Who: Daryn O’Connor, Remy Norris and Zayne Vandriel What: Basement times When: February 2, 2018 Where: under the coffee shop
Zayne sneezed again. Most of the dust seemed disturbed at this point but it never failed to make him sneeze while he was down here. He pulled out his phone. There was a message from Instagram but it was just a like of one of his comments. He needed to stop being hopeful at those messages. Dorothea was not going to see him via Instagram. Anyway, he had pulled out his phone to check the time. It was almost midnight. The curfew had been extended, which was good, but it didn’t give them a lot of time to go through the boxes.
“Do we want to keep going and stay the night or call it in?” Zayne asked. He peeked at the next box, wondering what would be inside. It seemed like a lot of information Remy and Daryn already knew. Maybe these boxes were just a waste of time.
---
While going through the boxes, Daryn had been more quiet than usual. Most of what she’d seen so far wasn’t necessarily brand new information, but a lot of it included names and events and details that happened so long ago she probably wouldn’t have remembered them otherwise. Setting aside a box with a sigh, she looked to Zayne and Remy with a shrug. It’s up to you, it doesn’t matter either way to me.
--
Remy had taken a break to stretch and pace a little in the small space. He was on edge and he didn’t like it. This basement made him that way. He didn’t like enclosed spaces and especially underground ones. But this was important so he was pushing through it. Leaning back against the wall he looked at the two of them. “We might as well keep going. We can all crash upstairs when we can’t take it anymore.”
---
Zayne nodded and then promptly sneezed again. He pulled a kleenex from his pocket and said, “When this is done, we are figuring out how to get some proper ventilation in here and making it breathable down here.” He sneezed again.
Zayne opened up another box, contemplating if he should shove the kleenex up his nose. It would probably make him feel better. He pulled out another file and asked, “How many more boxes do you think we have?”
---
Daryn glanced around and sighed. Too many more. This is definitely going to take some time to go through everything. She wasn’t too worried about staying up going through things. She still had trouble sleeping and having something productive to do was better than insomnia any day. Sitting back, she looked over to Remy with a little frown. Do you need a break?
--
Remy was trying not to show how on edge he was feeling. This was important and he wanted to keep working on it. So he was pushing through. He shook his head at Daryn’s question. “I’m okay. I’ll need one soon but I’m afraid if I break I won’t want to come back down here.” He surveyed the stacks of boxes. “The boxes seem to at least have an order to whats inside them. What if instead of looking at all of the contents we take a quick look and categorize them. Then we can be more...direct in what we dig into more deeply.”
—-
Zayne looked to Remy. Maybe they should involve more of the Faction to help go through the boxes so Remy didn’t need to be down here. Or he could take on more of the load. Something. He felt bad he couldn’t do more.
Zayne slid the file he had in his hand back in the box and nodded, “That seems to be a better way of doing this. This pile here just seems to be about the founding of the Faction. Interesting but nothing really new.” He wondered if they ought to burn those files so in case the government ever found this place, they wouldn’t have all these files. Even though these they looked like they came from the government. He sneezed again.
---
Daryn studied Remy for a moment before looking back to the box she’d been going through. She overheard Zayne’s thought about destroying the files and thought it was a good idea, but left it to him to bring it up. This one is similar, mostly stuff about the initial moves made against the government, nothing we didn’t already know.
--
Remy also caught the thought about burning the files and he had the same idea as Daryn to let Zayne bring it up. It was definitely a good idea. Making his way over to another box he opened it and began flipping through the files. He stopped when he spotted his name. “Well … this is interesting.” Pulling out his own file he leaned back against the wall and began to flip through it. “I suppose it’s not bad to know what they had on me. Even if this is old information.”
---
Zayne would wait before bringing it up to get rid of these. He wanted to go through these files and he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. It depended on the source, he supposed. Besides they didn’t want to get ahead of themselves and burn something that was important.
“That one is on you?” Zayne asked, walking over and looking over Remy’s shoulder, “I want to read.”
---
Standing, Daryn dusted off her hands on her pants and turned to watch Remy and Zayne curiously. There’s a file on you? Is there anything in there to worry about?” She figured he would need a few moments to look through it, so she hung back and waited, hoping it wasn’t anything too bad.
