‘You’re supposed to be an expert at getting into places,’ Callum said. ‘Find something.’
‘Yeah, with modern tech, not the old-school stuff like gargoyles and grotesques. I’m practically a scientist, not a’ – he looked Kyan up and down – ‘fucking huge immortal assassin.’
Kyan’s lips flattened. ‘Is there some … artistic way to stop her?’
‘You mean, like, unmake her? I don’t know, I’m not an art historianor an architect. She was made by someone called Frederick William Pomeroy if that helps. Never mind, looks like he was human, so not alive to ask.’
No, but Kyan knew someone who was.
He shook his head. He couldn’t contact Nicole before he had something concrete, even if he knew her mother had left a vast series of bestiaries and journals on supernaturals and art.
‘Besides,’ Luca continued with a sniff. ‘The issue isn’t necessarily gettingin, but that she recordswhogoes in. No exceptions. You can’t reason with her, she’s stone. So whatever you need to do in there, be it steal or kill or whatever – don’t tell me – she’ll know you went in and there will be a record.’
‘Might not be too bad,’ Callum said.
Kyan gave him a flat look.
‘What? It’ll only cause an issue if we have to light the place on fire or they find out we took something.’
Kyan pulled him a few feet away.
‘What if there arepeoplein there?’ Kyan said quietly. ‘Creatures … like Lynch.’
Nazen didn’t have heightened hearing, but Kyan still didn’t risk elaborating.
‘We won’t be able to get close to deadly ones without transforming,’ Callum said, confused.
‘For any that have been mutated like the curator from Estwood, we might have no choice but to get close or kill. But what if there are people they haven’t …’Transformed, he meant, but Callum got his meaning. If there were cages of creatures waiting to be experimented on, they couldn’t leave them. They’d be used like Lynch to hunt and kill, their natures twisted or worsened.
Every part of him rebelled against the idea.
Callum’s eyes darkened. ‘We’ll find a way to get anyone out and grab whatever evidence we can.’
But to do that successfully they needed a good idea of the layout, the number of creatures, and a clear exit strategy. Anything else could blow their cover.
Evidence was what Nicole and her family – what theworld– needed to prove what the Wake were doing. But after that, destroying the operation was whatheneeded to stop more mutated and dangerousbeings like Lynch strolling around. Lynch’s heightened powers and ability to play on Kyan’s weaknesses had made him a formidable enemy – and were the reasons he’d failed Nicole.
Never again.
‘Destroying the labs might be the best way to stop them. For a period of time, at least,’ Kyan said.
‘If this is the only building they experiment in, then I’d agree. But then what do we do with the prisoners if they’re too dangerous? We don’t want a slaughter on our hands or mass panic in the streets.’ Callum thought for a moment. ‘Luca, find me a way out of the building.’
A minute later the Nazen said, ‘It’s got a warren of underground tunnels and rooms from the old prison, but I can’t see them all. They won’t have them on just any blueprint. Some lead right down to the forgotten River Fleet beneath the building.’
That river was toxic now. Was this why? Were the waste products from whatever the Wake were doing being dumped in that river? The irresponsible—
‘Wait, okay,’ continued Luca, ‘there’s a tunnel to the church across the way. Apparently it was used in the ye olde times for when the priest needed to cross to give prisoners last rites or whatever it is humans do, and wanted to avoid the mobs.’
‘So, it leads to the church opposite?’ Callum asked, his teeth flashing in a smile. ‘Perfect.’
‘And if the Babewyn logs us?’ Kyan asked.
‘Then we’ll just have to make sure she scratches us out of that little black book,’ Callum said.
‘Look’ – Luca spun in his desk chair to face them, one Kyan noted had an in-built cup for sweets which glittered with leftover sugar – ‘it’s my professional opinion that this is not going to work. Not with a Babewyn. Not in a building crawling with Empyreals, and wardsandcameras.
‘Let’s say you can get through everything else, the Babewynwilllog you and I have no way to manipulate her. Plus, they have some heavy-duty blockers on the cameras. You’d need something inside to be able to blind them long enough to even get in there, especially because these aren’t all the plans.
