Page 39 of Raven's Claw
“Cross.Thomas Cross.”
“No, shit.”Foster shook his head.“He was a legend, too.Ran maneuvers in Africa.Hardcore.Story was he went MIA during an op.”
“No one gets to keep their past.I’m sure my mere presence caused him a bunch of backlash, but… He tried to save me, and for that, I owe him.”
Zain cleared his throat.“Right, so, where’s this dead-drop site?”
She sighed.“About that…”
“We’re not going to like it, are we.”
“It’s in a cabin up in the forested hills about an hour outside of town.”
Zain frowned, looking at his buddies.“And that’s a problem because…”
“Because I haven’t been able to easily access it.The only suggestion of a trail I could find was washed out.The forest is insane, even by my standards, and the whole thing’s surrounded by steep, slick cliffs.And I suspect that once I do reach the place, there’ll be surprises I’ll have to disarm, or at least avoid, before making it to the door.”
Jordan ran her fingers through her hair.“It’s not that I can’t, and given the right motivation, I will.But it could easily be a one-way trip.”She shook her head.“Maybe several months on the outside has taken a toll.Maybe I’m not as savvy as I once was.”
Zain chuckled.“Or maybe, your heart wasn’t fully in it.”
She glanced at Kash.Smiled.“That, too.Which is another level of crazy.Scythe and Rook have only two rules.Unconditional loyalty and no attachments.”
Kash reached out and grabbed her hand.“Then, it’s a good thing you’re not with Scythe, anymore.And that the guy you broke that last rule for, has friends who fly helicopters.”
She looked over at Foster and Mac.“Rook knows I’m here, now.He’ll have satellites constantly scanning the area.I doubt he’ll miss a chopper hovering over a secluded section of forest.I wouldn’t put it past the man to have a damn Apache on standby.”
Foster grinned.“Won’t be my first encounter.Doubt it’ll be my last, so… You worry about avoiding bombs and how you’re gonna download everything, and leave getting there to me and Mac.”
“Nyx will make short work of the bombs.”Kash gave her head a scratch.“She’s trained in various scent work, explosives being one of them.”He nudged Jordan.“It came in handy grabbing assets from enemy strongholds.Which only leaves the tech side of things.”
“Pretty sure I can handle that.I did spend fifteen years running missions.”She tapped her head.“I know my way around a computer.”
“Or, you can let me handle it.”Bodie stepped up.He’d been noticeably quiet throughout the meeting, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he fit in.“There’s not much I can’t hack my way into.”
“I don’t plan on this requiring any hacking.”
“Which is your first mistake.There’s always hacking.”
She eyed Kash, then nodded at Bodie.“Are you saying that as part of this team or as Greer’s deputy?”
Bodie arched a brow.“Does it matter?”
“I assume you have a different set of protocols depending on who’s holding your leash.”
“You really do see things differently.I’m just here to help out Foster and his crew.They pulled my ass out of a nasty situation once upon a time, and I still feel like there’s red in my ledger.”
Foster clapped the guy on the back.“We’ve been over this.”
“And we still disagree.”Bodie crossed his arms.“We good, Jordan?”
She eyed him for a few moments, but he seemed genuine.“Golden.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”
She simply shrugged, then looked Kash’s crew in the eyes.“Not to be a broken record, but are you all sure…”
“Too late.We already know your secrets.No backing out now.Though… I do have one last question.”Chase stepped closer.“What’s your code name?”
