“The steel yard,” I admit quietly.
Parker swears before disappearing up the stairs to no doubt grab Jacob and Hayden. Just as I’m reaching down to grab the phone, the dot disappears from the screen.
Location: lost
No fucking way. The boys fly down the stairs to surround me in the dining room. I lift my phone and wave it at them, suddenly frantic at what the lost signal could mean.
“Reid must’ve installed a tracker on our phones. It showed him at the steel yard, but a moment ago it disappeared. It’s gone… what if…. Oh my God, Reid.”
I fly out the front door, shoeless, and jacketless in the freezing morning air. A shout from behind me roots me to the spot as I rapidly look up and down the street. Where the hell is my bike?
“Put your goddamn shoes and jacket on, Dante. You think you’re going to save him without any weapons? Jesus Christ,”Hayden swears from the front stoop, arms raised in frustration. He points at the stoop while glaring at me. “Get back here. I feel like a fucking mom right now.”
I guess he is right. I can’t save Reid without weapons. Hayden helps me put on my shoes, then lovingly slides my harness over my shoulders. His hands are trembling slightly as he pats my guns in place. When his gaze lifts to mine, Hayden’s eyes are sure and hard.
“We are going to get him back,”Hayden promises.
“Did you talk to Robin?” I ask quietly.
Hayden swallows loudly and glances away. “They just told me to do whatever I needed to get Reid back, clean the scene, and they’ll worry about the rest.”
“Permission to kill?”
Hayden nods. “Everyone.”
And that brings a real smile to my face.
We’re all finishing getting ready while Mason shifts awkwardly onto his feet. Parker looks over at him with a bemused, fond sort of look, before quickly shaking his head as if scared of himself.
“I don’t want to stay here alone… what if they come for me next?” Mason asks timidly.
“You’re coming with us,” Parker says with finality.
Jacob and Hayden glance at each other, but shrug in acceptance of Parker’s decision. We all load into the car together, with Mason sitting in the front so that no one accidentally touches him. After the whole medicine debacle yesterday, it’s pretty obvious he has some touching issues. Combined with the nose tap that he and Reid do, it’s probably gone on for a very long time.
The ride to the steel yard is quiet. Parker glances in the rearview mirror more than usual, probably to check we aren’tbeing tailed. My heart thrums away in my chest. I can see my heartbeat in my eyes. Jacob leans hard against my shoulder, bringing me back to reality when my thoughts start to shift to all the awful what-ifs that ran through my mind last night. Reid is going to be fine, I say over and over in my head. My new mantra.Maybe I can will it into being true. The universe owes me at least that.
Parker parks the SUV a few blocks from the steel yard. We don’t have the cover of night to hide us, but we have guns, and Jacob which is almost just as good. Jacob leans forward in the seat to aim his hard gaze through the windshield. His eyes trail over the barbed fence, the security guard booth, and the gate that locks access to the yard. Containers dot the horizon as far as the eye can see.The stench of trash filters in through the air vents, which will no doubt double once we step out of the car.
Mason shifts awkwardly in the front seat. Finally, after what feels like forever, Jacob leans back and points toward the east side of the yard.
“Cameras won’t see that spot there,” Jacob points out with perfect confidence. “We can slip in, then pick our way through the containers. Let me lead so I can spot the security weaknesses.”
Jacob opens the car door, and holds his hand out for Hayden. Their fingers tangle for a brief moment, before Hayden drops Jacob’s hand like he’s been burned the moment he’s safely outside. I climb out, feeling an odd sense of finality to the moment. Either I bring Reid home, or I do something so drastic even Robin can’t clean the scene or keep me out of jail. Parker comes around to Mason’s side of the car, and opens his door.Parker’s fingers turn white where he gripsthe metal, eyes firmly on the man sitting safely inside the vehicle.
“Get in the back seat, lie down, keep the car locked no matter what you hear.” Parker holds the keys out to Mason and waits for Mason to hesitantly take them in his hand. Once Mason is safely ensconced in the back seat, Parker slams the door shut, and tilts his head in wait for Mason to lock it.
The car door locks and Parker breathes a heavy sigh of relief. We all follow behind Jacob as he leads us toward the fence's vulnerable spot. Keeping one hand on a gun, I follow behind Jacob to slip through the sliver of space between the fence posts. The sun beams over us, but my skin is chilled from the cold air. The scent of metal and sewage lingers over the steel yard, bad enough to make me bite down the urge to gag. I will not puke before the mission has even really begun.
Jacob pads softly along the metal containers, urging us to turn at the whim of the security system weak points. He lifts a hand for us to stop when the sound of voices rise above the cry of vultures above us. The voices are speaking in Russian, so I can’t understand a word, but Hayden tilts his head like a dog waiting for a treat.
When Hayden breaks the line and heads to the left, Jacob reaches out to grab him but is a second too late. A moment later the sound of two bodies dropping to the ground echoes around us. Hayden returns while carefully slipping his gun back into the holster.
Hayden points straight ahead, mimes something that I don’t understand, then squints his eyes at Jacob. They stare each other down for a hard moment until Jacob seemingly gives up. I don’t understand these two and I never will. Haydenshifts to be in front now with Jacob close at his back, almost breathing down Hayden’s neck. Any other time Hayden would’ve elbowed him hard enough to steal Jacob’s breath, but for some reason he’s putting up with the strange behavior now.
After more seemingly endless walking, we come to stop outside a beaten-down-looking warehouse. Hayden dips quickly and we all follow. Lifting up slightly, I spot three men standing around the warehouse, smoking cigarettes and murmuring amongst themselves. Parker sighs loudly to my right, before lifting the rifle strapped to his back. He takes a few seconds to set it up, squints one eye, taps the gun three times, then rapidly pulls the trigger until all three men are dead on the ground.
Hayden’s grin is terrifying. “We’re so good at this. It’s like a video game.”
