Page 36 of Code Name: Tank
“Ever been camping? Real camping, not the luxury version?”
The question caught me off guard. “Once or twice. My dad used to take me before—” I stopped, not ready to share that much. “Why?”
“There’s something honest about sleeping in a tent. No pretense, no games.”
Was he deliberately steering us away from heavier topics? When I met his gaze, I caught his second wink, which confirmed my suspicion.
The gesture shouldn’t have affected me the way it did. Tank’s easy confidence and his protective instinct that made him shield me from my own tendency to overthink.
“Speaking of family traditions,” he said, settling back on his hands, “my parents are coming here for Thanksgiving next week. My sister too, with her kids. Atticus will be joining us—I managed to rent one of the camps on the lake for the long weekend.”
My chest tightened at the image he painted. “That sounds wonderful.”
“It’ll be chaos,” he said with obvious affection. “My mom will cook enough food for an army, my dad will tell the same terriblejokes he’s been telling for thirty years, and my niece and nephew will probably try to convince everyone to go swimming even though it’ll be freezing.”
I found myself smiling despite the ache the description created. “You’re lucky to have that.”
“I know.” His voice softened. “What about you? Any Thanksgiving plans?”
“I usually just work through holidays. Quieter that way.”
Tank’s expression shifted. Before he could say whatever was forming in his mind, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then at me. “Atticus. Says Flint’s getting agitated.”
“As much as I’d like to say ‘let him,’ we should head back,” I said, already reaching for my shoes.
Tank grinned and did the same.
By the timewe returned to the command center, Flint was pacing near the windows while Alice worked at her station, one hand occasionally resting on her stomach. Atticus looked up from his tablet when we entered.
“You need to take this investigation seriously,” Flint snapped the moment we walked through the doors, his eyes boring into mine. “Every hour we delay gives these operatives more time to coordinate their next round of thefts.”
I braced myself for Tank’s response, expecting the controlled but firm pushback that his military background would dictate. Instead, he didn’t say a word. He sat down at the table where we’d been working previously, his lack of reaction giving away nothing.
Flint either missed his warning signs or chose to ignore them. “I can see why you haven’t made more progress,” he continued, his tone carrying just enough condescension to make my teeth clench. “Here I thought I was dealing with the bestteam of agents and operatives in the world.” He shook his head. “If they’re here, I sure as hell haven’t met any of them yet.”
The casual dismissal of our work and the implication that Tank and I lacked the competence to handle a sophisticated threat crossed a line that even Flint should have recognized. Again, I waited for Tank to respond, to put Flint in his place. Instead, he opened his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and acted as though Flint hadn’t said a word.
As much as I wanted to storm out and tell him to go fuck himself, I opted to take a page from Tank’s book. I sat down beside him, opened my laptop, and sifted through the personnel data Alice had compiled from Tex’s analysis. Atticus quietly moved closer to our work area, positioning himself where he could support our analysis.
Twenty minutes later, Flint rested his hands on the table and leaned closer. “I’ve received intel we need to discuss. Privately.”
I raised my head. “Tank and I are the leads on this investigation. Any information you have needs to be shared with both of us.”
Tank stood, but rather than back me up, he walked over to one of the small conference rooms and motioned Flint and me inside. By the time I turned to take my seat, the door was shut, except Tank wasn’t inside; only Flint and I were.
“That guy’s either got some serious PTSD he’s dealing with, or he took one too many hits to the head somewhere in his career.”
“Say one more word to disparage him, and I won’t care if you can bring this entire investigation to a close tomorrow. I’ll get you thrown out on your ass and back into protective custody so fast your head will spin right off your piece-of-shit body.”
Flint’s eyes flared, then he did one of the two things he shouldn’t. He shook his head and laughed.
I got up and grabbed my laptop, but before I could walk out, Tank came in with Alice and Admiral, and Atticus close behind them.
“Pierce here says he received intelligence important enough that we all need to hear it.”
Alice scooted past Flint, nudging him out of her way as she took a seat on the other side of me. Atticus settled into a chair near Tank, pulling out his tablet to follow the discussion.
Tank motioned for Admiral to take a seat.
