By the time Jane returned to her portable and shut the door, not much had changed in regard to her mindset. She was still upset about what Gray had done. It was rare for her to ever feel like she was lost and floundering, but as she sat down on the edge of her cot, that’s exactly how she felt.
Lester entered, Danny staying outside for a moment. He remained by the door for a long time. He was never good with words or saying the right thing at the right moment. But the simple fact that he was here made Jane feel slightly better.
“I guess my plan didn’t work,” Jane said.
Lester walked over and joined Jane on the edge of the bed. “Nobody could’ve seen that coming. Not even you.”
Jane shook her head. “I knew he was upset. But for him to say something like that, to do something like that, he was much further gone than what I thought.”
Lester put his arm around Jane, and she leaned into his side. She had never been one for being coddled, but this was one instance where she didn’t mind.
“That was our one chance in trying to do this the peaceful way,” Jane said. “After that display from Gray, the damage is done.”
“The vote was very close,” Lester said. “You don’t think that another vote would put you over the finish line?”
Jane leaned away from Lester and looked up at him. She knew he was hesitant about getting into any business with his father. And she didn’t like it any more than he did, but they had to play the cards they were dealt. “It’s the only way.”
Lester stood and paced anxiously. “I know you think that we don’t have any other options, but we should make sure we exhaust everything before we go back to him. Because once he knows our plan didn’t work, he’s going to leverage our failure against us.”
Jane had never been one to hold back or offer a sympathetic word, but she knew better than to pit the man she loved against his own father. That was a relationship as complicated as the one she had with her own family.
“I know what your father is, Lester,” Jane said. “I know we can never trust him.”
Lester turned to face her, and she saw the fear on his face. He was terrified of who and what his father was, and despite the years that had passed, he reverted back to the frightened boy who was abused at the hands of his dad.
“You don’t know what he can do,” Lester said. “Not really.”
Jane walked over to him and gently held his face. “Using him will make things easier for us. Trust me.”
Lester placed his hands over Jane’s and took a breath. “You’ve always known what to do. You’ve always been able to lead us forward. And if you think this path is the way to go, then I’m all in.”
Jane kissed him. No matter what he said, this was the foundation of their relationship. They believed in one another. They were a team to the very end. And nothing was going to break that up, ever.
Jane walked outside and told Danny that they needed to speak with Buford. Danny led them back out into the woods and toward the meeting point where they had all gathered before.
Jane and Lester hung back while Danny retrieved his father. Jane made sure to only have Buford return with him because she didn’t want to deal with the rest of his posse. It was important for them to set the ground rules with him beforehand. Because she knew Buford would most likely try to wrangle his way out of the negotiations.
When Danny returned with Buford, Jane saw the smugness on his face. It was exactly how Lester had described. The fact that they had come back meant their plan had failed. But Jane had no intention of letting Buford use it as leverage.
“So, I take it things didn’t go well,” Buford said.
“Let’s just say we're looking at all of our options,” Jane replied. “Are your guys still with you, or have they left for greener pastures?”
Buford laughed. “Never willing to admit a mistake. I respect that.”
“I’m beginning to think that this meeting was a mistake,” Jane said.
“Don’t be like that, Jane,” Buford said.
“Here’s the deal, Buford,” Jane said. “We need to stack the odds in our favor at the facility. We’ve managed to get things moving, but we need one final push over the finish line.”
“And you want to use my people to help you do that,” Buford said, crossing his arms. “What kind of job are we looking at?”
“We have a prisoner inside the compound,” Jane said. “He’s a former member of the organization who detonated the EMP. He’s being used to gather intelligence against his people, but not everybody is comfortable with him being around. I want to use that to our advantage.”
Buford narrowed his eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
“I want you to hurt one of the people in the camp,” Jane answered. “And then we're going to blame the prisoner for the mugging.”
“Won’t people be able to figure out it wasn’t the prisoner?” Buford asked.
“It doesn’t matter if they find out,” Jane answered. “By the time tempers calm down, the damage will already be done.”
Buford smiled. “Classic hornet’s nest. You stir everything up, and by the time people know what’s what, you already have what you came for. Smart.”
Jane walked to Buford and stared up at the big man. It looked like a scene from David versus Goliath in regards to their size comparison. But Jane had never been someone
