Page 89 of Unlocked

"That is what I need you to let me find out," Armand said. "I have names, but I want to know who they really are. Who they owe favors to. What they were offered." He met Archer's gaze. "This is Fisher's architecture. Davis does not have the patience for this kind of subterfuge. Fisher”—Armand shrugged—“he has been building this for months."

Archer thought of Armand's warning from weeks ago. Davis is the noise. Fisher is the silence. He should have moved faster on Fisher.

"I need everything you can get on those three witnesses," he said. "And I need it before the board meeting."

Armand nodded. "Three days."

"Three days," Archer confirmed. He paused. "There's something else I need from you."

Armand waited.

"Stuart Wellington."

Something moved across Armand's face. Not surprise, exactly. More like recognition. "Ah," he said. "Oui."

"What do you know about him?"

Armand picked up his coffee and took a slow sip before answering, which told Archer he was choosing his words with care. "Stuart Wellington is a very intelligent man," he said finally. "He has been practicing law in this city for thirty years. In that time, he has made many powerful friends." He paused. "He has also made a great many powerful enemies, and unlike most men, he has never lost sleep over either. That… it tells you something about him."

"It tells me he thinks he's untouchable."

"It tells you he may be right," Armand said, without apology. "I am not saying this to discourage you. I am saying it because you need to know what you are dealing with. Stuart Wellington… He is not Austin Davis. He does not brag. He does not overplay his hand. He is patient in the way that only truly dangerous men are patient." He set the coffee down. "As an enemy, he would be formidable."

"I've had formidable enemies before."

"Bien sûr," Armand said. "And you are still here. " He studied Archer for a moment. "Is there something specific that concerns you about Wellington? Something he has done that falls within your purview?"

Archer didn't answer immediately.

"Because," Armand continued, his voice unhurried and entirely without judgment, "there is a difference, you understand, between moving against a man because he has broken your rules and moving against a man because he has upset someone you care about. The first is your job. The second is personal. And personal decisions made in a professional capacity tend to create complications."

The silence between them was comfortable in the way that silences between two men who trusted each other could be.

"He threatened her," Archer said. "In a Society lounge. In front of me."

"Threatened her how?"

"The Anderson case. He wants her to take it. She refused. He made clear that refusal would have consequences." Archer kept his voice even. "His own daughter."

Armand was quiet for a moment. "That is unpleasant," he said. "And it tells you something about what Tatum has been living with for a very long time." He looked at Archer. "But is it a violation of the Society's rules?"

Archer's jaw worked. "Not technically. Not yet."

"Then be careful," Armand said simply. "Not because Wellington isn't deserving of your attention. But because if you move against him for the wrong reasons, it weakens you. And right now, you cannot afford to be weakened."

Archer stood and walked to the window. The city was gray and overcast, the river flat and dull in the afternoon light. He stood there for a moment with his hands in his pockets.

"Davis met with multiple members in Society spaces," he said. "He used those spaces to extort them. He promised people Society membership in exchange for payments. I have names, dates, and locations. I have a witness."

He heard Armand exhale slowly behind him. "That is a violation."

"A clear one." Archer turned back. "The board meeting in three days is going to be interesting."

Armand's expression shifted into something that was almost a smile, the particular expression of a man who had survived enough wars to appreciate when the tide turned. "You have been waiting a long time for this, non?"

"I have." Archer moved back to his desk and sat. "I'm also building a case connecting Davis to the Granite Industries scheme and to the Curator. It's not complete yet, but it's close."

"And Fisher?"