Page 39 of Bishop's Flight
Mika threw back his blood-wine and set down the glass. “Sometimes we overlook an answer because it is too obvious. Because it’s been the answer before.”
Who had they battled before? Who had known ties to Zasha Sokholov?
“The Ankers?” She shook her head. “The Ankers don’t trade in power; they deal in information. Their money comes from…” She blinked.
“Ah.” Mika smiled. “You see now.”
Brigid looked around at the hostess and the servers. They carried discreet card readers, tiny computers in their pockets.
The casinos had it all. Names, addresses, players’ club information, credit card numbers, gambling habits, travel plans, everything.
Las Vegas wasn’t just Sin City—it was a data gold mine.
“Zasha as the reluctant emperor,” she muttered. “Reigning over a city of chaos.”
“We both know they enjoy chaos. What do the computer people say?” Mika smiled. “Chaos is a feature, not a bug.”
“With the Ankers holding the keys to the treasury.”
Mika stood. “Zasha would never share power, but that’s fine with the Ankers. They don’t want to share power—they want to steal information.”
It made sense. They had thwarted the Ankers’ attempts to plant a data scraper in Gavin’s new software devices, but in Las Vegas, not only vampire data but human data would flow like water from a spring.
“I don’t know how this helps me find the boy.”
“Sadly, I suspect it won’t. If I had information to find him, I would give it to you. But know this—Zasha and the Ankers don’t have the power to take over Las Vegas on their own; the vampires here are too loyal. Agnes and Rose would have to hand it over. And would handing over control of an entire city to a criminal enterprise such as the Ankers be worth it to save a single human life?”
Brigid wasn’t going to answer that question.
Mika looked at her, shrugged, and poured another glass of blood-wine. “I suppose that is not your decision to make. I wish you luck with your search, Brigid Connor.” Mika looked over his glass. “I would feed before you leave. Your eyes are hungry and your blood is young.”
Brigid waited forAgnes in her office after asking Bernard to summon her. She was flush with fresh blood and feeling fidgety. She wanted to be out searching the streets for Lucas, but she knew that was useless. She needed to wait on Carwyn for their current lead to pan out. She also needed to update Agnes and Rose.
She sat in front of the chess game set up on the coffee table, examining the pieces.
Whoever was playing was in the middle of a game. Pieces were in motion across the board, and several pieces were lined up on the side, having been taken out of play.
“He captured my queen.”
Brigid turned to see Agnes standing in the doorway. “That’s the most powerful piece on the board, right?”
“Undoubtedly yes.” She came and sat across from Brigid, picking up the glossy black chess piece topped with a crown. “But taking the king is the only move that wins.”
“I remember that part.”
Agnes stared at the board. “He’s a very gifted chess player.”
“Was he good at other games?”
“Any games of strategy. Any games that depended on wit more than luck.”
“You taught him that.”
“Some people call the children our pets.” Agnes leaned back against the couch. “I hear them. I ignore them. It’s better that they don’t realize how much Rose loves them.”
And you.Brigid didn’t need to say it aloud. “How is she?”
“I’m forcing her to spend as much time with Anna as possible. The girl keeps her steady.” Agnes set down the chess piece. “What have you come here to tell me? Why aren’t you out looking for Lucas?”
