In Which There Is Forgery, Fretting, And Friendship
The plan is a good one, but it does neccesitate forgery and some nimble doctoring of McCraken's ledgers, and Kevin worries that perhaps they haven't got the skilled labour on their side to pull it off. The room goes silent when Ryan volunteers, Macy offering to accompany him in the wake of the sudden quiet. Macy makes sense, she does a fair amount of accounts in running the shop, but Ryan's offer causes a shade of unease to settle about the room.
The look on everyones' faces when Ryan sits down at the table to prove what he's capable of is something he'll cherish forever. Most people didn't even realize Ryan could read let alone write and do sums so beautifully. Brendon knew about the stack of secondhand books under the bed, even made a point sometimes to steal a new one if he could, but the graceful hand, the neat script, the easy way in which Ryan copies each font so beautifully--it's amazing. It also raises vague questions about where and how, but Ryan brushes them aside easily.
"I like a man of mystery," Brendon says. He may be as curious as any of them, but he knows all about the things you need to keep to yourself in order to be the person you need to be. And if Ryan presses into Brendon's side a little firmer than normal, well noone needs to know but them.
Greta's the one who spends most of the time Macy and Ryan are gone worrying. She tries to find an ally in Brendon when Joe tells her off for not giving them enough credit, but Brendon only says, "They'll be fine--Ryan can take care of himself."
It's possible that there's a little forced optimism in his tone, but there's also an unshakable faith backing it up.
Greta goes back to pacing and chewing her nails to the quick. It's Mike that comes to sit with her. It's unsurprising, once she stops to think about it. She's grateful for the comfort, leaning into the arm around her shoulder and whispering, "She's never done anything like this before. She's always just helped with the planning and suiting Kevin up."
Mike kissed her forehead. "We've just got to trust them and keep to ourselves that this is the harder job."
She looks down at her own shaky hands, at Brendon, pacing for all his fierce confidence. She looks at Mike, at his steady, kind face, and he's been waiting all along. She never noticed. He smiles like he can see what she's thinking. "At least now I think we've almost got enough for a game of cards."
Greta laughs despite herself.
They're not gone too long, really--shorter than the time estimated, actually. Greta still bites her nails like she hasn't since she was fourteen. They tumble in from the back alley, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. Greta stands so quickly she tips her chair onto the floor. Macy laughs at the sight of her, dances forward to steal a kiss and asks, "Miss me?"
"You have no idea."
Greta's normally fairly reticent about showing affection around others, but this time she doesn't hesitate, just flings her arms around Macy and hugs her tight. Kevin almost doesn't want to interrupt, but he's got to ask, "So what happened?"
Macy babbles, and Ryan looks quietly self-satisfied. "It was easy as! We just added a few leaves to his ledger..."
"Wasn't much that needed adding," Ryan put in, voice low and amused. "Would it surprise you if I told you our Mr. McCraken did, in fact, dabble in illegal dealings and then leave written evidence?"
Mike snorted. "You're joking. You're not joking?"
It took a few minutes for the laughter to die down.