Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“Fuck me.” Dex handed the bag back to Austen, his insides twisting. “Who gave it to you?”

“What the fuck does it matter?” Ash growled.

“It fucking matters!” Dex snapped, giving Ash a start. He turned his attention back to Austen who was studying him. “Did the THIRDS give it to you?” For the first time since Dex had known Austen, he saw the cheetah Therian’s expression turn grim and his dark eyes cloud over. Something told him there was a whole other side to the cheetah that wasn’t so cheeky.

“It’s not relevant to this investigation.”

“It’s not relevant? We’re about to put it in someone’s drink, and you’re telling me it’s not relevant? Pearce injected me with that shit and fucked me up, almost got me to kill someone, and you’re telling me it’s not relevant?”

Cael got to his feet. “Hold on. It’s the same drug from the lab? The lab that technically never existed which has been decommissioned?”

Austen casually returned the baggie to his pocket before folding his arms over his chest. His hard gaze moved from one Destructive Delta member to the next. “Are you G.I. Joes done pretending like fucked-up shit don’t happen on both sides of the law? If you want to back out, now’s the time to do it. You brought me into this, not the other way around. I have enough shit on my plate without putting my neck out on the line for an unauthorized mission.” His dark eyes landed on Dex. “Right now, your partner’s in Hogan’s sights. You gonna wait around for him to finish what he started, or are you going to put an end to this bullshit?”

Dex gritted his teeth. He should have known the whole mess with the Therian Research Facility wasn’t behind them, but he had other worries right now. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

With a wink and a smile, Austen patted Dex on the arm. “That’s more like it. Now, as I was saying. We get Bautista to talk. He’s a talker. He’s also a cuddler. If he really doesn’t know anything, we cut him free, put a tail on him, see if he leads us to Collins, though it’s unlikely. I’ve been tailing the guy for days, and Collins is always the one who finds him, not the other way around.”

“What kind of guys does Bautista go for?” Letty asked.

“Cute guys.”

Letty rolled her eyes at Austen. “Thanks for narrowing it down.”

“Ash is out of the question. You’ll just scare the shit out of him.” Austen moved on to Hobbs. “You’re cute, darling, but too big.” He gave Hobbs’s bicep a squeeze and a wink. He turned to Cael and gave his cheek a pinch. “Sorry, my friend, but you and I are too adorable. Bautista has a type. And it’s not just willing and able.” Austen spun on his heels and jutted his fingers at Dex and Calvin. “The guy’s a sucker for the classics. Blond and blue-eyed.”

“I’ll do it,” Dex said. It wasn’t fair for him to expect Calvin to take such a risk when it was his idea to go after Hogan.

Ash’s protest descended swiftly. “Hell no.”

“You don’t agree?” Dex gasped. “What a fucking surprise.”

“For one, I don’t like the fact we’re lying to Sloane. It’s bound to blow up in our faces. But more importantly, if anyone from Hogan’s gang shows up, including Collins, we’re screwed because they’ve seen your face. They saw you at the exchange. In fact they’ve seen all our faces.”

“No they haven’t.” Calvin held a hand up. “I wasn’t at the exchange. Well, technically I was, but I was up on one of the containers. No one in the group saw me. I’ll do it.”

“Do you even remember how to pick someone up? When was the last time you had a date?”

“Screw you, Ash.” Calvin turned to Dex, his expression unwavering. “I can do this.”

“Are you sure about this, Cal?”

Calvin gave him a stern nod, and Austen rubbed his hands together gleefully. The guy really enjoyed his job way too much. “All right. We’ll meet up a block away from Candy Bar at ten o’clock.” He checked his watch before winking at Calvin. “You have three hours to make yourself look pretty. Wear something nice.” He turned to Cael and threw an arm around his neck. “You’ve got two and half hours to turn this van into something James Bond would be proud of.” Austen waved at them and slipped out of the van. Dex braced himself.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cael rounded on him. “You want me to turn a catering van into a surveillance van in two and a half hours? Are you out of your mind?”

“Come on, Cael. You can do it. You’re awesome at that stuff.”

“That stuff isn’t like hooking up your home theater system, Dex! Especially without access to my equipment locker at work.”

“Your brother’s right, Cael. You can do it,” Ash said gently, bringing Cael’s tirade to a screeching halt. Cael’s cheeks went pink, and he frowned down at his sneakers while Ash continued. “If anyone can pull this off, you can. You’re the smartest, most capable guy we know. We have faith in you.”

Dex noticed how Calvin and Letty exchanged glances. They weren’t stupid. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the team figured something was going on between his brother and Ash, even if technically nothing was going on.

“Fine. But you need to drop the van off at my apartment, like, yesterday.” He stormed to the end of the van and slipped out. Calvin soon followed, leaving a confused-looking Hobbs behind. Dex threw him the keys.

“You mind driving?” Keeping Hobbs busy would probably be a good idea. He had a feeling this mission wasn’t going to be as straightforward as Austen made it out to be. Aside from the fact Calvin was taking a risk going undercover, there was the question of how far he was willing to go to get any useful information. There was no telling how Hobbs would react.

“What do you need me to do?” Letty asked.