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An eager gleam lit in Dess’s eyes, much better than the shadow of worry that’d lingered there before. “Then we could test my DNA after all.”
“Exactly.” I grinned at her. “Now, it isn’t a guarantee that someone related to you will also have their sequence in this database, but there’s a better chance of it than any other database in the world, since this is by far the most extensive. And it doesn’t put us or you in view of anyone who has it out for you.”
“That all sounds great. I’m guessing there are a few ‘but’s you haven’t mentioned yet.”
I waggled my eyebrows at her, my rising spirits making even the pain of the gunshot wound feel distant. “I’ll talk about your butt all day if you’d like.”
Dess snorted. “You know what I mean. What are the catches?”
I’d have pointed out that she was quite a catch, but then she might have smacked me even in my invalid state. I turned the laptop back toward me. “Well, for starters, I don’t know how to sequence your DNA myself, and the other guys sure as hell haven’t got a clue. So we’ll have to outsource that. To a private individual who’s capable of it, someone we can be sure isn’t compromised.”
“And?” Dess prompted, obviously picking up on the fact that the element I’d just mentioned couldn’t be the highly dangerous part.
“And in order to compare that sequence against the database, we’d have to actually get into the building and run the processes ourselves,” I said with a wince. “And it is a top secret, high security facility, as I might have mentioned before. There’ll be guards out the wazoo. Not to mention locks and other technical safeguards.”
Dess exhaled in a rush. “Okay. So we’d just have to get past all of that.”
“Yes,” I said dryly. “That’s all. Well, okay, that’s not totally all.”
She glowered at me. “What else?”
“I don’t think I’d be able to go in with you,” I admitted, as much as it pained me to say it. “Even at the best of times, I’m not the most physically coordinated guy around. With my injury on top of that… I’m not sure how well I can walk, let alone dodge a pack of elite security guards.”
“But wouldn’t we need you to get past the tech stuff and tell the computers to do what we want to search for the DNA match?” Dess said.
“Yeah. I can program some things ahead of time, but quite a bit I’d have to be talking you through remotely. Which does make it a more difficult proposition. More chance of human error. I’d try to cover every eventuality, of course, but it’s harder when I’m not right there.”
“Understandable.” Dess’s expression turned pensive. She gazed into space for a long moment as if gathering her thoughts.
I knew that figuring out who she was had always been the largest driving force behind her quest. She wanted to take the people who’d kidnapped her to task, sure, but mostly she wanted to know where she’d come from. What family she’d once belonged to. Even if it turned out they were jerks, I could only imagine the release that knowledge would give her. I had no idea what it’d be like to feel so adrift with no human connections to the most primal part of your past.
“I’m sure we could manage it,” she said finally. “You’ve had to instruct the rest of the crew from a distance for other jobs before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, now and then. It’s not my ideal approach, but sometimes it’s necessary. Never in a situation quite this complex, though.”
She shrugged, a smile coming back to her face. “So it’ll be a challenge. We haven’t backed down from any of those yet. Unless you think we’re not up to the task?”
I shook my head. “It’s not that. I just—I hate the idea of all of you going in there and taking all the risks for a plan that’s totally my idea, while I get to hang out somewhere safe and sound.”
She patted my side, carefully avoiding the bandages there. “I think you’ve already proven very clearly in the past couple of days just how much danger you’re willing to put yourself in for me and the crew. No one’s going to criticize you for not being up to a high-stakes breaking-and-entering mission. I trust you to get us past anything we need your help with, and I know the rest of the crew will have no problem counting on you to look out for us too. If you believe we can pull this off, then I’m all in.”
Her words sent a strange sensation unfurling through my chest, a little giddy but also so unfamiliar I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’d always been someone the guys could turn to for technical support and information, of course, and I’d helped in my own ways on the ground when I could, but the idea that people would trust me to protect their very lives made my pulse wobble.
I wanted to be someone my crew could count on that much, though. And this time—this time I’d do a good job of protecting everyone under my care.
Resolve rose up through me, and I shot Dess another grin. “All right, then. I’ll talk it over with the guys, and then we’re going to need to call in a favor. That DNA won’t sequence itself.”
