They moved away, going to sit on a bench, and Elizabeth had a confab with her people.
She was to the point.
“This is a slippery slope. All of our asses would be on the line, even if they took the heat. No one is going to believe that I didn’t know what was going on. We have the best team in the country.”
That was a very true statement.
Ethan was to the point.
“I think we should do it. This person is going to explode and do something dramatic now that we took his collection. My fear is that they can’t handle what’s coming. We can—more than likely. So it’s get in now, or be called back later, when there could be more casualties.”
Callen went next.
“I’m all about handling it. This is a perfect storyline for a book. Count me in. What’s Axelle going to do? Fire me?” he asked, laughing maniacally. “Oh, no, don’t fire me and let me go make more money at my lucrative job.”
She stared at him.
“I’m confused. So you want to do this to become richer and steal the plot, or get fired so you can become richer while still stealing the plot? This seems to be a win-win for you. That’s not motivation for me,” she admitted. “In fact, it’s the opposite.”
He laughed.
“Money hater.”
She rolled her eyes.
Gene went next.
“I like the weird ones. I’m sick like that. As long as we can wrap this up to get home for your award ceremony at the Conference Center, I’m good with doing it. We have backup, and we’re relatively safe on this one.”
He had a point.
She played along, covering her and Ethan’s trail.
“I mean, if I have to cancel and not go get an award from the president, I’m good with that.”
Ethan wasn’t having it.
“You’re going, or Gabe is having you abducted. Let’s not poke that crazy.”
She laughed.
“Good point,” she said, seeing that Gene was still buying into all of this.
For now.
Her agent went next.
Corbin was to the point.
“I want to dance with the cuckoo—other than my partner,” he said, busting Alex’s ass. “The change would be nice.”
The man laughed.
“Well, at least he learns fast. I’m good with it. We’re not running point, which is good because we just came off a case. We can absolutely be your research monkeys as you, Callen, and Gene take lead. I’m in. Axelle is going to be gunning for you, not us.”
Yeah, she was aware.
Elizabeth was honest.