--
Remy nodded when they asked if it was on him. He slowly flipped through it, reading every page. “So apparently I’ve been on their radar since I got here. Though they didn’t think I was a threat because apparently I’m too hot headed.” Remy smiled at that as he continued to read. “They’ve kept tabs on my father in case I tried to contact him.” Apparently his father was alive. Or at least at the time this was written he was. That was really good to know. “Okay I’m a little weirded out that there’s a list of who I had slept with.” He looked at Zayne. “You’re not allowed to read that part.” He smiled at him then went back to it. “There’s nothing significant here, really. They assumed I was working with th faction but that I was a low level helper and wouldn’t amount to anything.”
---
Zayne looked over Remy’s shoulder and swore lightly as Remy read off what they knew. He frowned. Wait. They knew when Remy was trying to contact his father? Was it because they were watching him? Did they knew he was trying to contact Dorothea? That wasn’t important right now.
“They were really wrong,” Zayne said, kissing Remy’s cheek, “I wonder if they are still watching or kept watching rather. Or…” He shook his head, “Where did Benjamin get all these files? Is it possible to get the updated stuff now?”
---
Daryn frowned as Remy shared what was in the file. Even though he didn’t seem to be too worried about it, it was very concerning to her. She was curious if there was a file on her, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Looking around the room, she just shrugged. Either he had some really good access to things, or some sort of contact in the government.
--
Remy was much more concerned than he was letting on. It was easier to joke about it then think about the wider implications. “That’s the big question isn’t it?” Remy said softly as he closed up the file and set it aside. He was going to keep that one. “I’m not shocked these files exist but why the hell are they down here? Which is what both of you have already asked and I’m repeating everything.” He sighed softly then went back to the box. “I worry we’re never going to know.” He flipped further than found Daryn’s. He held it up to her. “Do you want to look or should I put it back?”
---
“If it’s a contact, why hasn’t he reached out to us yet? Or said something?” Zayne asked. Why trust Benjamin but not the rest of the Faction. Zayne wanted to peek at Daryn’s too but then thought perhaps that was private. How many secrets were in these files that they didn’t want people to know? More than just Faction things?
Zayne headed over to another box and opened it. He pulled out a file, hoping there was nothing on other members or something else that would damn them. Instead he frowned as he saw the familiar face of Thursday. There was his police record and, “Shit.” There was a list of tests and trials.
---
Daryn took the file from Remy. She was tempted to look through it now, and then just get rid of it. Opening it, she just glanced over the first page before turning her attention to Zayne. What did you find? She put her file aside for now, it looked like they were finally getting to the good stuff.
--
Remy wouldn’t ask what was in Daryn’s file. It was up to her to share if she wanted. Hearing Zayne’s reaction Remy stepped over and read over his shoulder. “Wait. I know some of those names.” He kept reading then looked over at Daryn. “These are Riken files. I know some of these names.”
---
“This is Thursday’s file,” Zayne said softly. He looked up at Remy, “Riken files?” He put Thursday’s file down and grabbed another one. Matthew Mackey. Matty. Zayne put that one down too. He didn’t want to read about what happened to them. He shouldn’t be surprised but that? That was too much.
---
Really? Giving them space, Daryn peered at the box from afar. If the whole box was the same, that was a lot of files. A lot of people who’d been experimented on. But more importantly, a lot of information that was proof of what the government was doing. Proof of worse than what was going on at Destruction. That could be just what we need to get some real change started. But… She immediately had misgivings but said nothing for now.
--
Remy saw Matty as well and he flipped seeing more that he knew. He nodded then pulled back so that Daryn could look as well. “Exactly. This is proof. Concrete proof with government seals and all of that. It’s hard proof of what they’re doing to people against their will. And at least some of them are here on the island. And part of the faction. This … this is huge.” He was trying not to get excited. He frowned at Daryn. “But? You said but.”
---
“But how long have these files been down here?” Zayne asked softly, answering for Daryn without thinking about it, “But why didn’t Benjamin bring them to you before? If he was sitting on this, why didn’t he give them to you? It could have made a change a lot sooner. Things could have been different. These experiments could have been stopped.” Zayne pushed the lid back on the box and walked over to the stairs.
“What if these files are fake?” Zayne asked, “Or there are fake files mixed in with real ones to discredit the whole thing? What if we can’t use these?”
