Page 92 of A Touch of Treachery
The two men swept through the suite, grabbing all the guns and knives and stuffing them into their pockets.The first man also closed my laptop and tucked it under his arm.
I started to protest, but Joan shook her head.“That laptop is Section property.It doesn’t belong to you while you’re suspended from duty, Charlotte.”
“What about the necklace?”one of the guards asked, stabbing his finger at the Grunglass Necklace, which was still hooked around my throat.
“It’s a fake,” Joan replied.“Ignore it.”
Lie, my synesthesia muttered.
My eyes narrowed.Joan had told the same lie in the Section armory when she’d given me the necklace to take on the mission.The liaisonknewthis was the real necklace, so why was she letting me keep it?
One of the bodyguards reached for Desmond’s pocket watch, which was also on the table, along with all the files, maps, and photos I’d printed out.I darted forward, snatched up the watch, and clutched it to my chest.It was the only piece of Desmond I had left, and I wasn’t giving it up.
“This doesn’t belong to Section,” I growled.
The guard looked at Joan, who shook her head.“Leave it.The papers too.They’re useless without access to the Section servers.”
The guard nodded and continued his search.The two men went through every part of the suite and collected every piece of Section gear and clothing.
Five minutes later, the guards were ready to go.
Joan held out her hand.“I need your keycards too.The one for Section headquarters and the one for this suite.”
Not only was the General kicking me out of the spy organization, but he was also making sure I couldn’t stay in the suite either.I fished the keycards out of my pocket and slapped them into Joan’s outstretched hand.
“You know this is wrong,” I said, trying to reason with her.“I know more about Henrika Hyde than anyone else.I should be going back to Section headquarters and working with everyone else to find Desmond.Not getting kicked to the curb like an unwanted kitten.”
“Then maybe you should have thought about that before you led Desmond straight into Henrika’s trap,” Joan snapped in a cold voice.“I thought you were smarter than that, Charlotte.”
“And I thought you were more than just an automaton,” I snapped right back at her.“But even more important, I thought Desmond was yourfriend, that you trulycaredabout him.”
Anger sparked in Joan’s pale eyes, and the temperature in the suite dropped ten degrees.I got the sense the liaison was one more insult away from using her transmuter power to turn all the water in my body to ice.
“Unlike you, Charlotte, I know how to follow orders,” Joan said, her voice even colder than before.“General Percy was right.You ruin everything you touch, just like your father did.You really are Jack Locke’s daughter.”
I used to be embarrassed by my father’s death, by his supposedly flawed legacy inside Section 47 and all the financial problems he’d left behind for my grandmother.But not anymore.Jack Locke hadn’t been perfect by any stretch of the imagination, not even close, but he had loved me in his own way, and he had given his life in service to others.Which was more than General Jethro Percy had ever done for anyone, including his own son.
I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders.“Damn right I am.Now, get out of my sight before I punch you in your pretty face, just the way my father would have.”
Joan arched an eyebrow, not at all concerned by my threat.She stared at me a heartbeat longer, then whirled around and stalked out of the suite.The bodyguards followed her.
The door banged shut behind them, ringing out like a death knell for my time at Section 47.
Iglaredatthedoor, but it remained closed.Joan and the two guards had humiliated me, but they weren’t coming back to physically remove me from the suite—yet.
The first thing I did was check the suite, just in case the bodyguards had left anything behind, but the two men had confiscated every single Section weapon and gadget, and they hadn’t left me so much as an explosive pom-pom to work with.
It was just a matter of time before someone came to make sure I had vacated the premises, so I gathered up the papers, maps, and other information about Henrika, the Mexico mission, and the Glittertop Resort.I stuffed them all into a complimentary tote bag I found in the bathroom, then grabbed my purse, along with Desmond’s pocket watch.
I rubbed my fingers over the silver case.“I’m going to find you, Dundee.”
The walls soaked up my whispered promise, but just saying the words made me feel a little better.I slid the watch into my pocket, then hoisted the tote bag and my purse onto my shoulder and left the suite.
Down in the lobby, the strike team members had vanished, and the chattering crowd of guests and workers had also dissipated.Looked like everyone had believed the charmer’s cover story, and things had already returned to normal.
I went down the corridor and poked my head into the library General Percy had commandeered earlier, but all the Section techs were gone, along with their equipment.Everyone had already left to return to headquarters.Well, if they weren’t going to use the area, then I would.
I shut and locked the door behind me, then dumped the papers, maps, and other info out of my tote bag and onto a table.My gaze darted over to the spot where Desmond had calmed my nerves and kissed me after the poker game.A pang of longing twisted my heart.If only I could rewind time to that night, I would have done so many things differently, including telling Desmond how much I cared about him.
