by TL Reeve
A creek and a pop at the stairs drew his attention to the open door above him. “Is it alright if I come down?” AJ bit her bottom lip as she sat on the lip of the stairs.
Murray pushed back from his makeshift desk. AJ stood then, her feet encased in a pair camo Chuck Taylors. She wore a pair of faded skinny jeans, ripped in strategic places across her knees and thighs. The T-shirt she wore had a smile tugging at his lips. Superheroes. Marvel, specifically. Her hair was wet, and her face was devoid of any kind of makeup, exposing the smattering of freckles along the top of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Damn it, why did she have to be so adorable standing there, looking as though she’d been about to ask him for permission to go out on a date?
“Yeah.” He motioned for her to join him. “All are welcome here.”
Once she stood beside him, he inspected her faded blue shirt. He snorted at the shield colored in red, white, and blue, with the words “civil war,” beneath it. “Is there a problem with my shirt?” She picked at it, glancing down. “Something on it?”
“Nope.” He pointed to the logo. “Just wondering if you’re a Cap or Iron Man fan.”
AJ snorted. “Well, first and foremost, I’m an MCU fan. If I had to pick and be a fan of any one person, it’s Black Widow all day, every day and twice on Sunday.”
“Let me guess, you always wanted to kick everyone’s ass like she does?”
AJ rolled her eyes and gnashed her teeth. “Please. Black Widow is a human—”
Murray raised his finger. "How can Natasha be a human when Cap and Logan saved her from the Nazis in 1941?"
“Uh...” She appeared taken aback.
“Uncanny X-Men Volume 1 #268.”
“Okay, well, even though she didn’t have super strength, like Steve, or the ability to shrink like Scott Lang, she’d been trained in the Red Room, could keep up her enhanced counterparts, and she never doubted herself or her ability. That alone makes me a die-hard fan.”
He nudged her. “Did you cry when she died?”
“Like a fucking baby.” She shrugged. “It made sense though. Clint had—has a family—her family. She saw the despair in her best friend and what the loss of his family caused him. I have to believe she also realized if he continued on the path he’d been on, he’d turn bad. She, like Tony, made the ultimate sacrifice.”
He stared at her for a moment, filled with amazement and fondness. It was refreshing as hell to hear someone speak so eloquently about sacrifice. It also meant, in his estimations, she understood what it meant to go on these types of missions, so it also scared the shit out of him. She could become their wild card. He had to wonder, what would she forfeit to protect her family, i.e. Scotty and, perhaps, Thomas.
“What about you?” She sat in the empty chair across from where he stood.
He smiled. “Like you, I’m an MCU fan, but if I had to choose, it’d be Tony all the way.”
She nodded. “Makes sense. All the guys at base speak about your skills with a computer. You’re some sort of God to them.”
He snorted in disbelief. More like his team, especially Callahan, razzed the hell out of him because he was more comfortable behind his computer than in the field. Didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own on a mission, he could. He dealt better with the machines, manipulating their codes, until he bent the computer to his will, taking the information needed without being detected. He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t acknowledge the rush he got from it as well. Of course, he also realized it had a lot to do with control issues, and he was okay with that.
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
AJ rolled her eyes. "You haven't been on the receiving end of, "well Murray would've done it this way or that way." Or "Murray gave us this information too."
“Neither you nor Scotty, are me.”
“Exactly!”
"As long as you get it done, fuck'em." He dismissed his team's antics, knowing full well when he got the chance, he'd be telling Asher to have the guys back up. AJ and Scotty were helping them without asking for anything in return. “Full disclosure, I teared up when Black Widow and Tony died.”
AJ grinned as though she’d already figured as much about him.
“So did Scotty.” Her tone softened like she’d been worried Scotty might discover she’d given voice to his deepest and darkest secrets.
Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, and her bottom lip trembled. Murray rushed to reassure her, something he wished someone—anyone would have done for him after Hannah disappeared. “We’re going to get him out, kid. I promise you.”
She nodded, clamping down on her bottom lip to still the tremble while swallowing hard.
“He’s alive.” Murray eased her from her chair then tucked her into his side. “We’re not going to leave him behind. I promise. It’s one of our mottos. Never leave a man behind.”
“But at what cost?” Her voice warbled as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Murray resisted the urge to wipe away her tears. It wasn't his responsibility, however, the person who should be doing it—Thomas, probably didn't know how to approach her—yet. "Without sounding like a total asshole, he'll be alive. He'll heal from whatever they mentally or physically do to him with you and Thomas by his side. It might take a while though, so you'll have to give him space, while also lending a shoulder when he has to talk it out."
“Is that how you deal with Hannah being gone?” She glanced up at him with red and glassy, tear-filled eyes.
He signed, cracked all of his knuckles on his right hand before answering her question as truthfully as he could. “Hannah has been gone a long time and how I’ve dealt or felt about it has run the emotional gambit. I gave up on thinking she was alive. Figured with her medical condition, no would want to deal with it. What kept me going was locating the mother fuckers responsible for taking her and destroying every last one of them.” He rubbed at his neck before turning his attention back to AJ. “Finding out she was alive and perhaps suffering all these years. Gutted me.”