---
Sighing, Daryn moved to sit on one of the boxes they hadn’t looked at yet. But maybe we shouldn’t use the files for anything yet. Zayne makes good points. But I am more concerned about using this information. Some of those files are people we know, people who are here. That means we can find out if those things are true. But, is it right to use that information as a bargaining tool? These people have been used enough, we have no right to use them again, whether or not it helps the cause.
---
Remy listened to both of them and nodded. He completely understood and agreed with what both of them were saying. “We could always ask them. The people in the files I mean. Give them a choice. If they want their file burned then so be it. But if they want to help by sharing that information then let them have that? We don’t need to make any decisions now. But we can keep this. And maybe get at least Thursday down here to take a look. See if he can validate things.”
---
It seemed cruel to bring Thursday down here, to look at his file, to make him relive it, even if it meant to help everyone in the long run, if it meant to help a few people. That was exactly what Daryn had said, wasn’t it? Zayne felt in over his head. It felt like every little thing they did was not enough and people, good innocent people, were going to keep getting hurt. He felt powerless and he didn’t like that feeling at all.
“I can talk to Thursday later,” Zayne said softly, “If we want to do do that.”
---
Overhearing Zayne’s thoughts, Daryn agreed with him but stayed silent for now. There was a lot of information to process, and none of it should be taken lightly. She looked around at the other boxes, wondering what else they’d find. Maybe, for now, we should just stick to the boxes we’ve looked in and leave the rest for another time. It might be easiest to see how many of the Riken files are on people we know are on the island now, and go from there. And see if anyone else we know has files in the Faction box.
---
Remy heard Zayne’s thoughts as well and suddenly felt like the biggest asshole for even suggesting what he had. Was it really worth hurting good innocent people? Isn’t that exactly what the government was doing? Maybe they weren’t any better than those who they were fighting? “Don’t bring Thursday in yet. Let’s find out more first.” He said softly then nodded at Daryn. “Good idea. I’ll… be right back.” He handed the file back to Zayne then headed for the staircase and up. He needed to breathe.
---
Zayne took the file and nodded, asking, “Can you bring back some tissues?” He smiled softly to Remy, touching his arm as he passed. He glanced back to Daryn.
“I’m almost afraid of what else is down here,” Zayne said, “I want to believe everything down here will help us but…” he trailed off. He was afraid it would hurt too.
---
Daryn watched Remy go with a frown. This was a lot to handle. She looked around again before looking back to Zayne with a nod. That’s the problem with this fight. Not everything is so clean cut or easy. It weighs on all of us. She looked to the stairs before giving Zayne a little smile. Why don’t you take a break, you could probably use some fresh air with all the dust down here. I’ll keep sorting through things. She figured it might also give Zayne a chance to check on Remy and make sure that he was okay.
--
One thing about not having his badge was that Remy got to work with Zayne. He wasn’t very good at it but he remembered a few things. He brewed up a pitcher of fruity iced tea for them thinking it would be a good refresher from the dust. It also kept his hands busy which was a good thing as well. He was struggling and he didn’t want anyone to see it. Daryn would know. And Zayne would know. For different reasons. But they would both know. They knew him well enough to tell that he was off.
How did he have any business thinking they could pull this off? How could they claim to be on the side of the people when they caused as much harm as the very entity they were fighting? Sure the protest had felt good but what about after? He wasn’t the only one who couldn't work and how had suffered from that? How many were afraid to go to The Facility for treatment now? How many were suffering even more? He didn’t want to think about it but it seemed to be all he could think about. And now this? He hadn’t even hesitated when he suggested they bring in the very people who had been hurt the most and force them to relive their most horrible experiences just so they can what? Get verification of old information that might not even do any good?
He had himself so worked up that he was hyperventilating. He hadn’t done that in a long time. Maybe it was telling him something that he was afraid to face. Closing his eyes he leaned against the counter and tried to just breathe.
---
“This is a fight we shouldn’t even have,” Zayne said sadly. It was pointless to say that. After all, it wouldn’t change anything and everyone in this building thought the same, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
Zayne nodded and thanked her. He had been hesitant to go upstairs, not wanting to make her feel left out of anything. He climbed the stairs and saw Remy struggling. He didn’t think twice as he went over and put an arm around Remy, rubbing his back. He leaned his head against Remy, giving him a few minutes to catch his breath before he said, “Talk to me. What’s going through your head?”
