One asset not answering.
“Change the car,” I say.
My driver doesn’t argue. He takes the next exit.
That’s the second lesson.
Loyalty lasts exactly as long as comfort does.
My phone vibrates.
A burner.
Bad sign.
“They hit Pavel,” my assistant says. “And Chen. And the storage facility in Riverside.”
“Of course they did.”
“They’re moving fast.”
“Yes,” I say.
“They shouldn’t have made the grab,” he says carefully.
I close my eyes.
Just for a second.
“You told me it would work,” he says.
“I told you it might.”
“Saint Lawson is not a man who absorbs threats,” he say. “He retaliates. You tried to take his baby.”
“He’s a Ranger, not a god,” I say.
“No,” he agreed. “But he’s very good at killing things like us.”
The car slows.
I look up. “Why are we slowing?”
The driver’s hands tighten on the wheel.
“We need fuel.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“There’s a roadblock ahead.”
That’s the third lesson.
You don’t see the net until it’s already under you.
“Turn around,” I say.
He does.