AJ nodded. “I worry…”
“About what they’re doing to him or not doing for him and it’s eating you alive?”
“Yes,” she whimpered. “To the point, I can’t even talk to Thomas.”
“It’s not his fault Scotty was taken. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“It wasn’t yours, either,” he added.
She glanced away.
So, she blames herself. Interesting. Murray was surprised by how AJ said a lot without saying very much. Deep down, he suspected, she blamed Thomas and herself for Scotty being taken from her life, not the real wrongdoers, the cartel. "It's alright to worry. No one is saying not to. Don't let it consume your every waking second, though. It can and will drive you insane and Scotty's going to need you." He reached over to tap her nose. "Don't let it isolate you either, especially from those who are trying to help you." When she didn't indicate she understood what he'd told her, he pressed on, knowing part of her issues were due to being locked in a system meant to break a child's spirit. "He's only going to give you so much rope before he pulls you back, and demands you talk to him.”
Thomas wasn't just playing at being a Dom. Nope… It radiated from the man. Personality-wise, Thomas carried himself with a confident intimidation flare. Of course, Murray was always a firm believer of like recognizing like. Murray wondered how the other man would react when he found out Murray would be the submissive for this mission. Like he told Jaqueline, she was the only one he'd feel comfortable kneeling for. They knew the truth about his submission and how much it went against everything he knew. However, when this shit was over, he was going to show Jaqueline what it meant to be dominated by a true dominant. Desire pulsed through his body at the anticipation of the moment when he bent Jaqueline to his will and dominated her.
"I know." She struggled, Murray noticed, not only with Scotty's kidnapping but her role within the trio. As much as Murray wanted to assure her, it wasn'
t his job. It was the man who was currently sleeping upstairs, blissfully unaware of the torment the young woman, standing next to Murray was going through.
Murray also recognized the fact Thomas wouldn’t appreciate his involvement, because if the roles had been reversed, Murray wouldn’t appreciate the other man sticking his nose into Murray’s dealings.
“Let’s get to work.” AJ peered at the photos on the screen.
“Atta girl.” Murray hooked her into one of the unused laptops and gave her access to file Hank had sent while he did his own thing.
“What are we looking for?” She cut her eyes toward him. “Specifically?”
“Anything out of the ordinary. Any pictures with people outside. Cars moving from their spots. Lights turned on at night. Whatever you think seems suspicious mark it and send it to me.” He sat in his chair and swiveled back to the console he’d been using before AJ arrived.
"Right. I got this." A steely resolve filled her words.
The creak of wood and footsteps drew his attention from the computer sometime later. Since their conversation earlier, AJ hadn’t said a word, she’d been hyper-focused on all of the pictures she scanned through. He glanced up at the stairs and found Jaqueline entering the security room. Her jeans were ripped, and dirt covered her shirt. Her cheeks were smeared with something as well. It appeared he’d taken the wrong morning to skip out on ranch duties.
“Issues?” Jaqueline was stubborn to a fault. From his cursory glance, he hadn’t seen her bleeding anywhere, though she did seem a bit uncomfortable. He wouldn’t ask her about it though. If she wanted him to know, she’d tell him. She didn’t like burdening people which coupled with her obstinate ways, well, it was like pulling teeth from a lion’s mouth. Not recommended.
“Normal ranching issues,” she replied.
“We’re just going through new images Hank sent.” He pointed to the screen.
“Double checking them again?”
He clenched his teeth, fully aware of her teasing tone. “What? No. These are new. They came in while you were playing Matador with your cattle.”
Jaqueline snorted. “Cabrón.”
“We should have probably waited for Thomas,” AJ said. “No point in going over these four times without him being present.”
Jaqueline laughed. “She has a point.”
They were ganging up on him. He couldn’t be mad at them though. The sound of Jaqueline’s laughter hit him in the gut. His dick twitched, hardening at the thought of her husky laugh while they played together.
“Agreed,” Murray replied, with a cough. “No point going over this shit without the whole team present.”
"He was in the kitchen, getting a cup of coffee. He should be down any second." Jaqueline's focus had been on the images flashing across the monitor as they downloaded into Murray's cache file.
A creak from the stairs drew his gaze as the man in question, Thomas, made his way down the stairs. Thomas most definitely dressed the part of the older, wealthy gentlemen if he went by the expensive as fuck jeans and shoes the guy was sporting. The air of superiority he gave off as he meandered down the rest of the stairs would have normally pissed him off, but by the blank look on Thomas’ face, it was as though the man didn’t realize what he was doing or the vibe he threw off.
"Hope to hell you don't mind getting your fancy suites dirty. The dirt and dust clings to everything, clean or dirty." Murray had found some of the fine granule silt on his beloved laptop. He'd damn near had a coronary trying to clean the machine before it could get inside. The last thing he needed on this mission was to rip apart his computer and clean out the particles. Dust and dirt, specifically the specks of sand would fuck his top of the line machine up. He didn't think Asher would appreciate another bill for another piece of equipment of his.
