“But.. they cannot be trusted!” Ewan‘s voice raised slightly, trying to tightrope between the anger growing inside him and the respect he needs to show his commander.

“Ewan, I listened to all your concerns, but I have made my decision, and it’s final.” Camila walked towards the front door of the town hall, surrounded by assistants and bodyguards.

“With all due respect, ma’am, you made a deal with thieves, and thieves will always betray you in the end. ALWAYS and we can’t risk that with all we have going on right now. I am ..”

“Let me stop you there, Ewan. Everything we have going on is why I need you to focus on security for the upcoming meeting. This matter is no longer your concern, and I will handle it. That’s the end of this, Ewan. Goodbye, I will talk to you soon.” Camila buttoned her pea coat, and she and her entourage left the building, piled into her SUV convey, and pulled away into the distance.

Ewan stormed back into the Town Hall and wore a path of fury down into the basement control room. He rushed to the two men that operated the consoles and stood there for a minute, stewing in his anger and frustration. McNair swiveled his chair and glanced up to see Ewan’s skin turning bright red. The technician’s mind flashed to a cartoon character he once saw whose head turned so red it expanded like a balloon before exploding in rage and shooting a giant mushroom cloud into the air. A mental image that almost made him giggle, and he hastily turned his chair back to the console to avoid laughing. The following 20 seconds of silence seemed to last an eternity, and if you had asked Jackson and McNair to estimate the time spent in silence, it surely would have been 10-fold.

"I need a list of all available personnel we have here on-site, a list of equipment, and I needed it 10 minutes ago." Ewan's voice remained flat, with only slight hints of the acrimonious emotions stirring inside of him.

"Yes, Sir." Jackson and McNair answered in stereo without a look back. Ewan turned to leave the room but stopped and pivoted.

"I want eyes on the group at the campsite at all times. If there is any movement, and I mean any movement, alert me ASAP. They don’t make any moves without my knowledge. Understood."

"Yes, sir!" The McNair and Jackson stereo repeated their tune from moments earlier.

Ewan stormed up the stairs, thoughts and plans spinning through his head at a rapid-fire pace. This group of common crooks may have fooled Siren, but he saw through them. He would be damned if he was going to let them set back the plans they had. Siren was not thinking; clearly, he thought. She had so much on her plate that he couldn’t blame her. The pressure and the stress would get to anyone in her place. Lucky for her, though, she had Ewan, and he had her best interests solely at heart. Why worry her about such a minor detail? Ewan would handle this like he had handled so many tasks over the years, and he doubted that she wouldn’t even notice if Scott and his crew disappeared. Even if she did notice, it would be an afterthought. By then, she would be clear-headed and would thank Ewan for seeing the big picture. These crooks were a problem, and he was just the man to solve it.

Scott and the rest of his group met back at the RV. He summarized his conversation with Siren. The group discussed their options and little changed from the working plans before the meeting with Siren. Play it loose and stay flexible was their approach. Safety for their loved ones was the priority, and no meeting or conversation would change that. They began to pack up the RV with plans to head back to the North-Eastern Territories the following morning. An air of uncertainty and fear loomed over the group like a storm cloud at a picnic. Hopefully, they could plan enough umbrellas to weather any storm.

All in all, everyone seemed glad to have some direction and get back home to their lives and families. Many of the crew had never left the general area they grew up in, let alone the North-Eastern Territory. Rocky Mount was beautiful and exceeded anyone's expectations, but the telltale signs of homesickness began to creep in.

The group sat outside the RV with a roaring campfire, taking a few minutes to relax after completing final preparations for the next day’s departures.

"You have to admit these mountains are a sight to behold," Scott said

"Not going to deny it, but it's going to be nice to get home, man." Bricks swigged a sip from his canteen

"I, for one, can't wait to get back to the good old N.E.T." Yumi smiled and took a tiny sip of hot chocolate she had made. Marshmallows bobbed up and down like icebergs floating in the ocean.

"Once we get back, I can take you on a proper date Yumi. You haven't lived until you had a cowboy take you out for some dinner and a little dancing." Bricks sat up straight and flashed what he thought to be his irresistible smile.

"Slow it down, partner." Vanessa shot out, "Yumi owes me a night out drinking before you try to rope her into a trip to the rodeo and square dancing."

"I do?" Yumi asked

"Yeah, of course, you do, and I am afraid I can't accept no for an answer." Vanessa flashed a sly smile.

"I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter then." Yumi's face blushed as she tried to fight off a smile.

"Well, then you just have to go out with me too." Bricks blurted out

"Vanessa sounded smooth, and you just sounded rapey." Alexia stared at Bricks with confusion, disappointment, and a dash of pity.

"I didn't mean it like that. And I don’t think that rapey is even a word." Bricks voice dripped with defensiveness.

"You know your game is bad when you have to make up words to describe it." Vanessa chuckled.

"I think on that note. I am going to turn it in. We got a lot of driving ahead of us." Scott rose from his seat on the picnic bench and stretched his arms.

"That's a good idea." Yumi took a big gulp of hot chocolate. "I am getting tired."

"Yeah, I am going to crash before Bricks decides to hit Yumi over the head with a club and drag her away." Alexia shot a playful look at Bricks and headed towards the RV.

"I hate all of you. I mean it." Bricks rose and headed towards the woods.

Scott jogged over to him and put his arm around Brick's shoulder.

"You know they are just messing with you, right?"

"Of course, I do. It's all good. I just gotta go drain the little cowpoke,"

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Good night."