Page 86 of Zeus

His head is hung a little lower, shoulders slumped in a way that would suggest to anyone watching him that he's riddled with disappointment in himself, but I catch the little smirk on his face in the hallway.

As far as that man is concerned, we're playing right into his hands, and his thinking we're right on track with where he wants us will make him let his guard down a little, and that's how we cut the head off the fucking snake.

"Seems pretty basic," Zayne says once we leave the building and get around the end of stacked cars, heading toward the supply building.

He hands me the list, and if it weren't for the numbers associated with each item, it would look like a simple list of maybe a kid going to college or someone getting their first apartment.

Mattresses, snacks, toiletries, a generator, and a few heaters don't set off any alarm bells.

"Cardboard?" I ask, handing him the list back.

"For the windows," Zayne explains under his breath as we approach the supply building.

Once again, we're greeted by a woman when we get close.

"Candy," Zayne says, an easy smile on his face. "Bobby said to give you this list."

She takes the list, looking down at it, but she doesn't ask any questions, making me wonder just how often they set up these kinds of places.

What I do notice is the whoosh of relief that rushes past her lips as if she's grateful that this list doesn't contain certain items. It's as if she knows what each list means, and maybe the setup of a different place, one that was either processing women or catering to sick fuck clients, is something she might have personal experience with.

We'll eventually know her story once we burn this place to the ground. With as bad as I know it'll be, there's a sense of pause in me, one that makes me want to postpone hearing those horrific details just as much as it makes me want to act before having the proof that we need to make charges stick against these people.

"He give you a timeline?" she asks.

"Says the truck will be ready by morning," Zayne tells her.

"Got it," she says before walking back into the supply building.

Chapter 29

Zayne

Last night was uneventful.

Talking with Chris at dinner yielded no usable conversation, and I got the distinct feeling that the man isn't closed off and protective of the information he holds. He's just not in the know.

It's not uncommon for certain members to just be what I call worker bees. They enjoy the "benefits" of the group, but they aren't the people who get leaned on for certain jobs. They're more likely to be sought out for menial jobs.

That could be because they haven't earned their place just yet, haven't fully proved their loyalty, or simply because there's something about their personality that the ones holding any sort of power just don't like.

As the creepy fucking van we're in bumps along the road, an ode to the fucker needing new shocks, I mentally make a plan to expand my little circle. Chris might be a little disappointed when I walk past him to sit with someone else at our next meal, but hurting someone's feelings isn't my concern.

I need information, and I'd like it faster than I've been able to get it so far.

The shortest time I've spent in one of these groups was just over six weeks, so I shouldn't be disappointed that we haven't gotten the information we need to put this one to an end.

The longest I've spent in a group was over five months, and there's no fucking way my sanity will survive being a part of this group for that long. It is one of the more organized groups I've invaded, and it's also one of the larger ones. I wouldn't be surprised if we later discover there are offshoots of this same group in other locations.

The compound alone is much larger than any one I've been to, and it doesn't surprise me that Cerberus gathered enough intel on them to make this all happen. It doesn't make much sense to start with the smaller groups, effectively putting us at the bottom of the food chain, if we could gain access to the top.

We also run the risk that this branch of the LOL isn't at the top of the hierarchy, and by taking this group down, it will only make the ones above it tighten their security and recruiting, making it impossible to gain access to them.

Zeus fidgets beside me, and I know he's less than impressed to be riding bitch in this fucking vehicle. The cargo van has had all the seats removed except for the front bench seat, leaving three of us inside, shoulder to shoulder, with all the supplies loaded in the back. Another guy, introduced to us as Billy, is splayed out on a stack of dirty mattresses in the back, snoring loudly.

Luckily, he's also the guy who was about to walk away with a woman the other night. Given the chance to talk to him, I'd like to feed that anger and see if the guy gives us any usable information.

I'd hoped we'd wake up and be given the keys to our truck, with instructions to unload it and get the house ready. We couldn't risk talking openly on the drive over because there's always a chance they put some sort of surveillance device in it, but not having to act like Lyle and Curtis for an hour or two would've been a great relief, a moment of respite required to keep our sanity.