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Riley Block, with a livid bruise on half of her face, and a patch over one eye.
Riley turned the alarm off and said, “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. ” She poured Bryn a glass of water and handed it over. “Drink. ”
She did, almost choking at first, then draining it eagerly. “More. ” She coughed. Riley poured. “McCallister?”
“He’s all right. You got the worst of it—shrapnel through the door. He had cuts and bruises, and Fideli got a broken leg, which he hasn’t stopped griping about. ” Riley touched the patch with one fingertip. “I got this. Glass. It’s just scratched, though. ”
“Sorry. ”
“Better than losing my life. ” She regarded Bryn in silence for a second, then sat down on the bed beside her. “Some of the Pharmadene people were caught in the blast, but some got out. You warned them, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I had to. ”
Riley nodded slowly. “I can understand that, but now we’re stuck. The government doesn’t want to officially acknowledge what happened. Pharmadene’s executives have been detained. Their threat is done. The people who made it out were seen and captured on film; their names were recorded. If they disappear now, it looks bad. ”
“Public relations. What a bitch. ”
“Right now, they’re quarantined for exposure to hazardous chemicals. Just like you. ” Her smile was crooked, and a little sad. “You’ve complicated everything, Bryn. But I don’t blame you. You were trying to do right. Hell, we were all trying to do right. Even Harte, in her own megalomaniacal way. ”
“So what are you going to do with them? With me?”
“We seized the supplies and the production line for Returné, and quite frankly, we’re debating about whether to destroy the lot and let the whole thing die. For now, I would imagine that most of the survivors will be kept on at what used to be Pharmadene, with the story that there was a takeover … not too far from the truth. If they talk, their supply of Returné disappears forever. That’ll hold almost everyone, and the few it doesn’t will just … disappear. ” Riley cocked her head a little. “And a few are going to be released on other conditions. ”
“What conditions?”
“That they work for us,” she said. “We still have a rogue producer of the drug to contend with. Mr. Mercer doesn’t seem like the type to just go away. ”
“He still has Annie,” she said. “I have to get her back. You understand? She’s my sister, and I have to—”
“I know. Luckily, what I’m authorized to offer you helps us both,” Riley said. “You go back to Fairview Mortuary, and find a way to make contact with Mercer again. You get your sister back, and give Mercer to us. ”
“Not good enough,” McCallister said. He was standing in the doorway—leaning, really. Riley had underplayed his cuts and bruises; he looked as if he’d been in a spectacular prizefight, and been thrown through a window. “She gets a written guarantee of a permanent supply of the drug from the highest levels. She and her sister. ”
r /> “I’m not going to bullshit you. There’s no such thing as permanent. Theoretically, the nanites could sustain her life indefinitely, after all. We need some natural end to this arrangement. ”
McCallister looked at Bryn and raised his eyebrows, silently asking. She nodded. “A fifty-year guarantee,” she said. “Unless I revoke it first. I always have the right to opt out. ”
“You mean, commit suicide. ”
“Something like that. But I control it. Not you. ” Bryn took in a deep breath. “And the government doesn’t own my mortuary, by the way. I own it. ”
Riley smiled. “How exactly are you going to manage that? Pharmadene was bankrolling you. I’ve seen your assets, Bryn. You don’t exactly have the capital to invest. ”
Bryn felt a hot burn of anger, and a little bit of shame. Of course she didn’t have the capital. There wasn’t any need to rub it in. “You can buy it and give it to me. My tax dollars at work. ”
“She doesn’t need to,” McCallister said. “I’ve been informed that the McCallister trust has acquired Fairview as part of its very large and varied investment portfolio. ”
“You bought the funeral home,” Riley said, frowning.
“Not me. The estate administrator controls the trust’s investments. You’ll have to talk to him about why he made that decision. ” McCallister said it straight-faced, but Bryn knew exactly who the estate administrator was. Liam.
Riley’s frown intensified, and now she looked very serious. “What the hell are you up to, McCallister? I’m warning you …”
“Easy, Riley. I’m not up to much right now, and neither are you. ” He sighed. “It’s been a tough few weeks for all of us. I’m not going to war with the government over any of this, I promise. I just want some peace—for me, for Bryn. Even for you. ”
Riley clearly wasn’t convinced. “You’re trying to give Bryn a safety net so she doesn’t remain dependent on us. ”
“Absolutely right. Budget cuts happen, especially in black ops. She can’t rely on having you in her corner for long, and we both know it. After all, to you she’s an asset, not a person. Give her some hope for her own destiny. ”
