Page 60 of Hell In A Handbasket
“Ew!” Jen throws an entire bottle at Jess’ legs. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Choose your fate, Chief. Choose well.”
“Dare.”
“Fuck,” Archer exhales. “Save us all.”
“I dare us all.” Jess rubs her hands together with glee. “Boys versus girls.”
Piqued, Kane leans forward and narrows his eyes.
“Grand larceny.”
“Noooo.” Fletch slams his palms to his face. “Please, God, no.”
“We walk into town, split into two groups, and snatch something. But it can’t be easy. It’s got to be behind locked doors. Guarded somehow. Has to be valuable. Has to be noticeable. Can’t get seen.”
“This is a crime,” Archer chuckles. “You’re not even asking forpettylarceny. You want grand? Because you think the steel cots at the police station will be more comfortable than the beds on the bus?”
“High risk,” she smirks, “high reward.”
“Petty is a misdemeanour,” he counters. “Grand is a felony.”
“You have Soph!” Cato complains. “She’s got a superpower with technology. And you have Aubree, who can pretty much detect if anyone is around, even without seeing them.” Then he points to me. “You have Mayet, and she’s… she’s…”
Jen giggles. “She’s what, kiddo?”
“She’s cold. She can work under pressure and doesn’t mind seeing death. If, by chance, you kill a security guard or whatever, she knows how to clean up the mess without anyone knowing about it.”
“We’re not killing anyone!” Jess cackles. But then she turns deathly serious and points at Felix. “We’re not killing anyone. Don’t ruin a perfectly fun game with murder.”
“Besides,” Jen adds. “You have Spence… he’s loud and way too large to sneak anywhere.”
Jess snickers. “And Jay. Whose skill is long-range shooting. But seeing as how we’re not killing anyone, guess that makes him the same wasted weight as Spence.”
“Hey! I’m not wasted weight.”
“And we’ve got Christabelle,” Ellie adds. “She’s slow and round. That’ll handicap us a little.”
Debbie scowls. “That’s mean.”
“We have more men than women,” Micah argues. “So maybe we choose our teams differently.”
“I volunteer to be on the girls’ team!” Archer tightens his hold around my hip. “I don’t mind. And I’ll keep ‘em out of prison.”
“Absolutely not.” Jess strides closer and takes my hand, yanking me to my feet. Then she turns and grabs Aubree, too. “Girls versus boys. You have more strength and more bodies. We have brains and beauty. Grand larceny, locked doors, and don’t be super lame by breaking into a jewelry store. Use your imagination.”
“Our imagination?” Troy snaps. “What? You want us to steal the fuckin’ MRI machine from the hospital?”
“Well… notthat. Since they kinda need it. But you’re on the right track. Follow that line of thought.”
“I didn’t agree to this.” Archer stands and grabs my other hand, creating a tug of war and making me the idiot in the middle. “Minka needs her medication and a bed. Not a fucking heist.”
“She picked dare, Detective.” Jess clicks her tongue, bringing Kane up with the speed of a panther—her muscle, her guardian. He places himself between me and Archer and breaks the grip of our hands. “We’ll have to walk into town, since the bus is busted. But we’ll meet back here in two hours. Ready?”
No one is ready.
No one at all.
