“Fast mover,” Alicia said. “I like it. Oh, and I’m in.”
Drake saw Gates’s statement a different way. To him it meant the sharks and the snakes would already be gathering at the door — the sharks to feed off the group’s successes, the snakes to infiltrate its ranks.
Then Ben was at his side, a human Bassett Hound with his eyes drooping and his face all sad. “What do you think?” Almost as if he was asking permission.
Drake clapped him on the back. “I think it’s a damn sight better than singing in a band and shagging groupies, mate.”
“Working for the government?”
“Saving lives. Taking down evil. Hey, maybe you could ask Taylor to come and join us. Or that new group you’re in to. Halestorm, is it?”
“Nah. Not any more. Lizzy won’t respond to me on Twitter.”
“No?” Drake tried to sound shocked. “So misguided.”
“I like the sound of working with this team,” Ben said. “And Karin’s in.”
“Don’t join for Karin, mate. And certainly not for Hayden.” Drake had taken off the kid gloves with Ben the moment Kennedy died. He wasn’t about to put them back on now. “It won’t all be a bed of roses, you know. We could get our arses kicked. If you do join, make sure it’s for the team.”
“What’s our first assignment?” Ben asked eagerly.
Gates eyed him. “You think I’d move that fast?”
Hayden laughed. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”
“Well…there is something.”
“Let’s see what kind of major shit we can get ourselves into.” Alicia joined them. “And hey, what’s the HQ like? More importantly, what’s the armory like? Do we have our own jet? Oh, and that surveillance system that can see through walls? Now, that would be cool…”
Gates was laughing. “Well, I’m not too sure about the jet, but within reason, we should be rather well-equipped.”
Alicia grinned back. “That’s my kind of talk. Let’s drink to it.”
Drake grinned and nodded without paying too much attention. He’d already made up his mind and zoned out for a few moments. Memories of Belmonte and Emma spun out of the fog of memory to remind him of their sacrifices. One thing Drake promised himself was that he would seek out Emma’s father and explain what had really happened to his daughter. No parent should ever be in the dark about the fate of their child — no worse a torment existed.
And one vile name remained seared into his brain like a loathsome brand, like a wide-open, festering wound. The name Coyote—man or woman, near or far, assassin or official…
…one day, Drake would be there to claim much more than his mere pound of flesh from that person. And if the madness of vengeance claimed him afterward — then so be it.