Page 126 of A Touch of Treachery
My father’s eyes widened.For a split second, he looked confused and uncertain, and his icy aura flickered with the tiniest bit of hurt.Then an angry flush swept up his neck.“Was that little tape recorderheridea?”
“No,” I replied in a cold voice.“It wasmine.You’ve always been paranoid about your security, so I knew I couldn’t get any electronic surveillance in your office.Then I remembered seeing this recorder when we were in the armory prepping for the Winterfest mission, so I decided to go old school with my spy tech.Even you don’t bother searching for analog devices anymore.Before I went to the conference room for Charlotte’s briefing, I snuck in here and swapped out your picture frame for this one, which also serves as a makeshift Faraday cage that blocks electromagnetic pulses.Then, when we came into your office a few minutes ago, I tapped the top of the frame to activate the recorder hidden inside.”
More fury and disgust filled the General’s face.“You betrayed me forher?ALocke?Just because you’re fucking her?”
I reached out, snatched my father’s tie, and yanked him toward me.The General let out a startled grunt, and he had to brace his hands on the desk to keep from toppling over it.
“If you insult Charlotte again, I will stop your bloody heart,” I growled in a low voice only he could hear.“And we both know I can do it.”
I released his tie and shoved him away.My father staggered back, although he quickly regained his footing.Everyone else froze, except for Charlotte, who stepped up beside me.She didn’t touch me, but just having her here steadied my nerves.
“And I didn’t betray you for Charlotte.I did it for Graham,” I growled again.“He was my best friend, and he died because of your bloody schemes.Me?I’m used to getting screwed over because of your crimes and manipulations, but Graham suffered unimaginable pain and agony just because Henrika wanted to get revenge on you through me.Graham didn’t deserve that horrific fate, and neither did the other agents who died on the Blacksea mission.Neither did Jack Locke and the cleaners you sent to Mexico just so you could eliminate a personal threat.”
I shook my head.“Mom would be so bloody ashamed of you.”
My father jerked back as though I had punched him in the throat.His gaze flicked to my mother’s photo, and longing creased his face.My own chest ached in response, but it was too late for him.
My father squared his shoulders and raised his eyes to mine, his face as cold as ice again.“You’re going to regret this, son.You’re too much like your mother, too tenderhearted, not to.”
“You might be right about that, but you’ve been wrong about everything else.”I jerked my head at the strike team members.“Take him away.”
Two men stepped forward, but my father ignored them, stormed around his desk, and stopped in front of Evelyn.
“You might be Maestro, but we both know I have too many friends inside Section for you to hold me for long,” he said.
A thin smile split her lips.“I’m looking forward to proving you wrong, Jethro.”
Evelyn also jerked her head at the strike team members.“Put the General in an interrogation cell until I decide what to do with him.”
The two men approached the General, but he spun toward Charlotte, fury shimmering in his icy eyes.“You’re just like your father.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Charlotte replied.
“You have no idea the things Jack Locke did,” the General snarled.“The people he killed.The deals he made.The devil’s bargains he struck.Don’t pretend he’s some greathero.”
Charlotte stepped forward, her face inches away from the General’s, her eyes and aura even colder than his.“I knowexactlywhat kind of man my father was.Jack Locke devoted his life to Section 47, while you lied to him and betrayed him not for any greater good but just because you wanted to cover your own ass.My father might not be a hero, but neither are you, General Percy.And now everyone at Section 47 will know it.”
Again, my father recoiled as though someone had struck him, but again, he recovered quickly.“You’re going to regret this, Ms.Locke.Even more than my son will.I’ll make sure of that.”
Anger spiked through me at his threat, but Charlotte stepped even closer to the General, still as cold as ice.“The only thing I regret is that Desmond was saddled withyou.He deserves far better than the likes of you for a father.”
My father glared at Charlotte a moment longer, and then the strike team members stepped in between them and led him away.
I followed the three men out of the office and to the elevators.My father got inside and turned around.His face was calm, but his eyes glittered with anger, as did his aura.His was the look of a man who was already planning to take his vengeance on those he thought had wronged him, including me.
Especiallyme.
The door slid shut, cutting off my view of the General, but a hard truth sliced through my gut.
I had just made an enemy out of my own father.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHARLOTTE
Wespenttherestof the day dealing with the fallout of General Percy’s arrest.I showed Evelyn and Gia all the evidence I had collected connecting Percy to Henrika, while Desmond chimed in with his own memories of his father’s actions during his mother’s illness, along with the Mexico mission.
News of Percy’s arrest quickly spread through headquarters, and everyone eyed Desmond and me with a combination of fear and wariness.Even at Section 47, spying and reporting on your own father was frowned upon, despite all the agents who had died because of the General’s actions.
