Page 81 of Tell Me Why
“The rest of them aren’tlikethat,” Tina said. “The vampires I met in London weren’tlikethis. I refuse to believe that vampire culture on the continent of Europe is so… misogynist and narcissistic, as uniformly as the bang-up crew Daryll has managed to put together.”
Tell had drawn a thoughtful breath, then went back to what he was doing as he spoke.
“No,” he said. “Not having been there in a long time, you would have to confirm with Hunter, but I would say that they span about the same range as the American vampires you’ve known, or even the London ones. Differences from group to group in what’s most normal, but probably the same range.”
So she didn’t have to write off an entire continent.
That was nice.
But she hated that house.
Every day felt like winding herself up for battle, paying attention to everything, who was talking to who, who they were avoiding and which whispered words she could pick out as she picked up another glass and scrunched a napkin into a ball.
Leonard was an interesting one.
They’d picked out two of Perceval’s people within three days. Tell suspected that there was at least one more, but that the first two didn’t know which one he was. Perceval was a prick, but he was clever enough to keep his assets separate.
Tell didn’t think that Leonard was working for Perceval. Neither did Tina. Leonard was quiet and observant, sharp-witted. Perceval didn’t like working with people he thought might be smarter than he was. Leonard was the kind of man who only worked with people he actually respected, and while it was very clear that Tina was never going to make that list, most of the rest of the clingers weren’t, either.
He liked Tell.
A lot.
Tell had started confiding in him, just daily updates, stuff that would seem too small to take to Daryll, friendly in their cool way, and today Tell intended to talk to him about his plan to bring in a third technician, but he would tip his hand with an order form he was going to leave out that would suggest that they were moving into larger-scale testing. Combined with the third technician, it would make it look like they were closer to success than Tell had hinted to anyone, yet, and make it look like they were keeping it secret.
Most of this, Tell was doing on the fly, but some evenings, as they sat down to have breakfast together, he would give her the details of what was going to happen, so that she would react the way he needed her to, when something changed.
Like following Leonard.
Tell had only rarely asked her tofollowsomeone. Go be around, certainly, but following was more intentional, and riskier, and they both knew it. It was only because Tell thought that he was going to finally get Leonard todosomething ill-considered that he wanted her to try it, and she understood that without him needing to say it.
She went to go sit on a stool in the corner, watching the technicians work.
She wasn’t entirely certain what Tell had them working on, in truth. They seemed very studious and industrious, very invested in what they were doing, but there were four languages in the room - German, English, whatever Aleksander spoke, and the shared language between the two of them, which was either French or Italian, Tina wasn’t sure - and the barrier that they had, working together, was substantial.
Like maybe Tell had done it that way on purpose.
It didn’t matter what they were working on, so long as it was impressive enough to keep Daryll pacified, and Tinathoughtthat Daryll had delegated the job of tracking the progress here in the lab entirely to Isabella.
Crissy.
Who would come down about once a night and talk to the technicians, each in their own language the way Tell did, bright smile and cutoff shorts every inch of her like she’d lived here her entire life. The technicians liked her. Didn’t have any clue who she was. Flirted with her and competed for who got to talk to her the most.
There were things to learn, there.
There was a steady stream of people through, as every night. Tell was taking deliveries all night - how, Tina had no idea, but the network of distribution that worked through Kirsten back home seemed every bit as vibrant here as there - and men would jump at the opportunity to walk something in here and speakwith Tell for a few minutes, just casually, just coincidentally, just friendly interest.
Spying.
Tina had seen it.
They literally jumped.
And Tell strung them along, cool and distant and yet confidentially and personally.
So bizarre, being able to see both sides of it, where no one ever looked back at her.
Leonard showed up a few hours before dawn; he’d heard that there might be a third man coming to help at the lab, was it true?
