Page 102 of Fool Me Twice

Bryant waves a hand dismissively. “I’m fine. No one would dare disrespect a purebred. Locke?”

“Surprisingly okay,” he agrees. “Not that any of the interrogators have time to be nasty to me. The prison is constantly full nowadays, so it’s hard to find a spare minute just to breathe‍—or to hang out with you guys.”

Bryant frowns. “They have you doing a lot of twelve-hour shifts, right?”

“Yeah. Mostly auxiliary roles at the moment, but my interrogation rotation is starting again soon.” He hesitates. “It’s strange. I usually like administrative work‍—it makes the days go by faster, and there’s a lot less screaming‍—but it’s been different lately. The Council has been changing a lot of our policies and procedures. Couple that with the sheer number of prisoners we have, and it’s…” He trails off. “It’s weird down there right now. And most of our demons get transferred to the purebred-only wing pretty quickly, so it almost feels like‍—like they’re hiding something.”

The words jolt through Roma. Bryant shoots her a quick glance before focusing back on Chester. “Them’s fighting words, Locke,” she says lightly, but there’s a hard undercurrent to her voice. A warning not to say anything else that could be perceived as disloyal.

A warning that Roma herself would’ve given him a few short months ago, back when she truly believed that the Council wanted what’s best for them. Now, though, she doesn’t just suspect that they’re hiding something‍—sheknowsthey are. Hiding their alliance with the Chain, hiding what they did to Chester’s and JJ’s families‍?—

This could be the perfect opportunity to conduct more research for Operation Thirteen.

Hiding some other things, too. Things that Roma still doesn’t fully understand. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask,” she blurts out. “Have either of you ever heard of Operation Thirteen?”

Under normal circumstances, she never would’ve even voiced the question out loud. Since she only knows the name via spying on Councilwoman Nasir, it’s clear that mixed-breed hunters weren’t meant to hear about it. And even if shedidwant to discuss it with her friends, she certainly wouldn’t have brought it up in public, where hunters are always listening.

But Roma istired,damn it. Tired of the secrets. Tired of the lies.

Tired of the goddamn hunters always goddamn listening.

Bryant snorts. “OperationThirteen?That’s probably the stupidest name I’ve ever‍?—‍”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that,” Chester says, and Roma and Bryant whip around to stare at him. His eyebrows pull together. “You haven’t?”

“Not until now, no,” Bryant says slowly, squinting back at him.

A chill of unease runs down Roma’s spine. Chester, a neophyte hunter, knows about an operation that Bryant, a purebred with an uncle on the Council,doesn’tknow? “What is it, then?”

“I…” Chester lets out a slow breath. “I’m not sure, really. I’ve just heard it mentioned a few times. I know that it’s related to our testing program down in the prison, and I know that they’re preparing for it in the purebred-only wing, but…” He shrugs hopelessly. “That’s all. I’m probably not supposed to know it exists, but other hunters tend to forget I’m there. I hear things.”

The churning in Roma’s stomach gets worse. Operation Thirteen is related to the prison’s testing program, but it’salsorelated to the Deep? That doesn’t make any sense. How could those two possibly be connected?

And why is it called Operation “Thirteen”?

Bryant looks somewhat miffed that both Roma and Chester know something that she doesn’t. “Where’dyouhear about it, Gutierrez?”

“I‍—‍” Roma swallows hard. “I just, uh, heard Nasir talking on the phone a few weeks ago. After I left her office.”

Chester’s jaw drops. “YoueavesdroppedonNasir?”

Frantically, Roma shushes him. “Keep your voicedown,Locke!”

“That’s… unusual for you,” Bryant says. She looks torn between impressed and unnerved. “Do you think it’s important?”

Roma grimaces. “Not sure. But Nasir mentioned it had something to do with the Deep, and the Council has me working on that report about the Deep, so‍—so I was just curious.”

Chester’s eyebrows furrow. “Do you want me to look into it? I’ve pretty much mastered the art of blending into the background, so‍?—‍”

Alarm spikes through Roma. “Absolutelynot,Chester. We’re not putting you in danger like that.”

Besides, Roma isn’t on the verge of defecting anymore. If the Council doesn’t think it’s her concern, then it’s not her concern.

Maybe if she tells herself that often enough, she’ll actually start to believe it again.

Chester looks thrown. “I wouldn’t call itdangerous,Gutierrez. Objectively inadvisable, but not dangerous,” he says, and he squints at her. “Seriously, are you okay? I know that the last few weeks have been rough on you, but…”

Bryant is considering Roma with narrowed eyes. “They got in your head,” she says, and her quiet voice makes Roma’s blood run cold. “Laguerre and the other demons. Didn’t they?”

---