Thomas’ gaze flickered to AJ’s then to Murray and back to AJ as if trying to figure out what had happened in the room before he and Jaqueline arrived. “I’m fine.” He stepped toward the monitor. “When did these come through?”
“This morning,” Murray said. “R.O.O.T techs have been working to render a 3D image of the inside of the house on all the information we’ve gathered and what they were able to gather from past resources. Hank sent it over and it’ll help. But and I can’t stress this enough, use it as a guide only as some areas could’ve been changed up or re-arranged.” Murray hit a key on his keyboard. The image from his computer flashed up on the larger screen. “Most of the block is cartel run or owned businesses except for here—” he pointed to them “—and here.”
Jaqueline stepped forward and picked out the back of the building. “All deliveries are made here and those who wish to partake of the activities within the building, enter through a parking garage at the museum.”
“It’s pretty fuckin’ easy to know when they have auctions or parties since their cars are left at the parking structure.”
"Guess they don't have to hide what they're about since the Federales won't do anything." AJ shrugged. "Kind of weird though, they do everything so secretively."
Thomas rubbed his chin before remarking. "Safest street in the city. Plus, who'd want to expose what they're doing? Sure Raul might pay off the right people, but all it'd take is one person seeing the condition of those inside and it might cause an international incident."
“No doubt,” Murray said before continuing with his run down. “Bedrooms of the residents are on the top floor.”
“Smart fuckers,” Thomas muttered. “Asher mentioned something about preparations back on base. He never gave a clear understanding of what they were planning for.”
“Los Muertos,” Jaqueline said softly.
“The dead,” Murray translated before hitting his keyboard to show them the picture of the graves. He suspected Thomas spoke Spanish because most of his case files had been cartel based.
“How many?” Thomas asked before stepping closer to take in the images.
“Too many,” Murray replied, not willing to upset AJ more than she already was.
Sometimes new agents were more of a hindrance than a help. If he had to take a guess, AJ fell in the latter category, though with Scotty involved, shit could go sideways. Although Murray knew, Asher would never put her on a mission he didn't think she couldn't handle.
From what he had read AJ was green, not stupid.
“What are we waiting for?”
Maybe she was stupid.
“For everything to be in place. This isn’t the first time R.O.O.T has gone up against a cartel, nor will it be the last. Asher wants to make sure all of his ducks are in a row.”
“Meanwhile, they’re still taking people!” AJ spat.
Murray sighed. He’d had this same conversation with Jaqueline. Both wanted to be the bulls in a china shop, instead of using grace to help them through the mission. “Eyes in the sky are currently recording everyone who is coming and going. So far, the only new arrival has been Scotty.” AJ muttered something under her breath and Murray ignored her. “When we get into the Emporium and take it and the cartel down, we’ll rescue those people and bring our loved one’s home.”
“So, we’re just going to sit here?” AJ sighed. “Shouldn’t we be doing something?”
“At least I’m not the only one who wants to go in,” Jaqueline grumbled.
Murray shook his head. “Our job is to continue to lay low and run through the surveillance until we’re given the green light from Asher. If we go in guns blazing, we run the risk of upping the colleterial damage. Asher isn’t about getting friendly’s hurt and will do whatever he can to avoid it.”
AJ pushed back from the desk before she stood, hands in front of her fiddling with her cuticles. She looked as if she as seconds away from bursting from her skin. His gaze flickered to Thomas. The man noticed everything about her and allowed her to work through the issue on her own.
“Maybe we can push up the entry day,” Jaqueline said, trying to ease the building tension.
"I ca
n't and won't speak for you guys, Thomas, but for us, we're not ready. No way in hell we walk in there like we are and make it out alive." They had a timeline for a reason. No use in throwing it off because of personal reasons, hence why teammates weren't supposed to fuck each other. It took away their ability to reason.
Thomas slid his gaze to AJ. “Neither are we.”
“Yeah, we are.” AJ crossed her arms. “I’ll do what it takes to make sure Scotty comes out alive. Pretending is one of my specialties.”
“Don’t you agree, Murray?” Thomas’ tone had been cold and devoid of emotion, ignoring AJ’s statement.
“Kid, as much as I enjoy your company, I’m not ready to put my sister’s life or Jaqueline’s brother’s life in your hands. You shouldn’t even want to put Scotty’s life in mine either, or Thomas’ for that matter.” Murray blew out a breath. “We have to keep our original plan in place. Yes, there is a good bit of time between now and then, but we need to use it to prepare. Because, if we’re not and shit goes sideways, we’ll never get out. Got me?”
Tears spilled from AJ’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “This is so unfair.”
He didn't lecture her about the fairness of life, she already understood how much life sucked, instead, he said something different. "I agree. So, for now, we do the work. Become proficient in all aspects of this mission so when it goes down, we get our families back. Okay?"
AJ swiped at her eyes, brushing away the tears with such force, Murray worried she’d leave bruises in her wake. “Fine.”
“I might have a solution to us becoming a cohesive team,” Thomas said. “I received a text from Asher. Tex has arranged for us to meet with a man by the name of Luca Trapani. He’s supposed to be able to help you and Jaqueline out.
AJ blanched. “Luca Trapani?”
