Page 87 of A Touch of Treachery
Joan let out a soft gasp.Diego’s fingers froze on his keyboard, and even Gia grimaced.
I bit back my angry retort.There was no use arguing.If I sniped at Percy again, he just might fire me outright.Being suspended wasn’t much better, but at least I still had one foot in the door at Section 47.
General Percy stared at me, and I looked right back at him, doing my best to hide my fury, disgust, and worry.After several seconds, when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to mouth off again, he snapped his fingers at Joan and then at Diego.
“There’s nothing here,” he growled.“Pack it up.I want an update from the strike teams by the time we get downstairs.”
General Percy stormed out of the library.Gia gave me a sympathetic look and followed him.Joan helped Diego pack up the laptops, and the two of them also left.Neither one of them met my gaze on their way out.
I stared out over the library.The Section techs had swept through the space like a swarm of locusts.They’d focused on the scientist’s worktable in the corner, handling the beakers, vials, and equipment with thick gloves and extreme caution, just in case Henrika had left a nasty surprise behind.But nothing had blown up, so the techs had turned their attention to the rest of the library.
The Section agents had taken everything of value, from the cases of jewelry on the shelves to the stained-glass lamps on the end tables to the antique fountain pens in the desk drawers.Even the liquor decanters had been bagged up and hauled away for testing, just in case the crystal held more than brandies and bourbons.
Right now, I felt very much like the ransacked library.Everything that mattered to me had been taken away—my confidence in my abilities as an analyst, my career at Section 47, and, most important of all, Desmond.
Worry shot through my heart at what Henrika might do to Desmond, but I squared my shoulders.Worrying never did anyone any good, as Grandma Jane would say, and it certainly wouldn’t help me figure out where Henrika had taken Desmond.
I moved from one side of the library to the other, hoping the Section techs had missed something and Henrika had left a clue behind, but I didn’t find anything useful.A stray paper clip that had fallen under the desk.A grape that had somehow escaped the refreshment tables and rolled into the corner.A fountain pen someone had crushed underfoot and shoved aside, leaving streaks of dark blue ink on the hardwood floor.
I was just about to admit defeat when a glimmer of glass caught my eye.The photo of Henrika and her cousin Meg had been knocked off its shelf and hit the floor.I crouched down, flicked away the pieces of broken glass, and slipped the worn photo out of its now-dented silver frame.
I studied the picture again, but it was the same as before.Henrika and Meg both smiling, despite the fact that Meg was terribly sick.I turned the photo over, expecting the back to be blank, but to my surprise, a small doodle had been drawn in the top-right corner.I frowned at the blue scribble.Was that ...a clamshell?
Yes, it was a clamshell with a tiny pearl inside, and the strangest sense of déjà vu swept over me, as though I’d seen the mark somewhere before.I kept studying the symbol, but the answer didn’t come to me.
Next, I picked up the silver frame that held the photo of Henrika and Feliciano.It too had been knocked to the floor, and I plucked the picture out of the broken glass.I flipped it over, but the back was blank.A frustrated sigh escaped my lips, but I studied the image again.
Despite their many sins, Henrika and Feliciano had looked very much in love, although their story had been cut short.A few weeks after the Mexico mission, some Section cleaners had finally caught up to Feliciano and eliminated him.
How had Henrika felt about her lover’s death?Had that started the feud between Henrika and the General?And how did my father factor into whatever had happened between Henrika and Percy?
More questions crowded into my mind, but I only needed to solve one puzzle right now: Where was Desmond?
General Percy had said Henrika hadn’t left anything behind, but I thought he was wrong about that.Either way, the two photos were the only clues I had, so I tucked them into my pocket and left the ransacked library.
Irodetheelevatordown to the lobby.Dozens of guests and hotel workers were milling around, talking on their phones or chattering to each other.Even Section 47 couldn’t cover up squads of armed agents storming the resort grounds, but damned if they weren’t trying.
The same agent who’d soothed the crowd at the Vault building was on the scene.The charmer held her hands up and starting speaking, projecting her calm, placating voice across the lobby.
“...misunderstanding ...false alarm ...seems to be a juvenile prank ...set off some firecrackers ...no danger to anyone ...the weekend’s activities can proceed as planned ...”
Her words drifted over to me, along with the warm glow of her charisma.The woman was using her paramortal abilities to their fullest effect, and everyone started nodding their heads in agreement.
Gia was standing in the corner, talking to one of the strike team leaders.I went over to them.The strike team leader gave me a disgusted look, as did several of her colleagues.Word had already spread about just how wrong the mission had gone and that Desmond was missing, but the other agents’ disdain was nothing compared to my own anger for letting Henrika play me for a fool.
A flicker of movement caught my eye.Gabriel was standing at a display rack in front of the gift shop, trying on a pair of sunglasses.His back was to me, but his eyes met mine in the mirror on the rack.I shook my head the tiniest bit, warning him away.Gabriel returned the sunglasses to the rack, headed into the shop, and disappeared.
Gia finished her conversation with the strike team leader, then strode down a corridor.She didn’t look at or speak to me, but I followed her anyway.
I didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Gia stepped into the same library where Desmond and I had talked after the poker game.My heart gave a painful squeeze.Had that only been last night?It seemed like a lifetime ago.I stood just outside the door and watched the other agents.
The room had been turned into a mobile command center, and several techs were sitting at the reading tables, pounding away on laptops, and reviewing all the footage that had been recorded during the strike team raid, both from the agents’ body cameras and from the hotel’s security feeds.
To my surprise, Evelyn was here.I didn’t know when she had arrived or how she had gotten to the resort so quickly from D.C., but she was standing behind Diego, along with Joan, and scribbling down notes on a legal pad, still playing the part of the unassuming assistant.
“Any updates?”General Percy demanded, pacing in front of the fireplace.
