Page 104 of The Study of Poisons
After she returned to bed, Valek hurried to Kenda’s office.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Yes. The undercover operation at Star’s has been blown. I need you to take an extraction team and arrest Star and her people.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Have we even identified all of her people yet?”
“No. But there’s nothing we can do. Take Inrick and Hildred, they’ll be able to recognize voices.”
“Okay. When?”
“This morning.”
“What about the Sitians? I’m going to need the agents assigned to watch them for the raid.”
“Take them. I’ll be with the Sitians all day.”
Not happy, but out of arguments, Kenda rushed to round up her team as Valek headed to the war room. As he sat and listened to the discussion, he fought to stay awake. It would be a long day. He’d rather be with Kenda; the excitement of the arrests would have kept him alert.
It was only after enduring a mind-numbing day that he could meet with Kenda to learn the details about the raid. She met him in his office.
“Star wasn’t in the building,” she said.
He cursed. Rand must have tipped her off.
“We arrested a dozen people. They didn’t resist, and they don’t seem like critical personnel in her network, but I’ll find out more when we interview them.”
“Did you leave a couple of watchers on Star’s building just in case she comes back?”
“Yeah. Although, I doubt she’s that stupid.”
“She’s not, but maybe we can snag a few of her clients. She’ll eventually settle in a new location to conduct her business and we’ll find it. Next time, we’ll do it right. Let me know what you learn from the interrogations.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And I need Inrick and Hildred for a special operation.”
Kenda rubbed her forehead. “When?”
“Not until after the delegation leaves.”
“Thank fate, we’re stretched thin. You need to recruit more agents.”
“I know, it’s on my very long to-do list.”
“What about those captains and the lieutenant?”
“I’m in the process of convincing them to join.”
“Why don’t you justaskthem?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
She just shook her head.
* * *
The Sitians requesteda break the next day, taking the afternoon off. After ensuring they reached the guest quarters, Valek joined the Commander in his office. He hadn’t been able to update him on Star until now.
