Page 68 of Hero Worship

"Inevitable." Nikolai rolled the word around his mouth like cognac. "Interesting choice of words. Almost like you knew exactly what would happen."

"I ran the scenarios." Xavier said, almost dismissively. "The probability of him attempting direct intervention was over eighty percent."

The pieces clicked into place. The way Xavier had insisted on additional surveillance points. The careful positioning of his digital tripwires. He hadn't just been running backup. He'd been preparing for exactly this outcome.

"You knew." The words escaped before I could stop them. "You knew he would show up."

"I calculated the probability." Xavier's expression remained carefully blank. "Just like I calculated the likelihood of Roche using his appearance to manufacture a sympathetic narrative. Public violence plus media presence equals police protection and social immunity. Basic crisis management."

"You could have warned us," Xander said softly. The hurt in his voice made my chest tight.

"Would it have changed anything?" Xavier finally looked straight at Xander. "Would you have aborted the mission? Left Misha there to be preserved in Roche's private collection? Or would you have tried to stop Viktor and gotten yourself killed in the process?"

The clinical brutality of his analysis hit like a physical blow. But I recognized the logic behind it. The same cold equations I'd run countless times during operations. Sometimes knowing the probabilities just meant choosing which tragedy to allow.

"Enough games." Nikolai's voice cracked through the tension like a whip. "The situation is what it is. The question now is how you plan to recover from this spectacular failure."

I shifted slightly, positioning myself between Xander and the nearest guard. The movement wasn't entirely conscious. More instinct than strategy. My instinct to protect Xander warred with the darker urge to possess, to control, to keep what was mine safe at any cost.

"The mission isn't over," I said carefully. "We can still salvage this."

"Can we?" Nikolai huffed. "Roche has police protection now. Media sympathy. Their security will be impossible to penetrate."

"No." Xavier's voice cut through the room. "Their security will be predictable."

All eyes turned to him. He sat perfectly still beneath the gun, expression unchanging as he laid out what he'd discovered.

"I found their secret workshop," he said and reached for his laptop.

The guard pressing the gun to his temple shifted his grip, and Xavier froze.

"You can either let me help, or shoot me, but do whatever it is you're going to do and get it over with," Xavier snapped.

Nicholai nodded to the guard, who withdrew his gun.

"As I was saying, I found where Roche is killing their victims." Xavier turned his laptop so we could see the screen. "A hidden workshop beneath his mansion. The building permits show major renovations to the basement level last year, but the actual space is much larger than what's on file. They've been quietly moving supplies there for weeks. Based on the power consumption data and shipping manifests, they're running some kind of preservation facility down there."

His fingers flew across the keys, pulling up building schematics. The basement layout filled his screen. "The official plans only show wine cellars and storage, but look at these power readings. They're running industrial grade climate control systems. The kind used for preserving organic materials."

Nausea rolled through my gut as the implications sank in. Years of hunting killers had taught me to recognize storage facilities. Places where monsters kept their trophies.

"That's not all," Xavier said, switching to another window. "Look at these supply manifests. Chemical preservatives. Specialized polymers. The same materials used in high-end taxidermy, but medical grade. They're not just planning to add Misha to their collection. They're upgrading their preservation process."

Nikolai leaned forward, real interest flickering across his features. "Explain."

"Their previous work was amateur. Beautiful, but unstable. The bodies would eventually decay despite the preservatives." Xavier's clinical tone made the words even more chilling. "But these new supplies? This is state-of-the-art preservation technology. The kind used in medical research. Once they perfect the process..."

"Their collection becomes permanent," I finished, bile rising in my throat.

"More than that." Xavier pulled up another document. "They've already scheduled a private showing for next week. Very exclusive guest list. The kind of people who can afford to commission custom pieces."

"Commission..." Xander's voice broke on the word. "You mean they're planning to take orders? To preserve people on demand?"

"Why settle for just displaying beauty when you can sell it?" Xavier turned to Nikolai. "They’ll spin Viktor’s death to create a sympathetic narrative before launching their new enterprise."

"Enough." Nikolai's voice cut through the tension. "You've made your point about Roche's plans. The question is what we do about it."

"We have forty-eight hours," Xavier said. "During that time, they'll be focused on media appearances, building their cover story. Their security will be split between public protection and guarding their private spaces."

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