Page 59 of Hell’s Weapon

Getting her attention, I ask to look at her document, my hand gestures are getting clearer with the practice we’re putting in each night. She gives me a smile like she’s proud of me and hands it over, whilst also grabbing mine.

Hers is the same in types of detail, but it is for a different person entirely. It’s only as I’m scanning the last page I note the only similarity is a location listed under their frequent whereabouts.

We both look up at the same time, she’s clearly noted the similarity.

“It’s a mystery to solve, are these profiles of victims?” I ask. The details in the later sections relate to police reports.

“No,” she replies aloud as she signs. I can hear just fine but it helps me to learn to see the hand gestures as she talks. “I think these might be suspects. I’m pretty sure we’ve been given a crime to solve. Which isn’t what I was expecting.”

I cock my head at her, confused as her lips tighten into a thin line and she shoots daggers at the Head Guard.

As if he feels her eyes on him, he turns so he’s fully facing her and raises a brow. In return, she lifts my file, “What the fuck is this?”

His lips tug at the corners as he shrugs. “A surprise.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Tacita turns back to the table and huffs. Since when are these two on talking terms? After he dragged her off the other day, when those two contestants on our floor were killed, the last thing I expected was a somewhat civil interaction between them.

To be honest, I fear whenever Officer Zephyr steps into the room with us because he seems to rile Tacita up, and then he drags her off to whatever prison cells they have here. She’s always gone for hours.

“Who have you got?” Wyatt jumps over from the next table, sitting down next to me and grabbing the folder in front of me. I get a waft of his cologne and have the sudden urge to press up against his side. I don’t think he’d mind but I refrain because of the woman sitting across the table. Wyatt seems totally fine with me, but he and Tacita seem to have cooled to the point it’s icy.

I thought maybe us all hooking up would pull us closer, but it has driven them apart. I asked her about it and she said this is normal. They’ve banged the chemistry out and now it’s done. Time to move on.

But I don’t buy it.

Wyatt tried initially to engage with her, to even rile her up, but she just doesn’t seem to rise to it anymore. I think it's her way of putting up walls. Maybe I’m way off the mark, and delusionally hoping, but I think she actually really likes him.

What we haven’t talked about is the fact I’ve slept in her bed for the last three nights. And we’ve not said a word about the fact she gave me another hand job whilst I fingered her again yesterday after I woke up hard and our bodies were entwined.

And with all those thoughts buzzing around my head, I miss what he says as he finishes looking at the pages. I sign for him to repeat it.

“I said these two are the same,” he says whilst reaching for Tacita’s, pushing his own to the side.

Seffy also comes over and joins us, putting her file down in the middle of the table. “I don’t understand this at all,” she says.

Taking a look at the profile she’s received, it’s different from any of ours. I turn it to show the others.

“How many different ones do you think there are?” Wyatt asks. “Do you think we have them all?”

“Good question,” Tacita replies whilst scanning Seffy’s suspect. “I think there’s at least a couple more, this one mentions another woman.”

“And this one mentions a brother,” Wyatt says as he lifts the ones we both had.

“Do you think we’re supposed to work together?” Seffy asks. Wyatt’s and Tacita’s heads shoot up from the papers now covering the table between us.

I can’t help but hope. If we can form a team, maybe they’ll talk a bit more again. Maybe it could lead to other stuff.

Something flitters across Wyatt’s face as he eyes the rainbow haired woman across from him. Then he looks at me and gives me a wink.

“Definitely,” he purrs. “Let’s form a team now and decide on a strategy.”

“Hang on, I didn’t say I was in,” Tacita fires back.

“But I think we’re going to need all the files,” Wyatt argues. “You agree, right Milo?”

Tacita looks at me and I briefly consider saying that we probably can figure it out alone, but that’s not what I really believe. Looking around the room I see the other contestants dividing themselves into huddles as well, clearly having the same idea.

“I think we should group together,” I sign.