It took practically an act of god to get her to take some pills and rest for a while. I think she wanted to rush right off to Andrei’s, storm the place, and rescue Quinn before her father does anything rash. But we need a plan. Not to mention more firepower and muscle.
I send a text to Al to see if she and the other girls can come to Daria’s. It was weird meeting them all at the hospital, knowing what they do, having it in the open, and being outside the bar setting. Not that I saw them that often at the bar, but when I did, even after I found out about Daria’s little nighttime activities, it was easy to just leave them in that bar role in my mind.
No need to go confusing things by turning the cocktail waitresses and the bartender into human lethal weapons.
My phone beeps with a new text.
AL: Have Darlings, will travel.
I chuckle even though it’s not that funny. She’s an odd one, Alyssa. Sometimes I’m convinced she’s talking in code and really she’s just making a joke that only she understands or finds funny.Haveblank, will travelis an idiom that’s been around forever. And since most of us try to shy away from using them in normal conversation around Daria because she hates them, I’m surprised Al is using it in text.
Which makes me wonder if it’s code for something. Like Daria and Ronan with their food order texts. If it is, her efforts are lost on me; I’ve no idea what it means. But I’m happy they will be here soon. If nothing else, maybe the girls and I can figure out the best way to find Quinn, infiltrate Andrei’s place, and if she’s there, get her out. If she’s not, then stick to the original plan of grabbing Andrei and his guys and delivering them to Ronan.
Although, shit, maybe the better plan is just to let Daria’s father bomb the entire place if Quinn isn’t there. Take them all down. Ronan wouldn’t get his hands-on, face-to-face retribution, but it would take care of Andrei. And all the other men.
Plus, if that were to happen, then Daria can remain resting on the couch and take the needed time to heal. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.
I laugh even as I think that, knowing that Daria will never go for it. She’ll wake up the minute the girls are here, drugs or no drugs in her system. And she’ll never let us go anywhere without her. It’s not in her nature. That, combined with the belief that she’s invincible, Daria would rather risk setting her healing back weeks than miss this little trip with us.
For a moment, I consider drugging her for real. Like something that will knock her the fuck out. Eventually, someday, maybe she’d forgive me. But on the off chance that she wouldn’t, I throw that idea out almost immediately.
The girls let themselves in after knocking once, whether by key or picking the lock, I’m not sure. Regardless, I make a mental note to get Daria an alarm system installed ASAP. Not that I’m worried about the girls, I’m not. But if they can get in, I’m assuming someone else could too.
Al peeks her head around the corner from the entryway, her blond hair swinging in front of her face before she tucks it back behind her ear. “She asleep?”
I nod.
Al motions to the kitchen, and I stand to follow them in there. It won’t block the noise from our conversation altogether, but it will dull our voices some if we talk softly.
I take the seat closest to the living room so I can hear Daria if she wakes. Al takes the chair to my right, with Jen and Roxie directly across from us at Daria’s jutting kitchen island that doubles as an eat-in kitchen table. All three look at me, waiting to hear the reason I called them over.
“Daria’s father plans to take out Andrei’s compound.” I expect one or three to gasp or make some sort of sound at that. But each remains still and silent. “We think Quinn might be there.”
Al nods.
“What’s the plan?” Roxie asks.
“That’s why I asked you here,” I admit. “I don’t have one yet.”
Al pulls a notebook from somewhere on her person and a pencil from behind her ear. “All right then, let’s make a plan, shall we?”
* * *
Even though Daria woke up mid way through our impromptu meeting, she agreed to let us do all the groundwork at Andrei’s while she remained in the SUV as the lookout. Honestly, I’m a little surprised she was willing to be in a vehicle outside Andrei’s compound again so soon. But this time we chose a spot at the rear of his property where the truck can remain mostly hidden from the road, while still giving Daria a decent view of the grounds.
To say that I’m impressed by her girls’ skills would be an understatement. There’s something to be said for having less body mass when trying to scale walls or crawl into tight spaces. The disadvantage of having an estate as palatial as Andrei’s is that once you are inside the perimeter walls, it’s impossible to monitor every single access point to the domicile. He has the bulk of them covered by security cameras, but Al found us one that gets us in inside a matter of minutes.
Traversing the space inside, however, is another story. It’s a literal maze of hallways and interconnected rooms once you leave the main level. Like the open space of the ground floor has to be countered by dozens of walled-off spaces. I realize that much of that is to hold women prisoner and/or make it harder for them to escape, but it’s still mind-boggling.
Not to mention that I’d been here twice before and never knew all of this existed.
Al did though.
How she gets her information is scary to me. Both her skill and the amount of intel she’s able to amass in a relatively short amount of time is miraculous. The bureau could clean house with someone like her on staff. Not that I’d tell them that.
I bring up the rear of our single-file line snaking its way through the house with Al in the lead using some kind of moving floor plan on her phone that gives us directional guidance and thermal imaging.
I want to ask her where she got it, 'cause it’s cool as fuck.
