Page 122 of Magic or Madness

It’s a fresh change of pace, he’s a true leader, giving us all a chance to hash out plans, or add things that may help. It’s a true brainstorming session, and I’m so proud to witness the beginning of his story as the head of the crew.

It’s a new era, and everyone welcomes it with open arms.

OZZY

I never wantedthis much weight on my shoulders, but it’s been a long time coming. I somehow managed to step into a position where I was Max’s second in command without realizing it, but the moment I chose to stand up to him, I knew where this would lead.

When he walked out, and the rest of the guys stayed, I became the head of the crew.

So much for trying to get out one day.

Fallon beamed at me with pride, and I could see how satisfied she was with how I took control.

She’s been begging me to reconsider this job, and finally, I listened to her pleas.

It took her bringing up Masha for me to realize how stupid we’ve been, trying to plan something so impossible. Whoever this client is, he can spread the word that Doc is dead all he wants, our track record since can speak for itself.

My concern now is getting us out of this, and deciding how to move forward. Max has a seat if he wants it, but I know he’ll try and cause discourse every step of the way. There’s alwaysa rough patch when changing leadership, and I intend to keep Journey, Oliver, and Lex as happy as possible.

It starts with our first meeting, letting everyone have their own voice to offer ideas, and feel like this is a group effort, rather than a dictatorship that hands out orders without consideration from everyone.

“We have four days until we’re supposed to do this. Rather than waste our time surveilling the warehouse, let's try to find the client. Lex, how has he been in contact?” I ask, and he pulls up his laptop, everyone waiting while he loads his software.

“Email. Private domain, secure, the usual encryption levels. I can put all my focus into this now,” Lex offers, and I jot it down on the board, effectively assigning him a role.

“Journey, you’ve been working on the photos of the men. Does anyone show up often enough that we could possibly identify? With as much product as they’re holding, whoever the client is has to have inside knowledge to know how much to steal,” I say, and he pulls out his notes, skimming them, but vowing to get more organized before offering any solid leads.

“I’ll get these uploaded, run a software to see if anything pops. They’re timestamped, so I’ll sort them, too,” he replies effortlessly, and I nod with approval, adding it to what we’ve got so far this afternoon.

Progress.

The rest of the meeting is spent combing over what we know, and what we’d like to know. Nothing too complicated.

Fallon keeps quiet, letting me find my footing as the leader, and I notice how carefully she’s taking her own notes, hoping to find something that slipped through the cracks when we go over it together.

We have our new direction, and everyone breaks around lunchtime, ready to get to work.

Oliver, Fallon and I take the office, re-organizing things and opening space for new ideas.

“You did amazing, Ozzy.” She smiles softly, those dimples poking out as she kisses my cheek.

“It’s about fucking time, man. We’ve needed this change for a long time,” Oliver adds, and I shake my head, hating how this turned out.

“I didn’t want to take over, I’m no fucking leader, but something had to be done. Thanks for the support.”

“You got it, Boss,” he jokes, taping a blank poster board to the wall.

“Any ideas of what to do if we don’t figure out the client’s identity?” Lex steps into the room, and all eyes land on him.

“Fuck if I know, Lex. Worst-case scenario, he lets it spill about Doc. Our reputation may be ruined, but we’ve had clients who knew they weren’t dealing with Doc. The jobs we’ve taken have been much tamer since he’s been gone. Someone out there will hire us again, I’m not worried about it,” I say honestly, and he joins us in our efforts.

“Well, all I’ve got so far is that he signs each email with the name Mr. A., which could be a lead, but I doubt he’d be dumb enough to use a real name for something like this,” Lex explains as he descends into the rabbit hole.

Hours go by with us all buried deep in the work, barely pulling our heads out long enough to eat or take bathroom breaks. Journey has joined the party, finding four men who have overlapped in our surveillance footage, another long shot, but grasping at straws is better than absolutely nothing at this point.

Fallon is the queen of organization, turning these walls into a map that is beginning to make sense, and giving her a role that she can excel in.

I’m beyond grateful that she’s thrown herself into this with us, even if it took our first real argument to get here. I’vebeen kicking myself all day about how I treated her last night, especially when I yelled at her. It’s never happened between us, and I damn sure won’t make it a habit. The guilt over it is nearly eating me alive, but I have to keep my focus on the task at hand. My apology will come later, and she knows that. For now, we can work together, even if there’s unresolved tension between us.

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