said brusquely into the silence, “don’t chicken out on me now!”
“I’m not chickening out,” Jackson snapped. “But you just came off an all-nighter. You gonna be ready for the fallout here?”
Christie grunted. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I got sleep,” Jackson muttered defensively.
“Augh! Rivers, I swear to you, I want those kids safe—and the bad guys behind bars—as much or more than you do. Sean’s a good cop and a good friend. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
Jackson took a deep breath. “Fine. We’ll be at the courthouse in ten. But remember, the guy driving the freedom bus is military covert ops, and he’s gonna have friends in the bleachers.”
“Ooh.” Christie’s sound was a cross between seeing Superman and getting kneed in the balls. “I’m starting to see why Sean’s such a fan. You and Cramer really do hang out with the most interesting people.”
Jackson grunted; he couldn’t argue with that. “Just remember to ducking fuck,” he said, and Christie’s snort on the other end told him the joke was appreciated.
“And try not to fuck the wrong duck. Got it. Courthouse. Fifteen minutes. I’ll keep my eyes open for sparkly lights in the wrong windows.”
“And your tactical gear on!”
“Amen.”
Jackson hit End Call and leaned his head back against the seat. “This is going to be a hell of a party.”
“I don’t remember you telling me Burton was going to be there,” Ellery said.
“I think he’ll have Ace and Jai with him. They were, uh, blowing shit up when I called.”
Ellery grunted. “This makes me happy. Can you see how happy I am?”
The temperature in the Tank had dropped about twenty degrees.
“That’s a sweater full of happiness right there,” Jackson responded. And then, “Shit!” Without even explaining to Ellery, he pulled out his phone and dialed Henry.
“This had better be important.” Henry sounded mildly out of breath and not like Jackson had woken him up at all.
“Is Lance off today?”
“No, but he was going to be,” Henry snarled.
Oh! “Well, apologize to him for me.”
“No.”
“Fine. But we’ve got a bus full of kids showing up at the courthouse in five minutes, and a driver who may or may not be injured and is deliberately disobeying orders to get these kids home. Think Lance can help doctor him up if I get him clearance from the DA’s office?”
“I don’t know,” Henry mumbled. “Does it work that way?”
“I have no idea,” Jackson said frankly. “But I’ll ask. Anyway, this guy is going to need a place to hide where nobody would think about looking for him and some guys to watch his back. We have a cabin in Tahoe lined up for later, but I’m talking today. You, uh, got any ideas?”
The silence coming across Henry’s line wasn’t reassuring.
“Yes…?”
More silence.
“Just, you know, be ready for my text,” Jackson said. “I’ll let you know if we’ve got incoming.”
And that silence changed to brooding anger. “Because where will you be?” Henry snapped.
“Uhm….”
“Goddammit, Jackson.”
“Hey, I went home and rested yesterday.”
There was an ominous sound on the other end of the line. “Do you think we don’t watch the news here?”
“Good for you!”
“How you moving today?” Henry asked sweetly.
“Like buttah. I’ll text you.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Then you and me are gonna talk.”
“How do you even know where I’ll be?” Jackson asked, gaping.
“You’re going to tell me right now, or I’m going to pound your back like an asshole the next time I see you. Now pony up. Where the fuck am I going.”
Jackson leaned his head back and groaned. “Courthouse. There will be snipers and military assholes there. Not including you, of course.”
“I have tactical gear too,” Henry snapped, rustling sounds in the background indicating he was putting some on at that very moment. “Ellery bought it for me while you were in the hospital. It was like Christmas came early.”
“I’m sure it was,” Jackson said sourly. “Look, we’re pulling up to the courthouse now. If you could, I don’t know, park around the block so maybe out of sight from us here, that would be aces. I’d love that.”
“No,” Henry said, and Jackson was amused to hear he wasn’t the only one who’d regressed twenty years in age.
“Look, Junior, our guy is getting here soon. Whatever fireworks happen, they’re going to start before you get here. That way you can scope out the situation before you get your ass shot off.”
Henry grunted. “I actually did have other plans for my ass this morning, this is true.”
Oh God. The mental images—they burned!
“I hate you. Fuck