Page 38 of Wired Strong

“Exactly. I didn’t fall in love and marry her as a part of my job; no one required that of me. But was it an additional bonus? Yes.” He flipped the pancakes, plated them, and passed the steaming stack to Sophie along with a glass jug of real maple syrup and a ramekin of fresh butter. “Your mother got pregnant with you right away. Pim Wat was devastated; she said she’d never planned to be a mother. I begged for her to keep you; we struck a bargain that I would be ‘in charge’ of your education and care. That’s how you ended up going to Western schools.”

“I always felt like there were things going on between you that I knew nothing about.” Sophie doctored the pancakes to her satisfaction and took a big bite. “Mmm. Delicious.”

Frank flipped his latest batch of cakes. “After you were born, Pim Wat had postpartum depression—and I believe it was genuine. She got better, then relapsed again and again. I know, now, that she used the excuse of her depression as her cover. But when I found out she was not only an agent but an assassin—that was a genuine shock. She’d played me, when I thought I was playing her.”

“You’re lucky she didn’t kill you.” Sophie forked up another bite of pancakes.

“I am, come to think of it.” Her father fixed his plate and came around to sit beside Sophie. They ate companionably. “Now. What do you want to do about all of this?”

“Are you still working with that team?” Sophie set her plate aside.

“No. I bowed out after those agents tried to grab you. I told them that wasn’t part of our deal. But—Marcella’s on the team, now.”

“Yes, she told me.” Sophie met her father’s gaze. “And because she did, we could talk freely about what was going on. She proposed that I try to turn Connor against the Master and Pim Wat, since there’s no getting any of them out of that compound.”

Frank blinked. “What could you offer him to take such dangerous action?”

“Marcella thinks he might still want to be with me, now that Jake’s gone.” Sophie bit her lip. “We tried to be together when Jake and I were broken up, but it didn’t work. I don’t know. I don’t want to make him any false promises, but I told her I was willing to pass along the offer of immunity for his help in bringing in Pim Wat. That’s who they really want.”

“Yes. They suspect the Master of being behind the disruption of several governments, but they have nothing hard on him. Pim Wat? They have a case against her, and MacDonald was really burned when the Master yanked her out of Gitmo.” Frank finished his pancakes. He set his fork on the plate, and laid a hand on Sophie’s arm. “Please, honey. No matter what, be careful. I have a bad, bad feeling about this.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Connor

Day 6

Connor loweredthe heavy wooden bar that blocked the door into the upper room computer lab. The method was crude but effective. He’d also taken the precaution of sweeping the room for bugs, but there were none—and he’d have been surprised if there were. Most of the men in the compound had little awareness or training in the use of such devices; but he couldn’t be too careful with what he was about to say, and to whom he was about to say it.

He turned around to face the three people he trusted the most in the organization. Seated around the work table he used for meals were his faithful assistant Nine, his former houseman Nam, and Kupa.

Kupa looked unfamiliar. Nam’s wife had gone away with Pim Wat, looking middle-aged, comfortably plump around the waist, with graying hair she wore in a braid. She had returned with a complete face and body makeover. For all of that, Kupa did not seem happy with the change, and her new, pretty face looked pinched and sad.

Nam, for his part, sat as close to his wife as he could, one arm slung protectively around her. From what Connor remembered of their partnership on his island, the couple had been private and independent, each engaging in their own hobbies and pastimes, though close and loyal.

Being brought to the compound and forced into the lifestyle here had made them cling to each other for support, and Connor felt a stab of guilt at the unhappy expression on Nam’s normally serene face.But what could he have done?The Department of Justice would definitely have taken them hostage if they’d realized the couple’s value to him.

Meanwhile, Nine, who’d been redeployed by the Master to lead morning drills, sat with his hands on his knees in an attitude of expectancy, his dark eyes inscrutable. “You called us here, Number One. How can we be of service?” His English was halting—he’d been studying in his spare time.

Connor approached the table and sat down, speaking in Thai to ease communication. “Thank you for coming when I asked. You are my most trusted companions, and I need you to swear not to say anything to anyone about what we will speak of here.”

Three pairs of eyes stared at him unblinkingly. “I swear,” each of them said aloud. Connor almost smiled. Sometimes he forgot how literal his companions were; but on the other hand, it couldn’t hurt to have them take that vow.

“I know all of you have had your struggles recently, as have I.” He got up again, needing to move, and paced in front of the table. “I find myself trapped in a role and a lifestyle that is not what I intended. I joined the Yam Khûmk?n for several reasons. To evade the FBI, with the hope that the investigation into my online activities would blow over, and to add to my skills in studying with the Master. I also was—heartbroken at losing Sophie. She was with Jake. I needed something else to absorb me, and studying under the Master took everything I had. But I never dreamed that he would choose me as his Number One, or that Jake would be killed.” He paused, drew a breath to gather himself, and sat back down, leaning forward earnestly. “This international investigation is getting more intense rather than less, triggered by the Master’s rescue of Pim Wat. Sophie has had to cut off contact with me, and it appears that Nam and Kupa’s home on Phi Ni could be tied up in litigation for years. None of this is what I wanted when I originally joined the organization.”

“We believe you,” Nam said soberly. “We have seen all of this firsthand.” He squeezed his wife. “We do not want to be trapped here. We want to go home.”

“Yes. I want that for you, as well. I have had some time to think. I believe that Pim Wat is a danger to Sophie. The authorities consider her a threat to world leaders—and they’ve been humiliated by her escape. I want to eliminate Pim Wat, and trade evidence of that for amnesty with the investigators on the international team.”

“I am so glad that you summoned me here, because I overheard Pim Wat and the Master conspiring to kill Sophie!” Kupa exclaimed.

“What?” All eyes turned to her.

“Yes!” Kupa worked a bit of her gown nervously in her fingers. “I overheard them through the servants’ tunnel. The room has a narrow place where a servant can come and go or await the Master’s pleasure. Pim Wat likes me to be available whenever she wants something, and she is often in the Master’s chambers since our return, so I went there and sat quietly.” She looked down at her nervous fingers. “The Master brought it up. He said that he wanted Sophie out of the way so that Number One would settle into his duties and his role, and he and Pim Wat could retire to his island in the Philippines. Pim Wat agreed and said that her daughter must pay for turning her over to the CIA. She also said that she wanted her grandchildren. They agreed they would wait until Sophie had the baby, and then kill her—but in a way that Number One would not suspect.”

A flush of rage blew through Connor. He breathed carefully to manage the emotion. Now is not the time, nor these the people, to unleash it upon. He must use this hot anger to generate strength. “She must die.”

“But what about the Master?” Nine’s dark eyes were troubled. “If he finds out you have had a hand in Pim Wat’s death, the world will not be big enough for you to hide in.”

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