[Jake's POV]
The drive back to the Outer Harbour was tense.
Rain was coming down in thin sheets. It hit the windshield and the wipers dragged it away in long, squeaking arcs. The sky was the color of wet concrete. Ethan kept both hands on the wheel at ten and two. He didn't talk. The radio was off. The only sounds were the engine, the tires hissing on damp asphalt, and the occasional crackle of static from my earpiece.
I sat in the back. Cold air from the vents on my neck. My phone screen was bright in the dim van. On it were the structural schematics of the Golden Koi mahjong parlor. Blue lines, red circles. I was zooming in with my thumb, marking entry points. Front doors. Rear loading dock. Fire escape on the east wall. The ventilation shaft on the roof that was just wide enough for a man. I could taste copper in my mouth from not drinking water all day.
My earpiece crackled. Sharp. It made Ethan's shoulders jerk.