---
Remy had mixed feelings when he saw Zayne. He didn’t want Zayne to see him like this. He needed to be strong. To be the confident leader. But at the same time it felt so good to have him close. And if he couldn’t break down in front of Zayne who could he? Well, really he shouldn't need to but that was already blown out of the water. He held on tightly, nuzzling his face into Zayne’s hair and just breathing him in for a moment as he steadied himself.
Once he had control he pulled back a little and sighed softly. “Sorry.” He said softly. “I just had a moment of wondering why we’re even doing this and feeling like a horrible person. It will pass.” He motioned to the back counter. “I made iced tea. I figured we all could use a refresher.”
---
Zayne held onto Remy. He would always be there for Remy. He didn’t need to see Remy as the confident leader. He didn’t need to always see Remy as strong. He knew Remy was strong and confident and everyone had moments of weakness. Not that he would call this a weakness but he understood. This fight was a heavy burden and it pushed them down a lot.
Zayne cupped Remy’s face when he pulled back and said, “You don’t need to apologise and I promise whatever you were thinking, you are far from a horrible person. I can sit here and list all the reasons why I think you are wonderful person. We may be here all night.” He smiled softly, hoping to pull a small smile from Remy as well.
---
Remy smiled down at Zayne and brought a hand up to thread fingers into his hair. “Thank you for that.” He said softly. He squeezed Zayne against him again and just breathed him in. His head was clearing and he was regaining control of himself. That was his intention but apparently Zayne was what he had needed. “I just got a little overwhelmed.” He said softly. “I want so badly to win this war that … I tend to forget about the collateral damage. But at the same time to keep fighting this I can’t think about that. But … I’m afraid that makes me as bad as them.” Remy shook his head. “I think I just need sleep and fresh air and I’ll be okay. Or a long night of wonderful sex but … you know.” He smiled a little.
---
Zayne moved his hand from Remy’s face so he could put his arms around Remy and hold the other man close. He rubbed his hand against Remy’s back. He hesitated for a moment and said, “I think this is a fight that innocent people are going to get hurt. Not because we want them to be hurt or because we plan for it but just the nature of the fight and I think for you to be effective sometimes, you can’t always think about it? But that doesn’t make you as bad as them. Especially since you are going to have people around you, like me or Daryn, who will make sure you don’t lose focus of the goal or the people we are trying to help. You aren’t alone and you are definitely not as bad as the ones we are fighting. I promise.” He leaned forward and kissed Remy gently before pulling back to smile at him, “We can do that soon, sleep and take a break. Or just wonderful sex because that sounds like a necessary thing too.”
---
Remy listened, taking in everything Zayne was saying. He couldn’t argue with that. When did Zayne get so introspective? He liked it. And it was exactly what he had needed to hear. Returning the kiss he hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly then smiled. “Yes. That will be later for sure. Let’s go back down and get some more work done so we can get to that.”
---
Zayne let his hand slid down so he could take Remy’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze, “I’m here for you, Remy. To be a sounding board or to rant or vent or anything. No matter what, okay?” He smiled softly and stepped back. He reached to grab a tray with some glasses so they could have the iced tea.
“I bet Daryn would love some of this. I left her alone down there and that’s not a place I’d want to be alone,” Zayne said.
---
“I may forget once in a while so you’ll just have to remind me.” Leaning over he kissed Zayne gently then smiled and picked up the pitcher of tea. “Yes. Let’s go rejoin her and bring refreshment. Maybe she’ll forgive me for leaving.”
---
When Zayne had first gone up after Remy, Daryn kept to her word and went looking through the Riken files, making note of the names that were familiar. But then she was tempted to take advantage of the time alone and read her own file. Which was a mistake. She should have waited until she was home and alone. Hearing them returning, Daryn quickly closed the file and tossed it aside, shoving something into her pocket and wiping her eyes. Sniffling and clearing her throat, she went back to the Riken box and tried to focus on that. Which was going to be difficult to begin with given the amount of files. Thinking of something, she pulled out her phone and made notes on an app of the names to remember for later.
--
Remy headed down and immediately picked up on Daryn’s distress. She must have read her file. He didn’t know what was in it but it didn’t surprise him that it would be upsetting. Smiling to Zayne he set the pitcher down. “Why don’t you pour glasses?” Leaving that to Zayne he stepped over to Daryn and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. Do you need a moment alone? Or to talk?
