Page 159 of Dukes Are Forever
"Of course he would," Byrnes drawled. "Why not set fire to everything? Everybody likes a good bonfire. It's not as though it could escape his control and burn half of London to the ground."
"I don't think he cares if half of London burns to the ground," Malloryn pointed out.
Adele watched as COR bantered back and forth about the best way to stop Balfour's latest scheme. She reached slowly for the pile of papers in front of Malloryn. The list of Rising Sons leapt out at her.
"It has to be the Prometheus Project," Gemma said, pushing forward the schematics she'd drawn from memory. "He's going to use this chip to assert control of the metaljackets."
"How does he plan to get at them though?" Kincaid mused. "I imagine they're stabled in the Ivory Tower and kept under lock and key."
"They are," Malloryn replied.
Jack frowned as he examined the schematics. "This isn't the sort of thing that can be simply removed and inserted. If Balfour's replacing the metaljackets' chips with this one in order to control them, then it would take him at least a week. He'd need a half dozen bio-mechanical engineers with a degree from the Royal Mechanical Academy, or a master smith in the least. It's not something your average blue blood lord could do. And someone would see it."
"It's complicated." Malloryn scrubbed at his mouth. "Time-consuming. Difficult. And the more difficult a plot is, the harder it is to pull off. It makes no sense."
Adele watched his mind ticking over. "Are you certain this is how he means to attack?"
Malloryn swore under his breath. "No, I'm not certain. This seems too easy for Balfour. It's practically gift wrapped."
And that was the problem.
"Devoncourt's known we had Corvus for days, and they'd be aware of the depth of his knowledge. So why would they continue with this plan if they thought we knew about it?" he demanded.
"It could be a decoy." Which, from what the Rogues had told her, sounded much more like Balfour's style. "Maybe he wants us to focus on the metaljackets?"
Malloryn started pacing, his hands clasped behind him. "So what is he hiding? What is he really planning?"
"Why wouldn't he use both metaljackets and Rising Sons?"
"He most likely will," Malloryn replied. "I expect a coup attempt, in the least. A two-pronged assault. We know who they are now, so the second they make their move I can arrest them."
"You have to convince the queen to cancel her celebrations," Gemma said. "I know you want them to make their move where you can see it coming, but you cannot control everything. One stray bullet and we lose her…."
"Convincing the queen may be easier said than done. I've practically locked down the tower," Malloryn growled, "and it's still not enough. She refuses to be cowed by the threat. Insists that the people need to see their queen hold her head high."
"This is madness, Malloryn," Gemma said. "The Ivory Tower's immense. There's not enough of us—or those Coldrush Guards we know to be loyal—to cover the damned thing."
"Then we focus on Balfour's potential targets," Malloryn countered. "You and Ingrid are going to make some excellent ladies-in-waiting."
"The queen can barely look at me after I nearly killed her," Gemma argued.
"If she wants her ball, then she will have you in her retinue. It is not negotiable."
They argued back and forth, voices growing more and more heated.
"Why not set a trap for him?" Adele suggested. It made perfect sense to her. If they couldn't counter the threat, then they could contain it.
Every head in the room swiveled to look at her.
"How do we set a trap?" Gemma asked. "What do we bait it with? Malloryn?"
"We could tie a target to his chest," Byrnes drawled.
"Paint him pink," Charlie added.
Malloryn focused on her, his mouth thinning with displeasure. "If you're about to suggest yourself, I'll warn you to save your breath."
"Well, technically, not myself."
