gunfire thanks to the silencer he’s using, then he says, “That was too easy. Give me something more challenging, Pres.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something along the way,” Dragon remarks. “Remember, no survivors.”

His vow floats through my head as I shake it even though he can’t see me from his side of the property. I allow their banter to anchor me, it allows me to not let my anxiousness of finding Moira overwhelm and control me.

“Not going to argue with you there,” Wrecker states. “It’s too quiet, surely they're not all asleep.”

“Only the night guards will be awake at this hour,” Selah advises. I hear movement in the background and what sounds like clothing rustling before she continues speaking. “You remember early mass, right?”

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