Page 136 of Happily Never After

Hours later,early morning sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows. The smell of French roast coffee warmed the room.

It wasn’t a true Code Purple since Nicole and Kyle were at the airport, but they would have to do what they could with who was left.

“Okay, so we need to nail down roles,” Claire said, a half-eaten scone on a plate in front of her.

Brianna leaned in. “I’m going in.”

“No, you’re not,” Luke and Claire said together.

“You’re way too recognizable,” he added.

Brianna straightened. “Excuse me, but out of everyone here, I am the most equipped to blend in. Hollywood is lousy with misogynistic douchebags. I’m surrounded by them all day long.”

Claire shook her head. “Not happening. Besides, we need your expertise with makeup for the disguises.”

Luke looked at Claire. “I don’t know why you’re being so bossy. You’re not going in either.”

“The hell I’m not.”

“No offense, but you’re the least masculine person I know. They’re not going to have to look any further than the two kegs strapped to your chest. Plus, I’m not letting you put yourself in danger again.”

She glared at him. “First of all, Brianna and I worked out a very sophisticated plastic wrap method. And second, no one in ESA would suspect that I’d infiltrate their meeting. It’s probably the safest place I could be.”

Luke took a long sip of coffee. “I’m going to lose this argument, aren’t I?”

“Definitely,” Mindy said from her perch on Sawyer’s lap. “Besides, Claire has some kind of sixth sense for bad guys. She spotted that one on the pier from a mile away.”

“Exactly. Now Bri, Mindy, and Sawyer, we need you guys watching the exits. The street view of the hotel showed at least four, so just split up and do what you can.”

“Why don’t I get to come inside?” Sawyer asked.

“Because we need your surveillance expertise on the outside if one of them leaves. Also, you kind of stand out too much,” she said, waving a hand at his boat-sized feet.

He frowned. “Fine.”

“Anyway,” Claire said, turning to Luke, “we need to go over their beliefs or you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I know how to be a misogynistic asshole,” Luke said defensively.

“Of course you do, sweetie,” Claire said. “But you need to know men’s rights movement platforms if you’re going to blend in.”

“All right. Lay it on me.” He finished his coffee and moved it to the side. Its spot on the table was quickly claimed by one of his thousands of tiny notebooks.

There was a whole binder on their beliefs, but she didn’t bother to open it. She knew the diatribe by heart. “First. Circumcision.”

Luke raised his eyebrows. Mindy looked intrigued.

“They believe that circumcision is genital mutilation and should be outlawed,” Claire explained.

“Huh,” Luke said. He stared at the ceiling. “I never thought of it that way.”

“Second. This one is a little messy because different groups believe different things, but they’re anti-feminist.”

“Where did you get all this information from?” Brianna chimed in.

“The internet is a very scary place,” Claire responded. “It’s how they organize without judgment. I may have infiltrated some forums while things were…bad.”

“What exactly do you mean, anti-feminist?” Brianna scooted her chair closer to the table.