---
Looking up to Remy, Daryn forced a small smile and shook her head no. No. I’m fine. I just shouldn’t have read that now. We have work to focus on. I’ll deal with it later. I think there may be more files of importance down here. Maybe something about Project Genesis. Which she wanted to find immediately, but it was important to stay organized and make sure they didn’t miss anything in the boxes they’d already looked through.
---
Remy nodded and squeezed her shoulder again. Okay but don’t feel like you have to deal with this alone. I know I just had a meltdown but I can still help. Even if it’s just to have someone to throw things at. He winked at her then looked around. If there’s something here. We’ll find it. “I made iced tea. I can’t promise it’s as good as Zayne’s but it should be decent and it will help clear out some of the dust.”
---
Zayne knew the silence between Remy and Daryn meant they were having their own private conversation and he ought to make himself busy so he didn’t just stand there awkwardly. He took the pitcher and poured them three glasses before setting the jug back on the tray and setting that on the stairs. Yup. Just a little awkward but he wasn’t going to press.
Once Remy spoke, Zayne put on a smile and said, “I’m sure it’s wonderful. I’m going to miss having Remy working with me when he returns to his real job.” He passed a glass to Daryn then to Remy, before taking his own and having a sip.
---
Daryn gave Remy a small smile of thanks and then took the glass from Zayne. Thank you. She took a sup as well, watching them curiously, glad for the topic change. When are you two planning to get your new IDs?
---
Remy thanked Zayne as well and stole a quick kiss before taking a long drink of the tea. “I’m going as soon as I can because as much as I like working with Zayne I’m going crazy.” He winked over at Zayne. “I’m not going to trust the damn things but I need to get back into The Facility and see what I’ve missed.”
---
Zayne returned the kiss and smiled to Remy. He reached with his other hand to brush his fingers against Remy’s hand.
“A lot of customers are going to miss you,” Zayne said, “and by miss you, I mean, sitting in the shop drooling over you.” He grinned and then took a sip of his iced tea, “I would love to wait until the very last second to get mine but I’ll probably go with Remy. No point in putting it off. What about you, Daryn? When were you thinking?”
---
Their plans made sense, but Daryn hesitated before answering. I’m not going. Partially because I don’t want to, but also because I want to see what their plan is for those who don’t go. I probably won’t be the only one, so at least maybe we can prevent any problems for other people if it’s not quite as simple as they make it seem.
--
Remy’s eyebrows went up at what she said. “That’s actually quite brilliant. I shouldn't be so surprised.” He smiled over at Daryn but the smile didn’t last. “Though you may not like the outcome. Maybe we should put our own cameras up so that we can film what they do when they show up.”
---
Zayne wanted to say that sounded dangerous. The bulletin said they would hold the person indefinitely. It didn’t say they would release them if they agreed to wear the ID. But she wasn’t talking about refusing the ID, just not going. Still he didn’t trust it but she had the right idea.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Zayne said, “To have the cameras. Just in case.” He didn’t really know what else to add to that.
---
Daryn just nodded in response. She’d basically already made up her mind about it, so she was glad they went along with it. She wasn’t sure what good cameras would do if something serious happened, but if it made Remy feel better she’d agree to it. I don’t really like anything they do, so I don’t expect this to be much different. Shrugging, she went back to the box of files. Remy put himself out there for the protest, it’s time I did something around here.
--
Remy knew the cameras wouldn’t actually do anything to prevent an issue. But he couldn’t ignore the possibility of an advantage it could be to have the footage. Granted he would be much happier if there was nothing to have footage OF.
Remy raised an eyebrow at her for her comment. “Oh because you haven’t been putting yourself out there and in danger for years?”
—-
Daryn shrugged slightly in response to Remy’s question. She didn’t really feel like anything she’d done for the Faction really made a difference. And lately, it felt like the things she had tried to do had done more harm than good. The protest and the support group, those things were making a difference. Daryn tried to focus on the grand scheme of things and hope that things would move forward for everyone, whether or not her contributions helped in that. Shaking off her thoughts, she looked back to the files. We’ll just see how it goes with the IDs. Hopefully those who turn them in won’t have any trouble at the Facility.
