Chapter Eight
Lily had been looking forward to this day for weeks. When she’d first broached the topic with Taz and Theo, her nerves almost had her backing out, but in the end, her two closest—and quietest—friends were both on board. As much as they all loved the intense, exuberant atmosphere that came with their large friend group, her and her fellow introverts had a special understanding of the importance of smaller, more intimate outings. Thus, the idea of taking pottery classes together was born. None of them were terribly optimistic about being any good at it. Naturally, that didn”t matter at all.
Another reason for her eagerness was far less exciting. Ever since her and Abriella put a moratorium on work talk at home, Lily had been struggling. She didn”t have a built-in support system at work like Bell did. Luke and Taz made excellent sounding boards for her woes during their shared lunches and meetings. Lily didn”t have that luxury. She desperately needed someone to help her work through the increasingly tangled thoughts surrounding what she learned as part of her job.
The class was small enough not to be overwhelming. It helped that the three of them were the youngest attendees. After a brief introduction by the instructor, the three of them were left to their own devices with a lump of clay and the task of making pinch pots. Lily had no clue what she was going to do with the items they ended up with at the end of this six week course, but that didn”t matter. It was about the process, not the product.
A brief silence fell over them as they started manipulating the clay. She wasn”t sure how to start the conversation she wanted to have, but that was no surprise. Social situations often left her floundering, even if these were her closest friends. The repetitive motion of kneading the clay took over as she spiraled through her thoughts.
“Lil,” Theo whispered across the table and startled her from her hyper fixated state. “What’s wrong?”
She lifted her eyes and glanced between the two men seated opposite her at the work table. The expressions they wore were kind but concerned. She lowered her gaze and realized they”d already made progress on pot-shaped things while she was stuck in the act of kneading the lump of clay. The heat rose to her cheeks as she exhaled a soft sigh.
“Can I talk about work?” She kept her voice quiet so only the three of them were privy to her question.
“Duh, always.” Taz’ foot nudged hers under the table.
“Of course,” Theo added with a flash of a smile. “You seemed troubled. You can always talk to us.”
She nodded, paused, and then nodded again. Formulating her thoughts on the fly was hit or miss, but she didn”t want to lose this opportunity by getting trapped in her head again. “Do you remember the makeshift lab bust from a few months ago?”
“Fucking right, I do.” Taz made a scoffing, snorting sound. “I had to listen to Luke getting almost shot over the comms. Core memory unlocked. Not a good one, either.”
Lily’s lips compressed into a flat line before she continued. “They didn”t catch everyone from that day. They also didn”t catch anyone from any of the other labs in the different cities that were targets for the attempted biological attacks. I got the report from the CDC a few weeks ago and… I can”t stop obsessing over it.”
Theo glanced between her and Taz as his face turned somber. In stark contrast, Taz’ expression reflected rage and frustration. She sympathized with the feelings.
“I know. It”s bullshit. The whole thing is bullshit.” Taz kept his voice to a whisper, but the hiss of his words was clear as day in their little huddle. “They found five in total, including the one here. Five fucking locations and only a dozen arrests in the DC area to show for it.”
“So wait… you”re telling me that the rest all got away?” Theo’s eyes rounded, darting between them even faster.
“That”s right. We have no clue how many people were involved. The investigation is taking forever. I”m worried. There”s nothing I can do, though. The idea that there are dozens, maybe hundreds of people who worked on… on the science behind the biological attack just wandering around out there…” Lily shook her hands in an effort to expel her anxious energy before she destroyed her feeble attempt at turning the clay into a pot shape. It”d been a long time since the hand flapping had snuck out. Normally, she could mask the need to stim. It was a testament to how much stress this knowledge had produced.
“Lil, I get it. I do. There”s a second investigation team just for that alone. They have people in all the cities. We get updates on our end but it really is frustrating.” Taz reached over the table and rested his clay-slick fingers on the back of her hand. “Bell didn”t tell you?”
She shook her head, lowering her eyes to the table and her lump of clay. “No. We agreed to stop talking about work because it”s so overwhelming for both of us.”
“I might not be a shining example of ‘how to relationship’ at the moment but hear me out.” Theo poked and prodded at his blob of clay. It was only vaguely vessel-shaped. “I think you can find a middle ground between no work talk and too much work talk. I think you need to. Work stress is a huge issue for everyone. And if you don”t talk about stuff that’s stressing you out, you’ll end up not talking at all. Exhibit A: Connor and me.”
“Maybe. It just feels so pointless. Everything feels pointless when it comes to this. The attacks, the threats, the oversight committee, the media. We’ve been dealing with this for so long and we aren”t any closer to a solution.” Lily’s shoulders drew up with tension. She barely resisted the compulsive urge to tuck her hair behind her ears for fear of streaking clay through it. The result was another shake of her hands before she managed to channel her energy back into manipulating the clay.
“Amen to that, sister.” Taz squinted at his clay as though it had personally offended him before he continued to speak. “We all feel it. And, not gonna lie, the oversight committee is turning out to be pure bullshit. A buncha talking heads full of hot air. Luke’s expressed similar frustrations.”
“We’re all just waiting to exhale. It”s a sick game of limbo for all of us, just for different reasons. I wish Connor had talked to me sooner. I wish I”d talked to him. We wouldn”t be where we’re at if we’d just talked more.” Theo sat back in his chair with a scowl. “Talk to Bell. I get why y’all decided to try this, but it”s not working for you. I”ve never seen you this stressed out. It”s okay to admit when something isn”t working and try a different approach.”
“Dude. You did not just say y’all. You”re turning into your boyfriend. It”s happening. End me now.” Taz shook his head vehemently.
“Oh my God. You”re ridiculous,” Theo groused, bumping his shoulder none too gently against Taz’ shoulder.
