Chapter 14

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Though a little rocky at first, the afternoon spent at Tania's proved to be very productive and resourceful for the group. Thanks to her skills with the FBI, Tania was able to locate the factory that made La Iguana cigarettes on her computer, situated a few hours away from Cuba's capitol. Its sole distributor was Liu Shu Incorporated, furthermore confirming Han's findings and Lee's suspicions.

Right away, Carter wanted to start planning their descent to Havana as soon as possible, leaving the case in Oakland to the local police with the proof they've collected so far. Both Lee and Tania agreed that they needed a little more time to figure out how they were going to infiltrate Carl's business properly, but saw that they had no choice to go to Cuba themselves. Tania promised she'd contact the FBI for backup and protection.

Hearing the possibility of them leaving the country, Trish worried for her father and this whole case that seemed to frame him as the bad guy, even though she now knew better. It was one thing trying to settle things here, but flying to Cuba would be uncharted territory. She wasn't entirely sure if they could pull off something at that scale, even if they had the police on their side...

By the time nightfall came, the only problem left was the sleeping arrangement. Living alone in a semi-detached house, Tania's home was not the best-prepped for receiving guests, especially not sleepovers. Still, their hostess did her best to set something up for all of them.

"Alright, the couch-bed can fit three people max, so I'll let you guys decided who's gonna sleep on the floor," Tania told her guests as they gathered in her living room. "The girl is bunking with me in my room."

"Hey, no fair!" Carter spoke up. "Why she get to sleep in your bed, I've known you the longest! Plus, I make for great company, Johnson."

"And that's exactly why you can keep company to your boys and do whatever guys do together," she rolled her eyes at him.

Han hesitantly raised his hand. "I don't mind keeping Trish company."

"Of course you don't!" Carter waved him off. "This ain't daycare, you don't get special treatment for raising your hand before talking, boy."

Maurice quickly came to Han's defense. "Hey man, respect the game."

"I think I'm gonna stay with Tania," Trish crossed her arms, avoiding Han's gaze. "It's less of a headache."

"Sure," he said, trying not to look too disappointed, "if that's what you want."

"That's all good and stuff," Carter cut in, "but there's no way I'm sleeping on the floor."

"Me neither!" Maurice exclaimed. "Dibs on the bed!"

Lee rushed towards the couch. "Elders first!"

The guys all threw themselves at the couch, piling on each other to secure their place. Trish watched as Han playfully wrestled with Maurice, still finding weird that they got along so quickly, but secretly happy to see him integrating so naturally.

"Why don't we let the guys tussle while I show you upstairs?" Tania nudged her, shaking her head at the boys' rowdiness.

Trish smiled at her before heading towards the stairs, not noticing that Han watched her as she left with Tania, his heart heavy in his chest.


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