Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(98)

She nodded in understanding and shook his hand. “It’s just Bianca when we’re with family,” she said firmly.

“Now that we’ve gotten the threats portion of our day out of the way, can we get down to business?” I asked. “Loch has a clean identity on a secondary chip. We are going to need Ian to set him up with diplomatic immunity.”

Bianca barely flinched at Ian’s name, but it was enough for me to catch. She wasn’t in public persona mode, so it was easier to read her. Ian Bishop was the director of House von Hasenberg security. He and Bianca had some sort of history, but I’d never been able to pry it out of her.

“How good is the identity?” Bianca asked.

“Rhys set it up,” Loch said. “It’s solid.”

“Okay, then the identity is the least of our worries. But Ian is bound to recognize you,” Bianca said, “and you can’t go around cloaked all of the time. Even if we figure out how to deal with Ian, someone else will recognize you.”

“There’s no way around recognition, at least not here,” Loch said. “The identity I have lists me as Marcus Loch’s cousin. I’ll claim familial looks. With a solid identity it should hold, but it forces me to rely on diplomatic immunity more than I’d like.” Loch shrugged. “It’s the best Rhys and I came up with on short notice.”

I didn’t love the plan, but between the debriefings and working behind the scenes to get Loch a pardon, I planned to lie low. Loch wouldn’t be too exposed until I had to start moving in Consortium society. And I would hold off on that until I was close to a pardon hearing.

Bianca didn’t look convinced, either, but she didn’t object, which meant she didn’t have a better alternative. “What do you need for the pardon?” she asked.

“I need everything you can dig up on the Genesis Project,” I said. I briefly filled her in on the details and was gratified to see her get more and more upset. By the time I was done, she practically vibrated with the need to get started.

“Leave it to me,” she said.

A huge weight lifted from my shoulders. Bianca was the best at information gathering. If it could be found, she would find it. “Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “Send Ian a message and ask him to come here. He’ll be easier to deal with here than in the main security office if something goes wrong.”

“Didi, ask Director Bishop to come to my suite to add my bodyguard to the diplomatic immunity roster,” I said. A chime sounded throughout the room as the suite computer sent my message. “I wasn’t sure that would still work,” I said. I’d changed the name of my suite computer to Didi ages ago, but I had expected Father to wipe everything after I left.

Bianca caught the direction of my thoughts. “As far as I know, Father didn’t touch your room,” Bianca said. “I checked on things a few times, but I don’t think anyone else, other than staff, ventured inside.”

Another, subtler chime sounded. “Read the message,” I said.

“Director Bishop replied that he is on his way,” Didi said.

Bianca started fidgeting. Anxiety churned in my gut. Only Loch, the one with the most to lose, looked completely calm. He pulled me into a half hug with an arm around my waist. “It will be fine,” he said. “You know Rhys’s identities are bulletproof.”

“The identity may be bulletproof, but you’re not,” I reminded him.

He gave me a squeeze and brushed a kiss across my temple. “We’ve got this. Now, what’s my name?”

“Vincent Loch,” I said. “Marcus Loch’s cousin on his father’s side, as far as you can tell.” The key to a good identity was the details, and Rhys always sweated the details. Vincent Loch had a family, deceased, of course, but with all the paper trails necessary to throw off all but the most dogged investigators.

The suite doorbell rang. “Director Bishop is at the door,” Didi said. I pulled on my public persona and watched Bianca do the same. It was always odd to watch the change on someone else. Bianca’s face smoothed out and her expression went cold and distant. Her chin tilted up just slightly, and her eyes were flat and hard.

I moved to the sitting room doorway, then checked if Bianca and Loch were ready. Bianca settled back onto the settee then nodded. Loch lounged against the wall. “I’m ready when you are, darling.”

“Let Director Bishop in,” I said.





Chapter 27




The suite door opened and Ian Bishop stepped inside. I’d never seen him in anything other than a suit or tuxedo and today was no different. He wore a dark navy suit with a white shirt and pale blue tie. He was a handsome man, with blond hair and blue eyes and just enough rough edges to be interesting.

Ian bowed slightly. “Lady Ada, I heard you had returned. I am glad you are safe.” He sounded almost sincere, despite the fact that I’d been unsafe for two years thanks to him.

“Thank you, Director Bishop. Please, come in.” He stepped past me into the sitting room. He was nearly as tall as Loch, but built a little leaner. In his late twenties, he was incredibly young for the director of security of a High House. He’d climbed through the ranks so fast no one had noticed until he was running the show.