Page 27 of A Lion's Heart
“First thing tomorrow morning you’ll meet with Amelia and Marco, one of the Central Zone Lead Enforcers,” he said to Nisa. “They’ll be with you in the security room to walk you through all that’s been going on here and issues specifically related to the Central Zone that VeriSecure doesn’t cover. Decan, you and I will meet privately to discuss an event I’d like you to attend the day after tomorrow.”
The moment he said that Nisa sat up in her chair and squared her shoulders.
“It’s late but we can have some food brought to your rooms since you’ve been traveling so long tonight,” Jace continued. “I’m glad you could make it here as quickly as you did and I’ll be sure to let the Assembly Leader know.”
He’d looked at Decan as he said that and Nisa felt irritation take over the spurt of anger she’d felt only moments ago. Was he really giving Decan the credit for simply driving her from one place to another? She could have done the same on her own.
“I know it’s late but I really don’t see the point in putting off the discussion of the anniversary gala the Ruling Cabinet members will be attending day after tomorrow,” she stated evenly and was rewarded with the combined looks of shock on the face of every person in the room.
“Especially since we know that Lial Johansen, the shifter we think is now leading the Rogues, will be there.”
The last was spoken just to make sure they knew how much she now knew. Of course none of this information had been shared with her by the people she trusted. No, they’d preferred to keep things like this from her. But now Nisa knew. She knew a lot and she wasn’t about to let them talk and plan around her again.
“How did you hear about that gala?” Jace asked.
“Yes,” Decan added. “How did you hear about it?”
“Not from either of you,” she announced. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m guessing that this is the reason Decan was sent here with me. I was the cover so that none of the rogues that have been planted down here in Oasis to keep an eye on what we’re doing could report back to Lial that you’re planning to corner him and take him down.”
Nisa had learned all of this last night as she’d sat in that room, searching on her board. It had taken her an unusually long time to find some of the information, but the minute she’d searched Gillian Patterson’s murder, familiar names had begun to pop up. For instance, Agent Dorian Wilson, who was a human FBI agent had been present at some of the meetings her father and the other FLs had attended with a human named Wilson Reed, the last president of the United States. Two years after the Unveiling, the human world took a turn for the worse. Wilson Reed was accused of aiding and abetting the Shadows and subsequently assassinated. After which time, instead of having the Vice-President assume the role as Commander-In-Chief, as was the well-documented protocol for the human democracy in this country, a group of young radicals being led by former congressman Ewen Mackey used fear and intimidation to destroy the remaining government. Ewen Mackey became the leader of the Ruling Cabinet, a group devised to not make fair and legal laws for the country, but to use the humans’ fear of shifters and his promise to eradicate them from their country as a way to gain control.
“We’re not having this discussion,” Jace immediately stated.
He stood and was about to push his chair under the table and probably order her to leave the room, but Nisa continued.
“Yes. I think we are,” she stated. “When my father said you needed help bringing this zone together I knew he meant something beyond what was going on here in Oasis. Your problem isn’t just that you have unreported shifters somehow getting inside and going out without anyone knowing. It’s that you fear Lial has infiltrated, not just your security here, but also your intelligence. You want me to go in and create an impenetrable cyber shield the way I did at Assembly Headquarters to protect your classified files. That’s fine, I can do that. But not without telling you first that if Lial has gotten into your files and has shifters down here working for him, then your problem is much bigger than you think and a new computer shield isn’t going to stop him.”
There, she’d said it.
While Nisa had been chatting up Decan on their ride here, she’d also been rehearsing how she was going to let her dear Uncle Jace know that she was on to the real reason she’d been summoned here. Before leaving Assembly Headquarters she’d begun tracing the electronic footprints left on the Central Zone’s security system. Whoever had gotten into their system had also created a doorway so that these unlisted shifters could enter Oasis. And once the trio of cheetahs had stopped them in the tunnels with their information, Nisa presumed they were unlisted as well.
Decan wasn’t saying a word, but she knew he was pissed. The first thing he was going to ask her when they were alone, was why hadn’t she told him this before now. Her reason would be, because telling him all she’d been able to find out wasn’t going to get her the job as Central Zone Faction Leader.
Jace cursed and ran a hand down the back of his head, while Amelia sat back in her chair and attempted to hide a smile.
“What I didn’t understand at first was why the files that were tampered with were such a big deal. They were just notes from someone named Blaze Trekas and most of them were written in another language. I didn’t have time to translate them, but I plan to.”
“No,” Jace said as he sat down again. “You will not translate them and you will not do anymore research into Lial, the Ruling Cabinet or anything else. You are here to mimic your holodeck from the Assembly Headquarters to ours. That’s it. Fuck! Rome’s going to lose his mind when he finds out you’ve been digging into this. And then, he’s going to want your head and probably mine for not stopping her!”
The last was said to Decan, who had just sat forward, letting his elbows rest on his thighs as he glared at Nisa.
“She’s not going to research anymore about this topic,” Decan said slowly. “Not one more word.”
Nisa ignored both of them. “I’m going to do whatever I can to protect us. If Lial is working with the Ruling Cabinet who has been killing Shadows for years, then I’m going to be a part of stopping him. So we might as well start with the gala. What are you planning? You’re sending someone up there aren’t you? Who is it?”
There was silence and then Nisa’s gaze narrowed on Decan.
“This is why you were here all along. You came so that he could brief you and you could go above ground and try to stop Lial. Was that also part of the information Kyss brought to you? She said she picked up Lial’s scent at the scene of Gillian Peterson’s murder. Were you wondering why he would kill the family members of the Ruling Cabinet if he was working for them?”
She had so many pieces moving in her mind, some of which she’d put together, but others that were still dangling out in space. This morning when she’d gotten dressed she’d felt rejuvenated because she’d found so much information that had begun to make sense. Now that the information was out, she wasn’t sure she had it figured out after all.
“I think it’s been a very long night,” Amelia began.
When Nisa was ready to speak over her, Amelia simply nodded in Nisa’s direction and continued. “This discussion will come from clearer heads if we take this up tomorrow morning after breakfast. Now, Nisa, I will show you to your room.”
As far as being handled went, it was one of the smoother scenarios Nisa had watched. Actually, it was along the lines of how her mother might have handled the situation. Jace was clearly irritated and Decan, well, Nisa could smell the waves of anger rolling off him and had to admit that she wasn’t looking forward to their confrontation. The one that would come tonight, the moment he guessed she was alone. So, in an effort to retain any allegiance with the two male shifters, Nisa stood. She looked to Jace and offered him all she could by way of an apology.
“I can help,” she told him. “I know the role you and my father would like me to play in all this and I accept that, but only if I’m allowed to help in other ways as well. I’ve been trained for this and I know there will come a time in this investigation that you will need a skill that I possess. I’m just trying to speed up the process.”
