Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(18)

“According to Charlotte, Nelson told her he’d worked for a company who hired him to eliminate the competition, so to speak,” Knight continued. “You’ll see I’ve compiled a case against Kronberg. At the same time Nelson claimed he was working with the pharmaceutical company, their direct rival’s over-the-counter pain reliever was caught in a criminal case involving cyanide-coated pills that had the Boston area and then the entire US in a complete panic. The rival’s drug was pulled from the shelves and Kronberg’s has enjoyed a swift bump in market share ever since. Nelson received a million dollars from an offshore account at roughly the same time. I’ve traced that account back to a subsidiary of Kronberg.”

It was enough for Ten to believe. Still, it didn’t mean Faith was involved. “Do you have direct proof that Hope McDonald is aware of The Collective? Ninety-nine point nine percent of all employees working for Collective companies have zero idea they’re slaves to the bad guys. And what real proof do you have that McDonald is working with The Collective?”

“Beyond the fact that you’re sitting here?” Tag shot back.

Big Tag was drawing lines without making real connections. He was letting his anger at The Collective and the way they’d targeted his family blind him to logic. “I will agree to the fact that McDonald has ties to the Agency and that he was obviously working with the bad guys. He made money off selling out troop movements to the enemy, which is exactly what I intend to prove by getting inside his hidey-hole. Everything else you’ve laid out is complete conjecture.”

“His daughter works for a known Collective company,” Knight explained.

Which proved nothing except that she had a job. “I need proof and not simply that she works somewhere. What’s her job at Kronberg?”

Tag looked through his notes. “She’s in research and development, but I don’t think they’ve got a Criminal Department. Come on. You know there are very few coincidences in the world. McDonald is dirty. If he’s in bed with one bad guy, he’s probably up for an orgy.”

“He likes the girl,” Markovic said. “He thinks if one sister is bad, both are. He’s probably right, but this is reason he requires more proof. He wants to believe pretty girl is good girl.”

The Russian was making him sound like some kind of lovesick teen. “I simply need more than some poorly drawn lines. I haven’t been in business for myself for years. I was trained to cross every T and dot every I before I brought justice down on someone because it was my butt on the line. I simply want the same level of confidence attached to this mission. I will have to present this to the Agency if I want my command back. I have to find out who McDonald’s Agency mole is and I need proof. If I also find proof that the McDonald sisters are working for a criminal enterprise, then I will take the whole family down. I’ll see them all in jail.”

He stood up because it looked like the informative portion of the meeting was over. It was time for him to move on and let Tag and Knight talk about babies and puppies and shit. He needed to prep for tomorrow.

“If that’s all you need me for, I could use the rest of the day to prep to meet with the target tomorrow,” he said.

Tag frowned but sat back. “All right. We’ll meet back here on Monday. Take tomorrow off if you need it. I’m going to debrief Markovic and I’ll send you a report. You bringing her to Sanctum Saturday?”

“That’s my plan. I’d like for her to meet Charlotte and particularly Eve. I’m interested in her personal profile,” Ten explained.

“You’ll have it. She’s ready. Are you?”

“To meet Faith? Of course. Thanks.” He stepped out.

He was ready. It was time for him to put aside all doubt. This mission was about to begin.





CHAPTER THREE



“I’ll be right there. I’m going to run and pick up some gloss,” Faith said as they stood in front of the restaurant. She glanced up at the sign. It was pretty and looked like someone had spent a lot of time hand painting it. Top. According to Erin, Theo’s brother owned the place. It was also where she was supposed to meet Master T in person for the first time.

So she needed some serious lip-gloss. She’d spied a Neiman Marcus half a block down the street, and they were a good twenty minutes early thanks to a shocking lack of traffic on the way from Erin and Theo’s pretty ranch house to downtown.

“I should come with you.” Erin looked back at the door where Theo had disappeared.

Faith shook her head. “No. I won’t be more than ten minutes. I bet the makeup counter is on the first floor. Please stay. I swear I’ll run in, use the mirror in the bathroom, and then I’ll run right back out. Order me something sweet to drink.”

For a second Erin looked like she would argue, but then she opened the door. “All right. But don’t get lost. Master T was very excited about finally getting to meet you.”

Which was precisely why she didn’t want zombie lips. She’d bought some makeup at the duty free store in DFW, but she was woefully out of touch. It wasn’t usually this hard. Her old Master was used to her being fairly low maintenance. He’d been a doctor, too.

The mysterious Master T worked in security, and by that she’d kind of figured out he was a bodyguard. It explained how he knew Theo and Theo’s brothers. Faith walked down the street at a crisp pace. Germany had been nice, but isolated. It was good to be back in the States. It was particularly good to be back in Texas. As she passed people on the street, most sent her a smile or tipped their heads in acknowledgment. It was something unique about the Southern United States. She’d been all over the world, but she always missed this.