“Why did you lie to her?” Walt asks, walking beside me.
“It doesn’t change anything,” I reply simply.  “Her friend is still dead. She doesn’t need to know she suffered.”
“Does it matter? She’s a hostage.”
“She’s still a person” I bite back. “If that’s your thinking, feel free to join up with Brandon.”
“Sorry,” Walt mumbles grumpily.
“What do we do now?” Jason interjects.
“I need you to keep looking into Valerie’s life. I need to know what Brandon is doing and I need a strong coffee” I moan, trudging down the stairs.
“Coffee, boss?” MJ chirps as if she predicted this moment. She stands at the bottom of the stairs, her blue hair bouncing with her knee but somehow she keeps her arm leveled, the coffee mug steaming but not shaking.
“Thank you” I grumble, taking the mug and taking a long sip, relishing as the bitter taste jolts my senses. I walk into the main area where most of the gang sits waiting, talking or mulling about.
“Okay, plan of attack” I say loudly, the room going silent. Years I have worked for this respect, this authority. No way will I let this setback ruin things. “ I need to know what Hawkins, Brandon and his people are doing. I don’t care how small it is. I have no doubt he is already planning on how to get Valerie back. I also need to know how sales are going with our clients. I need to know if any other gangs know about Valerie as well. Include clients in that too. Sort among yourselves who does what job but i want information as soon as possible. The people working the bar and lookout shift already know their jobs for the day. I want reports given by the end of the night. Now go.” 

The room lights up with movement, people talking and shouting over each other, saying which job they want. Organising themselves into different groups. The usual three groups form. My scouts, my fighters and my combos. The unique players merge with whoever group suits their abilities best. Like MJ who moves to the scouts, her sniper skills make her great for picking out and then off the enemy. To the outside eye she appears as a only petite asian woman, therefore society’s bias labels her as weaker. But to those who know her know her skills with rifles make her terrifying, her ability to fight close distance also being a threat. One of the strongest i have after we left the Lions but she can be a bit difficult to predict. 

After they leave I make my way back towards my office. Jason going out to check on the hangout for a bit. I walk past Valerie’s room and hear nothing but silence. She must have exhausted herself out. She’s probably wallowing right now. I wonder what it’s like to be able to focus solely on mourning. Not worrying whether your next breath will be your last or whether someone you care about will be the next one you bury. 

Naivety like that will only get you hurt in the end and something tells me Valerie is going to learn that sooner rather than later.