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The taste of the cosmo, sour-sweet, lingered in her mouth like a kiss as McCallister pushed the drive closer. Their fingers brushed when she reached for it, and she glanced up into his face for one quick instant. Lights flashed in her eyes, blinding her, and then the moment was over and he was sitting back, as remote as ever.
“It’s surveillance we’ve compiled on Fairview,” he said. “Video, phone taps, e-mails, chat logs—”
“Mr. Fairview chatted? Online?” She honestly would have bet he couldn’t manage a computer at all.
He raised his eyebrows. “Brace yourself for that, if you still had any illusions about his character; it’s not pretty. We’ve also included his known associates. We’ve been through it, but you’ve got a better chance of spotting something we didn’t. ”
She nodded and slipped the drive into her purse’s zippered pocket, and toyed with her drink for a moment before downing a courage gulp. Then she said, “You had a choice, didn’t you? Which of us who died in the prep room to revive?”
“I don’t understand the question. ”
“Me or Fast Freddy. Or Mr. Fairview. ”
“Mr. Fairview had a head wound. He wasn’t revival material from the start. ”
“You couldn’t bring him back?”
“Not in any condition that would allow us to question him. There are limits to what the drug can do. ”
“But … Fast Freddy. You could have brought him back. ”
“We didn’t know he was already on the drug, so it’s a good thing we didn’t. ”
She gazed at him, not blinking this time despite the bright lights strobing in her eyes. He was still just a shadow against them, but she caught the random outlines of his jaw, his mouth, his eyes. All in flickers. “You chose me over Freddy. Knowing he probably had a better shot of telling you what was going on. I know Joe asked you to do it, but you didn’t have to. You must have had another reason. ”
McCallister was quiet for a long moment, the pause filled with the thunder and howl of the music around them. Then he tossed back the rest of his drink—she didn’t know what it was, except it was light amber—and stood up. “I have to go,” he said. “Tell me what you think about the files, and if you have any leads that come out of it. ”
She wanted to tell him to wait, to come back, but he walked out, weaving around the drunken, laughing crowds, and disappeared.
Bryn stared hard at her cosmo, frowning, and took another sip. No sense letting it go to waste.
A man slipped into McCallister’s abandoned chair—not her type, an aging surfer whose tan was starting to curdle, wearing a chest-baring open shirt. He looked sweaty, and a little mean.
“No,” she said, before he opened his mouth. “Just go. Don’t waste your time. ”
He grinned, all teeth. The gold chain around his neck shot bright reflections at her eyes. “No, pretty lady, you are definitely coming home with me. ”
And the oddest thing happened. Bryn blinked and said, “Okay,” although that wasn’t at all what she was thinking or feeling. “Okay”? What the hell was that? “No,” she said, quickly. “No, I don’t think so. ”
“Well, which is it? Okay, or no?”
“No. Ugh. ”
“Let’s try this again. ” The man leaned over the table, looming over her, and fixed her with a stare. “You. Are coming. Home. With me. ”
And again, Bryn immediately and uncontrollably said, “Okay,” and this time—this time …
This time she reached for her purse.
No, she thought in utter disbelief. I’m not doing this. I can’t be doing this. What the fuck?
She forced herself to stop, and looked at the man with furious intensity. “What are you doing to me?” she demanded.
He said, “All right, enough screwing around. Condition Sapphire. Verify. ”
“Yes,” she said, although she had no idea why. “Verified. ”
“Stand up and take your purse. ”
