Page 23 of Zeus

A woman in much too little clothing for the chill in the air is in a police officer's face. Her actions are wild, her arms flailing and her head moving in exaggerated jerks, but the cop is just standing there, looking over the woman's head as if she doesn't exist.

That is, until she presses one of her fingers into the side of his face, forcing his head to turn. The slow lowering of his gaze to her face tells me everything I need to know. He was fine until she touched him. Although I wouldn't consider what she did assault, the law is clear on what it considers assault. A grand jury may throw the case out, but that won't stop her from getting arrested.

I don't know what this woman's end goal is, but I bet she didn't plan on spending a night in jail.

I glance at Zayne, and just like everyone else in the parking lot, this woman has drawn his attention as well.

Knowing this could be all smoke and mirrors, I scan the crowd to see what other shit is going on that some may not want to have witnesses to.

Other than a couple of people making small-time drug deals on the periphery of the crowd, it seems all the attention is on the raging woman.

By the time I look back at her, she's in handcuffs and being escorted away.

The police were present when we arrived. I know they were only here for crowd control and in case shit went south, which wouldn't be unheard of in any group of people who are outraged about something.

They kept to themselves, spaced out in the parking lot, and didn't interfere until that woman started yelling. Now they're all coming closer to the police officer who is taking the woman away.

The crowd starts to vibrate, the energy emanating from them in waves, but nothing seems to be happening until one brave person throws an empty water bottle at a cop.

Then all hell breaks loose.

Trash flies, and so do curse words.

Each person's rage is fueled directly by the person standing beside them, and I know this shit is going south quickly.

I look over to find Zayne, but he's no longer standing where he has been since we arrived. Although I know I shouldn't, I frantically search the crowd for him, relieved when I see him standing farther back from the aggressive group.

I make my way to him, sidestepping several people rushing the cops.

"What the fuck do we do?" I snap the second I'm within hearing range.

"Nothing," he answers, nodding to his left. "They've got it under control."

I look in the direction he indicated and breathe a sigh of relief when I see a team of guys, decked out in SWAT gear, making their way into the crowd.

"We should probably leave," he says, turning in the direction we parked.

"I'm surprised no one has a gun," I mutter as I open the passenger door to the truck and climb inside.

"This is Tennessee," he says as he climbs behind the wheel. "Everyone has a gun. I guess no one in that group is dumb enough to use them today."

"Think we made any progress?" I ask as he cranks the truck, shifts it into gear, and drives out of the parking lot.

"I got some pamphlets," he mutters, looking a little disappointed in how things went today. "Had one guy tell me about another meeting."

"Did it seem like a recruitment?"

He shakes his head. "I doubt it, but maybe. Sometimes the bigger groups either recruit through smaller groups or they poach existing members of those smaller groups. I don't think it was a complete waste of time, but it definitely wasn't what I would consider a success either."

Frustration flows through me with every word he speaks.

This is only the second day of being undercover, and I think I'm already going a little insane. I don't know how I can handle months and months of this shit if that's how long this job is going to drag out.

I know my annoyance has a little to do with the type of people we're expected to be, but I'm also self-aware enough to know a lot of it has to do with constantly being around the man to my left.

Chapter 11

Zayne