The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

102. Michael's Call

RILEY

WE SKEDADDLED SOON after the catcalling men drove out of sight, and I set on the route back to Raymond's with a strange thrill buzzing in my chest. I did everything possible to distract myself from it, because I didn't want to look closely into why I enjoyed doing that. 

In general, the trip had been lukewarm in terms of 'bonding'. An attempt was made.

"We've gotta do something about that delivery next month," I told Lauren. "You think we can keep doing the same listening crap at this rate?"

"No." A muted laugh as she stared at rolling lawns, fiddling with her top's collar. 

I clamped my jaw at the vagueness of that. "What about your guy on the inside? Vance? You said he was super antsy about being compromised, but is there really no way to reach him?"

Lauren dropped her palms on her lap. "Vance could help. However, there's only one way I can think of to get his attention. One glaring issue: it's the last thing any of us want to do."

Rows of neat houses with trees lining the road gave way to narrower streets with small, shack-like houses, most often without mounting steps or driveways. The space got tighter. I turned onto our street and started up the hill, ruminating over what she meant. 

"You couldn't, like, give some more details before making us beg for once? Because you clearly can." 

"Where's the fun in that?" She let me park into our driveway. I lifted my foot off the pedal and killed the engine. The dashboard lights flashed out. I glanced sideways, raising my brows at her. 

Lauren sighed in the seat. "I have no method of sending anything to him that others can't intercept and he's totally going to throw me under the bus if they do. We can only draw him to us and, God willing, Vance might agree to listen. Perhaps even to help. All we need is inside information about the delivery."

Generous guy, from the sound of it. The more she spoke, the more I cringed. 

"So we need to undo our cover and attract attention," she went on, sending my uneasiness into near-panic. "They might summon him out with whatever team and then I can make contact with him and we go our separate ways."

I swallowed through the needles in my throat. "How would you know they're sending him?"

"That would be easier to find mentioned in a conference room, so we'd pick it up in advance. We'll know the moment they see us," she explained, and the following silence wrecked my brain. 

To attract attention, we needed to be seen in public as ourselves. Who knew how long it'd take for the authorities to notice us, and once they did, how would we fare afterward? I wiped a sleeve along my brow, inwardly laughing at the boys' eventual reaction to this idea. I wished we had better, but I had no alternative to suggest. 

Intercepting a communication and being thrown under the bus could happen without us being aware of it. They could blindside us again. At least this way if something failed, we were alerted on the spot. But the danger would be so much closer. 

❃ ❃ ❃

"Hey, ladies finally made it!" Raymond walked into the foyer with his arms wide apart. He dove in to catch two of our bags. "Got the stuff?"

"Yup. The rest is in the trunk. I think Lauren got enough pineapple to last us a lifetime."