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“We’ve already started the game,” Noah said. “We went to The Ranch last night. The leaders of The Brotherhood were there. The news media is already blabbing about our fall fromgrace. A friend of the ladies doctored our files and painted us with a muddy brush. We’ll figure out the best way to contact The Brotherhood and go from there.”
Knight studied Noah, then Seth. “I might have a way to get in.”
“Explain,” Seth said, his gaze locked on his friend.
“You know I had a sketchy childhood. Several old friends are involved in The Brotherhood. They’ve tried to recruit me, Marsh, and Bowen over the last four months.”
“You’ll introduce us?” Too easy, Teagan thought. Then again, if Knight could push up the timeline, she and the others could finish this mission sooner and stop whatever big plan The Brotherhood was cooking.
Knight shook his head. “That won’t work. The Brotherhood is a close-knit community. Friends bring in friends and family. That’s how they cultivate loyalty.”
Bowen snorted. “Sounds like a cult.”
Goosebumps surged across Teagan’s skin. That was a little too close to home. Literally.
A shrug from Knight. “It is. Doesn’t matter if they call themselves a militia. The bottom line is The Brotherhood’s organization is like a cult’s.”
Great. Just great. Teagan’s worst nightmare come to life, and this time, she had more than herself to protect. If she screwed up, she could lose Seth, Violet, and Noah.
“You’re a cop,” Noah said. “You can’t become part of a militia.”
“You are.”
A wry smile. “Didn’t you hear the news Burnett shouted at the top of his lungs? We’re no longer cops.”
“So, have your tech friend work on my record as well.”
“Same,” Bowen and Marsh said.
“You can’t be serious.” Noah dragged a hand down his face. “For one thing, it leaves Burnett with five detectives suspended or fired along with Wilson and Kepler. We can’t leave him that shorthanded. For another, you’ll have as much difficulty being reinstated as we will.”
“That’s assuming Burnett will approve of the five of us going undercover,” Seth said. “Only a slim chance of that happening.”
That wasn’t the only approval needed. Maddox would have to be convinced to risk Artemis’ lives with three other unknown cops in the operation as well, and the boss wasn’t an easy sell. In order to get the approval, Murphy would have to clear Knight, Marsh, and Bowen, including digging deep into their backgrounds to make sure no unpleasant surprises popped up and bit them when they least expected it.
“You’re not going in without backup,” Bowen insisted. “It would be a suicide mission.”
“We already went on plenty of those over in the Sand Box,” Knight said. “I don’t want to lose any more friends to a war against terrorists, homegrown or not.”
Seth studied the expressions of his friends for a moment, then glanced at Noah. “Opinion?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t look like we have much choice. If Knight is right about the membership invitations coming from friends and family, we’ll need him to get admitted to The Brotherhood, and Bowen and Marsh will insist on joining the undercover party.”
Marsh folded his arms across his chest. “Exactly.”
“Face it, Dixon,” Knight said. “You need us.”
Seth glanced at Teagan. “Think your tech friend could work it out in the next couple of hours?”
“We’ll have to receive Maddox’s approval first.”
The other three detectives exchanged glances. Bowen leaned closer to Teagan. “Are you talking about Brent Maddox, the CEO of Fortress Security?”
She nodded.
“How do you know him?”
“Violet and I work for him.”