---
Daryn would have been very wrong. She was one of the founding members and maybe they were still on the island and maybe bad things were still happening, who knows what would have happened if there wasn’t the Faction? Or what they have stopped without knowing about it? Zayne firmly believed the Faction was doing something even if they couldn’t see it right now.
“Hopefully,” Zayne said softly. He could have hope it would. They all needed that.
---
Remy agreed with Zayne. There was a lot Daryn had done but he wasn’t going to get into an argument at the moment. He knew it wouldn’t change her mind either way so instead he would do what he could with her decision. This was definitely taking a toll on everyone, and the two of them especially. Remy had hoped that him taking over would take some of the burden off of Daryn but now he wondered if she needed it to feel useful. He’d think about that more later.
“Yes, hopefully. And those of us who show up without them I expect are going to get grilled.”
---
Why? If they have the ability to have files like this on us, they surely know where the IDs went and why. Besides, their goal is to have us all tagged. If you’re showing up, that is a victory to them. Turning away from the files, she took another sip of iced tea. Do you think there should be another meeting? About the IDs, about the protest? She wasn’t sure these files needed to be shared with others just yet, but she’d leave that decision up to Remy.
--
“Because that’s what they do. They’ll want information even if they already know the information. They’ll want to see who will spill and who will clam up.” Remy shrugged. Anyone who was within shouting distance would know who was in charge. His epic speech solidified that. But they wouldn’t know who else was involved and if they thought they could find out they’d surely push. “But I can hope that they don’t harass people. It wouldn't help our cause if people got scared again.”
At Daryn’s question Remy paused and looked over at her. “Yes. Probably. But I’m not sure if it will do any good. We don’t have any new plans at the moment and I feel like some people are extremely itchy. If we go into a meeting without plans will it cause more tension?” He wrinkled up his face. He didn’t normally second guess himself like this. He needed to get his shit together. “What do you think? I certainly don't think we should share this yet.” He motioned to the boxes.
---
Daryn shrugged a little. I think it’s up to you. Given our concerns about loyalty lately I think a meeting is a good way to keep tabs, and to let the others know that we’re not just sitting on our heels post-protest. It is too soon to share this information, but perhaps just a meeting to check in and see how everyone is feeling and thinking about what effect, if any, the protest has had on others. It’s not just about the Faction, it’s about helping everyone on the island, even if they aren’t active with us.
--
Zayne listened quietly. Daryn may have stepped down a bit from her leadership role but he still saw her as a leader. He felt like maybe he shouldn’t interrupt this conversation because who was he to the Faction? He was new. He had little to offer and it was mostly the coffee shop, that wasn’t his to begin with.
Still he thought that Daryn was right. It would be good to check in, make sure they were all on the same page. Or maybe discuss about the new IDs and make sure that if they were going to refrain from getting a new one, they were safe or something. He wasn’t sure. It was probably best he kept his mouth shut and let them talk.
---
Remy nodded as Daryn spoke. “Yeah. That’s a really good idea. It can never hurt to touch base. And maybe people will have ideas. That’s never a bad thing.” He was making mental notes while looking through boxes.
Reaching over he took Zayne’s hand and squeezed it. “I feel bad that I have to leave Zayne out of the meetings though.” he smiled at him. “He’s a wonderful distraction.”
---
Daryn nodded and frowned a bit, unsure of how they could have Zayne at the meeting without it being potentially dangerous. Then again, they were already trying everything possible to keep things safe. What was she missing? It’s just to be careful. Although now that she knew about her file, she was wondering if it was still safe to have Ashe at the meetings.
--
Zayne squeezed Remy’s hand and leaned over, kissing his cheek before saying, “You don’t need a distraction there. Just make sure you tell me everything and volunteer me for whatever you think I can do.”
They all needed to be careful and Zayne hoped they would all make out of this okay. Zayne squeezed Remy’s hand and said, “Maybe we should go through another box or two and then call it a night? I think we found a lot of stuff already.”
--
Remy nodded at Daryn then smiled at Zayne. “Yes. And I don’t need to fuck things up because I’m distracted.” He was trying to play it off lightly but it was very important. “I’ll volunteer you for everything. It's all good.” He laughed softly.
At the suggestion of going through another box or two Remy nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. We can all use the break. And to digest some of what we already have here before we find more to pile on top of it.”