Re: John and Mike
"No, it isn't," Mike agreed. "Sounds like she was a wonderful woman." Mike was assuming from John's use of the past tense that his mother wasn't alive anymore.
After John led the way to the house, he took the lead into the basement. He turned on a scrambler device just in case someone had bugged the place. True, it wouldn't catch all the devices, but it was better than nothing.
"I think definitely the first two. Something that diverts their attention so we have a better chance of getting away," Mike paused to make sure the language he was using was inclusive and open to input rather than dictating. "If the source is something more difficult to put out, then he helps forces them to decide between trying to get at our evidence or chasing us. I hadn't thought of an offensive component. That's good. It could be useful that way."