There was an assortment of responses—“Yes,” “Yeah,” “Right,” and one “Da,” from Jai, who was apparently out burying some meth dealer who had taken a shot at Brady an hour ago. Seriously, Ace didn’t know why they were so concerned about the guy in their living room. It wasn’t like Ace was going to get any sleep anyway.
That’s not going to be enough, he typed. This had been bothering him all day, ever since Burton and Jason had givenhim and Jai the plan.He’s going to break out of there, and we’re going to need to get the phone to Burton and Eric so they can crack it and send the info out, right?
And again, that assortment of nods-by-text.
What are our bad guys doing while we do that?
….
And now there were a lot of thought bubbles that Ace had sort of been hoping would have some sort ofthoughtbehind them.
Yeah, I thought so. They’re massing, people. We need to do some bait and switch—get the cops chasing people one way while Eric and Brady go the other. Burton, you’ll probably be needed in the field, so Eric will have to upload the info and spread the word all on his lonesome. Jai, you’re gonna have to sacrifice your SUV. Sonny and our new friend will remain here and keep us informed.
“I am not!”
Sonny’s voice, real and not online, startled Ace so badly he almost dropped the phone. He and Sonny fit so well together, he hadn’t even registered Sonny’s presence over his shoulder, reading as he typed.
“You are too.” Ace stared at him. While Sonny could be cantankerous and contrary, he didn’t usually gainsay Ace when they were doing “superhero shit,” as he put it.
“Am not.”
“Sonny, you stay here with Dimitri, and odds are you’ll be safe. Cops’ll show up, you say the boss ain’t here, call ’em fuckheads, and they’ll leave. We leave the place closed, and you know what’ll happen?”
“You’ll do something fool stupid and get killed without me?” Sonny asked, his voice breaking.
Ace frowned. “Aw, no, Sonny—you know that’s not the plan.”
“I don’t care what the plan is, Ace. I’m tired of being the little woman and sitting at home while the big men go out and almost get killed. I amworried, do you hear me?”
Ace blinked, because that was some emotional rawness and honesty from Sonny, and he usually didn’t speak that language.
“I’m listening,” he said soberly. “I am. I get it that you worry. I just—I don’t want to take you with me ’cause this is my choice to be in danger, you hear? It’s not yours. I don’t want you to get hurt—”
“I don’t care about me getting hurt,” Sonny said, his voice breaking. “I care about you out in the desert, dying alone.That’swhat I’m worried about. I get that the world ain’t safe, Ace, but don’t make me send you into the void all alone!”
Ace stared at him, taking his hand and squeezing it, not sure what to do. They’d developed a nice pattern here in the recent years; Ace went out and did the danger, Sonny stayed back and held on to his shit. But for some reason—maybe it was the scope of the thing here, the many people involved, the danger to their friends—Sonny wasn’t willing to settle for that.
While he debated what to do, his phone buzzed, and he saw it was from Ernie, and it wasn’t on group chat, either.
Let him come, Ace. I’ll mind the store.
I thought you were burned out, Ernie.They tried hard not to abuse Ernie’s gift. Ace felt like it had gotten a real workout this week.
This is all hands on deck. George is taking the day off. He’s already called in.
This was news to Ace. He’d thought George was working.
Where’s he going to be?
At the garage. We’ll be like dispatch at a police station, Ace. Me, George, your new guy—we’ll be able to tell you who’s going where. Jai will drop me off early. You and Sonny can take off from there.
Okay, he typed back, dumbly.Why ain’t this on group?
Cause I don’t want Crullers to know.
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Ernie that’s…. He couldn’t think of a word big enough to cover the enormity of lying to Lee Burton. He’d never had a best friend before Lee. Ace didn’t know how to tell him a lie.
