Misery County

Chapter 13 - Part 1

"I'd like to thank you all for gathering here with me."

"All? There's two of us here, Eric," Cassie said.

"Fine, then by 'all,' I meant 'two,' and by 'two,' I meant 'one,' because you, Cassie, are a painful thorn in my side, as always. So thank you, Jerry, for gathering here with me."

"You're welcome, buddy," Jerry said as Cassie threw her hands in the air.

"So are we all clear on the plan?" Eric said.

"How can we be clear on the plan when you haven't told us what it is?" said Cassie.

"Can you please pay attention? Please? Jerry serves the fake search warrant, I'm perched up on the building opposite with my rifle, and Cassie waits at the back door, ready to bust in on the signal."

"Oh, was that the plan?" Cassie jeered. "Great plan, Eric. Great plan. You've given us literally nothing but a skeleton of what we need to do."

"What more do you need?"

"What more do we need?" Cassie's voice was cracking from trying and failing to keep it quiet. "What more do we need? Maybe the 'plan' should include an actual plan. Maybe we need to know what to do in case things go south. Maybe we should be able to coordinate when the unexpected happens."

"We are able to coordinate." Eric was massaging his forehead. "We've got the earpieces."

"We're not wearing the earpieces! The earpieces are lame!"

"You're fucking lame!"

Jerry shuffled off to the side.

"Why do you hate the earpieces so much?" Eric's voice was quickly losing its cool.

"Because they're pointless and obvious," Cassie yelled.

"Were they pointless when we captured the skin-walker? Also, Jerry wears an earpiece for work anyway, so no one's gonna think twice about him wearing one when he's in uniform, right, Jerry?" Eric turned to his old brother-in-arms.

"Hey, don't look at me," Jerry said, arms up in the air. "I'm staying out of this until you two can figure it out."

"What are we doing here, Eric?" Cassie said. "You're the one always harping on about preparation and not going into these kinds of situations blind."

"We're not going in blind, dumb-dumb. We have a plan, and just because you don't like it, doesn't make it not a plan."

Cassie furrowed her brow.

"Go on. Take the earpiece," Eric said, holding one out to her.

She didn't budge.

"Come on, Cassie. Jerry's already wearing his one, see?"

Jerry looked at his shoes uncomfortably.

"Fine," Cassie said, "but I'm only doing it because it'll be easier to coordinate, not because you're telling me to."

"Yeah, whatever. Now why don't you go scope out the back while Jerry and I get ready out here."

Cassie grabbed the earpiece without a word and set off.

"She's a willful one, isn't she?" Jerry said as soon as she was out of earshot.

"She's driven by hubris and an Icarus complex, but I trust her with my life."

"Icarus complex? That thing where kids wet the bed?"

"Oh, is that what that is?"

"You were the one that used the word, old buddy."

"I guess I was," Eric said idly.

"Hey, on an unrelated note, we've got two more killings," Jerry said.

"What? When? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because they only happened yesterday, Speedy Gonzalez."

"First of all, Speedy Gonzalez does far more crack than I do, so the comparison isn't apt. Secondly, I need to know about these things as soon as they happen, man. I need to have a look at the bodies while they're still fresh."

"Don't you worry about that. I've already said that 'my consultant' needs to see them, so they ain't going anywhere until you do."

"You're a good man, Jerry. If you weren't a fat schlub, you might actually be respectable."

"I'll take that with the love that I know you intended."

"Whatever tickles you pink, amigo. I'm gonna go set up with my rifle. Wait for my signal, then knock on the front door."

"Are you sure you're gonna be able to cover me if the shit hits the fan?"

"Are you kidding me? Look at the massive windows on the side of this building. I'll have a clear shot wherever you are. Just don't get too close to the east wall, and you're good."

"I don't doubt your marksmanship, it's just that –"

"Furthermore," Eric interrupted, "as soon as you give the duress code, Cassie's going to bust in from the back, so even if I don't have a good view for a shot – which I'd like to stress again, would be entirely your fault – you've got another one of us coming to your rescue."

"You're right, you're right. I've just never faced monsters, you know – real monsters."

"I know, Jer. But you can do it, all right. We just need you in there to get a good look at all of their faces and get footage of them. Which reminds me, you do know how to pull footage from the body camera, right?"

"Yeah, Eric, I'm not senile."

"And you can do so without leaving any record for your coworkers that you've done so?"

"They don't work that way, so yeah, I can."

"Great, well hang around a bit while I get set up, then when I –"

"Give me the signal, fake warrant, yadda yadda, I got it."