Page 32 of Deadfall

I was fiddling with the device when G emerged from the bathroom. I glanced over at him briefly, pleased to see he seemed more composed than earlier.

“I think we can get Rune access from here,” I said. “At first I thought it was a separate system,” I continued while he changed into dry clothes. “But, this tablet has a channel to the main security hub in case of an emergency.”

“That’s all Rune needs,” G agreed.

He brought over the USB drive while I gently pulled the tablet from the wall bracket. I didn’t know exactly how it all worked, but Rune had told us that all he needed was a backdoor into the security system. It didn’t matter how small, so long as he could access their servers through it, he’d be golden. G and I spent the next few hours fiddling with it until the code was uploaded and it seemed to be doing what it needed to be doing.

After that, we tried to rest, but as the hours ticked down, it was pretty obvious neither of us was going to get more than a few hours of sleep. I gave up and got a workout in, only to come back and see G cleaning gear at the table.

I checked the schedule. “We’re headed to the Menagerie next. Looks like we’re about to find out what Brooks meant by Menagerie access.”

G nodded, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere and whatever he was thinking wasn’t pleasant. I waited him out. Sure enough, he gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his hands over his face before he sat back and fixed me with a look that chilled me to my core.

“I think Mahoney knows who she is,” he said bluntly.

I shook my head at such a bold, and frankly terrifying, statement. “I really hope not.”

“What other explanation is there for him singling her out?” G insisted. “Not to mention the mole—”

“The traitor,” I corrected with a snarl. I still was incredibly offended and pissed off that someone on our team would fuck with our operations.

G nodded. “I don’t know how else to look at it. It looks like Mahoney got suspicious of North befriending him, dug into it and learned about Emersyn. Then, somewhere along the way, blackmailed one of our team and has been playing us ever since.”

“Jesus Christ, man,” I muttered.

“Three fucking years,” G growled.

I could see him getting worked up and honestly, I didn’t know if I’d be able to calm him down because just the thought of Mahoney fucking with us for that long was doing terrible things to my self-control. My only saving grace was that I was giddy with the thought of how North was going to react when he found out.

“North is going to go absolutely ballistic,” I said gleefully.

“Not if I don’t raze this place to the ground first,” G seethed.

I held up my hands. “I mean, sure, if it works out like that, but honestly, I think you need to let North have him.” G glared, but I persisted. “Think about it. How would you feel if someone like North killed the people who murdered your sister before you could get to them?”

A dark look settled over G’s face, and I knew I’d made my point.

“We’re just the muscle,” I continued. “This is their fight.”

I cringed, because even as I said the words I realized I didn’t agree with them. G noticed and smiled humorlessly with a knowing look.

“That doesn’t feel right, does it?” He stated. “I’m pretty sure we’ve made it ours at this point.”

“Well, regardless, we don’t know anything yet. We shouldn’t do anything on speculation alone.”

“We need more information,” G agreed.

“What I want to know is where do the brothers fit into all this?” I asked. “Obviously Mahoney is pretty buddy-buddy with them—” A horrible thought came to me. “What if he’s going to give Emersyn to them to use against North?”

G frowned. “That would make sense. North was going to go after Albatron next. If they know that, they could use her as leverage to stop that from happening.”

“And the worst part is we can’t reach North right now to warn him…about Mahoney or any of it.”

The more I thought about it, the more I didn’t like the road of possibilities those thoughts took me down at all. If the brothers acquired Emersyn, they’d basically control North, and who knows how that would turn the tides. I paced toward the door and back again.

“This is why I like being the muscle,” I grumbled. “My head hurts trying to figure it all out.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to deal with any of that.”