Raoul? Major problems here below
.
I’M LISTENING
.
I sketched out the details.
So, what do you think?
I finally asked.
Can you save my brother
this time? I emphasized the last two words, letting him know I remembered our brief conversation about Dave on my initial visit to his headquarters.
Long silence, during which I realized it had begun to rain. I gazed down at the small courtyard behind the house. It looked as bare and forlorn as my life would be without Dave in it.
Raoul? I don’t think you’re understanding the severity of my situation here. We need to talk face-to-face.
TOO DANGEROUS
.
For you or for me? Because I gotta tell you, if my brother dies when I think you could’ve saved him, neither one of us is going to be very effective at our jobs for a long, long time.
HE IS GOVERNED BY EVIL
.
So’s practically everyone in this country! Come on, you’re smart enough to tell the difference between a victim and a bad guy! Look at Dave’s history, for chrissake. He’s an angel compared to me!
I paused to check my tone. No sign of whining, thank goodness, but a definite on the desperation. Screw it. I’d worry about my pride later.
I don’t know why he ended up where he is. Or why you never told me. But I do know my brother. He’d throw himself on his own grenade rather than betray his comrades and his country.
Another pause, which I used to remind myself to call my other sibling. Evie must be frantic by now, worried about Albert and unable to contact me or David. One thing at a time though. If I tried to think about everything I had to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours I’d shatter.
Save my brother
, I told Raoul.
You want to make some kind of sweet deal with me in return for that favor, I’m all about it.
GO TO SLEEP
.
I understood immediately. We operated on such different planes, communication was never easy. He couldn’t speak to me at length in my head without frying my synapses. I couldn’t visit him at home without dying first. If I left my body the Magistrate would pounce. My dreams were the happy middle ground.
Okay. Give me a few minutes to wind things up here
.
Bergman opened the door to Cole’s knock. He strolled in with a fake grin on his face. “Hey, Jaz, you’ll never guess what Cam and I found in that TV van you stole.”
Cam followed closely and Bergman shut the door gently behind them. They carried two portable cameras and a sheaf of papers Cole said were government taping permits.
As soon as Cam heard the catch click behind him, the easygoing smile left his face. He set the camera he carried on the floor and walked over to where I stood, still half gazing out the window, trying to marshal my arguments for my next go-around with Raoul.
“You got any kind of plan that’s gonna save my commander’s life, I’m in,” he said flatly.
“It might call for some major acting skills,” I warned him.
“Part of the reason they chose us for this job is because we can blend in. Become anything but soldiers. You need me to prance across a stage wearing a tiara and tights, I can pull it off so convincingly the audience will be screaming for more by the end of the show.”
I swallowed a smile. “Well, it might be extreme, but you should be able to keep your pants on throughout.”
He nodded, the twinkle in his eyes letting me know his humor might be squelched, but it would never die.
“What about the rest of your team?” I asked.
“You can depend on them,” he said instantly.
“No.
You
can depend on them.” I looked him in the eyes. “I don’t trust Grace.”
“She’d die for David.”
“She’s as territorial as a bull moose. Think about it, Cam. Her commander is no longer fit to lead, only nobody can tell him that. So we’ve all got to make him think he’s in charge while somebody else calls the shots. Mission-wise, that somebody is Vayl. He’s still overseeing this job. He’s the one who’s responsible to take down the Wizard. But where David’s life is concerned, I’m the boss. I believe I know how to save him. I’ve begun that process. If Grace has different ideas, her instinct will be to take the lead. I won’t allow that. You need to make her understand — if she can’t fall in line on this, I won’t argue. I won’t hesitate. I’ll just kill her.”
For just a second I let the veil lift, allowed him to see the cold-blooded murderess I kept hidden from my family, my crew, even myself most of the time. She’s not pretty or desirable. In fact, she’s so freaking scary my instinct is to keep her bound and gagged, locked in a sarcophagus, and buried in the deepest tomb I can find. But I need her. She keeps me and my country strong. As long as I keep her leashed. So far it’s worked out okay. But I know I’m playing with dynamite. I just hope I’m smart enough to exorcise her before she explodes.
Cam backed up a step, realized what he’d done and held his ground. He nodded crisply, his lips pressed into an uncharacteristically grim line. “Grace won’t be a problem.”
“Good.”
“I’ll spread the word.”
“As far as the Wizard is concerned, we will continue with the original plan,” Vayl told him. “However, Cassandra and Bergman have been assigned a new project. David will have to be kept from her when she is working. We would like your crew to make sure he does not suspect he is being separated from her deliberately.”
“No problem.” Cam looked at me, the concern so thick in his eyes it seemed to cloud every other thought. I could tell he wanted to ask if my strategy had a chance of working. But he’d been around too long, seen too much to believe I could give him a comforting answer. So he simply nodded, turned on his heel, and left.
When we were all alone in the room again, Bergman said in a small voice, “Would you really kill Grace?” I let the window curtain drop and fully faced my crew. I looked them each in the eye.
Bergman, his thin shoulders hunched against every fear he’d ever felt or imagined, peered at me through the lenses of his glasses as if they could shield him from whatever reality I might throw at him. Cassandra, with her classic bone structure and clear dark skin, would never look more than twenty-eight. But the weight of centuries of pain and hardship had somehow given her the air of an ancient goddess. Cole gazed at me with a frank acceptance that could become addictive. Vayl stood at my shoulder, not touching me. And yet I felt the solid strength of his support. After having lost it, even briefly, I realized how much it meant to me. That scared me. But not enough to let it go.
I talked to Bergman, though my words were for everyone. “Yes, I’ll kill her if I think she’s a threat. I’d do the same if I thought anyone was a danger to any of you. I learned a hard lesson with my Helsingers. It’s not one I’m going to repeat. I won’t lose another crew member if there’s anything I can do to stop it. And I do mean anything.”
I suddenly imagined Raoul, waiting for me to dream as he lounged on his black leather recliner, overhearing my last words. “Hmm, anything?” He’d take a look at the list he’d made on the legal pad in his lap, jot a couple of notes, turn the page, and begin writing in earnest.
Oh boy
.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I
can’t believe I can’t sleep!” I wanted to punch something. The glass and brick facade of the business I currently walked past seemed a likely candidate, its broad, dirty windows revealing an enormous black machine that looked to have been attacked by men wielding baseball bats. It seemed like a helluva plan, but Vayl’s hand, cool on my neck, deterred me from adding to the destruction.
“This is not helping.”
“I’m just so pissed off!”
He nodded. It had been a god-awful hour. You think your plan is marching along like a band in the field, all the sections moving to their appointed places at the appropriate times. Then somebody falls on his ass and the next thing you know there’s a clarinet player stuck in the sousaphone.