Page 287 of Unexpected Heroine

I crack my neck, folding my hand repeatedly in a give it to me gesture. “Info dump. Pour it on me.”

Klein moves back to the wall, pointing at the grease board with his marker. “We’ve identified five primary areas of focus, represented in each column. Human Trafficking, Drugs, Guns, Cyber, and Financial.” He taps the marker against the headings along the top. “Under each, we’ve got three rows. Initial thoughts, Questions.” Lowering the marker, he waves it in a sweeping motion. “And at the bottom, we’re listing potential Action Steps.”

Mia concludes, “Our plan is to assign them once we’ve fleshed it out further. Obviously, this will be a living, breathing strategy. It’ll change as things unfold.”

“Solid plan.” Nodding along, I find only one glaring oversight in their approach. “Where is Boss on all this? Shouldn’t he be in here?”

“We ordered him to get some rest,” Mia responds.

“Daring, are we?” I joke.

Klein adds, “Aside from playing fast and loose with her life, Mia made a solid point with him. Madeline was exhausted. So he took her home. Sawyer, Sammy, Leo, and Sue went too. They were emotionally and physically spent. They’re no good to us like that, which they recognized. Plus, Boss needed to clear his mind after...” He flicks his eyes to the ceiling.

She finishes for him, “Learning he has a daughter. We told him we’d start on a plan while he rested. He’ll be back this afternoon.”

Lettie’s bombshell and Madeline being shot must have really taken a toll on him if he was willing to leave Redleg. Wouldn’t have expected him to go so soon, all things considered.

Knowing the large part I played in his mental state doesn’t sit well. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it now. The guilt will have to rot in my gut.

Mia sighs, rolling out her shoulders. “Lots of others went home to get things in order, talk to their family members, review safety precautions, and that sort of thing. Even Shep left to talk to Kri. He’s probably pulling Val out of school until this shit settles. More than likely, he’ll bring them to sleep here for a few days. He was on edge after the meeting. Makes sense, considering they were taken by Lenkov’s people once before.”

“I assume they’ll be taking over the bunk room.” Clicking my tongue, I sweep my gaze around the floor. “Guess that means we get mats and find a corner when we need rest.”

Klein shakes his head, explaining, “Peggy is having a few of the downstairs offices converted into temporary bunk rooms in case anyone else wants to sleep here.”

“Also...” Mia scrunches her lips to one side, apprehension coating her features. “Cal and I decided we’re going home at night as usual. To his mom’s house. We won’t wreck her schedule or leave her with strangers. And bringing her here would be a nightmare. Naturally, we’ll take our laptops with us and handle the most pressing shit remotely. Before he left, Boss stressed that this isn’t a short game. No one is expected to uproot their entire lives or be here around the clock. Both are important—family and Redleg.”

My forehead wrinkles, and my lips purse as her words permeate.

On one hand, I’m irked that they aren’t all-in on the mission, ready to dive in with no distractions. On the other hand, I understand their point and respect them for putting family first.

As much as I’d love to take Lenkov down in a week or less, the reality is that this will take time. Looking at the amount of information already scribbled onto the board spells that out in black and white—quite literally.

Incidental to all that, it’s interesting to note how they’ve jumped headfirst into a serious relationship. Seems I missed a lot when I was out taking care of Lettie. No regrets.

Nodding slowly, I concede their point. “Makes sense. I get it. We all just need to take safety precautions when leaving HQ.”

Immediately, my thoughts turn to Lettie, and I start doubting whether leaving her at the women’s shelter is the best course of action. Should I bring her here and stay in a bunk room with her? Could she continue healing inside these walls? Would she feel safer? Would I be more focused knowing she was in an environment where I can control things?

In my heart, I know there’s only one answer.

Once they’ve finished bringing me up to speed, I’ll call Lettie and see if she’s open to it. Her coming voluntarily is preferable to exerting my will over her.

Shaking it off, I redirect us back to the board. “Keep going on this.”

For the next few minutes, they take turns rattling off details.

When there’s a lull in the update, I grab the marker and add two new headers. “Putting Law Enforcement here so we can keep that on our radar. Anything we get needs to be shared and able to help with prosecution. If we keep the lines of communication open on our end, they’re more likely to do the same.”

Klein points at the second header I added. “What do you mean by Internal Crimes?”

“All the illegal shit they’re doing inside their ranks. For example, they kidnapped Savin and Katia as children, forcing them into servitude. I bet there are hundreds of other similar stories of shit we can get them on.”

Mia squeezes my shoulder. “Good thinking, T.”

I shift over to the Human Trafficking column, surveying their initial list.

The names of the six individuals in the house on the night of the rescue are there, four of them with a red X drawn through them. “These are the ones in jail, right?”

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