You want me to keep an eye out? A pause longer than a natural pause.
You do that, Clay said and hung up. Millie set the receiver down and walked directly to Grim, who was near the back door and said very quietly, he just called.
He knows. Grim nodded once.
How far out is she? Marco left 3 minutes ago.
And the kids with her. Grim thought for exactly probably 2 seconds.
He's going to the roadblock now. He's going to tell his deputy friend to expand the stop, not just bikes, everything.
He looked at Millie. Call your sister.
Tell her to expect them in roughly 90 minutes and to not answer the door for anyone who isn't Marco or driving Frank's car. Millie was already moving.
Grim pulled out the USB drive and looked at it for a moment. Then he looked at Danny and Jesse standing a few feet away.
Danny had his arms crossed. Jesse was pale but steady, the look of someone who has made a decision they know is irreversible and has made peace with it.
The seven women, Grim said to Jesse, the files are their locations, evidence of what happened to them. Some, Jesse said, not all.
Two of them there are coordinates in a spreadsheet. I didn't I couldn't look at it too long.
Grim's jaw was very tight. Names?
Yes, all seven names. Families?
Jesse closed his eyes briefly. I don't know.
I didn't dig that far. Okay.
Grim pocketed the drive. Here's what's going to happen.
I'm going to make a call. Not local, not state, federal.
I have a contact. I'm not going to explain what kind of contact or why he picks up when I call, but he picks up.
He looked at both of them. When I make that call, everything changes.
You understand what I mean by that? Once I make that call, Clay Mercer is not my problem anymore, but he also might not be anyone's problem anymore.
Or for quite a while if the people he owns start folding. He looked directly at Jesse.
And when that happens, you are going to need to be very visible and very accounted for because a man like Clay cuts loose ends first. Jesse swallowed.
I know. Do you still want to do this?
I already did it, Jesse said. The minute I handed you that drive, I already did it.
Grim looked at him for a moment with something that wasn't quite respect and wasn't quite recognition, but was in the neighborhood of both. "Yeah," he said.