“A rook.”
“Whatever!”
“You want to make a phone call to someone and make the Agency think we’re heading there for help,” Zane surmised, voice grim.
“Basically. Yeah.”
“And where would we go instead? To DC?” Cameron asked.
Ty nodded, remaining silent as the sound of the tires on asphalt seeped into the quiet car.
“It’s sound, in theory,” Julian said with a frown.
“Who would you call? I mean….” Cameron trailed off, sounding troubled. “Whoever you call will be in just as much danger as we are.”
Ty was still looking into Zane’s eyes. Zane nodded, knowing exactly what his partner was thinking.
“I know a few guys who can handle themselves.”
Zane waited a breath. He knew Ty was talking about his Recon team. And probably Nick fucking O’Flaherty.
“Call one of them.”
JULIAN sat in the backseat of the stolen CIA Tahoe, watching Ty as he made the call. He was surprised when Ty spoke in French. He was quite fluent, even using a convincing accent. He sounded almost like a native speaker.
Julian blinked at him in shock, looking at the two men in the front seat to see if either of them was surprised. Cameron glanced back, but he didn’t seem to comprehend anything other than it was a foreign language and it was far too dainty for a man like Ty to speak. Zane glanced up, eyes on Ty more than the road.
Julian had known Ty could speak French. He hadn’t seen him in Paris like he’d led them to believe, but he knew from a reliable source that he had indeed been there. It was still a shock to hear him speak it. Julian knew enough of the language to decipher that Ty was basically telling the other man, “We’re in trouble, we’re coming to you to lay low.”
Ty switched the phone from one ear to the other, clearing his throat. He spoke in English. “And Digger? Make sure you have coconuts when we get there, okay? Lots of them.”
Julian could hear the tinny voice on the phone responding, and then Ty ended the call. He glanced at Julian and narrowed his eyes as he rolled down the window. The frigid wind whipped through the car, ruffling Julian’s hair, tugging at his coat. Ty tossed the phone out the window and rolled it back up.
Julian stared at him, and Ty ignored him like only children and felines were typically capable of doing.
“Coconuts?”
“It’s… Monty Python. Coconuts were the fake horse. It’ll make sense to him.”
“Right.”
“I was telling him it was a ruse.”
“Got it.”
“Where to?” Zane asked in a solemn voice. The heavy sense of impending doom hung over them, making everything sedate and surreal.
Ty shook his head. “I feel like I just threw one of my best friends under a bus.”
“You said the bayou would handle it, right?”
“Yeah,” Ty whispered.
Julian looked between them. For the first time, the two FBI agents were beginning to take on an air of defeat. He had formed a grudging respect for both men, and he wasn’t so blind that he couldn’t see what they’d done. They could easily have handed him and Cameron over when they realized they were being followed and were outgunned. They had no vested interest in getting Julian to DC, other than they had orders. They were fighting and running and risking their lives simply because Julian and Cameron now needed their help. There was no other reason for it.
“I might know someone who can help us get to DC,” he said after a few more moments of silence to ponder it.
He saw Zane’s dark eyes looking at him in the mirror, and Ty was looking at him as well, messing around with his belt as if something was jabbing him.
“He retired several years ago, bought a… an antique store in Gettysburg.”
“A real antique store, or the kind that can help us?” Ty asked.
“A real one, unfortunately. But I believe he could still help us. He flew biplanes, it was his hobby. He would loan us one for a price.”
“Loan us one?” Zane asked as he kept his eyes on the road.
“A biplane? What are we supposed to do, duct tape ourselves to the wings all the way to DC?” Ty grunted. “I’m not a fucking Wright brother, okay?”
“Well, no, but this will all be over when I get to DC. Two of us could go, the other stay with Cameron.”
“Can you fly a plane?” Ty asked with an incredulous glance at Julian.
“No. I was hoping you could.”
“Do I look like I can fly a plane?” Ty snapped, getting more irritable the more he messed with his ribcage.
