Sanders wouldn’t retaliate against Liliana and Navarro; they were both too important to the town. And Sadie was safe — she was just a child, a sister of one of the Sons’ own. Of course, that hadn’t stopped them from hurting Navarro. Joe took a shaky breath and said a quick prayer.
The last shimmers of the setting sun sank below the horizon. Joe pushed away from where he’d been leaning against the windowsill. “Let’s go.”
He’d expected more complaining from Navarro. He got a kiss on the forehead instead. Navarro’s sharp eyes narrowed, but all he said was, “Be safe.”
Lil squeezed Joe harder than she needed to and kissed his lips. Sadie hugged both Flix and Joe and stayed uncharacteristically quiet. The little family and the two deputies trudged outside, and when Marcus headed that way, Flix caught his arm.
“Stay out of trouble, Marc.”
Marcus grinned. “You got the dangerous job, hermano. I got a boring walk across the dirt. On crutches.”
Flix glanced toward Joe, and Joe caught the worry in his eyes. “Look,” he said to Marcus, hoping to ease Flix’s fears, “you should have a boring walk, but if something goes wrong, get away as fast as you can. Come back here, grab the backpack with the food, and head north. Don’t wait for us. We’ll catch up.”
Flix nodded gravely and threw his arms around Marcus, who shoved Flix away and punched his shoulder. He hesitated, then punched Flix again. “Be smart. Listen to Joe.”
The way Flix rolled his eyes and said, “Always,” made Joe want to smack his smart mouth. Nerves, he supposed; that and Flix’s unmatched ability to annoy him.
Marcus left, and Joe and Flix stared at each other. Joe had been able to keep calm while the others had been in the house, but now? Now his pulse rushed in his ears, and his hammering heart beat “Devin, Devin, Devin” into his brain.
Had it been a mistake to wait? Should he have charged into the greenhouse as soon as he figured out where Devin and Peter were being held? No. Cadia was already suspicious of him. She would have stopped Joe before he could get close. Better to plan, to wait. The Sons wouldn’t hurt Devin and Peter. They’d need them whole to get their reward from Flights of Fantasy. They also wouldn’t have moved their captives during the day, either, not when anyone could see and report back to Lil or Navarro. Devin was there, under the greenhouse, safe and sound, and all he needed was Joe to come for him.
“Fifteen minutes is a long time,” Flix said, breaking Joe from his ruminations. “Maybe we should just go?”
“We need the Sons to see us leaving, to think we’ve gone looking for their compound. We need them to let their guard down. We have to give it time.”
“Yeah, but” — Flix bounced on the balls of his feet as his eyes flitted around the room — “do you think it was smart to give Marc and Lil the rifles? We might need them.”
“If I didn’t think it was smart, I wouldn’t have given the rifles to them. You’re an awful marksman, and I have the VICE-shot.”
“It looks like a toy. No one’s going to be intimidated by that thing. And I don’t understand why you have it on stun instead of kill.”
“Enough. I made a plan and it’s fine. Are you going to be able to play your part, or would you rather stay here and second-guess every decision I make?”
Something dark flared in Flix’s eyes, but then he sighed, and when he spoke, his voice was calm and quiet. “I’m with you, and I don’t have a better plan. I want Marcus safe, and I want Devin back. He’s been a” — Flix squirmed and made a face, like the words were hard to say — “friend to me.” He laughed, though he still looked uneasy. “Who knew he’d turn out to be better than you?”
Joe laughed, too, because what was he supposed to say to that? “Let’s go bring him back to us.”
***
They approached the greenhouse from the south, crouching low and moving slowly. The idea was that any guards posted at the entrances would be less likely to see them if they came from the side of the building. The transparent film that comprised the greenhouse’s walls provided a clear view inside. Dim light emanated from the solar-powered heat lamps the gardeners used to nurture seedlings. No one was in there, as far as Joe could tell.
The two guards, a boy and a girl, one at each entrance, couldn’t have been much older than Flix. Joe hadn’t been expecting Cadia or Aria or any of Sanders’s top-line soldiers, but he had thought the guards would be more formidable than these kids. He palmed the VICE-shot and quelled his guilt over what he was about to do. The gun was set to stun. He wasn’t hurting these kids long-term.
The VICE-shot worked from about thirty feet, but they needed to get as close as possible. If Joe stunned one of these kids from a distance, it’d take him longer to get into the greenhouse and increase the likelihood someone would notice the unconscious guard and raise the alarm.
The guard at the eastern door, the girl, walked a short path back and forth. From the way she yawned, Joe guessed she was trying to keep herself awake. He kept his eyes on the girl and put up three fingers in Flix’s direction. When the girl turned to the north, he lowered a finger. She stopped and rolled her head around her shoulders. Come on. The girl stretched and started to move again. When she turned back to the south, Joe folded another finger over. The moment her back turned again, Joe and Flix broke for the door.
Ten feet away, the girl whirled and pointed her rifle at them. Joe fired the VICE-shot, and the girl froze, her eyes wide and surprised, not even scared. The pulse from
