Page 103 of Statler

“I’ll call tomorrow morning and make sure she’s settling in,” Statler added.

If all went well and things got taken care of the way he planned, Stat would actually be on his way south tomorrow morning.

Statler hadn’t divulged that, though, nor had he given any detailed status of his timeline. Instead, he’d sent his love and hung up just before he reached the cottages.

There was a bustle of activity going on outside, as Blue looked to be orchestrating which vehicles they would be taking, and which would stay behind. Like worker ants, the team was moving tactical gear and weapons from locking truck boxes to other locking truck boxes.

“Hey boss.” Dizzy trotted up to Statler’s “Beast” as he pulled in. “I just heard from Mason. They’re a little more than an hour out.”

Wow. Darkness was just beginning to settle in.

Statler had spent way more time with Eliza than he’d thought. But being with her was always so easy, the clock never seemed to have any meaning.

Even in their current, heightened circumstances.

Damn.

Stat was really glad he’d sent her away. Having her around would have proven to be a huge distraction.

It was just after five in the afternoon when Mason and the team members he’d chosen for this op, arrived. They’d trickled into town slowly, as discussed, in three civilian vehicles—four people per car—in case anyone was watching.

When they’d parked to the rear of the cottages where Pipes had waved them in, Statler went to greet his old friend.

“Hey, Mase,” Statler called out as the large man unfolded from behind the wheel of a vehicle that wasn’t meant for someone his size. “Glad you could join the party.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Mason laughed, giving Statler a full grin. “We rarely get asked to help with a federal take-down.” He shook his head. “Were you ever planning on telling me that you’re…what? Working some kind of undercover thing?”

Statler smiled and clapped Mason on the back.

“Why don’t we wait until we’re all settled, and I’ll read you in on what we actually are.” Stat looked around his big friend at the other people who were groaning as they also extricated themselves from cars in which they didn’t fit. “Who’s with you?”

“You know my brother Kyle,” Mason said, as a familiar man stepped forward to shake Statler’s hand.

Statler had met Kyle at a number of functions that had been held on the Sothard’s family compound.

“Great to see you, Kyle,” he greeted.

“You too. But I must say that you’ve got us all speculating on what the hell is going on, and why a construction crew needs our help.”

“And by ‘speculating’, he means betting.” Another large man came forward and stuck his palm out toward Statler. “Doug Lumous. Pleased to meet you.”

Statler laughed, shaking yet another hand. “If betting is what you’re interested in, you’ll have to interface with Dizzy. He’s in charge of all the wagers we make around here.”

“Good to know,” Doug stated, wandering off to mingle with Stat’s team, followed by Kyle. Clearly, they were both interested to find out which one was Dizzy, and if there was any money changing hands.

“You might also know Talia,” Mase declared, ignoring the pair.

Statler nodded at Talia and gave the woman a warm hug. “Yup. We’ve done business in Old Town. A school renovation. Officer Spires was always a ray of sunshine on a boring day when things got slow.”

“Flatterer.” Talia gave him a playful smack on the chest. “But I’ll admit that it was Blue who kept me coming back. A little girl-crush, don’t you know. But I’m married now, so there’ll be no shenanigans, I promise.”

“Not that there ever was.”

Blue grabbed Talia from behind and lifted her in the air, swinging her around before planting her back on earth.

“Hey, girl. It’s great to see you,” Blue gushed. “Congrats on your marriage. Fleet is an awesome guy. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but we were in upstate New York on more…business. Now, are we going to show these guys how things are done?” she asked Statler. “And let them know exactly who we are, now that we’ve joined forces?”

“You bet,” Stat agreed.