Julian pursed his lips as he looked at Ty. “I just assumed, since you enjoyed the TSA so much.”
“Okay, let’s stop right there,” Zane said hastily.
“Julian, would your friend be able to find a bigger plane for us? One he could fly?” Cameron asked as he turned in his seat.
Julian shrugged. “We could ask him.”
“Yes. Let’s go ask him,” Ty muttered. “That’s fucking stupid.”
“Fine,” Julian said, his tone making it clear he was reaching the end of his patience. “We’ll solve this like men.”
“What do you want, MacGuffin, a duel?”
“No.” Julian held out both hands, one palm flat, the other held over it in a fist. “Rock, paper, scissors. Two out of three.”
Ty rolled his eyes and held out his fist, apparently willing to play. Julian hit his palm three times, and Ty kept time with his fist in the air. But when Julian threw a paper, Ty reached into his jacket with his other hand and pulled his gun, aiming it at Julian.
“Ty!” Zane said in exasperation from the front seat.
“Glock, paper, scissors. I win.”
“You are an ass,” Julian muttered.
“Ty, put your gun away,” Zane muttered, less sarcastic than his partner. “To Gettysburg, then?”
“Fine. And when we get there you can shave that fucking ferret’s nest off your face,” Ty said to Zane as he shoved the gun back into his coat.
“And on the way we’ll get some Cheetos and Dr Pepper for Ty’s blood sugar,” Zane added, unperturbed.
In the front seat, Cameron clapped a hand over his mouth so no one would hear him snort.
Chapter 12
CAMERON looked up at Julian as they rode the elevator in the Gettysburg Hotel up to the third floor. “Do you think this man you used to know is still here?”
“I’d like to think so. If he’s not, he’s dead, and that would distress me a little,” Julian answered, deadpan.
“Did you know him well? He was a friend?” Cameron asked.
“More an acquaintance. A coworker.” Julian glanced sideways at Cameron and smiled. “He retired of his own volition. That doesn’t happen often to people I know.”
Cameron rolled his eyes and smiled as the elevator doors opened. “I imagine not, though I like to dream.”
“You talk when you dream,” Julian said in a low voice, fighting hard to keep the smile out of his voice. He took Cameron’s elbow and let his fingers drift down his lover’s arm as they stepped out of the elevator. Ty and Zane had let them go alone to scout the area. Julian knew they were testing him to see if they could trust him, and he also knew that Ty hadn’t made it out of that brawl as easy as he was leading them to believe. He was hurt, and Zane had sequestered him in the hotel room as soon as they’d arrived.
“We have a room to ourselves tonight,” Julian murmured to Cameron with a smirk. “I’m quite looking forward to it.”
“Ty and Zane will still be next door,” Cameron said, but his smile didn’t fade. If anything, it grew wider.
“Like I care at this point.” Julian allowed himself to grin as they came to the door of the first room. He gave Cameron a wink as he rapped his knuckles on the door three times.
“You never cared,” Cameron murmured with a laugh. “About what they think, anyway.”
“I maintain they’re both idiots,” Julian muttered, albeit more fondly than he would have a day ago.
The door opened. “I heard that,” Zane said as he stepped back to let them in the room.
“I know.” Julian waved for Cameron to go in first, then followed with a smirk at Zane as he passed.
Zane shut the door behind them a little harder than strictly necessary, and he stalked past them to thump down in the chair at the desk. His face was set in a deep frown as he glared at Ty, who sat sprawled in a wingback chair near the bed, bottle of water in hand. He’d been bitching about the lack of Dr Pepper for a few days now. He was apparently going through some sort of caffeine withdrawal, and he refused to drink Coke or Pepsi or even Red Bull. They were going to have to force something caffeinated down his throat soon, or he was going to kill them all.
Julian raised one eyebrow at Zane but didn’t comment on his crankiness. The room was thick with tension that almost buzzed between the two FBI agents.
“What’d you find out?” Ty demanded of Julian.
