“Ignore her,” Remy stated in a quiet tone when he felt me tense. “Let them all underestimate us.”
I nodded and left the line following Jace and Noah to the table already occupied by Will and Paul.
“You guys ready?” Will asked as we sat down.
“As we’ll ever be,” Jace answered.
Paul slid a case over to him. “This is a field phone. Cell service will be close to nonexistent where you’re going. In case of emergency, just dial the number on the inside.”
“Copy,” Jace nodded as he strapped the case to the outside of his pack.
Paul handed Troy a map. “This is the location where you will be dropped off. This is us. Good luck evading the others and returning quickly.” He gave us a confident nod.
“We won’t need it,” Noah said with confidence.
Will chuckled and shook his head indulgently. “Son.”
“Pops,” Noah said straight faced.
“Don’t let that cockiness get you in trouble,” Will warned him with a smile. “You forget you have Terrance, Rachel, Gavin, Sierra, Jemmy, Dawn, Sam, and Marcel trailing you.”
“You say cocky. I say confident,” Noah gave him a cheeky grin. “We’ll worry about them if they catch up with us, but first they have to catch up with us.”
Troy lightly cuffed Noah on the back of his head. “Don’t worry, Pops, some of us are taking it seriously. We’ll keep him in line.”
Noah gave him an annoyed look before digging into his breakfast.
Soon we were being ushered to the elevator and to the helicopter waiting for us.
“If the conditions are satisfactory, and we set a steady pace, we can be back by tomorrow night.” Troy said as he looked at the map.
“What happens if it does snow?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Hard to say. It depends on how bad it accumulates,” Troy shrugged.
“And I thought our rooms got cold,” I said ironically. “Tonight should be fun.”
Remy pulled me into his side. “Our sleeping bags are meant to withstand below zero temperatures, and you can always slip into my sack with me.”
“Smooth,” Jaxson laughed. “I’m sure I can warm you up in more enjoyable ways,” Jaxson winked at me.
“Who says we’re only going to be sleeping?” Remy raised a sardonic brow.
I smiled at them and shook my head, choosing not to get involved in their conversation.
We exited the elevator and walked up a set of stairs to the roof of the facility. I took a deep breath in of the crisp early morning air. We were surrounded by beauty. I just wish we had windows where we spent most of our days so I could enjoy it.
It was still dark out, but during the day you could see that most of the trees were bare. They had shed the striking autumn leaves of gold, scarlet, orange, yellow, and other stunning fall colors. However, the pines that surrounded us were still stunning. The moon was three quarters full and right now, shone bright. I admired the stars above me. You couldn’t see stars like this in the city. The light pollution from where I grew up would have hindered this view as well. I couldn’t see a rain cloud or a snow cloud in sight. I wondered how high the chance of precipitation was.
Remy and Jaxson ushered me towards the waiting helicopter. Jace and Troy took our bags from us and helped me up. I smiled and nodded at the pilot and copilot as I climbed in. I recognized them from some of our training classes. They were a bit cocky but nice.
They both smiled at me and nodded.
Isn’t that the guy Dawn hooked up with last week? Noah asked telepathically.
I snorted. I wouldn’t know. Apparently, I’m some delicate flower that needs to be protected by my big, bad men. I have never seen Terrance, Marcel, or Dawn spread the love as much as they have here.
Blake, Troy said in an exasperated tone. We explained to you our reasoning, and you said you understood why we’ve don’t tell you every little thing we may know. They’re in a new environment without their normal hook ups. It was bound to happen. At home it was easier to keep hidden. Here, we are in close quarters with everyone. The rumors are sure to fly.