Page 91 of The Spy Ring

THIRTY-ONE

Jagger

“Is he awake?” A woman’s voice filled the room.

I tried to open my eyes, but they were heavy and damn, it felt like someone was attacking my head with a baseball bat from the inside.

“He’s coming to,” a male voice said.

I finally opened my eyes and saw I was in a living room, sparsely decorated with only a few chairs and a cheap white coffee table.

“What is . . .” I trailed off realizing it was harder to speak than open my eyes.

“Oh good. He is awake. Thank you, Will. You’ve been the most excellent of helpers today.” Emma Hawthorne finally came into focus.

I glanced over at her as she handed the guy, Will, an envelope.

“Where’s David? And Alex?”

She smiled and it seemed painful.

“I’ve had Will retrieve your tuxedo jacket and tie from the stairs. There will be a wedding today, just not the one you were invited to,” she said.

I looked down and discovered I was once again, wearing my jacket and bowtie.

My head fell back because it was hard to hold it up, but I laughed. I fucked this all up. I wanted to save David and give Tiffany back her smile, and all I did was get myself caught. I wasn’t in the building more than five minutes before Emma got me.

It’s best I wasn’t an agent anymore because apparently, I’m terrible.

“What’s so funny about being tied up?” she asked.

I lifted my head and smirked. “Because you are so fucking crazy. You still want to marry your son off to that Dorton woman? Do you really believe he’s going to get elected to any office with you as his mother?”

That woman was delusional. She wanted her son to marry into a political dynasty so he could one day become President and get back at the men who hurt her. She’s like a crazy ex-girlfriend times a thousand.

“I’ve given up on the Dortons. Sure, they had some higher-ups in their family, but they’re not what they once were. The future is tech. And that’s why my son will be marrying a woman who will one day run a very powerful tech company. In fact, the bride is already dressed for her big day.”

Shaking my head, I tried to get my brain to focus on anything Emma told ITA when she was caught back in June. Nothing came to mind. The only tech company she tried to mess with was Mimir. But, it’s not like Mimir is the leader as an Internet retailer. They’re only the third largest.

“Are you talking about Mimir?” I asked as my head wasn’t working as quickly as I wanted it to.

“Of course. Now I know what you’re thinking, it’s not number one. But that’s where you’re wrong. They made a deal this past spring that happened to propel the company to number one throughout Europe. And, if their numbers are right, they should be the number one online retailer, package delivery service, and employer in almost every country in the world within ten years. Except for the United States. But, with my help, we’ll make that happen too.”

“But you have money. It’s not like you need more.”

She shook her head. “Jagger, you government people can’t ever think outside the box. What influences the government the most?”

“Rules? Regulations?” I was seriously lost and knew if my head wasn’t banged up I would have figured this out by now.

“Wrong. Wrong. Jagger, it’s money. The more money a corporation or organization or association—basically, anything that ends with a T-I-O-N—has, then the more they can contribute to politicians. Even create special research foundations that make it look like it’s trying to do good, but secretly, it’s only existence is to influence government officials.”

“But that’s illegal,” I said.

She waved her hand at me. “Not if you do it right. So many loopholes and red tape. People complain about it, but the government doesn’t actually want to do anything to change it. I wonder why?” She put her finger on her chin.

“Money,” I said with a groan.

“Maybe you aren’t as stupid as I thought. With my money and this lady by my side,” she waved her hand at Morgana being pulled into the room by Will, “I will make the world a better place. At least, a world where men like my father-in-law can’t destroy lives anymore.”

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