Page 49 of Heartless Legacy

Wolfe asks, “Any idea what this challenge item is? A painting? A watch? Diamonds?”

“No clue. We’ll do some more digging.” Everything stops. Time completely stalls as I listen to the agent say, “From what we’ve gathered, some of the other prospects said they were given false leads which directed them non-existent archives.” I turn to face Alexz. I take the finger he’s holding up as a warning not to say what I’m thinking.

Charlie Team Lead asks, “Sir, would you like us to follow up on this?”

“No, thank you. You go off on holiday, I’ll have Delta Team run point in California.”

The call ends, and he clears the room. As soon as we’re alone, I blurt out, “Sounds a lot like that rare bearer bond you never found. Are you sure there wasn’t something else in that case? Maybe the note was a clue?”

He admits, “I didn’t have time to read the note, but it could have been a clue.” Steepling his fingers under his chin, he continues, “Ifthis so-called Impossible Challenge is about finding that bearer bond, that means the council has been trying to get their hands on it for fifty years.”

Wolfe adds, “And since it appears someone tried to kill you the night you retrieved the case, that means an unknown third party doesn’t want The League to have it.”

I’m more inclined to believe that there is no third party. The whole thing could be league infighting. I doubt Malcolm is the first person to want to overthrow his daddy.

Wolfe asks, “What are you thinking, Thea?”

Alexz is basically a spy. He lies for a living, but I still look for hints of dishonesty when I ask, “Are you sure you don’t know who helped you?”

Shaking his head, he says, “I do not know who it was, and for my safety and theirs, I never tried to find out. I haven’t stepped foot in Canyon Falls since the day I left. I don’t do public appearances, and the whole world knows me by my alias. The only people who know the truth about my identity are my Executive Assistant, Ghost Team One and Two, and the Alpha team members.”

That explains why he didn’t want me asking questions when Delta Team was online. He pushes a button on the speaker box in the middle of the table, and the blinds open. The assistants come into the room with his coffee and pastry.

Speaking of hiding and being presumed dead, I need to let Sasha know that I’m not. Dead. Hiding is a given. “I need a phone.”

Assistant Number Six steps forward, placing a box on the table in front of me. “It’s already activated with a new number, but in this room, you’ll need to make your call from the secure line over there.” She points to the table by the door.

A new phone means it won’t have any of my contacts in it. That’s okay. The number I’m calling is one I know by heart. I walk over to the phone and dial the number. It rings three times, and a recorded message comes across the line:“The number you reached is no longer in service. If you think you’ve reached this recording in error, please hang up and try your call again.”

It beeps and disconnects. I dial the same number again and transpose the last two digits. A gruff voice answers, “Joey’s Pizza.”

“I’d like to order a number five, cheese fries, and a mint chocolate chip shake, and three large pepperoni’s for delivery.” I rattle off the name and address for where I need the fooddelivered, tell them to bill the corporate account on file, and hang up.

Alexzander and Wolfe are both staring at me like I’ve lost my mind. I haven’t. The food is the second part of a message to Sasha. Nobody orders the number five, except her and maybe four other people. She tips the pizza joint a couple hundred dollars no matter what she orders, just to keep it on the menu.

The first part of the message was me dialing the wrong number. It’s protocol, so that if anyone ever gets ahold of my phone, they’ll think I was trying to dial the pizza place and transposed the numbers wrong the first time.

What I did was leave a message on the fake voice mailbox that Sasha set up. She’s already received an alert that the number was called, and will wait up to an hour for the food to arrive. That’s the signal that I’m alive and well. If the food doesn’t come, then she knows the call was in error. We’ve worked out a different system to alert her if I’m in trouble or in distress.

Wolfe asks, “What’s a number five?”

“Five alarm chili with extra red pepper flakes and a side of jalapeños. Basically, a dish you might still regret eating five days later.”

Chapter 32

Thea

I’m hiding. That’s how Sasha so bluntly put it when we talked last night. Alexz’s opinion that I need to stay here longer to heal is inconsequential to her assessment, and she’s right. I’m letting him cocoon me in the bubble wrap of his protection, when I wouldn’t have before. Physically, I’m as healed as I’m going to be. Mentally, I need more work than I did before. I won’t admit that to anyone but myself. My head is all fucked up, but I can’t hide out here, ignoring the world forever. It’s time to get my life back, even if I don’t know what that life looks like.

“What are you thinking?” Wolfe asks, coming to join me on the couch. Out of the corner of my eyes, I watch him tip his water bottle to his mouth.

“I need to go back.”

“I think your grandfather may take issue with that.”

“It’s not his choice. Or yours.”

“I’m not stupid enough to try to talk you out of it, Thea, but you’ll need a plan.”

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