Page 26 of The Team

Rhett cracked an eyelid to see Sid getting up from his chair at the window, comms phone to his ear. He looked over at Rhett and grimaced as he held out the phone. “Director King.”

Rhett’s neck protested as he moved, sitting up. He took the phone Sid offered him and put it to his ear. He could guess from the pale blue light outside that it was maybe six a.m. “Ouston,” he said, voice cracking.

“You disobeyed a direct order,” King said, tone sharp.

“I used field judgement,” Rhett replied. “Remember what that is?”

King growled down the phone, and Rhett liked to imagine the director’s face steaming red. “You will be reprimanded when you get back,” King said. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t pull your arses outta there now, I swear to god, Ouston.”

Rhett got to his feet and made his way to the bathroomso he wouldn’t wake the others. “Because we have two of my team missing, that’s why. And if what I did last night helps in any way to find out any-fucking-thing about the location of my two men, then you can reprimand me all you like.”

Rhett kicked up the toilet seat and, while still on the phone to King, decided to take a piss. He wasn’t in the mood for this bullshit.

“I’m done wasting time,” Rhett said, not giving one fuck that King could hear him pissing. “We’re now at day two, and every minute wasted means less chance of survival. So you either give me some fucking leads, or we’ll go looking for them.”

King’s voice was quiet, his anger reaching its limit before he snapped for real. “I don’t like your attitude, Ouston.”

“And I don’t like being sidelined when two of my men have been fucking taken! I’ve seen what happens to tortured men, Director, and I swear to fucking god, if I find Kowalski and Myles like I found Harrigan and Edwards, I will have the council’s heads on plaques on my living room fucking wall.”

King was quiet.

Sure, Rhett had overstepped, but he wasn’t sorry. He meant it. He could be reprimanded. Hell, they could fire him and threaten him with a dishonourable discharge, but if it got his two men back, then Rhett didn’t care.

“Do you think for one minute we’re incompetent, Captain Ouston?” King said.

“I’m starting to wonder?—”

“There’s a good fucking reason why we had you wait and why you were instructed to not enter that building.Never mind a court martial, I should have you all quarantined,” King gritted out.

Wait.

Quarantined?

King had Rhett’s attention now.

“And I would do exactly that if I thought for one minute you’d listen,” King said. “And if there wasn’t more at stake. But this is bigger than your two men. This is bigger than the Milvus Division. Now, I’m going to tell you exactly what you’re going to do, and so help me fucking god, Ouston, you’re going to listen.”

SIX

Rhett left the bathroom,a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked out to the room where his team had been asleep. They were all now sitting up, waiting for him.

“You’ll have the council’s heads on plaques on your living room wall, huh?” Coyote asked with a grin. “Bet King loved that.”

Then Coyote noticed Rhett’s expression.

“What’s wrong?” Jay asked, standing up. “Did they find Kowalski and Myles? Jesus, Rhett, what is it?”

Rhett shook his head. “Not yet. The pizza box,” he said, nodding to where it still sat on the small table by the window. “No one touch it. Has anyone else touched it? Yin? Sid?”

They both shook their heads.

“Okay, Captain, you’re scaring the kids,” Sid said. “What the fuck’s going on?”

“Possible pathogen contamination,” Rhett said. “There’ll be a specialist crew turning up any minute totake the box and to test me and Yin. We went into the apartment and could’ve been exposed to something.”

“You what?” Azrael looked at Rhett, then to Yin. “You went over there?”

Rhett nodded. “At zero two hundred. I made the call to go.”

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