“Bradley,” Dylan says quietly. “He's in my class.”
I nod, even though I have no idea who Bradley is. “What happened?”
“He made fun of me,” Dylan says heatedly. “He made the other kids laugh at me.”
I nod, then lower my voice. “And did you start it?”
He goes red, but nods. Dylan's a good kid. He doesn't lie to me. “Yes, Teacher. I know you said not to, but I tried to kick him.”
“Tried? Then I take it you lost the fight?”
Dylan nods, and he's turning redder now. “Yes. I'm sorry.”
“Losing a fight is part of life. I've gotten my a... my butt kicked plenty of times,” I tell him gently. “But I have a more important question. What was your goal, to hurt Bradley?”
“No. I wanted the other kids to stop laughing at me.”
I figured as much. Dylan's a good kid, not a bully, and doesn't have a natural killer instinct. He hasn't had enough pain in his life yet to develop one either. “And did you accomplish your goal?”
“No. They laughed at me more after Bradley beat me up.”
I nod and lean in. “Then perhaps you need to change tactics. Focus on your goal, and not on the immediate target in front of you. Now go join Patience and Callie on the end, work as a three-person group.”
My own words to Dylan keep coming back to trouble me as I finish up class and go upstairs, and I'm still troubled when Darcy comes by. “Hey, Darce.”
“Hey... got your cash for you,” she says, handing over a paper bag while I pass her the thumb drive with my report. That's how we work, cash and carry only. It's one of the ways I've ghosted the system for so long. “So how was Jackson?”
“Arm locked,” I say with a laugh before becoming more serious. “And pissed about what I did to him.”
“I figured as much. Still, says something about him that he called off his daddy's dog in order to come talk to you. He must not be as much of a bastard as his old man.”
“Maybe.” I lock the door and Darcy and I walk over to my relaxation area, where she takes one of my chairs while I sit on the floor. “I'll be honest with you, Darcy... maybe I shouldn't have started my campaign this way.”
“Maybe you shouldn't have,” Darcy agrees. “Actually, I remember telling you as much when you first told me your plan. Hey, I just gotta know. Some of the photos aren’t very flattering, but the others…”
I laugh and shake my head. “Jackson's just fine downstairs. Actually, he's pretty fine just about everywhere. He definitely takes care of himself. Did you know he's read the Hagakure, too?”
“Sounds like you see more to him than just the party boy you thought he was.” Darcy has always been one to have great insight, and it's one of the reasons she's one of my mentors. “You going sweet on him?”
“Jackson? No way, he's still a douchebag,” I protest immediately. “But still... he said some things that are making me reconsider my original plan. I need to focus on my real target, Darcy. Slash and burn tactics that damage the family as a whole can alienate potential allies.”
“I thought you said you don't see any allies within the DeLaCoeurs,” Darcy comments. “In fact, I think your last analysis on them was 'a total nest of vipers and poison that would kill a bayou gator if it ever ate one’. Or was that someone else I remember?”
“No, that was me. But... well, maybe I was a bit off on that. Peter... he's still a dead man. But Jackson, maybe Andrea... maybe I need to rethink things.”
Darcy sits quietly for a moment, then hums. “Does that mean you're going to ask Domino to hold off on tomorrow's bomb?”
I shake my head. “No chance in hell. First off, I know Domino well enough to know that once he's got information, he's going to run with it no matter what. But also, the info I gave him is aimed solely at Peter, I didn't want to blow open Andrea's past just yet. I was gonna save that one for a bigger move. This one... it's just to irk him some, get him a bit more uncomfortable.”
“And if Peter decides that he's a lot more interested in Nathan Black finding you because of it?”
“Then I guess Nathan and I will have to have a meeting of the warriors. I know his training, Darcy. The advantage I have is... he doesn't know mine. 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'”
“Hagakure again?” Darcy asks, and I shake my head.
“Sun Tzu. The Art of War.”
“You have such wonderful reading tastes,” Darcy quips, then chuckles. “What else is on your reading list?”
“Computer Hacking for Dummies.”
Darcy blows me a raspberry before laughing. “So you do have a sense of humor still. Even if it is total wiseass.”
Chapter 10
Jackson