Page 59 of DFF: Delicate Freakin' Flower

Eddie tried again, this time in a colder tone. “We know there are more of you. Where are they based? What’s the objective?”

The guy finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “We’re just the first sweep that's meant to locate and clear. There are more are coming if we don’t check in.”

“Who sent you?” Eddie pressed.

He looked at me, then at the can still dangling from my hand, then back at Eddie. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try us,” I urged. “Worst case, I feed you to the swamp rats.”

His eyes darted between the three of us, then dropped to the can again as if it were haunted. “A private company had sent us. We were contracted to extract a package. Look, lady, it's just a mission and a paycheck.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Define ‘package.’”

This time, he clamped his lips tightly together.

“All right,” I sighed dramatically. “Plan B it is.” I walked to the door, real casual-like, then rested my hand on the knob.“Because if I so much as open this door right now, every creature within a mile’s gonna come running. I left some fish chunks out, and trust me, it's the really pungent stuff. They’re probably loitering right now. One twist of this knob, and it’s over.”

“Okay, okay!” he snapped, panicking. “You! It’s you! You’re the damn package. Someone’s paying to have you dragged outta here.”

This wasn’t a new or unexpected revelation, but I still froze. It was the realization that someone wanted me that badly and was such a threat to me that they’d actually hired people to hunt me down.

Eddie stood up straighter, whereas Webb didn’t move, but I saw the sharp tension roll down his back like a wave.

“They didn’t tell us why,” the man continued. “Just that we were to secure you, and anyone else with you was expendable.”

I stepped back from the door slowly, the humor draining from my chest like someone had flipped a switch.

“Thanks for your honesty,” I rasped, my voice sounding flat. Then I turned back and smiled again, sharply this time. “Now, let’s see if your friends are just as chatty.”

The man’s words lingered in the silence like the aftertaste of something bitter and rotting. I was the package, and everyone else was expendable. The disregard for human life by a man who was essentially a petulant brat was so distasteful that I felt like shoving rotten fish up this guy's nostrils just for taking part in it.

The can of expired tuna was still in my hand, but suddenly, it just felt like a prop in a play that I didn’t want to be in anymore. I set it down on the table quietly and turned to face the guy again.

Eddie stood beside him now, not moving except for the slight clench in his jaw. Webb was behind me, arms crossed, but I could feel the way his whole body had gone taut.

“Say that again,” Webb requested, his voice so low it barely had weight to it, but it still filled the room.

The guy swallowed hard. “The orders were to retrieve her alive. It doesn’t matter what state she's in, though. Anyone who saw the retrieval or tried to interfere we were told to eliminate.”

“Who gave the order?” Eddie asked.

“We don’t know names because it's a private contract, but the briefing said she’s been flagged by several groups.”

“And the others?” I asked, my voice sounding strange to my own ears. “The other teams?”

“There are over fifty of us,” he admitted. “We broke down into smaller units, and all went to places with connections to the Townsends.”

Webb stiffened behind me.

“Why the Townsends?” Eddie demanded.

The guy gave a shrug like he knew it wasn’t going to help him. “The brief said they were the most likely to help her, and if anyone would hide her, it’d be them.”

Webb took a step forward. “You’re saying my family’s being watched?”

The guy hesitated, his body tensing like he was weighing his options. For a moment, it looked like he might speak, but instead, he just sat there, silent and uncertain.

“I swear to God,” Webb growled, taking a step closer to the man with his fists clenched.

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