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“Not yet. But I will.”
“Son-of-a-bitch,” smirked Hiro. “You put a tracking device on them. A stealth tracking device if my read on the screen is correct.”
“Yes.” He finished his apple, tossing the core into the trash. “Let me know when you are ready to find them. I’d like to be a part of this.”
“Grandfather, you know that Grandma isn’t going to like that.” He stared at Mike, tilting his head inquisitively. “Right. I’ll call you.”
“I think it’s time we went on the offensive. This bullshit of playing defense is getting on my nerves,” said Eric. Mike nodded.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Exposure. It’s time we notified every police agency and every organization with any security personnel of what is creeping into our backyard. We get a press release, send it out, even see if the feds will support the announcement. We can give them the credit for recognizing the infiltration. I want every man and woman with a gun looking for these tattooed bastards and shooting them on sight.”
“That should piss him off,” smirked Dan.
“That’s the idea. But he’ll also have every cop in every big and small town staring down Chinese men with tattoos. I think we blow this shit wide open. If he thinks he’s going to just walk around and start blowing shit up, I think we need to let him know it won’t happen on our watch.”
“Damn, Eric,” smirked Luke. “Got some aggression to release?”
“Maybe,” he laughed.
“I like the idea,” said Luke. “Get with legal and let Lane and Harper take a crack at writing the story. They can release it through the normal channels. Let’s see what kind of shit we can stir up.” Eric nodded, looking at all the people in the room.
“Let’s do it.”
Mike sat beside Sage in the garden as she continued to cry over the betrayal of her mentor. He wasn’t sure what to say to make her feel better.
“We’ll find him, baby. I promise you.”
“It’s not that, Mike. I know you’ll find him, and I know you’ll stop him. Don’t you see? This is my entire world fooling me into believing bullshit. First, it was my parents, then my granny. The woman I trusted with everything fooled me as well. Then, when I thought I had no one else, I trusted the man I believed to be my mentor.”
“You have someone else,” he said quietly. “You have me. I can guarantee that I will not betray you. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. You can always trust me, Sage. Betrayal is not in my DNA, nor anyone in my family.”
“I know,” she said, sniffing back the tears. “I know, and I believe you.”
“Let me get you a cup of hot tea,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Mama Irene always says the garden can heal, and a good cup of tea doesn’t hurt. You stay here, and I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, smiling at her husband. There was something wonderfully calming about the gardens. It wasn’t just the smell but the look and feel. Everything was designed for maximum sensory intake.
Closing her eyes, she listened as the light breeze blew through the hanging moss, the trails brushing along the dirt trails. She could hear the bees buzzing as they took their nutrition from the flowers.
The smell of roses, jasmine, wisteria, and magnolia floated through her brain like a Mardi Gras parade. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Jake seated beside her.
“Jake, I didn’t hear you sit down,” she smiled, trying to wipe the tears away. He handed her an old-fashioned linen hankie, and she started to cry again.
“I heard a young woman cryin’. That doesn’t make me feel good, so I came out to see if you need some company.”
“I don’t know what I need, Jake. I feel as if everyone in the world has betrayed me.”
“Except Mike.”
“Except Mike,” she grinned. “It feels awful. Like someone ripped at my gut. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel. I’ve done nothing to harm anyone.”
“Oh, baby, it don’t work like that in the world of evil. Let me tell you somethin’. When Claudette and I were in high school, we were best of friends. She was the most beautiful girl in the whole damn school, and that was sayin’ somethin’ since she had a twin sister.” He grinned at her, earning a small grin back.
“I wanted to ask her out more than anything in the world, and I knew she wanted that too. We did our fair share of flirtin’ and havin’ lunch together, but that was all. Lord, how I love that woman.”
“Did you ask her out?”
