Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
And yet yesterday when he’d sat in his uncle’s office and caught the last half of the Mavericks game, she’d joined him. They’d taken to staying late at the office before they carefully made their way to Sanctum, a couple of guards with them at all times. MaeBe—who did not do sportsball of any kind—had brought him a beer and laid down on the couch, her head resting on his lap as she’d read a book on her tablet. She hadn’t watched the game, but she’d stayed there with him. She’d brought him peace and comfort, and it had been lovely.
“Julia had a complicated relationship with your father, from what I could tell,” Joseph was saying. “She didn’t talk a lot about her past, but she did tell me her father was the reason she got her position in the organization. I got the feeling it was something she and your father worked toward for a very long time.”
“So the Canadians knew my father was a bad guy but they didn’t tell us,” Drake said, his bitterness plain. “I’m sure my mother would have liked to know before she ended up nearly dying in a London hotel room.”
“He worked for the Agency.” Joseph sat down on the bench, and if he felt the pressure of Drake’s emotion, he didn’t show it. “You work for the Agency. We’ve been over this. We’re still assessing how deep the corruption goes.”
“Does that mean you haven’t cleared us?” Kyle wouldn’t be surprised, but he also wasn’t upset at the thought. It made him believe Joseph. He would have to be careful.
“Oh, I’ve cleared you,” Joseph said. “You’re too connected to your uncle. Ian Taggart has an impeccable reputation as an asshole who doesn’t deal with organizations like this. Ever. The McKay-Taggart team knocked the legs out of this group for over a decade. It’s only been the last few years that they really managed to get back into power. I’m honestly not worried about you, Drake. Or your mother, but my colleagues need more convincing. Hence I’m here for a while. It would help if you didn’t leave me behind when you go to DC tomorrow.”
Kyle sighed and let his head fall forward.
“Well, Kyle, I am a spy. It’s what I do, and before you worry I was eavesdropping or hacking into one of Hutch’s brilliant systems, I wasn’t,” Joseph explained. “The company that services the private jet called in. They apparently are treating this like an everyday corporate event. Which is smart because that is a small world. There’s a lot of talk that goes on in private aviation. By treating it like an everyday event, your uncle ensures there’s no talk. However, it also means he has to allow the normal protocols to proceed. I was walking through the lobby this morning. Your receptionist was going over the luncheon menu. It’s steak and potatoes. It sounds excellent. I wouldn’t mind some of that. Don’t blame her. She didn’t understand I wasn’t supposed to know. And honestly, I knew you would try to leave me behind. It’s only the timing I figured out.”
He was going to have to talk to his uncle. Although maybe not. The man was running a damn company, not an intelligence agency. “You know why we’re not taking you.”
“You still don’t trust me.” Joseph stood and sighed. “I suppose I can understand that, but I want you to think about what’s at stake. It’s more than your war with Julia. Lives are at stake. My people. Your people. The Consortium will always exist. The name will change. Collective, Illuminati, The Star Room. It’s just a different name for the same point one percent who will do anything for corporate profits. We can only hold them down for so long, but in that time, we can make progress. That’s all I ask. Think about how you use that information and who you share it with.”
Sometimes it was hard to remember how much was at stake. It seemed like the problem with Julia was his whole world, but there was so much more. The kids would be going out in the world soon. His sister and brother. His cousins. A whole bunch of them would likely be going into the military, and groups like The Consortium would view them as cannon fodder. They manipulated wars and placed the youth on the firing lines so they could have access to more oil, more diamonds, more consumers.
“I will remember that there’s more at stake.” One day he and MaeBe might have kids, if she wanted them. He had to think about their world.
Joseph stood and straightened his shirt. “I’m staying down here until the night’s festivities are over. Let me know if you need anything. While you’re gone, I’ll monitor the Julia situation. I don’t like a few things I’ve seen in the last couple of days.”