Page 33 of A Lion's Heart
CHAPTER 9
“I want you to attend the gala and take the meeting like we discussed,” Jace spoke after they’d had breakfast.
“There’s a Croesteriia who we came across in the tunnels. She has information about the murders. I can take her with me,” Decan said before Nisa had a chance to speak.
He was trying to keep her quiet. They all were.
Nisa had been first in the dining hall, already filling her plate from the buffet when they’d all come in with shocked and worried expressions on their faces. She’d taken a seat at the table and had eaten that food as if it were the best in the world. Her decision to continue with her original mission had been solidified when she’d finally fallen asleep last night. Whatever was going on between her and Decan was secondary. And whatever Jace said to try and stop her would fail dismally thanks to her early morning research efforts and a phone call from Shya.
“We met,” Jace announced. “I made it a point to meet with everyone from your team last night. Kyss is an interesting character.”
“One who has a problem with boundaries,” Amelia immediately added.
Nisa knew exactly what Amelia was referring to and again wondered just how long Jace and Amelia had been “friends”. There was a definite connection between them. Not like she’d seen between the joined shifter couples at Assembly Headquarters. The ones that Nisa called her aunts and uncles, shared a much closer bond. One that was instantly noticeable by their fierce protection of each other, and their shared scent. Thecalorwas the scent that engulfedcompanheirosonce they’d mated. It was distinct to each couple, but the basic spicy aroma was a telltale sign that the two were a couple, which equated to no poaching on either side or things would get rough pretty fast.
There was no scent between Jace and Amelia, yet there was something, Nisa was certain of it.
“She possesses an interesting ability to obtain information,” Jace continued. “That’s all that matters.”
“And how do we know we can trust her?” Nisa countered.
She’d been sipping from her piping hot cup of tea as she sat back in her chair listening to the conversation that flowed around her. Now, she set the cup on the black lacquer table and waited for their response.
“You said she can get information,” Nisa continued when the silence remained. “The holodeck I created is comprised of virtual docks that gather around one central source. The main databases are kept on the central source. Specific information pertaining to the corresponding zones in the US and the different branches internationally, sprout from the central source like branches on a tree. Central Zone does not have a complete holodeck infrastructure—that’s why I’m here now—but it has the central source and a few docks dedicated to this zone’s operations. There was only one dock compromised. One which was clearly marked classified and contained an access code with the faction leader prefix.”
She paused, letting both hands rest in her lap now, her back straight, her gaze zooming in on Jace.
“The dock that contained classified information on all the Faction Leaders and their security hierarchy. That’s the one that was breached,” Amelia stated evenly.
Nisa nodded, but never took her eyes off Jace. “That’s correct. So, whoever broke into that dock knew exactly what they were looking for and how to obtain it. The system is set with alarms to signal hacking at any level. None were sounded. Which means this person had the access code. They got in and they got the information they wanted, on the specific shifters that they wanted.”
“What are you saying?” Jace asked, his hands fisting on the table.
Nisa wasn’t totally comfortable with what she’d uncovered and she was even less comfortable with the fact that she was delivering this information to a Faction Leader, before and instead of to her father. It was a serious accusation she was about to make. One that even Shya was nervous about as she’d expressed during their earlier phone call. According to her best friend, if something like this was going on and Nisa was the one uncovering it, she would be in danger. No question about it. And if that were the case, the safest place for her would be at Assembly Headquarters behind the security laced steel walls Rome had created and the top level guards that he’d trained. Nisa disagreed. Her place was here and if there was danger it was to all the shifters. She would not hide just because she was the one uncovering the infiltration.
“In the months before the Unveiling there was chaos with Captain Lawrence Crowe and the Comastz Lab attempting to develop a super soldier using shifter DNA. There were casualties and as the unfortunate situation escalated more shifters were lost. In addition to the Blaez Trekas notes, the information that was accessed through the database was on two shifters in particular—Jacques Germain and Cole Linden. Now, who better to have betray the Assembly than another shifter? An unlisted Croesteriia with nothing to lose.”
Jace cursed and Decan frowned.
“What do you suggest?” Amelia asked Nisa.
Nisa looked at Amelia and exchanged a slight nod. She’d taken Amelia’s advice last night and found the leverage she needed. Amelia seemed pleased with that fact.
“I suggest we do as Decan had the forethought to do earlier. Keep Kyss with us. My father always taught me to keep my enemies close. Kyss definitely has information and can easily get more. For us, or from us. Until we figure out which way she’s more likely to swing, we keep her at our side. It’s much easier to dispatch a threat that’s in arm’s reach, than searching one out,” she said.
“True. And if she goes to the gala someone can watch her to see who she speaks to, watch her move and listen to her conversations. So that we know everything she does,” Amelia continued.
“Exactly,” Nisa added. “We also need the element of surprise on our side. The members of the Ruling Cabinet would never expect. Someone they’ve never seen before.”
“They don’t know I’m a shifter,” Decan told them.
Nisa looked to him in surprise because she had been referring to herself.
“The reason I was able to stay above ground for so long after the Unveiling was because they thought I was human,” he continued.
Amelia crossed her legs and rubbed a finger over her chin.
She wore white today, a skirt that barely touched her knees, a silk camisole, waist length jacket and yellow five-inch heel sandals that made her legs seem never ending. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, diamond studs sparkling at her ears.
