Anvil walks over. “What?”
“Miller thinks he took the wrong position on the day he faced off with the Sosas in the street.”
“Yeah, he did.”
For fuck’s sake.“I thought you went over what happened with him? If you had something to teach him, why didn’t you?”
Anvil’s face is a concrete block. “He didn’t ask me. He’s yours. I figured he’d ask you.”
Mine?I don’t know what the hell Anvil’s talking about. Miller belongs to C Crue, like all of us.
“What if he didn’t know to ask?”
“He knew. Case in point,” ‘Vil says, gesturing to us.
I roll my eyes. “It’s weeks later now. When this went down, I was gone. You let him twist all this time?”
Anvil gives me a bored look. “I let him think.” Anvil turns his head to address Miller. “When you’ve got a question for me, ask it. If you don’t, I assume you want to figure it out on your own, using other resources.”
“We want your take on it now, ‘Vil. Break it down.”
Without hesitation, Anvil says, “He moved in too close to Hornsby. It left Miller’s back exposed. It was a natural mistake.Hornsby called him for help. When Miller arrived and saw him down, he zeroed in. The first instinct is to see how bad Hornsby’s hurt, but it’s the wrong move. Saving Hornsby is not the objective when there are three unarmed women on the scene who are all a higher C Crue priority than him.” His flat stare turns to Miller. “With the number of enemies so high, you have to take the best position you can. Even then, it probably would’ve ended badly. The wildcard is what saved you, Miller. But you already know that, don’t you?”
Miller nods.
“Don’t let it eat you up,” Anvil orders. “All of us have made the wrong move on occasion. And that scene was about as tough as they come.”
Miller nods again.
“One other thing. If something’s planned out, you can bet Trick will make the best choice every time, so you can do what he does right then and forever after. But if a scene’s going down in real time, don’t watch what he does and try that yourself later.”
Miller glances between us.
“Are you saying I’ve got poor judgement under pressure?” I ask, not even trying to mask the surprise in my voice.
“No, I’m saying when things are fast and loose, you operate in a way that only works for someone with your skillset. Miller’s not you. In a multiple shooter scenario with a gun in hand, there’s only one guy who can do what you can.”
I crack a smile. “‘Vil?—”
“But there’s a downside to your greatness, Trick. You don’t always see what you don’t need to see. Other guys, especially inexperienced ones, can’t salvage a suboptimal situation on the fly. It’s why C doesn’t want you training new guys anymore. You’ve still got Miller because he’s grandfathered in with you. But if you want him really ready to handle himself alone in the field, you’ll send him to me.” He flips a hand over to gesture he’sfinished. “You wanted my take on things. That’s it.” Anvil walks away.
After a beat, I mutter, “Jesus Christ. Ever have days where you feel like shooting your best friend right through the heart?”
Miller chuckles.
“He’s right about one thing. There are things I don’t see. I had no fucking idea personnel training had gotten contentious.” I lean close and lower my voice. “All right, here’s what we’ll do. Anvil, the tactical guru, is now officially in charge of your field training. Unofficially, I’m still gonna tell you everything I think might help you stay alive and out of jail. I can’t say for sure, but I think some of what I say should be relevant to you, since the last I checked I’m made up of DNA like everyone else and don’t have an invisibility cloak or magic wand to cover my tracks.”
Miller’s laughter echoes through the clearing.
I shake my head. “I’ll tell you another thing. This moves ‘Vil down at least two spots on the godfather list for my kid. I’ve got a cousin I haven’t said more than seventeen words to in the past year who’s ahead of him now.”
Miller leans against a tree, grinning. Then his smile slowly fades. “Thanks, Trick. It’s been a rough few weeks.”
“Yeah, I can see that. It shouldn’t have been that way.” My tone turns serious. “If you didn’t ask ‘Vil for advice because he comes across as such a fucking hardass, I get it. I’ve been trying to win him over for more than a decade, and after tonight, it’s looking like I’ve got maybe another seven to ten years to go.”
Miller exhales a small laugh.
“But listen, don’t hesitate to hit any of us up for a tactical discussion. Over the years, C, Anvil and I have spent thousands of hours talking through all kinds of different scenarios. Interrogations. Testimony. Ransom. Different types of shootouts. When to keep fighting. When to lay the guns down. Twice ‘Vil and I have been in situations where we really shouldnot have gotten out alive. Seriously. Pinned down. Outgunned. Once it was my idea that got us out. The other, Anvil came up with a way for us to tip things in our favor. Both times, we talked for hours afterward about what went right and what went wrong. Post-hoc analysis is part of what we do on the regular, so use any of us as a sounding board. In fact, use all of us. Me, Anvil, and C.”
