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Owen sat beside me and took my hand. “I suppose we’ll start by vetting our employees to see who might be a threat. We may need your help with that, in case they’re using magic to hide anything. We’ll be careful about anyone we hire, and we’ll need to solidify our relationships with any powerful individuals or companies we know we can trust.”
“What you need is a Donnie Brasco,” Gemma said.
“Who is that?” Philip asked.
“He was an FBI agent who managed to infiltrate the mob by going into deep cover. They had no idea he was FBI and told him all kinds of stuff. There was a movie about it with Johnny Depp.” She paused for a moment of silent contemplation, a faint smile on her lips.
With the slightest hint of irritation, Philip said, “I’m afraid that won’t be so easy. These are families that you have to be born into. A wizard couldn’t just get a job with them and learn all their secrets. Unless…”
“Unless what?” I asked.
“Well, the one exception I’m aware of is that they make use of magical immunes, and although those do occasionally occur in magical families, they generally must be recruited from outside the company.”
Before I had a chance to react, Owen turned to me and said, “Don’t even think about it.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it!” I protested, and it was mostly true because I hadn’t had time to start considering it. “But it would never work because I’m too well-known. By now, everyone in the magical world knows who I am and where I work. It would be like trying to infiltrate the mob while wearing an FBI jacket. Besides, I have a wedding to plan.”
Owen released my hand that he was holding and slipped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. After kissing the top of my head, he said, “And don’t you forget it.”
*
I got called to Merlin’s office the next afternoon. Technically, my job was marketing manager of the company, but I seemed to spend most of my time dealing with crises of a very non-marketing variety. I’d used marketing to help counter a rival wizard selling evil spells, but otherwise I did stuff like finding moles within the company and defeating a variety of nefarious schemes. Getting called into the boss’s office after we’d learned about a threat was a good sign that I might be about to take on a new project.
Philip was there when I arrived, wearing a visitor’s badge. Sam the gargoyle, head of security, perched on the back of a chair. Rod Gwaltney, Owen’s friend from childhood and the personnel director, arrived soon after I did. Minerva Felps, head of Prophets and Lost, entered in a swirl of scarves and perfume. Owen joined us a few minutes later, looking distracted.
Merlin began by briefing Rod and Minerva on what we’d learned from Sylvia. “I don’t know how credible her information is,” he said, “but I believe it prudent to follow up. Mr. Gwaltney, I would like you to investigate our current employees. Miss Chandler can lend her immune perspective, in case they’re hiding anything. Sam and Mr. Palmer, I’d like you to make sure the building is secure and free of surveillance devices. I will be talking with other organizations.”
We all nodded, accepting our assignments, and Merlin continued. “Mr. Vandermeer here can function as something of a consultant, since he has experience with the Collegium. Do you have any other suggestions?”
Philip glanced around the room before saying, “The real danger is that you don’t necessarily see them coming. They approached my brother and me with an offer to buy out the company soon after we inherited it from our father. We refused it. Some of my top employees then either quit abruptly or disappeared. The offer was repeated, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting on a lily pad. I still have no idea what became of my brother. He’s officially missing.”
“I’m not sure that playing defense will be good enough here,” I said. “We need to know what they’re planning so we can counter
it.”
Owen closed his eyes for a second, looking like he was in pain, and shook his head. “Katie, no.”
“I agree with Miss Chandler,” Merlin said, surprising me. “We need to get someone on the inside of that organization.”
Two
I was on the verge of at least pretending to protest an undercover assignment when Merlin went to the intercom on his desk and called for his assistant, Kim, to come in.
Kim had been one of the first people I met at the company. She was also magically immune and had been working in the Verification department when I was hired. She’d resented the fact that I’d very quickly moved up and out, and she’d taken my old job as Merlin’s assistant when I was reassigned. We’d managed to cooperate on some things since then, but I still felt like she saw me as a rival to her ambitions. Now I was afraid I knew what Merlin had in mind, and as much as I knew there were good reasons why I shouldn’t go undercover, it still irked me to think that she was getting the job.
“Ah, there you are,” Merlin said to her. “I have an assignment for you.”
She practically came to attention. “Yes, sir!”
“We need someone to infiltrate a secret magical organization. The only people they hire outside their families are magical immunes, and one who has been ousted from MSI might be considered a valuable find.”
“You want me to go undercover?” Her eyes widened and her face lit up. I could see her mentally preparing new stationery and business cards for the position a successful operation would surely earn her.
“I want you to try. I’m going to dismiss you from your employment here, which will leave you angry at our organization. That should make you a tempting prospect for them. However, there is no guarantee they would take you on.”
“What you’ll need to do is make yourself available,” Philip said. “I know of some places you can go where you might come to their attention.” He smiled slightly. “That is one benefit of an organization as tradition-bound as they are. They haven’t changed their ways in a century. Your first step will be to apply to work at my company. They should notice that. Then there are a few restaurants and bars you could frequent where they might approach you.”
I couldn’t help but start to feel some resentment at not being chosen, even though I knew I’d be a bad choice. It sounded like it would be fun. And it wouldn’t be like going undercover in the real mob, so I wouldn’t have to worry about being shot and having my body dumped in the river. These people turned their enemies into frogs, and that spell wouldn’t work on me.
