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“I didn't say anything.”

“You were going to.”

“I really wasn't.”

Fucking asshole.

“Find out what Smoke has.”

“We're trying.”

“Try harder.”

“And McConnell?”

“What?”

“Don't do anything stupid.”

I almost laugh. “I don't do stupid.”

“No. Apparently you do blondes.”

I hang up.

Fuck him.

I shove the phone into my pocket and start walking.

Mercer has enough of a lead that I can pick him up again without crowding him. I should stay on him.

That's the job. It's what I've done for eleven years. Follow the target. Learn the routine. Wait for the right moment.

Everything else is irrelevant.

Mercer disappears into the building I've watched him enter twice before.

I check the time.

If his routine holds, I've got twenty minutes.

My phone buzzes again. I ignore it for three steps, then pull it out.

Chaos: The situation is deteriorating rapidly.

I stop.

Me: What happened?

Her response is immediate.

Chaos: Alibi sighed.

I stare at the screen.

Another message appears.

Chaos: Dramatically.