Lily couldn”t stifle the soft laughter that bubbled from her lips. Watching Taz and Theo together was akin to seeing two grumpy old men trying to get along. The constant bickering came with no hard feelings and never cut too deep. It was also quite often hilarious to observe. Soon, all three of them were laughing as they returned to making their pots. She felt pounds lighter as the two of them continued to snipe at each other. Although she hadn”t gotten any solution for the problems weighing on her mind, she had received something better—validation. With a tilt to her head, she realized she hadn”t been looking for a solution in the first place. Simply being heard settled her errant anxieties and left her feeling far more at ease than she had in a while.
Theo held his hands up and scowled. “Shit, my phone is ringing and I’m covered!”
“Fuck it. They can leave a message.” Taz shrugged and fussed over his project.
“What if it’s the kids?” Theo warily poked at his own piece. It was almost a pot. Lily studied all three of the vessels and made a mental note to not comment on the fact that Theo had very little skill in the art of making pottery.
“Angel, kindly shut your face. We talked about this. You time is you time. Cay’s got it under control.” Taz jerked his chin toward Theo”s misshapen monstrosity. “The fuck are you making, ‘cause that is the farthest thing from a pot.”
“It is too a pot.” Theo mashed his thumbs deeper into the center. “See? Pot.”
“A perfectly lovely… pot.” Lily glanced between Theo’s blob and the starkly contrasting items her and Taz had fashioned. She pursed her lips to keep from giggling. It didn”t work.
“You’re both ridiculous.” Theo’s eyes rolled before the grouchy expression on his face deepened. “Okay, I’m gonna find a sink. My phone seriously won’t stop vibrating.”
Taz nearly responded, but paused just before he could say anything. He pushed his chair back from the table with a sigh. “And now mine.”
A wrinkle formed between Lily’s brow as her clutch on the table also started buzzing. This couldn”t be a coincidence. The hair on her arms stood on end as goosebumps erupted over her skin. Her eyes snapped toward her companions and the apprehension hung heavy in the air between them. She reached for her bag, clay covered digits forgotten, and was just about to grab it when the door to the pottery studio flew open with a loud bang. She gasped and spun in her seat.
“Thank the Lord,” Connor rushed out with a heavy exhale.
“Pardon the interruption, everyone remain calm.” Luke flashed his FBI badge and shoved the wallet back into the waistband of his running shorts. The whole thing didn”t make any sense to her as she struggled to parse what was going on. By the time she could formulate words, Connor and Luke were at their table.
“Con?” Theo’s eyes were wide and worried. Lily could see the trembling in his hands from where she sat.
“We need to get y’all away from the windows.” Connor glanced away from Theo to find the instructor. His hand never left Theo”s shoulder. “Reckon we can borrow a back room?”
The instructor fumbled over his words before mutely nodding and pointing to a door in the rear of the room labeled staff. Lily looked toward Luke for answers, but found him on the phone and pulling a very agitated Taz to his feet. Before she knew it, she too was being ushered alongside Theo toward the back room by a very brusque Connor. The space wasn”t very large, especially once there were five people jammed inside.
“What the hell is going on?” Theo pivoted in place and grabbed Connor by the shirt.
“Hold on,” Connor pulled his phone out and answered a call. “O’Brien.”
“The fuck, Luke?” Taz crossed his arms over his chest and squinted at his partner.
“We didn”t want to say anything earlier, but this was sent to Connor.” Luke navigated through his apps before turning the screen toward them. Lily tried to make sense of the small image. It took a while to register, and once it did, she found herself battling intense emotions. The picture of her, Taz, and Theo from just minutes earlier as they laughed together at the table was alarming for how invasive it was, especially since it was taken at a distance.
“And this one maybe a week ago.” Luke scrolled through the photos in his camera before turning it back toward the three of them where they huddled together to peer at the screen. Again, it was a photo taken from a distance. The grainy quality made it hard for Lily to figure out exactly what she was looking at. The pieces slid into place as Theo choked on a gasp and clutched at Lily’s forearm. Once she looked closer, it was easier to identify the subjects as Theo and Taz, seated on the small front porch of Theo’s home.
“When the fuck were you going to tell me?!” Taz reached across the small space in the blink of an eye, pushing his palms against Luke’s chest. “What the fuck? You”ve known about this for over a week?!”
“Hey,” Connor stepped forward to intervene. He pocketed his phone and reached out his hand to hold Taz back. “I told him not to say anything.”
Taz smacked Connor’s hand away with a scowl. “Fuck you. Don”t fucking touch me.”
The jostling and heightened emotions forced Lily and Theo to retreat. There was limited space in the tiny room as it was. Add three men pushing and shoving at one another and it was a recipe for disaster. Theo’s trembling was evident where he clung to Lily’s arm. She glanced toward his face and her heart sank. He looked seconds away from a full-blown panic attack. She was about to jump into doctor mode when a knocking at the door had them all collectively flinching.
“MPD, it”s all clear. We need to ask you a few questions.”
Even after such a brief moment in the back room, the light on the other side of the door had Lily squinting against its brightness. She kept close to Theo’s side and worried over his silence and slow movements.
It wasn”t surprising that, in the time she’d known him, his anxiety had gotten worse, not better. Just when things seemed to be settling down, something else happened to take the wind from their sails. Her temporarily alleviated frustrations returned with a vengeance as she tugged her friend close and tried to be the anchor he needed as their world turned chaotic again. Just as well it helped anchor her too. She shrank from the gawking eyes of the other pottery students and turned her attention fully toward her friend. The small solace his presence afforded her was a drop in the ocean of chaos, but she was thankful for it nevertheless. For as ominous as the world was, especially for them, at least they weren”t alone.