Page 60 of Lesson In Faith

“Absolutely not, Master Sadist. A request.”

Laughing, Jasper hitched his hip and reached into his back pocket for his phone, pressing a couple of buttons and setting the device on his knee. It rang for ten seconds before it was answered.

“Homesick yet?” The voice was rumbly and tired.

“Missing your beautiful face, you big bastard. You answered the phone, so I’m presuming that’s a good sign Kaylyn hasn’t taken you hostage yet.”

“Your child is a demonic genius, Jasper. Somehow, she figured out how to summon the elevator in my office and went to introduce herself to everyone downstairs. Not only that, she convinced two members of Alpha team to give her the grand tour of the facilities, where she spent the afternoon riding on Derwent’s shoulders, giving orders to everyone in earshot.”

Anarchy choked on a laugh. “She rode Derwent like a pony?”

“I thought you’d find that amusing. Yes, like a goddamn pony. Alpha team thought it was hilarious, have now dubbed her Kickass Fairfax, and adopted her as their mascot.”

“Put her in as team leader,” Jasper suggested.

“Kaylyn doesn’t need to be sentintoconflict, Jasper; sheisthe conflict.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

“We have more important things to discuss than Kaylyn’s future as the next scourge of the planet.” Shaking her head, Anarchy gave her husband an impatient glare.

“Hmm. We have an update on the woman found at Serenity, Atticus.”

“Good. A successful outcome, I hope?”

Jasper met Merrick’s eyes. “Not really. Judging by the information Archie’s dug up, it might be in our best interest for Alpha team to head out for an extermination mission.”

Flat silence.

“Atticus?”

“How the hell,” their boss said slowly, “do you two go on a simple case like this and end up turning it into a goddamn mission? Fuck, at least now I know Kaylyn’s a product of both of you instead of guessing where the trouble gene originates.”

Archie visibly shuddered. “Don’t use the wordproductever again, Att.”

“Am I going to need coffee for this?”

“After the day you’ve had, scotch would probably go down better,” Jasper advised.

“Wonderful. All right, let’s hear it.”

Faster than Merrick anticipated, both Jasper and Anarchy became utterly professional in a heartbeat. It was like their boss was standing in front of them, waiting for their report, instead of being back home in Phoenix.

Anarchy laid out the facts quickly, precisely, while simultaneously sending emails to Atticus to back up her findings. It became apparent—if it hadn’t before—that she was absolutely a force to be reckoned with when armed with a laptop and the internet.

“Jasper, what’s your recommended course of action?” Atticus demanded.

“Given the evidence we’ve found and the presumption we’ll find more when Tamsyn points us in the right direction, I think breaching the compound might be our best shot at minimal damage. There’s nothing pointing to anyone but the security team being armed, although that can never be taken for granted.”

“Could you disable the surveillance systems remotely, Archie?”

“I haven’t managed to locate them yet. It might take me a day or two; the guy who designed the website is smart, not putting all his eggs in one basket. I might have to hack the security company, and if that doesn’t work, gain entry into the companies these assholes have invested in.” Her fingers were flying over the keyboard. “I did track the financials, but I’m guessing it’s only one piece of the pie. It was almost too easy to get in. I’ll clear the accounts once I’ve found them all, but if I start picking them off one by one, it’ll tip them off.”

“Identify them all and wait.”

“What do you want me to do with their ill-gotten gains, Att?”

He grunted, sounding far too much like Merrick. “Funnel the money into one of our spare accounts. Do we know how many women and children are currently on site?”

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