“Nonsense. I’ve always been from the future.”
“Since when?”
“Since two days from now,” J.C. said. “Look, Skinny, do I need to repeat myself? You know what our next move is.”
I sighed, then nodded. “Yes. It’s time to break into Exeltec.”
Part Three
16
“Are you sure about this?” Ivy said, rushing along beside me as I strode out of the front of the house.
“It’s our best lead, Ivy,” J.C. said. “We don’t have time to investigate new threads. Exeltec has the body. We need to find out where it is and steal it back from them.”
I nodded. “Panos’s key could be almost anywhere, but if we destroy the corpse, then the key doesn’t matter.” I raised my phone, noticing that I’d missed a call from Yol. I nodded for J.C. to watch the perimeter as I texted Wilson for a pick-up, then dialed Yol back.
Yol picked up the line.
“Hey,” I said. “I—”
“I don’t have much time,” Yol interrupted, voice muffled. “This is bad, Legion. Seriously bad.”
I grew cold. “What happened?”
“Panos,” Yol said, talking quickly, his accent growing thicker in his haste. “He let something out. Damn it. It’s—” He cut off.
“Yol?” I said, growing tense as Ivy and Tobias crowded in, trying to hear what was being said. “Yol!”
I heard voices on the other end of the line, followed by rasping. “I’m being arrested,” Yol said a moment later. “No more information in or out. They’re going to take my phone.”
“What did Panos let out, Yol?” I asked.
“We don’t know. The feds tripped a hidden file on his computer. It erased the damn thing and popped up a screen that taunted us, saying he’d already released his infection. They’re freaking out. I don’t know anything else.”
“And the things I asked you to do?”
“Did some. Set others in motion. Don’t know if I’ll be able to finish.”
“Yol, my life could depend on whether or not—”
“All of our lives are in danger,” Yol snapped. “Didn’t you hear me? This is a disaster. Hell! They’re here. Find that body. Find out what that man did!”
The phone rustled again, and the line went dead. I had the distinct impression that Yol hadn’t hung up—someone had taken the phone from him. The feds now likely knew I was involved.
I lowered the phone and looked at my aspects as Wilson pulled up. Behind us, Dion trailed out of the house, hands in his pockets. He looked troubled.
“We need to get moving,” J.C. said, rushing back from watching the perimeter. “Zen could show up here at any moment.”
“If she does,” I said, “Mrs. Maheras is in danger. I’m surprised Zen hasn’t been here already—if not her, then another Exeltec flunky.” I frowned. “I feel like we’re a step behind. I do not like that sensation.”
I ignored the car waiting for us, and I barely noticed Dion as he walked up. Instead, I closed my eyes. “Tobias,” I whispered.
“Have you noticed the beauty of the landscaping here?” Tobias said. “Those are tuberous begonia, challenging flowers to raise, particularly in this region. They require lots of light, but it can’t be direct, and are very sensitive to frost. Ah, I remember a story about them . . .”
He talked on. The other aspects fell silent as we thought, collectively. I would not proceed, feeling I’d missed something. Something that one of us should have spotted. What was it?
“Zen,” J.C. interrupted suddenly. “Her ambush.”
“People are far less secure,” I whispered, opening my eyes, “than their security measures.” I reached up to my shoulder, where Zen had grabbed me in the alleyway to pull me away from the building, then I moved up to touch under my shirt collar.
My fingers brushed metal.
“Oh, holy hell!” J.C. said.
Zen had bugged me. That was what the attack in the alleyway had been about. It hadn’t been nearly as reckless as she’d made it seem. My mind raced as J.C. explained to the other aspects what had happened. What had I said out loud? What did Zen know?
She’d heard that I intended to break into Exeltec. But what about the instructions I’d sent Yol? Did she know about those?
Sweating, I traced back through my memory. No. I’d only written that information down in the email. But she did know what I’d said to Mrs. Maheras. She knew that I was at a dead end.
“I’m an idiot,” J.C. said. “We thought to have you scrub down after the restaurant, but not after actual physical contact with the assassin?”
“She hid her intentions well,” Audrey replied. “Masked it as a frantic attempt to get the flash drive.”
“At least now we probably don’t have to worry about her coming to hurt Mrs. Maheras.”
Probably. I stared at my phone. How had we missed this?
“Calm, Stephen,” Tobias said, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone makes mistakes, even you. We can use this one—the assassin is listening to us, but she doesn’t know you’ve figured that out. We can manipulate her.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath. Zen knew about the plan to infiltrate Exeltec, which meant I couldn’t go through with that. I needed something new, something better.
That meant relying on the things I’d set in motion with Yol. Making Exeltec’s owners frantic, then playing upon that. Why did missions always go this way, lately? I looked up at my aspects, then made the decision, punching a number on my phone.
Someone picked up. “Oh, honey,” a sultry voice said on the other end of the line, “I was hoping you’d call me today.”
“Bianca,” I said.
Tobias groaned. “Not her.”
I ignored him. “I need information,” I said to the woman on the line.
“Sure thing, sugar,” she said. How did she purr like that? I was half convinced she used some kind of sound effect machine. “What about? Your . . . date the other night? I can tell you the names of the people who set you up.”
“It’s not about that,” I said. “There’s something going on with a company called I3 and their rival, Exeltec. I think they might have released a deadly virus into the wild. Do you know anything about it?”
“Mmm . . . I can look,” Bianca said. “Might take some time.”