Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

layout.”
    Zane stood and went to his suitcase, digging through it to bring out an iPad. “If it was ever on the internet, I’ll find it.”
    Nick rested his elbows on his knees. “We’re really doing this?”
    “Unless you can see another way that doesn’t involve a full-blown war,” Ty said. “We’ve already lost Doc; we won’t make it out alive if we go toe-to-toe.”
    Nick was silent, nodding.
    Ty sucked in a shaky breath. “We’re going to need some supplies. We might as well start now.”
    “We’ll need fake blood,” Nick said. “Lots of it.”
    “Oh, I can do that.” Digger hopped to his feet and grinned, rubbing his hands together.
    “There’s a mom-and-pop store down on the corner,” Ty said. “The back door only has bars for security.”
    “Got it.”
    “We’ll need something for camouflage too,” Nick told him.
    “Got it!”
    “No peppers!” Ty added urgently.
    “All right with your damn peppers! One little anaphylactic episode and he’s freaking out about the peppers.”
    Digger turned to get his jacket, and Owen began to gather his things as well.
    “Owen,” Ty said. Owen turned, and Ty shook his head. “He’s got to go it alone.”
    “What? Why? No one should go anywhere alone right now.”
    Ty winced. “Quite frankly, he’s the only one who can walk around in this neighborhood and not stand out.”
    Digger poked a finger in Ty’s face. “That’s racist.” Ty rolled his eyes. Digger smacked his cheek gently. “That’s okay. I still love you, hillbilly.”
    He turned to leave, a hop in his step. Nick didn’t know if it was the prospect of action or of cooking up fake blood that made Digger so happy. And frankly, he didn’t want to know.
    Liam thumped his bag of supplies down on the coffee table, and everyone looked to the door, where Digger’s canvas bag sat.
    “Who wants to go through his fun bag?” Owen asked.
    “Guarantee you he has it booby-trapped,” Ty muttered.
    Ty and Owen shared a glance. Nick held out his fist and the other two followed suit. “Two out of three.”
    Ty slapped Owen on the arm. “Close your eyes, man.”
    “Why?”
    “You got a tell.”
    “I have a tell at Rock, Paper, Scissors?”
    Ty and Nick both nodded.
    “And you tell me ten years later? You’re both assholes!”
    Zane chuckled from across the room, but Liam walked away in disgust. “You’re all bloody idiots.”

    Zane lay on one side of the full-sized guest bed, unable to sleep as the plans for the next day ran through his analytical mind. There was so much that could go wrong. Too much. People would probably die tomorrow. He might be one of them. Ty might be one of them.
    Ty had set up a staggered watch so no one would be on together too long. He obviously didn’t trust Liam, but with a man down, they had to use him. Zane could hear the occasional creak of steps as Digger and Liam moved about, taking their turns.
    Owen and Nick had argued over going to the hospital to check on Kelly. Nick insisted there was no way to connect Kelly to them, and the best way to keep him safe was to stay away from him. Owen seemed almost desperate to get news, though, and Zane’s heart went out to all of them. Not knowing if Kelly was alive or dead had to be driving them all crazy. Nick and Owen had moved to the larger bedroom, still arguing, leaving Ty and Zane to share this tiny bed in awkward, weighted silence. Ty had retreated to the shower with very little to say, and Zane had crawled into bed with a heavy heart and mind.
    Now, Ty curled in the bed beside him. His back was to Zane and he had a pillow over his head so it was impossible to even see him. But Zane watched him anyway in the moonlight that filtered through the window.
    He couldn’t get over the fact that he’d met Ty years ago. An introduction so fleeting he hadn’t even remembered what Ty looked like. When tragedy had struck Zane’s life, that simple meeting had influenced him in ways he had never truly pondered. Ty had done that, touched his life even before he knew him.
    Ty had said it was fate. But Zane didn’t believe in fate.
    Zane reached across the bed and poked him.
    Ty jerked, and the pillow moved as he raised his head. “What?”
    “How’d you know he was here?”
    “What?” Ty asked. He rolled enough to be able to see Zane.
    “Liam. You hallucinated him in the hospital before you found the note in my pocket. So how’d you know he was here?”
    Ty settled onto his back, rubbing at his face.