“I’d planned on sending two guys out tonight, take care of them first thing in the morning, back home by the afternoon, but then there’s this investigation. Where are y’all at with it?”
She tilts her head, listening to someone off camera, nodding. Looking back at us, she continues. “Fuck it. We can get a team into Shreveport first thing in the morning. You keep your plans; my teams will take care of Tremaine.”
“FBI’s not going to be happy about that.”
“Well, they could’ve hired me when I was available. Now they get to be butthurt when I go in and do their job for them.”
DB turns to the room. “We need a unanimous vote on this one. Anyone object to this mission?”
Each vote has equal weight, even for Rafi and Parker, who are new to the team. No one dissents.
DB turns back to Hedy and raps the table twice. “Looks like we’ve got a quorum. Let’s get rolling.”
“Sounds good, DB. I’ll call you in a few hours once we’re squared.”
DB ends the call, then surprises me with a request. “You want in?”
Honestly, I’m just happy I haven’t completely lost his trust. “I can totally do this one. And I’m sorry about the shit before. That’s done. I’ve got my head in the game.”
“That’s an improvement from its previous location.”
DB smiles at his own joke, and something tells me I just walked into a trap.
6
Omar
DB is giving Anders a slightly menacing grin, which makes me hope he’s come up with something distinctly unpleasant.
“All right, folks. Anders has already volunteered to go on this trip, so I’ll send Omar as lead with Anders as support.”
Wait, what?
I look over at Rafi to see if he heard what I heard. His grimace is all the confirmation I need.
DB’s eyes twinkle with mischief. “It’s Omar’s first time as lead, everyone. Let’s give him a round of applause.”
The team laughs while clapping for me.
Is he fucking with me?
“Are you fucking with me?” I ask in the calmest tone possible.
DB’s brilliant smile dims, and he pins Anders and me with a look. “No, I’m not fucking with you. It’s time for you to get in on the rotation. Also, we’re a small team, and we live and die on the relationships in this crew. It’s four hours each way to Lufkin—plenty of time to work out whatever the fuck it is you’ve got going on between you two.”
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. Eight hours in a car with Anders is my worst nightmare.
My brain comes back on board several seconds later, and my question is blunt. “Why am I being punished?”
DB stands, leaning heavily on his cane. “You’re not being punished. You’re being rewarded with an assignment and given an opportunity to make this team stronger.”
Anders snorts. “That sounds like a line straight out of corporate middle management.”
DB’s face remains stoic, and I find myself agreeing with Anders, a fact that makes my eyeballs itch.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he pops his cane up and down, ordering, “C’mon,get. If you leave now, you can get there by midnight.”
“So, when you say quick turnaround…”
