Hostile Takeover ❖ Jake Riley | ✓ [book 1]

5~ I Will Never Be Convenient

"For mad I may be, but I will never be convenient."

~ Jennifer Donnelly

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This was the worst idea... ever.

This was supposed to be a serious mission, where there could be bullets flying, blood spilled, bodies dropping, and possibly even another explosion. Jake should've been worrying about his own skin, keeping himself alert, even though he wanted nothing more than to hibernate throughout this entire ordeal. But no, because of his own weak subconscious, he was now babysitting a little girl.

Jenna lagged a couple steps behind him, taking her sweet time to look at every nick and crevice that had somehow been affected by the attack. What seemed to have caught her attention was the mural of blood blow-back splattered across the wall of a department store. Jenna had seen this sort of stuff in the movies, she never thought she would have to see it in real life. It sent a chill down her spine, and she gulped back the lump in her throat. Jake refrained from rolling his eyes as he approached her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her. Jenna snapped out of her trance and nodded rapidly.

"Yeah," it was clear though that she wasn't okay. This time, Jake made sure Jenna walked directly beside him, making sure he could always see her in the corner of his eye.

"What was it like?" she asked suddenly.

"What was what like?" Jake asked.

"Being trapped in the cordon," she said, "I mean, were you scared?"

This time, Jake rolled his eyes, "You know what? We're going to play a game," he said.

"You didn't answer my question-"

"The game is called 'silent treatment'. Don't say a word, and don't make a sound unless you absolutely have to," he said. It was Jenna's turn to roll her eyes.

"That sounds super exciting," she groaned.

They soon came to another abandoned building, a medicinal lab that regularly supplied over-the-counter pills. There was already a truck outside with three men loading large cardboard boxes into the back.

"Hey!" Lex put his hand over his gun holster. The three men looked up, and Jake's eyes went wide.

"Officer Carnahan! Officer Riley! We must stop meeting in these unfortunate situations," Dr. Cannerts. He looked quite different; without his doctor's coat, Jake probably would've passed him on the street without another glance. He wore dark jeans, running shoes, and a navy blue hoodie with his name and title stitched in yellow.

"You know this guy?" Jenna elbowed Jake's arm.

"Victor Cannerts. Very well respected doctor within the medical board," he replied. By the way he spoke, Jenna wasn't so sure that Jake was his biggest fan.

"A friend?" she asked.

"Acquaintance,"

Lex looked at the labeling on the boxes, "Do you need a hand, doctor?" he asked.

"Not at all, Lex, but thank you. Unless of course you can air-lift two dozen packages of morphine into the district," he replied.

"Precautions are the same as last time, I'm afraid. Nobody in or out passed the gates," he said.

Jake stepped forward, "Dr. Cannerts, how'd you even get in here? I thought you were doing some work out of state?" he asked.

"Ah, yes. I was, Jake. In fact, I was doing some work for Doctors Without Borders. Have any of you been to the city of Juarez? It's quite beautiful this time of year, but not the place you'd take your children to," he replied, "I only got the call about the bombing six hours ago, and I took the next flight out. I knew you boys would need my help,"