Page 11 of Greed
Doppenger raised his voice in argument, but Griffin put up his hand, stopping him.
“Fine,” Griffin said. “I don’t need to start with you.”
“Why don’t we see what stories we have today, and go from there, yeah?” Fred opened the manila file in front of him.
Inwardly, Griffin cringed. Still using paper and pen. He looked around the table and noticed many of the staff also had a notebook and pencil. Except one sitting on the opposite side of Lilo. A petite blond woman with pouty lips and round eyes. She fluttered her lashes at Griffin when their eyes met, then went back to her laptop, coyly glancing back at him now and then.
“Okay, what’s come in this morning?” Fred asked. “Anyone got something new?”
One by one, the people around the table detailed what they were working on. Already, Griffin could see holes in their process. Fred relied on each individual to volunteer for stories instead of always delegating from the start. When everyone was done, Fred lifted some papers from his file, and read through each sheet.
“I’ve got a handful of floaters here. You know the drill. Shout out if any tickle your fancy. Robbery at Kent Street Jewelers this morning reportedly foiled by two vigilantes. Damage bill could be extreme.”
Lilo raised her hand in the air, her mouth opened, but Doppenger cut her off.
“I’ll take it,” he said.
Lilo frowned and lowered her hand.
Dislike for the man immediately simmered in Griffin’s blood.
Fred still read the data sheet. “Hold on. One of the perps is called Liota.” His gaze lifted to Lilo. “Relative of yours?”
She paled. “Uh… I’m not sure. I don’t really speak to any of them anymore. I haven’t been a Liota for years.”
Was she married? Divorced?
“Well, you can take this one, Lil. Go to the cop shop and see what you can weasel out of the fella. Familial connection might get you through the door.”
“But—” Donald started.
“Any connection is a good connection, you know that, Don,” Fred stated.
“Well, she can do with a helping hand getting past the cops. I can go with her.”
She’s sitting right next to you, Griffin thought.Shehas a name.
“I’ll go with her.” Griffin found himself volunteering.
All eyes swung to him.
He elaborated: “My sister works there, and it will give me a chance to assess Miss Likeke’s process.”
Chapter Five
Lilo arrived back at her desk flustered. First, she was being forced to interview her estranged cousin Nathanial, second, because Donnie had tried to muscle his way in on her story and, third, because the uber hot geek god was coming with her and would be watching and assessing everything she did.
“You all right, hun?” Bev asked as she returned to her desk.
“Yes. All fine.” She would be fine.
Lilo’s gaze tracked from Bev’s blue hair to the poster pinned on her side of the partition wall. It was her Deadly Seven vision board. Pictures and newspaper clippings were pinned over it. Her favorite photo was of the vigilante Greed, taken two years ago at the scene of the bombing. Having just pulled a victim from the rubble, he’d been standing in the dust, a dark masculine silhouette outlined in white cloud. The photographer had won a prize for that shot. Lilo knew the vigilantes weren’t to blame for that tragedy and had been furious at Donnie for writing the story that accused them. Why would they rescue people from the rubble if they were responsible for bringing the building down?
Donnie replied that causing a tragedy so they could come to the rescue was classic psychopath behavior.
Bev had drawn a red heart around the photo, and Candy had printed and laminated a picture of Lilo making a kiss-face and stuck it next to Greed. Don’t ask Lilo how Candy had sourced that image, but it made Lilo laugh, so she left it there.
Her eyes moved to a clipping she was proud of: the one where a few months ago Envy had saved the city from the white-robed terrorists in the street. She’d titled it,Vigilante, or Superhero?Because that was the first day any of the Deadly Seven had been seen using a supernatural ability. He’d electrocuted the terrorists with his bare hands, bringing the ring-leader down. The feature image had been taken on her camera-phone and showed Envy in full battle gear, swords out—yes he had two of them! A green mouth scarf concealed his identity. Two menacing eyes looked at the camera, burning holes right through Lilo.
