Lies(45)

“Charles and I are both getting older, and I have no heir apparent. We both feel that with the good work we’ve done over the years, bowing out now is not entirely intolerable. The responsibility for the committee’s new direction will therefore be yours alone.”

“I’m delighted to hear you’ve come to your senses.”

“Indeed. I trust you’ve had the documentation prepared to handle the transfer of power?”

“Yes, I have,” the man all but purred. “Where are you now? I’d be delighted to hand-deliver them myself. There’s no need for more of this dreadful hostility between us.”

Helene sat back in her chair, crossing her legs. “Oh, Archie. You can’t believe I’m going to make it quite that easy. You always were rather spoiled. Now I may be willing to bow out, but it was only last night that you were trying to kill me. It was all rather upsetting. Forgive me my foibles; pettiness is such an ugly emotion. And yet, I do believe I’ll allow you to locate me on your own. If you can…”

He laughed. “Very well. Let’s decide now on the amount of security to accompany each of us to this event, hmm? I’d hate for there to be any last-minute misunderstandings.”

“Send three of your people to deliver the papers, and I’ll have two of mine here. But you don’t get to come, Archie.” Her voice hardens. “That’s my condition. If I must sign over my life’s work, I will not suffer through your gloating while I do it. At this point, I’ll count it as a victory if I never have to see your face again.”

“There’s no need to take this so personally, Helene.”

“Do you agree to my terms?”

A soft laugh echoes through the line. “Of course. My people will be in touch.”

The line went dead.

“I feel like I’m dealing with a fucking Bond villain,” Helene says, and sighs. “Honestly, to have it all come to this.”

“You don’t honestly believe this fucker, do you?” asks Bear.

“Not in the slightest. Make no mistake, he’ll be coming in hard for all of us with a small army and lots of guns.”

Fox crosses her arms, leaning against the wall. “Then why the games?”

“Why did I just prick that massive blowhard’s ego? Tell him I’d count it as a victory if I never see him again? Because now he has to put the bullet in me himself. He won’t settle for anything less than looking me in the eyes as he pulls the trigger,” says Helene. “After his people have cleared the way, of course. This is the best chance we have to get a shot at him and put an end to all of this.”

Thoughtful silence met her pronouncement. Not that I contributed to the general thoughtfulness. I was basically just a lot scared and doing my best to hide this fact.

“Wolf, how long would you guess we have?” she asks eventually.

My fiancé straightens. “Hard to say. A few hours at least. Or they could string us out, try and wear us down a little. They’ve got superior numbers and can choose the timing. So maybe they’ll wait until well after midnight and try to catch us tired or with our guard down.”

“If Scorpion’s in charge?” asks Crow.

“Then she’ll want to settle in and see what we’re up to before making a move. She’s cautious; it’s what’s kept her alive so long, made her such a good operator,” says Thom. “We got lucky last night, stumbling into her hit like that. Doubt we’ll get the drop on her a second time.”

The sinking feeling in my stomach turns into an endless void. Thom’s gaze meets mine across the room, and I try for a smile. Given the grim look on his face, my lips have failed me big-time.

Fox looks to heaven with a sigh. “Shit’s going to hit the fan again, yadda yadda. We all know it. So what’s the plan? Because I’m done with these assholes taking potshots at us.”

“First up, clear all of the weapons out of the safe room and then, Helene, you and Betty are in there until it’s safe to come out.”

Their boss beats me to “oh hell no” by like half a second.

“No, I’m not,” she says. “You need all the shooters you can get, and I’ll have you know I was quite the markswoman in my day. If I can take a duck on the wing at two hundred yards, then I’m quite capable of putting a bullet through Archie’s smug face.”

“What she said,” I add. “Apart from the markswoman thing. But I can point and shoot. You all saw that much.”

Thom’s lips thin, the man clearly unhappy and about to argue with us hardcore.

“This isn’t up for discussion, Wolf,” snaps Helene. “If I’m not visible then Archie won’t bother risking himself and entering the firefight, which is our one chance of surviving this. None of this goes away until he’s dead. Charles is safe from all of this for now. He’s your backup plan in case anything happens to me.” Her chin gets higher and higher. I don’t think she’s used to anyone so much as attempting to tell her what to do. “While I appreciate your wish to keep me alive and kicking, stopping that little prick comes first.”

He sighs. “Fine. However, you’re both down in the basement until we’ve got the initial assault under control. Then I’ll reassess the situation. But only once we’ve downed the bulk of their force will we make our play. Crow, you’re our expert on the long gun. I want you up on the widow’s walk picking off everything you can. Bear, you take the road approach. Fox, you’ve got the waterfront.”