Page 14 of A Touch of Treachery
He glanced around, but the other agents were busy, and no one was paying attention to us.“The thieves who went down to the Vault were looking for the evidence from the Tannenbaum mission.Something they thought the Section techs might have mislabeled or overlooked.”
I tensed.“The vials of Redburn?”
Desmond nodded.“Yes.”
Twin arrows of worry and dread shot through my body.I’d been so certain Henrika would send someone after the Grunglass Necklace it hadn’t occurred to me that she might target somethingelsestored in the Vault.Of course she would want to recover the vials from the Tannenbaum mission.She wouldn’t want Section 47 to have any samples of Redburn, lest our scientists find a way to neutralize the formula—or, worse, reverse engineer it.
Desmond’s shoulders slumped, and he kept shifting on his feet, his gaze fixed on the floor.Henrika had wanted to prove how deadly her explosive was to Adrian Anatoly, a paramortal terrorist, so she’d used Desmond and Graham Walker as her own personal lab rats and blown up an entire beach in hopes of killing the two cleaners.Even though Desmond had survived the explosions and his body had healed, he still bore deep, ugly scars from the attack on his heart.
My own heart squeezed tight with guilt.Desmond had already suffered so much because of the Redburn formula, and I’d failed him today.“I’m so sorry,” I rasped.“This is all my fault.”
Desmond lifted his gaze from the floor, although he still didn’t look at me.“No.Don’t blame yourself, Charlotte.We both know how smart, clever, and dangerous Henrika is.”
My heart squeezed tight again, this time with shame.I’d been so caught up in my own vendetta against Henrika that I’d forgotten how much Desmond was still hurting.And himnotblaming me for my mistakes ...well, that made me feel worse than anything else.
“I need to talk to Gia,” Desmond said.“See what she wants to do about Bryce.”
I opened my mouth to ask who Bryce Finkley was and why Desmond despised the former cleaner so much, but he spun around and walked away.He went over to Gia, and the two of them started speaking in low voices.
I looked around the lobby again.Several strike team members eyed me in return, their gazes more than a little hostile.They knew just how spectacularly my mission had failed.One of the strike team members strode out of the garden carrying a plastic evidence bag that contained the splintered remains of the smoke grenade Bryce had used.I grimaced and looked away.
By this point, the clouds of gray smoke had curled all the way up to the high ceiling and had dissipated into faint wisps, but the sight made even more anger, frustration, guilt, and shame crackle in my chest, like a violent thunderstorm about to spit out jagged forks of lightning.
Once again, Henrika Hyde had gotten the better of me.Even worse, I had no idea what she had stolen from the Section 47 servers—or how she was going to weaponize the information.
CHAPTER SIX
DESMOND
Therewasnothingelsewe could do here, so Charlotte and I left the lobby, got into a van with Gia and Diego, and went to the main headquarters of Section 47, which was only a few miles away.
Gia pushed through the revolving doors at the front of the building.Diego followed her, carrying his laptop, along with the one he’d taken from Agent Berriston’s desk.Charlotte and I brought up the rear.
Section 47 was housed in an old three-story train station that took up an entire city block and had been converted into an upscale shopping center.The first floor featured restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops, along with a cafeteria that was also named Section 47.Escalators in the center of the enormous open space led to the upper two levels, along with stone stairs tucked into all four corners.
Low glass walls topped with silver handrails cordoned off the upper levels, which boasted shops selling luxury clothing, organic teas, artisanal chocolates, and more.Black wrought-iron chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling, bathing the storefronts in soft white light.
Even though it was the middle of a workday, a steady stream of people flowed from one shop and level to the next, and the din of conversation filled the air, along with an occasional sharpcha-ching!as someone used a phone app to pay for their pricey goods.
Gia and Diego kept going, but I stopped and jerked my thumb over at the cafeteria.“You want a smoothie?My treat.”
Charlotte had been quiet ever since we had left the Vault building.I knew she was still beating herself up for the mission failure, but I’d been there too, and it was just as much my fault as hers that things had gone wrong.
Charlotte arched an eyebrow at me.“If by smoothie you mean hot chocolate brimming with marshmallows, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings, then yes, I would very much like a smoothie.”
I huffed.“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—”
“All that sugar will be the death of me.”Charlotte finished my thought.“I know.Hot chocolate isn’t exactly healthy, but it sure would be comforting right now.”
Charlotte and I had radically different ideas about food.She loved anything that was deep-fried, was crusted with sugar, or came with a dipping sauce, whereas I tried to eat as clean, natural, and organic as possible, which included smoothies packed with fruits, veggies, and spices.
Some of the tension eased out of Charlotte’s shoulders.“But thank you for trying to cheer me up.”
“Was I that obvious?”
Her blue eyes softened with warmth.“Yes.”
She threaded her arm through mine, and I relished the feel of her body next to mine.When we had first met at headquarters a few months ago, we had gotten off to a rocky start, and I had promised never to touch Charlotte without her permission.Of course, she had given me that permission long ago, but I never forgot that being with her was a privilege, even when it was something as simple as walking arm in arm.
