Spencer
About three hours later we'd received the email that included scans of the drawings Lilah had done. If not for our current situation, I'd compliment her on her skill.
"It's late, we should head to the hotel." I looked up to find Soot closing a file and standing.
I glanced over at Lilah, who was still studying the board, she had been for the past hour.
"Fairchild?" Soot looked over at her, receiving no answer from her.
"I'll stay with her, you guys go get some sleep. I'll make sure she gets some rest." I stood and walked over to Lilah, brushing a hand through my hair.
"Alright, we'll see you two in the morning." Emily gave us a light wave before heading out with the others.
"Lilah?" The woman turned quickly at the sound of her name, making it appear as though she hadn't been listening to any of what was said for the last hour or so. "Sorry- I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay." She shook her head. "It's just. I feel like this is my fault."
"It's not. You did what you needed to to survive." I looked down at her. "You had to save yourself. You couldn't have known how they would react. What matters now is catching them."
"Yeah." She said quietly, looking over the board. She fell silent for a couple minutes before blinking slightly. "It's me that they want."
I tilted my head slightly. "What?"
"It's me that they want." She repeated, turning towards me. "We need Emily to set up a press conference, let me do the talking this time. They'll see me and know I'm here. They'll be more likely to try and contact us." She pushed her hair out of her face. "We can barter a trade. I go to them, they stop killing."
"No, you know Soot wouldn't allow it."
"What other idea do we have? We have nothing on these two right now." She looked up at me. "If it doesn't work it doesn't work. Salmon we have to try."
I shook my head slightly. "Fine, we can talk to Soot in the morning. For now let's go get some sleep."
She nodded. "Alright."
The next morning the five of us were sitting around the table, Lilah and Soot talking.
"It's not safe Fairchild. What happens if something goes wrong and they do manage to take you."
"Soot what other ideas do we have?" Lilah tapped her finger on the table, clearly anxious. "I know this team. I trust every single one of you wholeheartedly."
"Your brother would kill me if anything happened to you, he's done this before, he knows exactly what can happen out on the field."
"Then it's a good thing James isn't here, and James doesn't make decisions for me." She shook her head. "And that's part of the reason I trust all of you. Most of you know my family, and see me as your family too. We protect each other."
"Will." Emily walked over to the two of them. "I've known Lilah almost her whole life. You're not pulling her off of this idea so easily."
Soot sighed and looked at Lilah, studying her for a moment. "Fine. But we work out most of the plan before Emily calls for a press conference."
