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Gauge grabs Ziggy by the collar of his tactical vest. “Are you insane? You shut your fucking mouth.”
Ziggy shoves Gauge off of him, his nostrils flaring. “So we’re all supposed to ignore the massive elephant in the room? If it’s true, it explains a whole fucking lot.”
Folding my arms, I swallow that jagged pill of theory. “It explains his obsession with me,” I say numbly.
Gauge whirls on me, pointing his finger. “Get that sick idea out of your head, Atlas. Until it’s proven otherwise, it’s not true.”
Brass has been staring out the window for a fair amount of time, his eyes looking upward, ignoring the argument breaking out in the room. I get it—I also want to escape from this uncomfortable conversation. The more I watch him, the clearer it becomes he’s not lookingoutthe window butatthe window.
“What’s got your interest, Brass?”
He points at the window. “Was looking at these old-school roller blinds. I haven’t seen anything like this since I was a kid.”
This place is like a time capsule. It screams the 1980s. “You know what those blinds always reminded me of? The roll down maps we had back in elementary school that the teacher would pull over the chalkboard for a geography lesson.”
Wouldn’t that be something if it was? Like a map right to Esteban.
My heart leaps as I rush to the window, pulling the cord for the roller blind.
“Holy shit,” Chase murmurs behind me.
In front of us is a map of Colombia with pinpoint locations dotted in red.
I snap my fingers at my brothers. “Check the other windows.”
Punk and Ziggy rush to the other two windows. Both are maps. One of Central and South America. The other of the United States. All have red pinpoint locations. Not sure what the spots represent, but I know it’s important.
“Why would this get left behind?” Gauge asks.
“Look at this place,” Brass says, indicating to the whole house. “It’s virtually untouched. My guess, Atlas’s dad and his team busted in here, grabbed his mom, and got the fuck out of dodge. They weren’t supposed to be in the city. Esteban came back, saw Atlas’s mom was gone, knew his location was blown, and bolted. Who the fuck is going to grab blinds when the heat is on them?”
Gauge doesn’t look convinced. “Why not come back for them?”
“And risk himself or his team getting caught with the evidence in hand?” Brass shakes his head. “Naw, man, you let sleeping dogs lie.”
“Then how do we know these locations, whatever they are, are still in use?” Punk asks.
“We don’t know,” I answer. “Maybe he cut his loss and started a new, but maybe he didn’t. We won’t know until we investigate. Either way, it’s a solid lead. They’re coming home with us.”
