“No.Fuck off.”Ross pulled his headphones on, spinning to face his computer.
Ford grabbed his chair and yanked the headphones off.“Wrong answer.”
“You’re not the only active case.”
“I’m the only one tracking OX.”Ford needed them to remember they had no active Omega Market cases, no rescues, no big search operations in progress.They had nothing on the books bigger than the risk of OX flooding the streets.“That makes my case the only one that fucking matters.”
Ross actually looked guilty and grabbed his headphones to put over his ears.“I’m working on it.His friends are slippery bastards and all the usual trails have gone cold.They must be well established or getting help, because there’s no way drug dealers are staying off my radar for more than an hour.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”Ford sipped his coffee, mulling over the problem.The difficulty wasn’t in understanding or caring why Lincoln was getting help, it was tracking who had provided that help and what they were getting from it.He knew about the Scratch lead, but that was going slower than a snail.They needed a lead that would get them moving before anyone else got dosed with OX, or the worst-case scenario—an epidemic of OX on the street.
They might be busy now, but if that happened they’d be rushed off their feet with overdoses and deaths, assaults, and vigilante mates and family members.
Ross made a face at his coffee cup, so Ford rolled his eyes and stood to make him a fresh coffee from the pot.When Ross reached for the cup, Ford held tight and raised an eyebrow.“These bastards have their hands on OX, which is supposed to be off the production line.They’ve disappeared off your radar, and they’re targeting an omega on the whim of a random college kid.This isn’t an underage alpha with raging hormones, this is organised.”
Ross gave him a dark look and huffed.
“Get the job done!”Ford handed Ross the coffee and stormed out, heading for his office.He was sick of this.If no one else had answers, he’d find them himself.He grabbed his mobile and made the first of three phone calls.“Boss, I need more resources.”
“Good afternoon, Ford,” Wynna replied, calm and unruffled.“I must commend you for going back to work.”
He shoved open the door to the main offices.“I ain’t putting up with this shit.It’s been a week since Lucky got taken and ain’t nobody got any answers while I were gone,” he barked, heading for his desk and stopping two steps into the room when a newbie stepped in front of him.“Whatcha gawking at, rookie?”
The young alpha startled and ducked his head to walk around him.
“Don’t terrorise the recruits,” Wynna said on a harried sigh.“I rather like this new lot.They have more balls than the last few we’ve let go.Shockingly, they rather remind me of you.Why that would be a good thing, I’m not sure.”
Ford grabbed the back of his office chair and let her words wash over him.He wasn’t yet obsolete and he wasn’t overreacting.“Ross can’t even track these bastards that Lincoln got involved with.Until we find them, Lucky ain’t gonna be safe,” he explained, feeling like a whiny child complaining to his mother.He rummaged through the paperwork on his desk to find his access code for the internal system.
Wynna hummed, her voice echoing from a distance.“Not there, sweetheart.Lower or you won’t reach it, next time.”
“You got me on speaker with the monster running loose?”
Wynna laughed, water splashed in the background.“I’m afraid I had no choice.My hands are full.I’m covered in dough.Philip kindly answered the call for me.Don’t worry.He’s heard worse from his parents, when they were arguing,” she admitted, rueful and disappointed.
“They ain’t his parents no more,” he growled in objection.
“You have been a thorn in my side since I met you,” Wynna retaliated with a distinct lack of bite, “but you have endured more than most and still have your sanity.You remain a fully functioning alpha, with no lasting psychological harm, though I imagine your body would have thanked you if you hadn’t been so aggressive on missions.”
The criticism wasn’t unfounded.Ford had a fucked-up shoulder, a knee that gave out with excessive exertion, and had been warned that one more close explosion or head wound would have him suffering severe consequences later in life.
Ford found his access code and propped his phone between his shoulder and cheek.He swiped the mouse to start his screen and opened the confidential files.
A smile entered Wynna’s voice as Pip sang in the background.“You are and have always been my best agent.You are the alpha I see my son becoming, and I couldn’t be prouder of him for that evolution,” she said, startling him with the comparison.“You’re right.It’s taking too long to find these thugs.I’ll check in with the team this evening and get back to you.”
Water ran on the other end of the call, as he printed the documents he needed to settle his mind about the future.“Thanks.”As the printer spat out three sheets of paper, he lifted them and logged out for the day.“Will ya put the monster on?”He grabbed his phone with one hand while he folded the papers and tucked them into his back pocket.
Wynna huffed as he lifted his jacket off the back of his chair.“Philip, sweetheart.Ford would like to talk to you.”
A click suggested the phone had been picked up, or switched from speaker to a private call.“Hello, sir.”
Ford headed out the building, waving to colleagues who called a goodbye.“I was jus’ teasing ya ‘bout that,” he admitted, though it was cute he’d done it.
Pip giggled a happy, light sound.
“How ya feelin’?”He juggled his jacket and the phone as he reached the front lobby.As it was pissing with rain, he stopped inside the entrance and wrangled his jacket on as they talked.
“Okay.”
