Page 30 of Prophet
“No.” I shook my head as I at least thought that nightmare wouldn’t happen now.
“She will be tagged. We follow,” Talon stated as he also looked troubled about this plan.”
“It is our best shot,” Liv nodded
“Well, I don’t agree,” I stated. “She stays here, where she’s safe.”
“And when you’re not safe?” Jewel turned to face me. “What am I supposed to do then?”
I took her hand in mine. “Baby, I can’t allow you to... We are now stuck in the same spot we were in earlier, Goddammit!”
“We are not stuck,” she argued. “He switched the victim, yes. But he won’t expect me to be coming to him.”
“And we don’t have any time now,” Redemption added. “We have to do this as soon as we can, before he sends the exchange place and time.”
“Not necessarily,” Talon said. “But it would be better for us.”
“None of this is better!” I shouted in frustration. “You all are supposed to be good at this espionage, counter measure shit! Letting Jewel go out as bait is not better in any fucking way.”
“Man, this is your life we are talking about,” Redemption said. “We can’t just take you to slaughter.”
I stared at him. “We don’t know if it will work or if it will even save my dad.”
“But we have to try,” Jewel said. “It is still the same situation. He is being held by Deacon.”
“Why did he change it? Is my question?” Hawk spoke up again.
‘Why?” I asked him. “He’s crazy. You don’t ask crazy what or why.”
“You do with this particular kind of crazy,” Liv interjected. “Hawk has a point.”
We all looked over at her.
“Deacon is smart as I’ve told you all already. But he always has a reason.”
“So at first, he was doing it because he was jealous and wanted to make Prophet pay,” Redemption suggested. “So now, he changed it and he wants…” He looked over at Jewel. “You to pay.”
“The fucker is playing with our lives!” I exclaimed as the rage I thought I’d eliminated came back to the surface.
“He plays for keeps,” Liv agreed.
Jewel stared at her. “You say he is smart and clever. I agree with that, but why is he doing this? He’s acting like a teen boy that didn’t get his prom date. This man that you thought you knew, why would he do that?”
“I wondered the same,” Talon spoke up. “What does this accomplish for him or O’s operations? I mean, this doesn’t even have anything to do with revenge for his mother’s death.”
“Oh, believe me, he will get to that,” Liv assured us. “But I see what you’re saying. There has to be a logistical reason for why he has done this.” She looked puzzled. “Chess was his favorite game of course and he was wicked at it…” She started to pace as she went on describing this monster raised by a psychotic killer mother, “He would use moves that looked like mistakes, but they weren’t, they were to distract his opponent, so he could make the winning moves.”
“Distract,” Talon repeated.
“Yeah,” Logan piped up. “War moves. Keep the enemy busy with small arms fire on one road, while planting that scatter bomb on the next road.”
“Fuck!” Talon looked angry.
“But we don’t know…” Logan paused. “Maybe…”
“What?” I asked him.
“He could be planning an all out assault,” Logan finished his thought.
