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“This is the address Tony gave us. It's a bit more remote than I expected.” Lukas looks exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than I've seen them in a while.
Reaching forward, I rub his shoulders. “Thanks for driving.”
His gaze catches mine in the rearview. “I love you, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” One side of my mouth turns up. “I love you back, but don't do that. We're all going to be fine.”
He yawns as we reach the top of a hill, following the driveway to a ranch style brick house with a large manicured lawn. Sprawling crops, I’m guessing tobacco, surround the property as far as we can see. There's a huge barn towards the back of the property. The driveway circles around the house, leading to a three-car garage. Lukas parks the van in front of the garage doors, dialing Tony as he steps out to stretch.
Luis startles me by opening the sliding door beside me. Thick, warm air seeps into the air-conditioned van.
“Is it just me, or is it hotter here than it was at the cabin?”
“Mountain air is cooler.” Jackson answers on a yawn, pulling Six into a hug and sniffing her neck until she's laughing.
“I'm awake, I'm awake!” She cries, scrambling off his lap.
We clamor out of the van and look around at our surroundings. The way the property is situated on an incline gives it the illusion of being incredibly secluded, despite knowing that the city is nearby.
Luis frowns. “Why is the air so…sticky? I hate it.”
Six giggles. “You're such a grouch.”
Lukas walks around from the back of the van. “I agree with Luis. The South sucks and I'm ready to go home.”
Jackson pats Luis on the back, earning himself a scowl. “I'm ready to go home too, and we will. Eventually. We're just going on a little family vacation first.”
Luis makes a noncommittal noise at Jackson's proclamation. I can tell he doesn't dislike Jackson as much as he pretends.
“Is it wrong that I'm kind of excited?” Six looks at the four of us standing behind her. “I mean, of course I have nerves about tonight. But I'm excited to have Bennet back, and fly somewhere exotic.”
I can't help but smile. “I'm not sure that Oregon counts as somewhere exotic.”
“I've never seen the ocean. That's pretty exotic to me.” Six shrugs.
“It's going to be great. We can take all this Big Dick Energy to the beach and make sandcastles. I got Luis, Bennet, and me matching Speedos.”
To his credit, Jackson manages to hold a straight face for much longer than the rest of us. Luis' face is too funny, like he can't quite decide if Jackson is kidding or not.
Shaking his head, Lukas herds us towards the house. “We need to get some rest before tonight. Proper rest.” He gives Six a look.
“What?” she says, feigning innocence as she walks ahead of us. I don't miss the way her cheeks flush.
“There are six bedrooms and I think four bathrooms. If we need to separate ourselves to get some rest, then I suggest that's what we do.” His tone is light, but I can tell he's starting to tense up and get serious.
While everyone else is finding comfort in making jokes and talking about our escape plan as if it were an actual vacation, it's having the opposite effect on Lukas. I was actually really surprised by the road-head and van orgy earlier today. Normally, that sort of thing would have freaked him out. And while I certainly noticed how he never once swerved or dropped his focus from driving as safely as possible, that he even entertained the idea of it was unlike the Lukas I've always known.
Luis and Jackson come in behind us, carrying the bags of our equipment.
“Why don't we get everything set up and organized for tonight, then we can shower and sleep until it's go-time?” I suggest, thinking that it might help Lukas relax a little.
He visibly perks up, grabbing his laptop bag and getting to work. I unpack a bag of medical supplies and focus on turning one of the smaller bedrooms into a makeshift treatment area. We have no idea what kind of physical condition Bennet will be in, not to mention injuries that any of us could sustain on this mission, so I want to be ready for anything. I have suture kits, IV fluids, antibiotics, bandages, even a few surgical supplies that I am definitely not sufficiently trained to use.
Once all of our tactical gear is set out and we set the computer equipment up, Lukas seems a bit more in control of his anxiety. Six even set out everyone's outfits, lining up our boots and everything. Jackson set out sandwich ingredients for lunch while we worked, and Luis meticulously checked every weapon and earpiece for the mission.
Six has been watching Lukas closely the whole time. Like me, she seems to recognize his calmer demeanor. Coming up on her tiptoes, she kisses Lukas on his cheek before excusing herself to shower and lie down.
“We should all be up and getting dressed by 10pm,” Lukas calls out to everyone as they make their way to their rooms.
