She stared at Rhynehart, who just leaned back and folded his arms. At least he didn’t keep the list a secret. “Did I get invited to an interrogation?”
Sir reached out for his diner mug of black coffee and took a long, slurping sip. “Don’t flatter yourself, kid. We already know everything we want or need to know about you. We’re sitting here in this glorious craphole with the best damn coffee I’ve ever tossed down to talk about those kids, not you.”
“Good. Someone finally started listening to me.”
“So, where’d you find the list?”
Cheyenne looked at the huge blonde woman beside Rhynehart, then turned just enough to shoot Sir a sidelong glance. “That’s not something I can tell you.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because it’s not just something I found, and the list doesn’t belong to me. It’s borrowed.”
Sniffing quickly, Sir shrugged and looked across the table. “Doesn’t matter. Fact is, we’re looking at those names and have confirmation now that every single one of them belongs to a kid who hasn’t been seen since before oh-eight-hundred hours yesterday. Sheila here double-checked each of them personally.”
The blonde woman dipped her head at Cheyenne, then lifted her forearms onto the diner table. Rhynehart glanced down at Sheila’s elbow poking into his personal space but said nothing. There was a thick black ring around the middle finger of Sheila’s right hand.
Another FRoE magical. Must be huge without the ring, too.
Silence fell over the table, and when no one else spoke up, Cheyenne shrugged. “You could’ve just texted me.”
“Oh, sure.” Sir slid his coffee mug closer. “But I hate texting. And phones, really. Kinda hard to have the conversation we’re having now when we’re all plugged into a screen like a bunch of moody teenagers without any friends.”
“Yeah, I’d really hate to miss this.” The halfling folded her hands on the table and stared at Sir with wide eyes.
He ignored her sarcasm and cocked his head at his mug. “Here’s the thing. We have the kids’ names and ages. We know they’re missing. We’ve got eyes on the magical families who reported some tween snatched up at some point yesterday, and…well, I’m just gonna put it bluntly.”
Cheyenne blinked. This’ll be interesting.
“We have no leads and no theories and no goddamn clue how to find those sons of bitches playing Pied Piper with registered Border immigrants.” As if he couldn’t believe he’d just said it out loud, the man lifted his mug quickly to his lips and took a long, steaming drink. When he almost slammed the mug back down again, thick drops of coffee fell from his mustache and disappeared into his lap.
“Huh.” The halfling stared at the last tiny glittering drop above his lip. “That’s why you ‘wanted my brain.’”
“Well, don’t get all cocky about it,” Sir muttered quickly. “Just give us some damn ideas.”
She let that sink in for a minute. They think I know something. Cheyenne glanced at Rhynehart again, who’d opted for meeting her gaze. Sir was now diligently staring at the table. Sheila raised an eyebrow. “I want that visit. Now.”
Rhynehart sucked his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck. Sir choked on his next sip of coffee, sending spray up out of the mug and into his face. He wiped it away quickly with a hand. “What?”
“And then I’ll help you find the kidnappers and take the whole thing down.” The halfling widened her eyes at Sir and waited for him to meet her gaze. So he knows I’m serious. Tables have turned, asshole.
“Hey, don’t get me wrong. You’ve got serious balls making a request like that—”
“It’s not a request. Take me to see L’zar, then I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Sir’s beady eyes narrowed. “You know I’m the one giving orders around here. Rhynehart, she knows that, right? ‘Cause I’m pretty goddamn sure I made it perfectly clear from the beginning.”
“Sure.” The halfling nodded slowly. “When you have all the cards in your hand. But you brought me here because you don’t have a choice. And we all know that.”
The man’s nostrils flared, then he wiped the last glistening bit of coffee from his mouth.
“Look, I’m pretty sure every single agent at the construction site would’ve come back in body bags instead of just the three lying in the medical ward on base.” The silver chains around her wrists clinked when Cheyenne folded her arms. “I’m not handing out any more favors, but after yesterday, I’d say you owe me one.”
All three FRoE members at the table stared at the drow halfling. Then Sheila opened her mouth and let out a low, growling chuckle. “I like her.”
“Yeah, well, you can keep your opinion to yourself, you big pile of—” Sir caught Sheila’s warning glare and her raised eyebrow and stopped. “I’m not inclined to agree with it.”
Cheyenne shrugged. “Clock’s ticking, Sir. I wanna find those kids as much as you do, but I can’t do it if I don’t cash in those extra tickets you were talking about.”
Sir growled into his coffee cup but lowered it again without drinking this time. “You want to visit the splinter in my asscheek to ask him about those kids?”
“And some other things, but yeah.”
“Jesus, Bugs Bunny, and Marilyn Monroe.”
While Sir buried his face in his hand, Cheyenne looked at Rhynehart again. The man shrugged and shook his head.
“If you give a drow a plate, she’s gonna want the whole enchilada. All right. Guess you’re callin’ the shots on this one, halfling.”
Cheyenne’s mouth twitched into a victorious smirk. “Just so we’re clear, that’s a yes, right?”
“It’s whatever you want it to be. Don’t make me spell it out for you. I know you can read.” Sir pushed his mug away from him, sloshing a little more over the sides. “And now you ruined my damn coffee.”
“I’m sure they’ll make you a fresh pot later.” Slapping her hands on the table, the halfling slid over the one inch left at the
