“Just because we didn’t do anything wrong, doesn’t mean things will go well,” Cole said softly, careful to not hurt Sloan’s feelings.
“I may be young, but I’m not na?ve,” she said softly back to him. “I just mean, sometimes in working with difficult patients, it’s best to attack straight on. Sometimes, that’s what they least expect and it works.”
“What would we say in the interview?”
“Why not tell them the truth?” Alik suggested. “I kinda like the idea of hitting them in the face with the truth. Maybe all this time we’ve been dodging the authorities for no reason. Maybe they’ll help us.”
“Okay, I don’t mean to be cynical, but that sounds like a massive pipe dream.” Cole shook his head.
“What if we agreed to allow one or two of us to be interviewed instead of all of us?” Alik sat up straighter, excited at the possibility of outsmarting the agents who wanted the interviews.
“I don’t know if they’d go for that,” Theo shook his head doubtfully.
“What choice would they have? We don’t have to all submit to questioning on the same day. We shouldn’t let them rush us into deciding.” Alik’s blue eyes brightened at the thought.
“He may have a good point,” Margo nodded. “If only one or two of us are in their custody, if things go south, the others will be on the outside and able to fight for our release.”
“They’re going to insist on questioning someone actually at the Flagstaff incident—which knocks out both you, Dr. Winter and Dr. Andrews,” Sloan ticked off logically.
“It would make sense for it to be me,” Cole offered.
“And me,” Farrow nodded.
“No, if we’re sending two of us in and there’s a risk of detention, Cole and Farrow need to be on the outside to fight. I should go.” Everyone’s head turned to look at the back of the room. Evan’s words still hung in the air as he stepped from the shadows. His left hand was shoved deep into his pocket, as usual.
No one had been paying attention to the sound of his motorcycle as it pulled up; bikes were so prevalent in Cairo they’d gotten used to the roar. And Evan had become accustomed to walking on stealth feet so he could live in the isolation he demanded of himself.
After seeing Kylie’s father greet her at the door, Evan had felt a wave of nostalgia and decided to come home before going back to the lab. He’d walked in at near the start of the conversation but rather than announce his presence, he hung back in the shadows of the room and listened.
“Hey, everyone.” He stepped toward the family, but stopped at an obvious distance from the group.
Evan tried hard not to let it bother him that the family was discussing such a monumentally important move without waiting for him. He tried, but it wasn’t working. It ate at him that the family was living as though he were a complete outcast.
“Evan, honey. I’m so glad you’re here.” Margo smiled, though her face had paled at the surprise sound of his voice. Immediately, she felt guilty. They should have waited for him to return, but his behavior was so erratic lately, she’d learned not to depend on him.
“I’ll go with you,” Sloan stood and nodded decisively toward Evan. “I’m not nearly as good at fighting, but I can handle questioning.”
Alik looked from Evan’s determined face to Sloan’s. “Thank you for offering to go. I think you two would make excellent choices for the family.”
Theo and Margo were both frowning and spoke at once their uncertainties. “I don’t think….”
“Mom, we’ll do a good job.” Evan nodded to Sloan, silently acknowledging her bravery on behalf of a family she barely knew.
“When do they expect us?” Sloan asked pragmatically.
“Tomorrow, ten in the morning,” Theo answered.
Evan looked at his wristwatch. “That gives us ten hours to prepare.”
“What happens in ten hours?” Cole asked.
“I have other work to do.” Evan’s honey eyes stared at Cole, challenging him to push for more information.
Cole knew better than to anger the fire starter. He just nodded.
“Evan, when was the last time you slept?” Margo asked.
Danny, who’d been playing under Margo’s wheelchair, crawled out with his race cars in hand and climbed into Margo’s lap. He looked so cozy curled up in Margo’s arms that Evan had to force himself not to flinch at the endearing sight.
“I’m fine, Mom,” he answered curtly.
“Sloan, give me ten minutes to clean up, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen so we can start laying out a plan.”
“Sounds good,” Sloan moved to gather some note taking supplies from the desk in the corner of the room.
The room was quiet as he walked by to head to the shower. Everyone was trying to figure out why he smelled of perfume.
Chapter 75 Mutually Beneficial