I stand, opening the door, and motion for them to crowd into the office.
Purge makes a sound of appreciation. “Nice digs, man.”
They all stand close to Jax’s desk, waiting.
“Alright, I want to go over the rules of how things operate here,” Jax explains. “The most important thing you need to know is this place is covert. It must be kept a secret. You won’t be able to communicate freely with anyone outside. However, you will be allowed to take calls and make them with disposable phones, after explaining to me who you’re contacting.”
Synn raises a brow. “Our fathers will be blowing us up. Powerful families are deadly serious about contact. They’re going to be looking hard for us.”
Jax nods. “That’s why we have signal and location scramblers throughout the entirety of the property. They won’t be able to track you here.”
Purge whistles. “Nice.”
“Moving on,” Jax continues, “any altercations with any of my team members must be brought directly to me. And no fighting between you in common areas. If you have issues with each other, take them up in the ring we have in the gym. I don’t tolerate disruptions.”
Everyone murmurs agreement.
Pretty Girl pulls 3 in more tightly to her, whispering to him.
I squeeze Cynthia’s hand in reassurance.
“I’m going to tell you about how ZYGOS came about. I started this because of my own experience with trauma, and having fallen to the dark side for a while. I strongly wanted to do something about the innocent getting justice. I met a couple of the others, and we formed ZYGOS. It stands for balance and justice. Every single team member has trauma and shady pasts in common. And now, we have Harris as part of the team.” Jax tells us all.
Nods of appreciation go around the room. I incline my head towards him to continue.
“Lastly, anything you learn here stays here. Now, do you have any questions?”
Cynthia pipes up. “Can I find boyfriends here? Like, my own harem? Like my wifey has?”
“Oh my God,” Pretty Girl cracks up, along with Trikk and Razor.
“Um...” Jax fidgets uncomfortably. “You’re free to get to know whomever you want. Just don’t make a scene about it.”
Cynthia claps loudly. “Yay!”
“Anyone else?” Jax asks.
“I need 3 with me,” Pretty Girl says.
“Already planned, dear.”
“I have a question,” Frost chimes in. “How did you know to look into The Retreat?”
“I received an anonymous tip that had enough receipts with it to render it valid. I had my guys check the validity, of course. I've had my eye on Harris for a while. This seemed the perfect opportunity to try him out.”
“Understood. Thanks.”
“Do we get to pick which room we have? Because I call dibs on a room next to Pazessca,” Synn announces.
“Hell no.” Trikk frowns.
Ghost steps up. “I get the room on the other side.”
Groans go around, and Razor throws his hands in the air.
“Fuck’s sake,” Frost mutters, his face screwed up like he sucked on a lemon.
“Okay, okay.” Jax wrangles the attention back to him. “Any more actual questions?”
