Page 54 of A Touch of Treachery
“Can you go quiet for a moment?”I asked.
“Sure.”Joan typed a few buttons on her phone.“My comms are offline.Go ahead.”
I drew in a breath, then let it out, along with my confession.“The General has ordered me to kill Henrika the first chance I get.”
Even though I couldn’t see her, I could still feel Joan’s aura pulsing with surprise.“That’s not listed in the official mission file.”
“You know my father is too smart to put an order like that in the mission file.”
Joan snorted her agreement.
“I’m not sure ...”My voice trailed off, but once again, I forced out the words.“I’m not sure I can kill Henrika.At least, not right away.”
“Why not?”Joan growled.
“Killing Henrika might trigger some doomsday protocol she has in place to release the undercover agent list, or blow the resort sky-high, or both.As much as I want to avenge Graham, I don’t want to get anyone else killed, and I couldn’t live with myself if the UC list fell into the wrong hands.”I let out a bitter laugh.“I can barely live with myself as it is right now.”
“What happened to Graham wasnotyour fault, Dez,” Joan said in a low, fierce voice.“He loved you like a brother, and he wanted you to live, even if he couldn’t.That’s why he told you to use your galvanism to take his strength and save yourself.I knew Graham better than anyone, so I know he wouldn’t blame you foranyof this.Not one littlebitof it.”
“I know,” I replied, my own voice thick and raspy with emotion.“If Graham were here, he’d clap me on the back and tell me I did the right thing.But knowing that doesn’t make what I did to him any easier to bear.”
We both fell silent.Even though I wasn’t facing Joan, I could still feel her aura pulsing with the same cold sorrow that was coursing through my own veins, as though they were filled with a sluggish river of ice instead of warm blood.
I cleared my throat.“I’ll do my best to get justice for Graham.As soon as Charlotte and I get any sort of leverage on Henrika, we’ll use it to get her to turn over the UC list.Once she does that, we can start planning how to take her down.”
“I know you’ll do your best, Dez,” Joan replied in a low, strained voice.“That’s all any of us can do.”
Once again, that cold, heavy, sorrow-filled silence dropped over the two of us.
Joan scooted her chair back, making the metal scrape against the stone.“Someone’s approaching Charlotte.Topmost terrace, on your three o’clock.”
I turned my head to the side so I could see Charlotte, who was leaning against the stone railing almost directly above me.To everyone else, she probably looked like she was admiring the view, but her eyes flicked back and forth, indicating that she was analyzing and cataloging everything around her.
For a moment, I didn’t see who Joan was talking about.Then a group of people stepped aside, and I spotted Niles Perran making a beeline toward Charlotte, two champagne glasses clutched in his hands.
“That’s Perran,” I muttered.
“What do you think he wants with Charlotte?”Joan asked.
“Nothing good.”
“Be careful, Dez,” Joan muttered out of the side of her mouth, then got to her feet and strode away.
“You too, Joan.”
I stood up and slid my phone back into my pocket as though I had finished my call.Then I headed for the nearest set of steps.I needed to reach Charlotte before Niles Perran did.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHARLOTTE
Desmondwandereddowntoa lower terrace to meet with Joan, who looked like every other rich person at the resort, right down to her expensive clothes, designer purse, and the vaguely bored, disdainful look on her face.
My estimation of the liaison went up several notches.Not only could Joan pick out disguises for others, but she could inhabit them as well as any undercover agent.If I hadn’t known Joan was a Section spy, I never would have given her a second glance.
While Desmond sat down, fiddled with his phone, and pretended not to talk to Joan, I strolled along the topmost terrace, comparing the resort grounds to all the photos, maps, and blueprints I’d crammed into my brain over the past few hours ever since the Winterfest mission had been greenlit.
The terraces, lawn, tennis courts, and golf course looked exactly the same as they did in the pictures, only more brown and barren in the January cold.I peered at the woods in the distance, but I only saw trees, trees, and more trees.No flashing signs magically appeared that saidTop-secret biomagical weapon hidden here!
