Page 81 of The Team

Would he catch every word?

Maybe not.

But Jay would know if shit was about to go south or if Zihao told them something he shouldn’t have.

Not that Rhett expected him to, but it didn’t hurt to know.

Zihao asked King for his laptop, which he handed over dutifully, and a few moments later, everything that Yunho had sent through to them was now on the screen at the front of the room.

Images of Frankston and photos of Wong Bo-chen, thenof his home. It was an island fortress, something out of a James Bond movie. The same location where Yunho believed Jun-mei was being held.

And Rhett knew the moment Zihao mentioned her because the three senior officials all glanced at Yin. Yin stood stock still. His only tell was the slightest flare of his nostrils.

But Zihao kept the meeting on point, quickly moving on to the next set of images. One general asked some questions, while the other nodded, the third concentrated on the images.

And for twenty minutes, Yin and Chen never moved a muscle, and not once was Rhett asked for any input. Hell, King wasn’t even asked.

Then Zihao turned to the team and smiled, gesturing to the officer by the door. “Officer Wei shall show you to the amenities.” And just like that, they were dismissed.

Rhett followed Officer Wei, his team behind him, to a large hall-like cafeteria where they were shown to three tables in particular, in the far corner.

But then Officer Wei stopped in front of Yin and Chen. He saluted Yin. “Fù-shé.” Yin nodded, maybe even almost smiled, and replied a greeting in a sharp friendly tone.

Then Wei looked up at Chen and broke out in a grin. He slapped Chen’s shoulder and Chen picked Wei up in a bear hug, laughing.

Christ. Yep, everyone loved him.

Yin looked on fondly but then turned to the team. “Tea, coffee, any food you would like, you can have,” he said, gesturing to the cafeteria line.

Jay and Azrael were roped into Chen’s conversationwith Wei, so Rhett shook his head and smiled. “No thanks. Tell me, what was said back there?”

Yin sat down beside him. “Formalities. A brief rundown. I can tell you they won’t have liked us having satellite information on their civilians or locations, but they will appreciate our transparency. And they will appreciate our asking for assistance.” Yin’s brows pinched. “Our inclusion into the Milvus Division is good for politics.”

Rhett knew that. Milvus was a geopolitical game of chess, and anyone would be a fool to believe otherwise.

“It’s all political; everything we do,” Rhett said. “When Milvus was first formed, it was with good intentions. I do believe that, and I continue to believe in what it should stand for. We were supposed to be above the political bullshit. Starting wars for oil and shipping ports. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ. That’s what we were supposed to prevent. But there’ll always be political motives. Our own governments will always try and manoeuvre us on the chess board for the best advantage points.” Rhett shrugged. “Yours. Mine. Each of us. Makes no difference. We’re still just pawns in the game.”

Yin sighed and looked back at Chen, Jay and Azrael talking to Wei. He seemed enamoured with Azrael’s beauty and Jay’s accent. Another soldier had joined them now.

“Lucky Sid is not watching,” Yin said with a smirk, nodding to where Sid, Echo, and Coyote were inspecting the food in the fridges. “They’re not used to seeing a pretty blonde French woman in combat gear.”

Rhett smiled at them, at Az playing along, and at Jay laughing. He was so damn lucky to have him here withhim every day, every mission. But it reminded Rhett that Yin didn’t have that.

“Zihao mentioned Jun-mei,” Rhett whispered. “What did they say about that?”

Yin gave a tight shake of his head. “Zihao said the hostage was known to me, that was all. That we believe she was taken to lure us here, to set us up, but we didn’t know to what end.”

“Do you think they’ll help us?”

Yin nodded. “Yes. But for what price, I don’t know. Information on the bioweapon, maybe? A simple press release saying that it was the People’s Liberation Army who helped take down a global enemy?” He shrugged. “I don’t know these political games. At the end of the day, I’m just a soldier; I follow orders. And I just want to get Jun-mei back. At first, I wanted to get her out of this country...” He shook his head, his eyes meeting Rhett’s. “Now I just want her safe.”

“We’re gonna make sure that happens,” Rhett said. “With help from your guys or not.”

Yin held Rhett’s gaze for a long beat, searching his eyes before looking away. He scrubbed a hand over his face and laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I see you look at him,” he whispered. “At Jay. Out in the open, in front of others. No hiding.” He sucked air in and let out a shaky exhale. “That’s what I want. That’s all I want. To not hide as if it’s shameful. I’m not ashamed of her. That’s not?—”

“Hey, I get it. I understand,” Rhett said. “You don’t have to explain. It’s not shame; it’s fear for her safety.”

Yin sighed and looked around the large cafeteria, at the tables at the other end where soldiers were watching them with curiosity or annoyance. Rhett found it hard to tell.

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