Page 101 of Code Name: Reaper
“Nemesis—Margeaux Jordan—maybe you know her…”
“By reputation only.”
“Anyway, she was able to get a brief from the DoD about Eleanor’s initial investigation, her time at the Air Force Academy, and her subsequent disappearance.”
She nodded as if she already knew.
“Do you believe Briggs was behind their deaths?” I asked.
“Behind them is a good way to put it. However, we’ve yet to prove it.” Her hands clenched in her lap.
I thought about Briggs in his Alexandria office, his nervous tells when we’d said the names Mercury and Prism. “We met with him.”
Lyra had the same reaction as when I mentioned the DoD brief, as if she already knew.
Something occurred to me. “He knew who I was, didn’t he?”
“I have no doubt.” She glanced out the window. “Kingston and his brother have returned with their parents. Perhaps now would be a good time for us to take a break.”
While I still had so many questions, processing what I’d learned so far was overwhelming. However, there was one I knew I had to ask now. “Eleanor…” I had to take a deep breath when I was overcome with emotion.
“Take your time.” Lyra squeezed my hand.
“As she lay dying, she looked right at me and said, ‘It’s up to you now.’”
She turned to face me. “I want to be very clear about something.”
“I’m listening.”
“While you, Katarina, my mother, Aunt Polina, and I are what’s left of the family, you must understand that continuing my father’s mission, finding justice for those we lost, isn’t something you inherit. It’s something you choose. Eleanor chose it. Edgar chose it. I chose it. Even Katarina chose it. But you don’t have to.”
I thought about Eleanor throwing herself in front of that bullet, about Jekyll dying without me knowing he was my uncle, about all the years Mercury had carried this burden while pretending to be my mentor instead of my aunt.
“I don’t see how I can do anything other than choose it too.”
“You are well aware of the inherent danger.” She phrased it as a statement rather than a question. “And while the weight of the family is heavy on your shoulders now, you must also think about your future.” She motioned outside the window to where Kingston was walking to the front door.
“But if we don’t finish what Minerva started, Briggs, Vasiliev, and those like them will keep killing people. My parents’ deaths and what you, Eleanor, Edgar, Anna, and Polina have sacrificed, will be in vain.”
“True. But I assure you, they will stop at nothing to destroy us too.”
“Won’t they come for me anyway?”
“They will. More so now.”
For the second time this morning, I thought about Kingston’s words, saying he’d be with me for whatever my family needed and whatever the mission required, regardless of the danger. How could I commit to anything less?
“You can count on me,” I said without hesitation. “And tomorrow, I’d like to learn more about Minerva Protocol. If possible, tour the headquarters.”
“Of course.” She stood at the sound of a knock at the door. When she opened it, Kingston walked in, and she left without saying anything else.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“I’m going to join Minerva,” I blurted. “And finish what my grandfather started.”
“Youare?”
“As Lyra told me a few minutes ago, it isn’t expected. It’s a choice. I know what I have to do, but I can’t expect the same of you. Not until you think it over. Until you’re certain.”
