Page 117 of Home of the Brave

“C required at least one international flight, so really, he should be grateful it didn’t come to that either. He probably would have missed the last game,” Derek pointed out.

“What?” They were reaching new levels of delusion with the schemes. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

Madi and Amelia shared a sly smile.

“Probably for the best,” Amelia winked.

“It also means we can keep those in case of another emergency,” Madi told Kendall.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Don’t lose that pilot’s contact information, just in case.”

“In case of––” I shook my head. “No. Never mind.”

“Good boy,” Madi patted my shoulder. "Don't ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

They were terrifying sometimes.

“Now that the next phase of the plan is in place, what do we do about––” Amelia side-eyed me. “That.”

Was I that?

“Oh, I sent an email around three this morning.” Madi checked her phone. “There should be a response within the next few hours.”

“An email about what?” I asked.

Kendall looked at me like she forgot I was there, then stepped to form a tight circle with the women. As if they could ignore me better if I were out of sight. Two feet away.

“It's best not to ask.” Hartman crossed his arms over his chest.

“It’s scary how efficient they are,” Derek agreed.

“But what is the new phase? These interviews? They were my idea.”

The three women snickered, and I glared at them. “It was.”

“Keep thinking that, sweetie.” Madi waved me off like a silly child.

“It was!” I looked at the guys for support. “I sent the text this morning.”

“Yup,” Kendall winked. “You sure did.”

“Because it was my idea. That I came up with.”

Amelia looped her arm with the two of them. “They’re so cute when they think they’re smart.”

They walked away, and I stood stunned and confused.

“How could they possibly take credit for this?” I asked the guys.

“Again, you don’t want the answer to that,” Derek looked unbothered.

“They’re pretty good at making us think we came up with ideas on our own. Sometimes they admit they masterminded it; sometimes they let us have the win.” Schultz shrugged.

“But they didn’t come up with this. None of them even mentioned Victoria’s accounts to me,” I argued.

“Oh, Josh, you innocent fool. Once they have a plan in place, you won’t even realize it until it’s already done. If anything, they’re giving you a clue to get you to catch up.” Hartman slapped me on the back. “Come on, let’s go find our seats.”

They started walking down the tunnel while I remained frozen. Was I losing my mind? Have they inceptioned me? Would I know if they had?