Page 96 of Undercover Savior

“What?”

I walked over to the door. “Please leave.”

“What is the other question?”

“I’d like to be alone.”

“Sullivan, please, just tell me.”

I shook my head. “When you’ve figured it out, let me know.”

“And in the meantime, I cannot be with you?”

The way he’d phrased the question, the tone of his voice, had me so close to giving in. But I couldn’t. For a relationship to work between us, David needed to respect me, and that meant respect my work. I loved him, but I couldn’t be with someone who treated me—as an investigative journalist—with such little regard.

“Wait,” he said when I put my hand on his chest to push him out of the way. “I may not know the question, but I do know this.”

I sighed. “Go on.”

“If you report on what we’ve learned now, two things will happen. One, Weber will know we’re on to him and perhapsvery close to exposing his crimes. That is the least important of the two. What matters more is that you will face even greater danger, and if anything happens to you, if I’m unable to keep you safe, if…” His voice caught. “Sullivan, without you, my life wouldn’t be worth living.” He whispered the last of his words.

I put my other hand on his chest but didn’t push with either. “David, the question you didn’t ask but should’ve iswhen.”

“When?”

“Yes.Whendo I intend to file the story.”

“What is the answer, Sullivan?”

“When the story is finished. When Weber is either behind bars or dead. When we know what Labyrinth is and that it has been dismantled—or whatever needs to happen with or to it.” I paused. “David, the bottom line is, releasing this story now wouldn’t just put my own life at greater risk. It would affect all of us here, working on it. Do you really think I’d put a story before so many lives?”

“Put that way, no, I don’t believe you would.” He sighed. “Earlier, when we were in the library, I commented that Weber is toying with the demise of civilization.”

“I agree.”

He studied me. “You don’t think it’s chemical or biological weaponry, do you?”

“I do not. However, what I fear it is, is almost too terrifying to even consider.”

“Will you tell me?”

“If we’re going to continue this discussion, we need to sit down. But first, a drink.”

David grabbed the decanter and two glasses and sat beside me on the sofa in the living room. “I’ll get the fire going again.”

“Thank you,” I said, pouring half glasses for each of us.

He sat down and raised his. “To us.”

“To us,” I repeated but with scrunched eyes.

“The two people who intend to prevent Weber from destroying civilization as we know it.”

I smiled. “Yes. To us.”

“So, whatdoyou think Weber is trafficking?”

“The only thing that makes sense is AIWS—Autonomous Intelligent Weapons Systems.”

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