“That’s a trap.”
“No way you go alone.”
“This is bullshit.”
“Prez…”
Chaos rolls through the room like a storm. Through all of it… I haven’t moved, my eyes are still locked onhimand he's still staring at the blood stained cut at his feet.
Angel leans toward Cypher and Ledger joins them, the three of them talk quickly. Then Angel suddenly slams his hand down again.
“Shut the fuck up!”
Silence crashes back into the room.
“We need to show force on all sides.”
His eyes sweep the room.
“That means we putthisaside.”
His gaze flicks briefly toward me.
“Fornow.”
The emphasis is deliberate. Something bitter bubbles up in my chest and a laugh slips out before I can stop it. Twisted and ugly.
Clutch finally looks up, his eyes hit mine and then shift to Angel.
Then…
Slowly…
Like each movement hurts him, costs him something… He bends down. The entire room watches as he picks up the cut. His fingers pause on the blood smeared across the patch.
Just for a second.
Then he stands and walks toward Angel. They talk quietly, it's heated, but too low for me to hear. But I watch Clutch’s face carefully. The tension in his jaw. The tight line of his shoulders.
Then something shifts. I see it in real time Something cracks across his expression. I watch as his eyes squeeze shut, just for a second.
Then he turns his back on me, his shoulders hunching slightly. Angel slaps a hand on his shoulder, leans in and whispers something. But, Clutch doesn’t respond.
Angel turns back to the room.
“We need to split up to stay united.”
The room erupts again giving me whiplash.
“This is a trap.”
“What if Four’s the bait?”
“What about the informant?”
“What about what the fuck just happened?”
Angel ignores it.