Page 150 of Fight or Flight
“Kinda like how you were acting when Felix moved into your room?” I ask Killian just as the door to the dining room swings open.
The room instantly quiets as Jordan, Nico, and Axel stride inside.
“Is everyone here?” Jordan asks when the three of them are standing at the front of the room.
There’s a low murmur of affirmation.
“Good,” Jordan says. “The meeting is now called to order.”
Nico takes a small step forward. “There are a few things we need to discuss with you.” He glances at Axel, who smirks at him. “Well, discuss is the wrong word.” He looks back at us. “There are a few things we need to tell you, and the sooner we get through them, the sooner we can get the fuck out of here.”
“The first is that the official investigation into the fire has been completed and we can finally share what was discovered,” he continues.
Jax and I exchange a quick look. The investigation has been over for more than a week, and they’ve had ample opportunity to share the details with everyone before now.
“The fire was caused by a faulty wire in the electrical outlet, and the problems with the suppression systems were caused by technical issues that have since been resolved,” Nico says. “I know there’s been lots of speculation about exactly what happened, but we’re here to tell you that whatever you’ve heard about arson or any intentional interference with the fire suppression system are rumors. So stop spreading shit that isn’t true.”
“The official report will be sent to all of you so you can read it if you want,” Axel says. “But the evidence is clear that whathappened was just a combination of unfortunate events and mishaps that created a perfect storm. And now that we know about the issues, we’ve taken steps to fix them so something like this doesn’t happen again.”
There’s a low murmur of voices, but a sharp look from Jordan is enough to instantly quiet them.
“The other thing we called you in here for is that we’re going to be pushing some new security features to your ID cards tonight,” Axel says when the room is silent again. “Most of you won’t even notice when they’ve happened, but Carter has calculated that the update could negatively affect a handful of cards and end up demagnetizing and wiping all the stored info on them. We don’t know which cards, or exactly how many, will be affected, but if you find that your card isn’t working after ten tonight, then text Carter and he’ll fix it. If you text him and he doesn’t get back to you in fifteen minutes, text me and I’ll do it.”
“What if you don’t answer?” someone asks from the back of the room.
“Then you’re shit out of luck until one of us does,” Axel says bluntly. “Any other stupid questions?”
The room stays quiet.
“Good,” he says. “And just so everyone knows, Carter and I are the only ones who can fix any cards that are affected, so don’t go bothering anyone else about it. They can’t, and won’t, help you, and all you’re gonna do is piss them off, which will piss me off.”
“That’s all we needed to get through,” Jordan says. “The meeting is officially adjourned.”
A low din of voices rises in the room as people start talking quietly among themselves, and the leaders make a beeline for the exit.
“Well, that was a nothing burger,” I say dryly when the door bangs shut behind them.
“Yet another meeting that could have been an email,” Xave says.
“Did you hear anything about this update?” Jax asks me.
I shake my head.
“Whatever,” Killian says and pushes his chair back. “If they’re not going to let us in on what the hell is going on, then fuck them. They can handle this on their own since they obviously don’t need us.”
“I know I should say something about how there’s obviously a bigger plan in place and we should trust the process,” Xave says as the rest of us stand. “But I’m with Killer on this one. Fuck them and fuck their plans. If they want to keep us in the dark, then they can deal with this one on their own.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I tell him. “And his too.” I point at Jax. “Right?”
“Yup,” he says as the four of us follow the flow of guys heading toward the door.
We’ve almost reached it when Shane bumps into me.
“Well, hello there,” I say with a teasing grin as his cheeks flush soft pink. “Fancy meeting you here.”
He takes a step back so there’s about a foot of space between us. “Yeah, totally unexpected that we’d both be at a mandatory meeting.”
“The meeting might be mandatory, but you being so overwhelmed by my presence that you walked right into me was all you, bro.”
