Felicia held up her hand towards the waitress and gestured at her angrily. The Dwarf didn’t wait for anyone or anything.
Cars, huh? That’s not a bad idea. We can hit the scrapyards and buy as many junkers as we can and push them all through private auctions or the used car lots.
Chapter 29 - Moral Compass -
The sun hadn’t even risen yet. The pre-dawn gloom was a grungy haze outside.
Felix stared into his terminal as he contemplated the call he was about to take with Wraith.
Smith hadn’t really left him any room at this point. They really did need access to their accounts.
Sure, they could function without for a long time, but at a cost.
“Thinking about it?” Lily asked from the couch.
Everyone else had been cleared from the room, and Andrea was still in bed.
“Yeah. Everyone up to this point had always felt… vindicated in some way. This one… less so,” Felix said, rubbing at his jaw with one hand.
“Then why do it? You have alternatives.”
“Because those alternatives don’t do me any favors for my own people. And I refuse to put my people over a table—literally, in this case—if I don’t have to.
“Smith can take his horny self to a bar.” Felix shook his head as he said it. He knew his reasons for doing it, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“For what it’s worth, I appreciate it. You’re not exactly a shining beacon of moral righteousness. Then again, you’re not the same person I first met anymore,” Lily said.
Felix scoffed at that, his mind going to Eva and her blasted pen. “Yeah, tell me about it. From resources to employees. Definitely a change in my own plans as well.”
“That and you keep putting those precious money-making points of yours back into your people.”
“They need it.”
“The person who can split into multiple people and is practically immortal needed regeneration?” Lily asked, her tone becoming mildly antagonistic.
“Well, no—”
“Or Felicia needed that makeover you gave her?”
“That was part of a deal—”
“Or even Kit, our beloved psychic, who is now a telepath, telekinetic, and a master of illusions. She clearly needed all of that?”
“We were escaping from Tanker. We needed—”
“No, you didn’t. I’ve talked to Kit and Andrea. They were both under the impression they could swerve around him. He’s strong, not fast.”
Felix thought on that. On all three, really.
In each case, he had had a clear reason for doing it, or so he’d believed at the time. They still felt justified.
Sort of.
“What do you want me to say, Lily?” Felix pressed his forehead to the desk. His call with Wraith was due any second now.
“Nothing. Only that you should realize that you aren’t doing things entirely for a ‘necessary’ purpose. Now, Wraith is going to call you in ten seconds. Get your game face on.”
“Ten seconds? How would you know that?” Felix asked curious. As he lifted his eyes from the desk, they went to the phone, then to Lily.
She was dressed in dark colors that hugged her frame but were modest and professional.
Much as she always was.
Instead of responding, she pointed to the phone.
As if by magic, the phone rang.
Controlling his response, and trying to do the same for his heart, Felix accepted the call.
“Wraith,” came the sibilant voice on the other end.
“Thank you for calling.” Felix took a breath and went with his chosen course of action. “Can you kill Smith and make it look accidental?”
“Yes.”
“Can you do it after forcing him to unfreeze us?”
“No.”
“Kill him. Return for debrief after you complete your duty.”
“Done.”
The line disconnected and went dead.
Felix pursed his lips and set the phone down.
“That was easier than it should have been…”
“Not really. You knew what you wanted to do a while ago. This was only the culmination of that. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you made the decision. Smith was a problem.”
“That he was. I’m not looking forward to telling Kit about this.” Felix turned back to the window, watching the first fingers of light reaching out above the buildings.
“She won’t be happy. She’s still a hero at heart. She’ll need some placating and maybe something to soothe her conscious. I’ll ask her privately later if she wants me to take over counterintelligence. The dirty side of the business.”
“Thanks. Not sure if she’ll take you up on it, but I appreciate you offering it to her all the same.”
“Anything for you,” Lily murmured from directly behind him. She’d snuck up on him.
Felix didn’t have it in him to react right now to her provocations. In fact, this was probably a good time to go on the attack.
“Andrea mentioned you were trying to get me, yourself, and herself into a three-way relationship.”
“I’m not surprised; it was only a matter of time before she mentioned it. She’s a good girl, but has about as much guile—”
“As a knife,” they said at the same time.
“Yeah, she really doesn’t have a cunning bone in her body. But what about you, Lily? You’re a beautiful woman who could have any man she wanted. I can’t imagine you willingly signing up to be a plaything.”
He could feel Lily standing behind him. Felix didn’t even need to look at her to know she was there. It was something he’d noticed about her a while ago.
She put out an energy, what he assumed was magical energy, and anyone nearby could feel the pressure of it.
Or so he assumed. He’d never actually asked anyone about it.
“You’re right. I’d never sign up to be a plaything. And you’d never treat me like one. You’re the type of idiot that, once he starts sleeping with a woman, happily shuts down that entire area of his life. To literally have eyes for no one else.”
Felix blustered for a moment at that. Then deflated. She wasn’t wrong.
His experience with women was almost entirely dependent on them taking the lead. He was a follower when it came to that.
Monogamy felt right and he didn’t look elsewhere.
It was also why the idea bothered him about having two women.
“Much as you told Andrea, we’ll see where this goes. No promises, but it’s a start. Besides, I can’t deny I’m interested in you. You’re fascinating in a strange way.
“I’m not brave enough to jump into your bed as easily as Andie did, but we’ll see where it all goes. Like I said.”
Snorting, Felix shook his head. “Only you would ask a man to date her while saying that.”
“I know, and that’s why you’re taking me to dinner tonight.” Lily’s lips pressed to his cheek. “Doesn’t have to be fancy, but I do expect it to be just us.
“Well, other than Vicky. See you at the department meeting later. I’ve gotta run. Need to pick out a nice dress.”
Andrea’s fist landed cleanly on his jaw and sent him crashing to the ground. Felix felt like his head was spinning.
That and he heard this high-pitched whining noise. It was really freaking distracting.
“Get up! I’m coming for you,” Andrea called out to him as she closed in on him and struck him twice more. Once to the shoulder, the second to his midsection.
Stumbling to his feet, Felix managed to get his hands up in time to fend off a punch.
“Good! Faster next time, dear. Faster. Your opponent won’t wait for you to get up to your feet.” Andrea got in closer and sent a fist towards his stomach.
He sidestepped correctly, but wasn’t fast enough. She caught the side of his stomach and sent him to the mat again.
“Pah, he’s done,” Ioana said. The sound of her heavy footfalls departing were like the sound of accusations to him.
Too slow. Too weak. Too much thought. That was what they kept saying.