"Absolutely. Tabitha would have her team out there now if she could, but they're on a sticky job. She can get them to you within the day if your life is in danger, but it potentially putsother lives on their current job at risk, so she's hoping you can stay holed up for a bit."
"Who is Tabitha?" I frowned. It hurt my nose, so I forced myself to keep my expression neutral.
"She's a contractor," Remington said, like that was obvious. "Azura offered to pay her for your gig, but to be honest, I bet she'd do it for free. I could practically hear her salivating when I told her Numlock6 was behind this."
"I didn't even know that was their name," I admitted.
"Perfectly reasonable," Remington replied, his voice bright. "Listen, Evelyn, here's all you need to know. You accidentally stepped in a pile of shit, but in doing so, you attracted the world's best shit cleaners. We've been waiting to take care of this mess. You're just giving us a way in."
"Wait, you're the shit scooper in this analogy?" Benjamin asked, scrunching his face.
"Bonafide shit scoopers, at your service," Remington replied happily. "Step one, get you some security. We actually appreciate that you don't want to involve the authorities in this—they'll start digging around and send the whole group into hiding again. But we do need to keep you safe, so I've already sent a team to equip your property with a security system that will give you ample time to get inside your home if they breach its sensors. You have a grandmother and cousin on the property, too, right?"
I blinked at the phone. "I do."
"Right, so make sure they know that when the alarm goes off, they should get inside their home and lock the doors. It will be perfectly safe if they do that." I heard typing on Remington's side. "Dr. Frost, will you be staying with Evie until Tabitha can get her team there?"
"That's the plan," Benjamin replied calmly. Like this wasn't the craziest fucking thing to ever happen to him. Maybe it wasn't. I didn't know, really.
"Tabitha is sending you defensive equipment commensurate with your military training if that's alright," Remington said.
I raised my eyebrows at Benjamin, and he made a face like that made sense. "Alright. But you do realize that I was part of that ODA as a field doctor, yes?"
"I read your file," was all Remington said.
I studied Benjamin's calm expression, wondering for the first time if there was more to my flirtatious, snarky doctor than there first appeared to be. Come to think of it, the way he'd tackled that man to the ground and had him incapacitated before I could blink probably should have tipped me off to that. Benjamin glanced at me with a touch of concern. "She was attacked in a store today. They broke her nose and took a sample."
"I know," Remington said. "I'm tapped into the game, now. We saw that one of the players moved on to the next step. That's why I rushed the security setup for tomorrow. I'd ask you to move locations, Evelyn, but I know your apiary is the sole source of income for your family."
That was oddly touching coming from a creepy hacker guy who wasgladI didn't want to involve the police in these shenanigans. "Thank you," I said hesitantly.
"Dr. Frost is being modest, but you're in good hands," our new hacker friend went on. "We also have a loose plan coming together for how we can get you out of their game and their system for good and still bring down the organization. Maybe. If you're willing to help us."
I still wasn't sure who "us" was, if this was some real-life Justice League or disgruntled CSI agents gone rogue, but it wasn't like I had any other options available to me. "I'm willing to help."
Benjamin didn't seem happy about that. "Help, how?"
"I'll get you details when we have a better plan. For now, I'm monitoring their movements the best I can from my not-quite-inside networking. I'll get tipped off to some of their movements and give you a heads up if I can, and your security system will ping me when needed. Tabitha will be in touch as soon as she can. Stay buttoned up there on your property and take it easy."
That sounded strangely reasonable. "Alright."
"We'll keep in touch. Lucky you all had friends with connections," Remington said, just as cheery as he'd been in the beginning. "Any questions for me?"
I had many questions, but I wasn't sure he could answer any of them. More than anything, I wanted to know that Nan and Tessa would stay safe and this whole thing might be over soon. I rubbed my forehead, so tired, my thoughts felt thick like cotton. "I'm not sure."
"It's been a long day," Benjamin added, patting my bare foot. "We'll email you if we have questions. You said the security system is showing up tomorrow?"
"Yeah, first thing. Keep your phones on you so I can get in touch if I get a tip off," Remington said with a touch of seriousness.
"Will do." Benjamin hung up, and his eyes traveled over me with concern. "You okay?"
I flopped back on the couch, adjusting the ice pack on my swollen face. "Do you think if I go to sleep right now, I'll wake up and this will all be gone?"
He stood, balanced his hand on the back of the couch, and bent over so his eyes could lock with mine. "Stop trying to get rid of me."
I swallowed. "So you've said."
He angled his face away. "You've wounded my pride again. I'm not sure my ego can recover if you don't find me irresistible."
