Senseless

operation

Nash's phone wouldn't stop ringing. We'd taken a week off school after the Jackson incident, but he'd made sure to take me down into a basement with a few mats for sparring and a few punching bags. In there, we trained. The scene was different than the gym; the walls weren't clear and the room was bigger.

While we trained, he ignored his phone and helped me instead. I was growing irritated and apprehensive. Why wouldn't it stop? It could have been important and here he was, ignoring it just because I didn't want to be weak anymore.

Finally, I grew annoyed and stopped my sit-ups, hanging upside down from the bag while looking at him irritably. "Shouldn't you answer it?"

"It's the same thing over and over," he waved off. "They aren't really calls to talk so much as warning calls."

"Warnings?" I bit my lip, putting my hands on the floor and flipping off the bag. He came back around as I started hitting the bag, holding it still as I kept my punches contained into a tight space as he'd taught me.

He didn't answer my nervous word, his face oddly concentrated for an easy task like holding the bag still. I frowned, stopping and taking a step away from the bag. He frowned at the movement. "What are they warning you about?" My voice was serious, demanding answers. My paranoia had been on overdrive since Jackson's threat and the thought of Liam's impending attack.

He sighed, raking a hand through his thick, black hair. "I found Liam." I sat on the mat, which was about a foot or so off the ground. "He doesn't know, but he's moving."

"He's getting ready," I slowly deduced. Nash nodded, taking a drink of water and offering me a bottle. I took it gratefully, watching him expectantly.

"I wasn't going to tell you."

"Yeah, I know," I said icily before he could continue.

Nash sighed, giving me an annoyed look. "He's planning. We have two guys on the inside, but he hadn't even told his men where he went. He knows we aren't hurting Sophie, but the minute we do, he'll be on our doorstep with an army behind him."

I took a slow breath, calming my whirring mind. "But we'll win, yeah?"

"I have no doubt that we will," he said in amusement. I frowned. If he didn't have even the slightest doubt, why did he seem so worried? "But not without losing a good number of people."

"But if we killed Liam, it would probably be over."

He looked at me in surprise, pressing his lips together in thought. "If we killed Liam, we would likely absorb the Hills and would likely all become the Michaelson's'. It would be a difficult feat to achieve and many of his men would be vengeful. He's a hard one to win over and the Hills trust their leader."

"But if there wasn't a leader to trust—"

"They would still likely be apprehensive to accept me as the boss," he cut me off, his jaw clenching. "It isn't as easy as it's thought to be. Besides, they could easily have someone ready to take over after Liam's death."

"So we kill him too!"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Where is this murderous side coming from?"

"The side of me that's ready for this all to be over." He sighed, his bottom lip white from the pressure of his teeth. "Why can't we make the first move? We could sneak up and get rid of a good part of his guys before he even knew what hit him."

"We have the advantage if he comes for us."

"I don't believe in the home field advantage," I said bitterly. He sighed. "I mean, he obviously has guys wherever he is. We go there, get rid of the ones we can without being noticed, then take to the estate he lived in and get a lot of them," I explained. Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Nash considered the idea. It was probably completely foolish, but I knew we were desperate by now.