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“I do,” he says, rising from his seat.
“Go ahead,” Anton replies. “I’m listening.”
“Use Ms. Atwood,” says Hardt. “Have her reach out to Death. We can use her to uncover who they are.”
They haven’t paid me any attention since the meeting started, but now their gazes train on me.
“Do you think you can do that, Ms. Atwood?” Hardt asks.
The irony is, I could uncover who they are right this second. But how do I refuse without sounding like I’m refusing?
“What makes you think they’ll reveal their identity?” I say. “They’re too smart for that.”
“And if they wanted to talk to a real journalist, it wouldn’t be Kate,” Anton adds. “They only abducted her to get at me.”
“They don’t care about journalistic integrity,” Hardt argues. “They want attention. Ms. Atwood can deliver in that regard. And if it doesn’t go well, who cares? If she dies, she dies. What do you have to lose?”
Who’s side is Hardt on? I wish Ingram had told me if I could trust him or Colette.
“Forget about it,” Anton growls. “That’s not an option.”
“Mr. Ford, this is a matter of survival. Not just ours — yours. I understand that you enjoy tormenting Ms. Atwood in lieu of Ingram, but right now she’s an asset we can use. Ingram is dead. Whether you torture her or let Anarchy, Inc kill her, he’s not going to know the difference.”
I still can’t tell if he’s pretending or if he legitimately means every word.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few decades, it’s that if you want to rule the world, sometimes you have to sacrifice a few personal pleasures,” Hardt concludes.
Anton sneers, but after a moment his contempt fades.
“Fine,” he grunts. “Kate, you’re going to make a public request to interview their leader.”
“Yes, sir,” I say. “I’ll do as you wish.”
In this case, with pleasure.
