Page 94 of Carry Your Debt

“As in rising from the ashes.” I clear my throat before I continue. “LERNA’s setting up shop in Maker’s Bay. Moving into the void left by the Green Knight.”

Zeus spins in place at my words, a finger pointed directly at Hermes, where he’s practically bouncing in his seat, waiting for instructions.

“Hermes, pull up a property search for the city of Maker’s Bay. I want a list of all recent real estate purchases, including any still in escrow. Line it up against utilities and zoning permits for commercial properties,” Zeus commands. “Hades, go through business registrations, focusing on the newly incorporated.”

“Going back how far?” Hermes asks for us both.

“At least four months, anything that’s been listed since the Green Knight’s death.”

The only sounds then are the sounds of fingers flying across keyboards and the tapping of my stylus.

“Okay,” Hermes announces, finally. He swivels his monitor so that we can all get a visual comparison between our two sets of search results.

“There’ve only been four properties with commercial ordinances purchased inside the city limits in Maker’s Bay, inside of the last sixteen weeks.”

“And the companies?” Zeus prompts.

I turn my own screen around, pinching to zoom in on the table of data for them. “One of the properties was bought and then leased by an established property management outfit, but the other three are all new entities. There’sHagden & Sons, Ltd, aFinis, Inc.and aRed Brick Co.”

“Who’s on the paperwork?”

“Hagden & Sonsis registered to a Bill Hagden, Snr.Finis, Inc, to an Agnes Day, andRed Brickbelongs to a Peter Farrow,” I read out.

Sabine frowns, staring straight through us all while scratching at her temples like the words are itching at the back of her skull.

“Can you repeat those?” she asks, and Hermes reads them out once more.

“Flick them through, please. I need tolookat the list of words. Something about the sound is throwing me off.”

Her screen lights up with the attached email and her eyes fly back and forth across the screen. Over and over, until I see the moment the light goes off for her. “Finis, Inc,” she exclaims.

I look back down at my screen, reading the business registration information again.

FINIS, INC.

61 New Circle Way, Maker’s Bay, GA 30000.

Agnes Day.

Something in the sound is throwing me off.

That’s when I see it. Or ratherhearit.

“Not ‘Agnes Day’,” I groan. “Agnus Dei.”

Zeus straightens in his seat. “Agnus Dei?”

“Lamb of God,” Apollo murmurs.

“61 New Circle,” Sabine emphasizes. “61. Six. One.”

“What’s the significance of the numbers?” Zeus asks urgently as he stands, voice rising with the movement.

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, ‘Come and see’,”Sabine recites, “Revelation 6:1.”

“Registered August first. It’s a closed corporation, too. No board of directors,” Hermes cuts into to confirm, eyes skimming his screen again.

“Finis,” I rasp, the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place. “The end. The end times. Book of Revelation.”

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