Page 8 of Oath
“Can’t be me or you,” I reminded him. Bones would no sooner walk away from Doc than I would, but we needed Bones’ tactical prowess and they needed me for sourcing supplies and more.
“He’ll never go,” Bones said in direct response to the remaining one of us that could take her. “I won’t ask him.”
I sighed. No, Lunchbox wouldn’t go and asking him, especially using Grace as a lever, would be a shitty thing to do. “Then we need some fail-safes for her. The longer we’re in place, the more risks this job takes, the greater the likelihood we pull her into the line of fire.”
That was not a spot any of us were willing to put her in. Bones stared into the darkness and when he started to walk, I fell into step with him easily. The sweep took us from one end of the block that was home to the warehouse to the other.
“We need to do a full threat assessment.” That didn’t take long. “We also need to offer them options.”
Not a bad plan. If they could just eliminate the source of the problem, that would ratchet down the threat. I finished the coffee. “I’ll talk to Alphabet and to Doc. Get a list behind the who and the what. Maybe we take his girl out of this equation too. That would free them up to deal with the problem.”
“Maybe.” Oddly, Bones didn’t disguise his distaste for the idea. “She should have a say in whether we take her into protective custody. We also need a new safe house for that and it could split our focus.”
Could? No, it would. But I got it. “Then we talk to Doc, go over the potential outcomes and what they need to have happen to take the target off their backs.” I wouldn’t mind a few minutes with the assholes who killed Doc’s sister. Yes, one man had ordered it.
We had that information.
I wanted the ones who carried out the orders. The ones who actually, physically killed her. People died in wars. Casualties happened. Civilian casualties, however, should be avoided at all costs. Everything I knew about his sister said she was definitely a civilian. Taking out the trash would be satisfying.
“Whatever you’re considering over there, make sure you brief me before you do it.” Bones’ cool tone amused me.
“Where’s the fun in that?” I didn’t wait for an answer and jerked my head toward the warehouse. “I’m going to crash here. Do a four-hour rotation, then wake me up. That will keep us both fresher for tomorrow.”
He shot me a look that had me raising my eyebrows. “We need to get Grace into training.”
“For?” I had an idea, but it was always better to check.
“Self-defense. Basic combat. Handling a gun.” He scratched at his jaw. “The taser is good, but she needs more options if she’s going to stay.”
If.
“You still trying to drive her away?” Despite the dour look he gave me, I didn’t retreat from the question. Instead, I met him stare for stare, and waited.
“No.”
Good enough. “Do you want me to talk to her about it?” She might take it better from me. But the crackle of conflict that had electrified the air between her and Bones seemed to have abated.
“No.”
“Well, don’t spit it out all at once. You get chatty like this and I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Get some sleep, Voodoo. We’ll work out a plan tomorrow.”
I gave it a beat. “It’s my turn to ask—you good?”
While he hadn’t asked me about my mental state specifically, SITREP did cover it.
“Yes.” As succinct and terse as his earlier “nos” had been.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re a pain in the ass.” The deadpan, dry delivery made me grin.
“Sometimes. Particularly when you need me to be one.” It came from years of working together. We all had our own rhythms. We could adjust and adapt for each other. And had. Grace’s arrival had shifted the balance entirely, something we all needed to remember and make room for, particularly if we planned to keep her.
“She may not want to stay once it’s all resolved.” The simple sentence was utterly devoid of all emotion. “She has a life. Had one. If she goes back to it…”
It would require that we shift what we did if we kept her. “I’m aware. Not a contingency we can begin to plan without talking to her. Something you’ve carefully avoided.”
