CHAPTER FORTY-SIX - DANNY
The Watsons lead me into the back room of the cottage, which is a large eat-in kitchen with a cozy living room. There’s even a fireplace and large floor-to-ceiling windows spanning the entire back wall that look out into yet another perfect backyard.
This one isn’t a garden. It’s a lawn coming to life in the spring. And in the center is a pavilion that covers a playground.
Only this playground is a foam pit and little Andra is climbing up a stack of large foam blocks. She spies me through the window and waves, shouting, “Come play jumps with me, Danny!” in her weird, little-kid accent that still makes her sound like she’s from Brooklyn.
“Does she need speech therapy?” I wonder aloud.
“The fuck you on about?” Charlie says.
“She talks weird.”
“She’s two,” Eliza snaps.
“Yeah,” I say, still watching Andra as she jumps down into the pit filled with bits of cut-up foam. “Makes sense I guess.”
“You ready to focus?” Russell asks, bringing up a satellite view of the estate we broke Alec out of… yesterday. Jesus. Life sure can turn on a dime, can’t it?
I nod and pretend to pay attention. Christine and Alec are still in the other room and I can hear them murmuring quietly. Having some kind of personal discussion.
They need that discussion and I knew it was coming, so that’s why I gave them some alone time. But when I glance at Eliza, she’s chewing her thumb, nervously glancing in the direction of the murmuring.
They’re talking about her and she knows this. Probably Andra too.
Does Eliza love him?
Yes. For sure. And every one of her brothers knows this. Which is why they made a big deal with all the alpha-male posturing.
They hate Alec. And half of them probably hate me too. But Russell doesn’t. I don’t know why Russell and I get along like long-lost cousins, we just do.
Russell slaps me upside the head. “You here with us, mate?”
“Standing right here,” I say.
“Yeah?” he says. “Cause you look about a million kilometers away.”
I am a million kilometers away. For good reason. These Watsons can make all the plans they want and I’m happy to pretend I’m cool with it. But Alec is calling the shots for this little operation. So I give no shits what Russell is going on about.
“No, I’m listening,” I say, looking at the satellite map, then snap my attention back at the door when Alec and Christine appear holding hands.
I glance at Eliza out of instinct. She lets out a long breath. Then I glance at Alec and Christine, both of whom are watching Andra play outside.
I nod my head at Christine and without even looking in my direction she nods back.
That’s our little secret language for:
Me: You OK with it?
Her: We worked it out.
Me: Good, because you know this kid is cool as fuck, right?
Her: Shut up, Danny.
Just like that. Goes exactly like that.
“Do you three mind if we stop all these secret looks and mental fuckin’ conversations and get back to the job at hand?” Russell asks, directing that comment to Alec.
And now we can. Because Alec is here.
There’s the usual production of going over the perimeter of the map. We collect all the intel we got from yesterday’s venture and collate it into something cohesive. And there’s a lot of talk about sneaking and stealth. We’ll have weapons, of course. But this time there’ll be no distraction. We are going in quietly, completing the mission now called Kill Lars, and exiting without fanfare.
“And then Bob’s your uncle,” says Russell, “that’ll be that.”
Of course, it’ll never happen that way. Too many variables, too many people, too much acreage on that fucking plot of land.
But we all feel better once it’s decided.
Two teams. There’s a fair bit of loud protests and arguing over this part but in the end it will be me, Charlie, and Brenden on Team Danny and Eliza, Russell, Alec, and Christine on Team Alec.
Russell tried to stick Christine with me but Alec squashed that idea before it even fully materialized.
“I need Christine with me,” Alec said. And his tone left no more room for discussion.
And for a split second I wonder… does he want to confront them both together? Get some answers from Lars and Christine before he takes his brother’s life for betraying him?
Because that would be counterproductive in my opinion.
But Alec hears my question, even though I never said it out loud, and looks at Christine to shake his head.
That’s our little secret language for:
Alec: It’s over now, Christine. I just need you by my side when the shit goes down.
Christine: I know that, asshole. It was Danny’s stupid question, not mine.
Eliza sighs in the wake of this and Russell says, “Stop fuckin’ doing that.”
And then everyone, including us, looks at him like he’s lost his mind.
I think that’s why Russell and I get along. He hears my secret language. Not Alec’s or Christine’s. Just mine, for some reason.
This is what links us. Like it or not, the Watsons are here to stay. It just took us all the better part of five years to understand that point.
We spend the next several hours preparing and then, just a few minutes past midnight, we get in two separate vehicles and make the long drive up to complete Mission: Kill Lars.