24
Mercy
As the vaneased to a halt a couple of blocks away from the building he’d identified as the Storm’s local headquarters, Gideon slicked his dark hair away from his forehead. With his normally blue locks turned jet-black with spray dye, his lip ring taken out, and bronzer rubbed on his face and arms to give his pale skin more of a tan, he looked like a different person altogether. It was kind of disturbing.
“Who are you, and what have you done with our tech nerd?” Kaige joked.
Gideon flicked his tongue over his lip where the ring should have been, the only sign he showed that he was nervous. “The tech nerd part of me is alive and well under the disguise. At least I can disguise myself. No one would fail to recognize you unless we invent a shrink ray.”
As Kaige chuckled, Wylder squeezed past the seats and put his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. The discomfort in his gaze echoed the tightness in my chest. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“Positive,” Gideon said without hesitation. “I’m the only one who can. Believe it or not, my job is the easiest part of the plan. Let me pull my weight while you guys give them the hell they deserve.”
Wylder turned to face Roy, who was sitting on a bench near the back door. “And you?”
Roy gave him a tense grin. “A little late to back out now, isn’t it? It’s all part of making these pricks pay. I’m glad to do my bit.”
I peered down the street. It was a rundown commercial strip on the edge of the warehouse district, so nondescript and out of the way it’d have been easy for the Storm’s activities here to go unnoticed. We’d parked around a corner so we weren’t in view of the building, but I’d seen the exact area in photos Gideon had pulled up. They were using a small, three-story building that’d been a budget hotel until it’d gone out of business years back, wedged between a dive bar and a shoe outlet store. Classiness obviously hadn’t been a consideration.
Rowan had come around to the back and picked up Gideon’s laptop. Gideon moved to join him. “You’ve got it?”
“Everything’s ready to receive the data you’re going to send, right?” Rowan said, studying the screen. “All I’ve got to do is confirm that it’s come in.”
Gideon nodded. “It doesn’t really need monitoring. I’d just like to know someone’s keeping an eye on things.”
“Of course.”
“All right.” Gideon squared his shoulders and turned to Roy, grabbing a length of nylon rope we’d picked up on the way here. “Let’s get on with this.”
Roy stood up and let Gideon tie his hands behind his back. He tested the bindings and exhaled roughly. “Not too tight. They’ll hold, but I should be able to shake them off fast if I need to.”
“Perfect.” Gideon tucked a USB drive and a few devices I couldn’t have recognized into the pockets of the baggy cargo pants he’d put on and gave us one last glance. I couldn’t help reaching for him and planting a kiss on his cheek. “For luck.”
He met my gaze, his eyes momentarily flashing brighter. “Is that all the luck I get?”
I grinned despite my concerns and gave him another kiss, this one on the mouth and hard enough that Kaige let out a low whistle. “Are you sure we can’t trade places?” he said with a laugh as I let Gideon go.
Gideon shot him a mock-glare, but a little smile played with his lips. He smoothed it out, took the gun Wylder handed him, and saluted his boss. “I’m just going to go in, get the goods, and head back out. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m counting on it,” Wylder said, looking like he was restraining a grimace.
Gideon clicked on the mic hidden behind the collar of his shirt and nudged Roy out of the car. As he ushered the former Claws member down the street, he held the gun to Roy’s back. His voice carried through the van’s speakers. “Have to make it look convincing.”
They disappeared around the corner. Then all we could hear was the faint rasp of Gideon’s breath and the rustle of his clothes.
Wylder stalked from one end of the van to the other. “Fuck. He had to insist.” He shook his head as if shedding his worries and reached for the stash of weapons we’d gathered.
Kaige and I joined in, each strapping a couple of holsters over our shoulders and hefting another gun each. I settled on a pistol I could easily wield. With a fierce grin, Kaige grabbed a semi-automatic rifle. Wylder hefted the bag with the explosives.
We finished our prep just in time. A voice I didn’t recognize carried through Gideon’s mic. “What the hell is this?”
“Found another one of those Claws idiots poking around the neighborhood,” Gideon said, putting on a tough, careless tone. The Storm’s people had taken on so many new recruits from the Steel Knights and who knew where else lately that we figured they’d accept him as long as he acted like he belonged. “He didn’t want to open up. I thought the boss might want to talk to him about any friends he’s still got hanging around.”
“Shit,” muttered another one of the Storm’s guys. “I thought we got all of them.”
“Apparently not,” the first guard replied. “Xavier isn’t here. You really think this guy knows anything useful? We could just shoot him.”
I tensed, but Gideon laughed with impressive confidence. My heart squeezed with affection at how well he was holding his own. “Yeah, I’m sure Xavier would just love us making that call without his say so. I’ll stash him in one of the rooms and get back to work.”