Touch & Geaux

He carefully got out of bed and shuffled to the table for his clothes. The glass wasn’t empty after all. It was full of water, and two pills sat beside it. Zane’s stomach lurched again. Ty had left ibuprofen for the hangover he knew Zane would have.



“Goddamn you, Ty.”



He got dressed quickly, downed the pills, and very carefully avoided making eye contact with the label of that bottle. He could hear the murmur of voices downstairs, and he hustled to join them.



He stopped short at the head of the steps. He could hear Ava speaking, but she was speaking over the murmur of male voices. She wasn’t involved in the conversation the others were having. She sounded like she was on the phone. He strained to hear what she was saying, but he couldn’t make out the words. She was speaking in hushed tones, and something about it pinged Zane’s alarms. He searched all over the hallway, trying to figure out where her voice was coming from. He finally found a small air vent in the ceiling. Was she upstairs? Or was she down? Was there even an upstairs?



Zane waited a few more seconds, trying to make out anything she was saying. The conversation had stopped, though. Zane ran a hand through his messy hair and took a deep breath, trying to talk himself into going downstairs.



Flashes of last night were coming to him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to face Ty after what he’d said and done.



“We have to go on the offensive here,” Nick said as Zane made his way down the steps. “It’s the only thing they won’t expect.”



“How?” Owen asked.



“Ambush them,” Ty said. His low growl sent shivers up Zane’s spine. “Set up a meet with bait. Scout out a meeting place, take them out when they show themselves.”



“Just like that?” Kelly asked.



“Just like that.”



Zane moved around the table to one of the empty chairs. He sat opposite Ty and crossed his arms. Everyone was silent and tense, glancing at Zane as if they expected him to blow up like he had last night. Ty narrowed his eyes at him. Zane had to avert his gaze, examining the tabletop instead. In the periphery, he could see the remains of the barstool and table he had destroyed, neatly swept into a corner.



If Zane had to guess, Ty had stayed up all night cleaning up the mess.



Digger finally grunted to break the silence. “That’s all great, in theory. But how do we contact them?”



Ty tore his attention away from Zane and gestured at Liam. “Can you get in touch with them?”



Liam gave a curt nod. “Sure, Grady. I’ll just call them up and explain to them the situation. That I fucked off on their job because I found a pissed off Recon team instead of one easy target. And then I’ll ask them what hotel they’re staying at. Just for shits and giggles. It’s flawless.”



“All right,” Ty grunted.



“Flawless, I say.”



“All right! Do you know how to get in touch with them or not?”



“You’ll get yourselves killed.”



“Do you really care if we do?” Nick asked.



“If you’re going to bugger off and get yourselves killed, it might as well be me doing it so I can collect the bounties.”



Zane snorted. “Maybe if you’d help us, we wouldn’t be as likely to die.”



“You’re pretty, Garrett, but my heart ain’t that soft. As soon as you lot are gone, I’m out the door.”



“Always the hero,” Ty muttered.



Ty and Liam shared a hateful glance before Ty pushed away from the table and stood.



“So, let me get this straight,” Liam said, loud enough for his words to be aimed at Ty. “You want to call up the crew who wants you dead, tell them you’re the man they’re looking for, and then lure them into a kill zone?”



Ty met Liam’s eyes. Then he sought out Zane for his opinion. Zane stared at him, feeling sick. Ty had looked to him still—not his former second-in-command, not one of the men he’d known and worked with for decades. Zane’s mouth was too dry to even swallow.



“Yeah,” Ty finally said.



“They think it’s one man they’re after. No way they’d expect six,” Nick added.



“I have a bunch of ear buds, a few other things,” Digger said. “Sniper rifle, a couple smoke canisters, Kevlar vest.”



Kelly leaned forward. “A Kevlar vest?”



Digger nodded.



“You travel with full assault gear?” Ty asked.



“You don’t?”



Everyone stared at him. Ty began to massage the bridge of his nose.



Liam stood and smoothed his hands over the front of his shirt, then walked away. “You’re all criminally insane.”



Nick rolled his head from side to side, working out the kinks. Then he rapped his knuckles on the table to draw everyone’s attention. “If we’re going to do this, we need to know how many they have and find a location good for the meet. And we need to do it fast. This place won’t be safe for much longer.”



Zane finally tore his eyes away from Ty. “Taking care of the cartel won’t get us out of New Orleans any easier. It’s the police we should really be worried about.”



“What do you suggest?” Kelly asked.



“Call the local Bureau office. Tell them what’s going on. Get backup. Get the cops off our asses. Make this something official instead of . . .” He waved at Digger. “Criminally insane.”



“I’ll lose my job,” Ty said. He was pacing, head down and arms crossed.



Nick craned his head. “What? Why?”



“I’m not supposed to be here. I could compromise half a dozen cases just by showing my face.”



“Why the hell didn’t you say something before you came down here?”



“You told me you were in jail!”



Nick made a disgusted noise. He leaned his elbows on the table and began to massage his temples.



“Call Burns, he’ll get you out of it,” Zane said, surprised by the bitter sarcasm that came out.



Ty stared at him for a long moment, looking wounded, before he began to pace again. Zane forced himself to meet his eyes.



He was ashamed to admit he still wanted to see Ty burn. He’d hoped Ty would come at him again last night, that they’d go down swinging at each other. But he knew deep down that Ty wasn’t that type of man. He wasn’t going to chase Zane, or beg and plead with him. He wasn’t going to hover over him and swat the drink from his hand every time he grasped it. He would let Zane walk away, he would let Zane self-destruct, he would internalize anything he was feeling, and become that same man he’d been the day they met. A hard, sarcastic shell. Zane could already see him building up those layers, and he hated Ty for it.



“So what’ll it be, lads?” Liam asked. He winked at Zane.



