Lachlan enters, reading the room quickly.
Blaire is inside, holding her tablet.
Alistair is sat at his desk.
Sorrenko and Alderwyck are sitting close by with someonenew.
They all stare at him when he comes inside.
Lachlan gives Blaire a small nod, nothing more.‘Sir,’ he greets Penhalyx.
‘They told me you wouldn’t be awake until tomorrow.’
‘I’ve slept long enough.’
‘Close the door behind you.’Given permission to stay, Lachlan settles in to endure the pain of standing as no chair is available, nor was he told to sit.‘Lachlan,’ Penhalyx says, gesturing towards the new man, ‘this is Troy Harker.’
Troy Harker is maybe twenty years younger than Penhalyx.He has a rough look about him, wearing a distressed leather jacket, navy shirt and good boots.The name instantly registers with Lachlan.He’s head ofIron Star.
Muscle for hire in the gutters of Varrow City, they are generally not to be fucked with.Lachlan gives a polite nod.
‘Good to meet you.’
‘This is the bodyguard?’Troy asks, sizing Lachlan up.
‘For now.’
Troy cocks his head, openly studying Lachlan.‘You black ops?’
‘No,’ Lachlan simply says, offers nothing more.
‘Ah.’Troy cracks a mean grin.‘Blacksites, then?Yeah, I thought as much.’He looks at Penhalyx expectantly.‘Am I running cleanup through him?’
‘That remains to be seen,’ Penhalyx says, voice soft, eyes sharp.
Mikhail Sorrenko approaches Lachlan, unreadable at first.Then he blinks, seeming human for the first time.‘Thank you for keeping my boys safe.’
‘Of course.’
‘Savannah too,’ Ariadne chimes in, her typically songful voice low and hollow.‘If I lost her…’ The older woman shudders.‘You had no obligation to keep her safe, but you did it anyway.I hadnoidea her bodyguard was in league with the Moroz Front.’She heads for the door.‘You did a very good thing.’
Sorrenko moves to follow suit, shakes Lachlan’s hand first and quietly says, ‘I would speak with you later if you are available.’Then he calls over his shoulder, ‘Let me know the answer, Alistair.I am leaving tonight.’
‘I shall.Would you close the door for us, Miss Montbelliard?’
Blaire is all shades of neutral, clever girl, but Lachlan doesn’t like her being in here.It unnerves him.She closes the door and takes her seat, tablet open.
‘Troy has a great deal of experience keeping unpleasant situations from acquiring unnecessary momentum.In the aftermath of an event like this, there are sometimes secondary effects.Ripples.Overflow.Families might misinterpret sympathy as weakness and loss as entitlement.Lawyers smell blood.People may even be tempted to go to the press.Iron Star nips all this efficiently in the bud,’ Penhalyx explains casually.
‘Yes, sir.’Lachlan understands.
Family of his fallen team members might go to the cops, reporters even.Iron Star is well known for buying out law enforcement, ensuring troublesome reports sit at the bottom of a forgotten pile.
‘Walk me through your failure.’
Lachlan tries to rally.He knows he’s going to be punished for this.In all honesty, it’s surprising it hasn’t happened until now, but Blaire’s presence is making him nervous.
‘I haven’t had a chance to write my incident report yet.’
