Page 53 of A Touch of Treachery
I took a seat at the table beside Joan, although I kept my back to her.Then I set my hot chocolate aside and pulled out my own phone.Now that I was away from Henrika’s library, the device was working normally, and I held it up to my ear as though I was also talking to someone.
“Can you hear me?”I asked in a low voice.
“Your actual voice here and now?Yes,” Joan replied.“But Charlotte’s and your comms got fried the second you stepped into Henrika’s penthouse, and they haven’t come back online.No picture, no sound, nothing.Diego is trying to find a workaround, but no luck so far.”
Frying our comms was an expected move on Henrika’s part, although I’d been hoping Diego’s cleverness would win out.
“What room are you in?Henrika put us in the honeymoon suite.Eighth floor.Room four.”
Joan huffed.“Cute.You’ve got to admit she’s got a twisted sense of humor.”
“Lucky us,” I muttered.
Joan murmured her room number, which I committed to memory.I also told her about Henrika’s orders for Charlotte and me to attend Casino Night and report to the lobby at eight a.m.tomorrow for the Redburn demonstration.
“What have you found so far?”I asked.
“Lots of rich, important, influential folks here, paramortal and otherwise,” Joan said.“My comms and cameras are still working, so I’ve been sitting here getting shots of all the guests so that Diego can run them through facial recognition.”
“I’ve got some names to add to his list: Oriana Luzzo, Niles Perran, and Steig Helseth.They showed up, just like Henrika said they would in her video message.”
Joan let out a low whistle.“Those are some heavy hitters.”
“Yes, they are.Bryce Finkley is here too.”
“He’s still working for Henrika?”
“Apparently so,” I muttered again.“Looks like he is her current head of security.”
Joan let out another low whistle.“No wonder Henrika was able to disable your comms.Bryce has probably told her everything he knows about Section 47 tech, weapons, and procedures.”
Anger filled me, but Bryce Finkley wasn’t the first cleaner to leave Section 47 and sell his services to the highest bidder.Over the years, I’d been sent to eliminate more rogue cleaners than I cared to remember, and if I got the chance, I would take Bryce down too.Not just for selling out Section but for killing that innocent hostage all those years ago.
“I’m not nearly as worried about Bryce as I am about Oriana, Niles, and Steig.They all have the resources to bid millions of dollars for the Redburn formula—and the magic to kill the competition to get their hands on it.”
“You don’t think everyone is going to play nice?”Joan asked.
“Nope.Oriana, Niles, and Steig are probably looking for the formula right now.Even if they don’t find it, all bets are off once the demonstration takes place tomorrow morning.After that, it will be a free-for-all.Everyone will be trying to get the weapon, and the other paramortals will kill anyone who gets in their way, including Charlotte and me.”
“I’m surprised Henrika didn’t blow your cover already,” Joan replied.
Me too.I’d been expecting Henrika to gleefully announce who Charlotte and I really were the second the other paramortals had entered the penthouse.Henrika would have taken great pleasure in watching us battle the other paramortals, but she’d kept quiet.So had Bryce.No doubt Henrika was saving the information about our true identities to use when it would benefit her and endanger Charlotte and me the most.
I scrubbed a hand through my hair.“Charlotte was right.Henrika is playing a game with us, but damned if I know what it is.She’s playing it with Oriana, Niles, and Steig too, and we’re all just her bloody puppets.”
Joan fell silent, although I could hear her texting, sending the names to Diego.“I’ll see if I can figure out if the other paramortals want the formula for themselves or if they’re bidding on behalf of someone else.”
More worry shot through me.“You think one of them might be working for the Syndicate?”
Like most folks, I’d thought the Syndicate was a myth until a few months ago.Miriam Lancaster had claimed to have information about the shadowy group, although that info had died when I’d shot the charmer to save Charlotte.Learning more about the Syndicate was another one of her father’s causes Charlotte had taken up and another mystery she was determined to solve.
“No idea,” Joan replied.“I didn’t think the Syndicate even existed, but you and Charlotte have convinced me.Either way, Henrika is here right now, and we need to take her out.”
Joan paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was pitched much lower than before.“Wehaveto take her out, Dez.For Graham.”
“For Graham,” I replied in a soft voice, although I had to force out the words through the knot of guilt lodged in my throat.
I thought back to all the smug looks Henrika had given Charlotte and me in the penthouse.Red-hot anger hit me again, and my hand curled around my phone hard enough to make the plastic creak in protest.If Charlotte hadn’t been in the penthouse, I would have thrown caution to the wind and gone after Henrika, no matter how many guards were between us.
