Yeah, no news there. While he watched, Aaron began turning slightly pale. Kreed reached up and placed his palms on either side of the kid’s head.
“No. You need to stop this. Listen to me. It’s me against them. Stop overthinking. You’re safe. Get us in there, and we’ll know pretty quickly what we’re dealing with. Stop freaking yourself out. I’ve been in far worse situations and got everyone out alive. This right here is a piece of cake.” Kreed stepped closer to Aaron, willing him to understand his words. “You’re safe. I swear on my life.”
The silence was almost deafening while Kreed waited for some kind of response. Seconds passed and the tension began to lift as he slowly watched calm descend across his partner’s face.
“Somehow those scars on your arm make me feel better about the odds,” Aaron finally said. Neither moved away, and Kreed remained silent, staring deeply into Aaron’s eyes until he felt reasonably sure the kid had a hold of himself.
“You’re a smart guy. Assuming you make it past reception, make mental notes of everything. If any church staffer writes a note after something’s said, remember that conversation. If something starts an argument, focus and remember the finer details. We do reports every evening. Each member of the team will have different facts, find a different perspective. Connors will gather all the information and those reports go to Skinner for assessment. They’ll make sure you have whatever information they assimilate before you ever go back inside that place. Got it?” Kreed asked, taking a step backward when he heard Brown quietly tell him Aaron’s vitals were moving back to normal. “What are you thinking?”
“All this is gonna hold up in court? Don’t we need a search warrant?” Aaron asked.
“I’m glad you’re concerned about staying inside the law. It means you’re vested in the case. That’s all been taken care of. Skinner’s sister in-law’s a judge,” Kreed advised.
“Okay, I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, the file has been buried under a pile of paperwork, so by the time it becomes a public document, we’ll be done here. But right now, don’t second-guess any of that. We’re on a fact-finding mission. During the end-of-the-day reporting, we’ll talk about legalities if we get that far,” Kreed added.
“What if they ask me to do something illegal. Do I do it?”
“Yes. Since we’re monitoring everything, there’s nothing that’ll be held against you, if that’s what you’re asking. Generally, when you’re in the field like this, those are little tests to see how you’ll respond. Talk about God’s grace or just reiterate the kind of jargon they use, but do it. They’ll trust you more if they’re truly the ones behind this.” When no one raised another question, Kreed stepped back several steps and surveyed him. “You look good. I’d think you just came from church camp.”
“Thanks.” Aaron smoothed his hands down the front of his shirt, taking a deep breath. He abruptly pivoted on his heels, leaving Kreed standing alone in the kitchen. Once he heard him treading down the hall, he moved, following behind, walking slower toward Aaron’s room. He’d never worked with anyone so green before, and he had no idea where he stood. If this were Mitch, he’d already be headed over to the church by now. Trying to decide if he’d covered everything, Kreed said from the doorway, “Once you shut their system down, do your thing and stay quiet. Don’t talk too much or ask too many questions. It’ll tip ’em off that something’s not right.”
“Yeah, I got that. Outside of that anxiety attack I just had, I’m a big Five-O fan. I get what we’re trying to do,” Aaron said.
“Okay, well then, let me say that I don’t want you to do anything you’ve seen on that show. Just be normal.” Kreed watched as he slipped his phone in the front pocket on his slacks and picked up a file folder.
“I was joking with the Five-O reference,” Aaron said cheekily.
Kreed pushed away from the doorframe and lifted a fist for a quick knuckle bump as Aaron came closer. “Go make me proud.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Aaron said, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk. He lifted his fist, bumping Kreed’s knuckles as he slid by. Brown barked out a laugh in his ear. Great.
“I’m not that old. You’re not funny. And shut the fuck up, Brown. You got ’em laughing at the bureau, Stuart,” Kreed said, trailing behind as they walked toward the front door. “I’ll be listening in the other room. And Connors says you got this.”
Aaron got to the entryway and stopped. He took a deep breath and dropped his chin on his chest. As much as Kreed wanted to hover, he gave the kid room. This was a big boy move, one that took some cojones to pull off.
“You got this,” he whispered.
“If I fuck this up, I’m sorry,” Aaron said, still looking down.
“Well, don’t do that either,” Kreed teased. He reached up and shoved Aaron between the shoulder blades toward the front door.
“Go get ’em.” That was about all the encouragement Kreed had to offer as he metaphorically pushed Aaron out of the nest. He’d been Sally Sunshine for as long as he could. Now Aaron just needed to get his ass over there. Kreed stepped around the entry wall, back into the main part of the house and waited. When he didn’t hear the front door open, he peeked around the corner. Aaron stood close to the door but hadn’t opened it. Kreed moved back, hiding behind the wall and called out, “Gotta get started in order to fail…”
Several seconds passed again and Kreed came back around the corner. Aaron still hadn’t moved. “What’s wrong?”
“Dude, chill, you’re pushing too much,” Aaron shot back. Kreed figured it was an attempt to divert, to keep Aaron from walking out the door by starting a fight.
“Connors says to buck the fuck up and get out the door. And you know, I kinda gotta agree. Reset the alarm.” Kreed ducked back out of the way, and even then, Aaron still didn’t move right away. Kreed dropped his forehead on the wall and closed his eyes. Everything hinged on Aaron and he was having cold feet. His head shot up when the door opened and the alarm beeped. Hallelujah! The code was reset and the front door shut with a hard slam. Kreed looked around the corner knowing there was a fifty-fifty chance Aaron hadn’t actually left. When he saw he was gone, Kreed pumped his fist in the air, celebrating his victory before he quickly spun on his feet.