Kelly and Digger both craned their heads to look at Ty as he paced. Owen was resting his head on the table.



Ty had his back to them, his head down. He really only had two choices. Get himself fired to keep everyone safe, or risk their lives, and a murder rap, to take down the cartel heavies.



“Hey, Six?” Digger said quietly.



“I’m not your goddamned Six anymore,” Ty grunted. He began to pace again. “Call the Bureau,” he finally said, his voice grim.



“Ty,” Nick said carefully.



“My job or your lives? There’s no choice there.” Ty met Zane’s eyes across the room. “Make the call. Tell them you’re bringing in a Confidential Informant. That’s what I was supposed to be if my cover was ever blown. Use the name Tyler Beaumont; that’ll ping any dirty Feds, so we’ll go in expecting a trap.”



Zane didn’t move. His heart was sinking and it was too painful to move right now, to look away from Ty’s eyes. If Ty lost his job, what would they have between them? “You’re willing to give it up?”



“It’s not about being willing anymore, Garrett,” Ty snarled. “Make the fucking call.”



The curtain behind the bar wavered, and Ava pushed past it to lunge into the room. “They’re coming!” she hissed. “My daddy and his boys. They’re coming here. You have to leave!”



Chairs scraped on the wooden floors as everyone stood and scrambled toward the stairs to retrieve their gear.



“Are they coming for us?” Ty asked Ava.



She nodded. “Shine called me, told me they were on their way. They know you’re here.”



Ty cursed under his breath. He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly before he let her go and darted up the steps.



Only Zane remained, still sitting at the table, arms crossed. He stared at Ava until she turned to look at him.



“You called him. Didn’t you?” Zane asked, voice pitched low so only she would hear it.



Her breath caught. She swallowed hard and inclined her head, squaring her shoulders. “Ty isn’t the only one in town who’s scared of that old bastard,” she whispered. “But he’s the only one I know who just might be able to kill him if he’s given the chance.”



“You’re using him to get rid of your father. Risking his life.”



“That’s what men like him are for.” She turned on her heel and ducked behind the curtain again.



Ty led them through the residential streets of Marigny, pushing them to reach the French Quarter, trying to stick to the Easter crowds, desperate to keep his mind on survival and off the fact that his heart was breaking every time he and Zane were close.



“If we can get to the cathedral, we can lose ourselves in the crowd until the parades start,” he told them. Soon they neared Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the French Quarter.



People milled around dressed in their Sunday best. Every woman wore a hat of some description, and many of the men did as well.



“Shit, you think we’ll be killing people on Easter Sunday?” Nick muttered as they neared the cathedral.



Ty nodded and Nick cursed, then stopped briefly in front of the cathedral and made the sign of the cross as he faced the soaring spires. Kelly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him, peering up at the structure.



“Forgive him, baby Jesus, he knows not what he does,” Kelly said, then pulled Nick with him.



“I’m going to Hell anyway, I don’t know why I bother anymore.”



Ty turned down Pirate’s Alley, the narrow lane that skirted the cathedral, and then they cut through St. Anthony’s garden, the tiny area behind the cathedral where four unmarked tombs rested. Ty leapt over one of the marble slabs. He could hear Nick complaining behind him.



“They’re empty!” Ty called to him. All but one, but Ty didn’t add that. He led them on through several turns until they reached Antoine’s Restaurant. The place was obviously closed, but a crowd was building in the street.



“What is this?” Zane asked. He was a little out of breath, but then, so were the rest of them.



“The first parade starts here at nine or nine-thirty. We should be safe for a while.”



“Despite the fact that the police station is two blocks that way?” Zane asked, pointing toward Royal Street.



“What are you, like a walking map?” Digger asked.



“Sort of, yeah,” Zane answered.



“The station will be damn near empty right now,” Ty told them. “There are three parades today, plus the Easter services. They’re already out. The safest place is in a crowd, and this is all I got.”



Nick patted him on the shoulder, nodding. “It’ll do.”



“Call the Feds,” Owen said as they all parked themselves near the façade of the restaurant. They looked like wandering vagrants. Their clothes were unkempt, they were carrying bags on their backs, and Ty and Zane were both wearing hats they had taken from Murdoch’s office before leaving.



Ty pulled out his phone and dialed the number for the local Bureau field office.



“Yes, I need to speak with Gregory Pike,” Ty said as soon as the call was answered. He could feel the others forming a sort of barrier around him and Zane as they stood on the periphery of the parade crowd. He ducked his head to avoid being recognized or caught on any security feeds.



“I’m sorry, sir, Special Agent Pike no longer works here.”



“Shit,” Ty hissed. He put the phone to his chest and closed his eyes, trying to think. Pike had been the handler for all UC cases before Katrina hit. He’d been a solid, trustworthy local, one who’d proven impervious to bribes or scandal. His replacement could be anyone, and Ty didn’t trust just anyone. He cleared his throat and brought the phone back up. “I need to speak with his replacement, then.”



“One moment.”



Nick shook his head urgently. “Replacement?”



“I know. I don’t think we can trust him,” Ty whispered.



Zane extended his hand. “How do you know?”



“This is New Orleans, Zane, you don’t trust anyone. But if I hear his name, I might know him.”



“Hang up,” Nick hissed.



Kelly gripped Nick’s shoulder and shook his head. “This is the only avenue that doesn’t end bloody. We’ll go in careful, bug out if he doesn’t feel right.”



Ty glanced around the faces staring at him and noticed one missing. “Where’d Liam go?”



The others searched around, but Liam Bell was nowhere to be found.



“He bailed,” Zane said. He sounded surprised.



Ty gritted his teeth. “We consider him hostile now.”



“Does that mean I get to shoot him?” Nick asked.



“Yes.”



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