Page 38 of Undercover Shadow
“Please.”
I folded my arms. “What do you want, Tag?”
“What did Typhon mean about you and Vanguard?”
My eyes scrunched. “What are you talking about?”
“His reference.”
“Do you mean him saying weworkedtogether previously?”
“I got the impression there was more to it than that.”
“I can’t do this.” When I spun around, he caught my arm.
“Just tell me,” he demanded in a tone that set me off.
“You want to know what happened? We had a mad, passionate love affair in Syria that we both insisted end the moment we set foot out of the country,” I spat at him.
“I obviously know you didn’t.”
“Then maybe you should mind your own bloody business,” I seethed.
“I can’t. I care about you and?—”
I laughed. Heartily. Then turned away. “Not another word,Obsidian. We’re done here. Actually, we were finished the moment we set foot out of Dunravin.”
I stalkedthrough the front door, down the corridor, and joined Con in the library.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” I snapped, pulling out a chair. He took the seat beside me.
“I had Kestrel clarify a few things while I was waiting,” he began. “The most important is that this intel requires immediate investigation. Multiple active sites, coordinated activity. We cannot afford to delay.”
I forced myself to focus, to compartmentalize. Tag didn’t matter right now. The mission did. “Then, we need to figure out what we’re dealing with.”
“Three distinct areas,” Con said, pulling up his phone. “Edinburgh art market—high-value transactions in the past seventy-two hours, Cyprus accounts active. That connects to the financial transactions Gus identified previously—art galleries as potential money laundering fronts for Labyrinth.”
“The second is Teesport,” I continued, my voice steadier now. “Shipping anomalies, containers being rerouted. Weight discrepancies that match the Tower-Meridian patterns.” I waited for questions, and when there weren’t any, I moved on to the next area Kestrel mentioned.
“Finally, the Northern Highlands—the Inverness region. Thermal activity detected, recent movement.” I paused, lowering my voice. “Dunravin is in that region. Tag and I found extensive tunnel systems there.”
Con’s expression shifted. “You think the thermal signatures could be coming from there?”
“It’s possible.” I glanced in the direction of the door and lowered my voice. “Dunravin is Renegade’s family estate. We can’t bring this up in the briefing without evidence. It would put him in an impossible position.”
Con nodded. “Agreed. We keep it general during the presentation—just the Inverness region. But whoever investigates the Northern Highlands needs to know where to start looking.” He studied his phone again. “And the financial trail—Malta and Cyprus networks active. Art sales funding operations through multiple dealers.”
“We need teams at each location,” I said.
Con nodded. “Edinburgh makes sense for Lex and me since we already know the lay of the land.”
“Sullivan and Ash for Teesport. Sullivan’s investigation started there.”
“Archon, Vanguard, and Prima for the Northern Highlands,” I suggested. “I can brief them separately after the meeting concludes.”
“And Gus with Renegade for the financial networks.”
