Cloud Dust: RD-1 (R-D #1)(15)
"Neither. I don't intend to drink much," he shrugged.
"I thought so."
"Tell me," he said, "what do you think of the Five? Does it irritate you that they call themselves the Five instead of the Six?"
"Really?" I huffed. "Why would I want to be associated with that bunch of prejudiced jerks? Why do you want to know? Have they excluded you already, too?"
"Corinne," August warned. "Shaw and I are here, remember, and others may be listening."
"Really?" I said again. "Like I don't know already that every moment of every day is under microscopic scrutiny?"
"I," Rafe cleared his throat, "just wanted to drop by and apologize, for earlier and for later."
"Later what?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"For when I knock you to the floor on multiple occasions during your lessons."
"Oh, for cripes' sake," I tossed up a hand and slid off my barstool. "Auggie, did you hear that? He's going to kill me. Look, why can't we not do this, and just say we did?"
"Auggie?" Shaw seemed interested, suddenly.
"We're not buying monogrammed towels," I snapped at Shaw. "If I call him Auggie, it's because he deserves to be irritated."
"You really write the Sarah Fox mysteries?" Rafe asked.
"What? That was five minutes ago. Are you slow or something?" I asked, shaking my head at him.
*
Ilya
Truthfully, I expected someone who'd hide in a corner the moment I reappeared. I certainly didn't expect what I found. After speaking with her for only a few minutes, I learned she was just as adept at assessing others as I was. I found it disconcerting, too, that she could read me just as easily.
"Is this talent you have for reading people part of your writing ability?" I asked. Yes, I'd read Sarah Fox's novels. All of them. I wasn't going to divulge that information. Let her think I disapproved of her talent. That would keep her unbalanced and easier to unsettle. Vulnerable people could be manipulated.
"You're not a spy, here," she pointed out. For the first time, I blinked first. "Auggie, did you show him any pictures of the guy who killed the Russian Ambassador?"
I turned quickly in Colonel Hunter's direction. I hadn't gotten that news. "He's dead?" I asked.
"Here." Colonel Hunter drew out his cell and scrolled through photographs before settling on one. "This one killed the Ambassador. Know who he is?"
*
Corinne
He knew. I know he knew. He shook his head anyway. August pocketed his cell with a sigh. "Just wanted to check," he said. "Thanks."
"No trouble," Rafe replied. Yes, he could lie with the best of them. I wasn't fooled for a minute. "Is he dead, too? The one in the photograph?"
"Yeah."
"Too bad you didn't get information from him, first."
"What makes you think we didn't?" August asked.
"He's fishing," I said. "Now he knows for sure."
"Cori," August warned.
"Yeah." I slumped in my chair.
*
Ilya
I was beginning to see already what it had taken them more than five years to find—Corinne Watson was dangerous. I'd perfected the craft of reading people and situations after years of practice. She had it naturally. To me, that meant it could be the least of her talents. That concerned me. Did they not see that she was concealing what she was?
While I considered keeping my mystery to myself, I began to worry that I might not unravel hers and I really wanted to solve that riddle.
"When do you have breakfast—or coffee?" I asked her.
"Usually around seven-thirty," she replied. I cut her off before she could ask what my schedule was. "I'll see you then," I said. "We'll avoid future surprises that way."
"Wait," she said as I waved and walked toward the door. Colonel Hunter watched me go, a deep frown on his face.
*
Corinne
The * didn't even wait for me to tell him that I wanted quiet time for myself in the mornings, to consider what I wanted to write during the day. He intended to interrupt. Likely, he knew it would unsettle me—that was his game plan, after all.
Ilya Kuznetsov, I thought at him, you're a real jerk.
*
Ilya
I heard her—as plainly as if I'd been standing next to her, and began my mental list of what it was, exactly, that Corinne Watson was capable of doing.
*
Notes—Colonel Hunter
I'd only known Rafe for a few hours and disliked him already. His handler, too, was an unknown to me. It made me wonder if General Cutter was making his presence known already.
"James, get me everything you can find on Dalton Parrish," I said the moment I walked into my office.
"Right away, sir."
Fifteen minutes later, James was back and setting a flash drive on my desk.
"Tell me," I said, fingering the tiny file.
"Worked as General Cutter's assistant in the past," James reported.
"Corinne was right," I muttered. "The virus has been introduced."
"Corinne is starting to scare me," James said.