Page 5 of Harris

The man wasn’t taking any chances, making Harris grin, knowing that he or his sister could simply lift him along with the laptop and the table if they wished, but he’d keep that to himself.

“New Orleans? I wasn’t aware there was a group based out of that city. The West and East Coasts, yes, but not Southern. What do we have on them?” Harris asked. This was the first time he’d learned about this group. Who were they, and where the hell did they come from?

“They appear to be new on the scene. I’m getting feelers back that indicate they might be an offshoot of the California group,” Brick said. “I’ve made a few calls, and we should have more information before we leave for the airport.”

“The cult?” Jennifer asked, her voice raising slightly. Everyone could understand her fear of that place after only recently being freed from their clutches.

“Yes. We’ve noticed some similarities between the two. They may have dropped the cult front they used in California, but the backers are the same,” Spencer explained. “We’re following the money to make sure.”

“Always follow the money,” Fletcher huffed. “There never seems to be a lack of people willing to fund these extremist organizations.”

“It’s typically the quickest way to the people in control,” Harris agreed.

“We cut off one head, and another grows back someplace else. Like a damn weed,” Shaw grumbled. “Need some serious weed whacking.”

“True, the roots run deep in this organization,” Brick said. “And we need to find the right pesticide.”

“That would be me,” Harris chuckled. “Though I’ve never considered myself a noxious substance.”

“I have,” Brick said, but his grin gave him away.

“Ditto, buddy,” Harris chuffed.

“Okay, so how’s this going to work?” Jennifer asked. “We drop my brother in the middle of New Orleans and hope for the best?”

“Our plan is a bit more precise,” Spencer said without looking up from his laptop. “We’ve sent Conor and Gunner down to get the lay of the land and get eyes on the group. It appears the members work out of a building in the Mid-City area fronting as a local dive bar.”

“Is he supposed to walk in, sit at the bar, and order a drink?” Jennifer asked.

“In a nutshell, yes,” Brick said.

“Seriously?” Harris questioned. “It won’t be that easy.”

“Agreed, it won’t be, but with a few carefully planned confrontations prior to your clandestine drink, it won’t be such a leap,” Gator chuckled.

“Confrontations?” he asked.

“Yes. Your criminal past isn’t a secret,” Stryker said. “We simply run with it. Nothing like a bit of internal team dramaplayed out in front of key players to convince them that we’ve turned our backs on you and won’t come running if you were to go missing.”

“A small group of us head down to New Orleans for a meeting where an argument breaks out, and Harris leaves the team on bad terms. If we play it right, that’s when members of the local Noah Group will move in,” Spencer added.

“And if they don’t?” Harris asked.

Previous experience suggested that even with the best-thought-out plans, nothing ever went exactly according to plan.

“Then we have Harris hang back after the rest of the team leaves. Confirming we’ve parted ways,” Spencer added. “Regroup, pivot, carry on.”

“It’s a fluid plan. We typically have to adjust on the fly with most plans,” Shaw explained. “It’d be more unusual for the plan to go exactly as planned.”

“You’ll leave him there? That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Jennifer said.

“I’m sorry, facts are facts. We aren’t here to make anyone feel better. It’s to stop the Noah Group from tearing apart any more lives,” Brick stated bluntly. “This is a military mission and will be conducted as one.”

Harris agreed. As the always logical Spock said, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.

He waited for things to go flying. His sister wasn’t in the best mood and was protective of the people she loved. No one needed to get hurt. They were all on the same side, even if his sister’s temper may suggest otherwise.

As Brick and Jennifer faced off, the room quieted. Brick’s look brooked no arguments. He was a man used to being in charge and confident in his duty—a leader of men. Jennifer seemedto be sizing him up as the tension rose around them until she finally spoke.

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