“Well, dinner is quite pricey in the tavern downstairs, there’s a ghost walk that begins at eight o’clock a few blocks away, and the young lady at the front desk is unnaturally friendly. I believe her to be a clone of some sort.”
Ty pinched the bridge of his nose, as if desperately trying to keep himself from shooting Julian where he stood.
Cameron thumped Julian’s arm. “You’re not helping.”
“That’s all we found out,” Julian said with a shrug. “There’s a great deal of construction in town. And it’s been a while since I’ve been here, so it will take me some time to orient myself. I’m afraid I was confounded when I arrived at Nestor’s shop to find that it was no longer Nestor’s shop. He’s moved location, and while I did find the new building and leave him a message, it will be morning before we hear anything from him.”
“Morning. Great,” Ty said as he stood.
“We could all do with a night to sleep,” Zane said.
“I’m antsy, Zane.”
“You’re high on exhaustion and Cheetos.”
“One walk around the block isn’t going to kill any of us.”
“We don’t know who’s looking for us out there.”
“Am I allowed to interject an opinion yet?” Julian asked with a frown.
“No. Shut up,” Ty snapped.
“We need more information and more sleep before going back out. You can’t just run around blind,” Zane stated, his voice dropping into an angry growl.
“You’re one to bitch at me about running blind,” Ty muttered as he sat back down with a thump.
“Ty, put on your big girl panties and stop bitching, okay?” Zane growled, sitting up straighter. Julian noticed one of his hands clutching in and out of a fist. “There’s no way in hell you’re leaving this room tonight.”
“Guys—” Cameron started. Julian reached out to touch Cameron’s shoulder and stop him. He’d seen discussions like this in his line of work, and they sometimes ended bloody. With these two it seemed prudent to stay out of the argument.
“No way in hell?” Ty repeated incredulously. “What are you now, the stroll police?”
“We wait for Cross’ contact and at least wait until dark to go wandering around,” Zane said with finality. “And that’s still a bad idea.”
Julian cleared his throat. “Really, we won’t hear from him until morning. Until then….” Julian shrugged and trailed off as he tried to gauge the tension between the two men. Zane’s back was ramrod stiff as he sat unmoving, and he hadn’t taken his eyes off Ty. Ty was the exact opposite, antsy and agitated, appearing to be moving even as he sat relatively still.
Cameron shifted closer to Julian, taking his elbow as he waited for the ensuing fight.
“I hate it when mother and father fight,” Julian said under his breath.
“Shut up,” Ty snapped at him, then turned on Zane, who stood to meet him. “Sit down, take a bubble bath or something. I need to take a walk.”
“Goddammit!” Zane lashed out without warning and hit the water bottle, sending it skidding across the carpet and splattering at Julian’s feet. “I’m gonna end up in the fucking madhouse because of you!” He reached out and grabbed Ty’s wrist, pulling him closer. “Loving you is going to make me fucking insane! I said no, and I mean it!”
Ty froze. Julian could only see half his face, but he appeared to be staring at Zane, mouth hanging open.
Julian realized he was doing the same thing. After several heartbeats, Zane closed his eyes and exhaled.
“I’m sorry. Did you say loving him?” Julian blurted incredulously. He pointed at Ty. “Him? You and him?”
“Julian….” Cameron tugged on his arm, trying to get him to leave the room, and Julian went along as he continued to gape at them.
Ty and Zane just stood there, frozen, Zane with his head bowed, Ty staring at him.
“I did not see that coming,” Julian said to Cameron under his breath.
“Good to know you can still be surprised,” Cameron whispered. “Now come on.”
Julian nodded and turned with Cameron, glancing back at their companions. “We’ll just be… somewhere else,” he told them as he reached for the door.
There was no answer as Julian closed the door behind them.
“Wow,” Cameron said quietly.
“Indeed,” Julian murmured. He looked at Cameron speculatively, not sure how to parse the information they’d just been made privy to and not certain what to do now that they had an entire night to themselves.