Page 32 of City of Love

He wondered if Mary was looking down at him with pride… or shame.

As Philly entered the room, Benjamin once again marveled that who the patrons of Taco Shots saw as a charming and charismatic figure, was in fact a serious and ruthless operator. Truth be told, Philly made Benjamin nervous.

And Philly was already pissed.

“What the fuck happened? How the hell did two members of your fucking Council end up with the capture device on them last weekend?”

“I’m…I’m not sure exactly what happened,” Benjamin stuttered. “As far I’ve been able to determine, apparently the young woman’s sweater that you had attached the hidden capture device to was transferred at some point to Alana Knight.”

It should’ve been simple enough. Prometheus had developed a tiny mechanical device that could surreptitiously be attached to a person’s body or clothing, and when triggered remotely sent the same vibratory frequency normally elicited by the music, causing the wearer to phase shift immediately into World Two. “I can only surmise further that Alana must have been holding her husband’s hand at the time you triggered the remote from inside Club Deux Mondes and they both got pulled through.”

“Don’t you dare pin this on me. I specifically put the device on Lexi Cross because it was her first time coming through the portal,” Philly said, pacing a row of chairs. “She’d be less likely than anyone else to suspect something out of the ordinary if she passed back to our world early. And she’d know how to find her way home safely and would likely let the matter drop, not knowing otherwise.”

“No, of course I’m not pinning it on you.” Benjamin raised his palms in a placating gesture. “It was a solid plan. No one could have predicted—”

His partner turned on him, cheeks red with anger. “In the future, we need to predict everything, because we’ve clearly brought attention to the situation, and now it’s gotten a whole lot trickier. There are eyes on us now.”

“I know, I know. But I’ve handled it. I’ve personally made sure the portal will remain open. You’ll still be able to come back and forth to this world and continue your dealings here unimpeded.” He grabbed the lapels of his jacket and gave them a yank, being sure to exude the proper confidence.

“Well, I’m not so sure Gideon will let it drop.” Philly stepped directly in front of him, invading his space. “He seems to be suspicious that there’s some kind of new rebellion in the works. Apparently, your world has a history of uprisings, and he’s focused on that as a possible explanation for the unexplained event last week, but either way, we don’t want him focusing on us at all.”

A chill swept across Benjamin’s skin. He should’ve known Gideon would continue gnawing at this mystery like a starving dog with a bone.

“And apparently earlier this week someone from my world died in yours. A young woman who had been in a relationship with one of your citizens. Now I’m told there is even more of a push to shut down the portal.” Philly paced back and forth. “This is becoming quite the mess, Benjamin. Not at all how we’d planned.”

Benjamin tried to brighten the situation. “The good news is the capture device worked.”

Philly stared at him with that good-looking face that was so unnervingly cold. He needed to turn this around.

An idea dawned on him. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Though it would mean a change of plans, including moving their schedule up. “Let’s get the ball officially rolling next weekend. We’ll take Gideon out of the way, and capture our first subject at the same time.”

Philly’s expression soured further. “You want to put the device on Gideon Ashe.”

Not exactly. Benjamin’s new plan was bigger than that. Better. At the very least, sure, he’d deliver Gideon. But if it worked, he’d get a double monkey off his back and surprise the Prometheus Group with a bonus gift. “Next weekend is our big Fourth of July celebration. The chaos of the party will cause a nice distraction, and give me reason to interact with Gideon.”

And with any luck, Gideon would invite his woman to the celebration.

“You realize if we do this,” Philly said, “we’ll be showing our hand fully, which means we’ll need to be ready to start acquiring the assets, all of them, immediately afterward. Things will move fast. Faster than we’d originally planned.”

Benjamin’s blood raced through his veins. He was so close now to accomplishing his goal of a new life, more power. Revenge. “Indeed, they’ll close the portal for good once they realize what’s happening. You’ll need to bring me to your universe immediately.”

Philly shrugged. “Contingency plans are in place. I already have someone embedded here in your world. They can take over from you. We’ll be ready on our end. Will you?”

Benjamin’s fingers began to tingle, his skin heating with anticipation and fear. They’d embedded someone else here already, and he had no idea who it was. But he forced himself to stand up straight and appear calm. His part in all of this would be over soon and he’d have a whole new world to explore.

He didn’t bother reaching for his partner’s hand. He just dipped his head in confirmation. “The Fourth of July it is then.”

CHAPTER 14

She had no idea where they were going, except their carriage was moving along Chestnut Street past stately colonial buildings that appeared almost identical to the ones in her own world, including what had to be their own Independence Hall. Like a kid, she stared out the windows of the buggy, the warm yellow glow of gas streetlamps and torches a striking contrast to the sapphire blue evening sky. Without any light pollution, a crazy canopy of stars sparkled above.

As the horses stopped to let pedestrians cross in front of them, she spotted a man and woman leaning against a streetlamp, canoodling in the golden umbrella of light. The man leaned in for a kiss, and as their romantic moment deepened, a burst of lights in gold and red bloomed from the woman’s chest, bright little heart-shaped gems swirling around them in a cocoon of iridescence.

“Gideon! What is that?” She pointed to the couple and he looked out the window just as their carriage moved on. “Is that like what I saw last week when you played your piano?”

“Yes. It’s a form of synesthesia.”

“I’ve heard that term in my world too, but I’m not sure I understand what it means.”

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