Blue Knight Read Free Page B

headquarters posing as Zalaya, I was in charge of the intelligence machine Zalaya had set up. There were a number of interesting channels of information coming back into Zalaya from around the world. The most interesting one, however, didn’t report to Zalaya at all. It was under Serrano’s control and it came from inside this house.”
    Josh rubbed his temple and sighed. Flores wrinkled his nose as he stumbled through the mental translation, then swore in Spanish.
    Calli licked her lips. “You don’t know who, do you?” she said quietly, putting down her pen.
    Duardo shook his head. “I do know the source was responsible for the bomb that killed General Blanco. Whether they actually set the bomb or just arranged it, that I don’t know.” Duardo looked across the table at the General Flores. “Sir, we must assume it was someone with military privileges.”
    Flores’ face turned an interesting shade of pink. Flores was an unimaginative general, but he had been next in line when Blanco had died. No one had ever expected he’d be called upon to lead the Vistarian army, least of all Flores himself. Flores would have a hard time swallowing the idea that a military man would ever betray his country and a superior officer the way Duardo was suggesting. Duardo, who’d had to pose as Zalaya himself for weeks, had adapted to the idea with greater ease. Besides, he was younger.
    “The bomb was meant for Señor Escobedo,” Flores protested. “You cannot say this person is army because General Blanco was killed instead.”
    Nick saw Calli’s wince from the corner of his eye.
    Duardo spread his hand, indicating reasonableness. “But the car meant to drive Señor Escobedo, or whoever was to attend the event in his place, was an army staff car, driven by army personnel and protected by army security. Apart from Señora Calli and the people in this room, there were maybe eighteen key people who were aware that Señor Escobedo was going to attend the function that night. They were all army personnel.” Duardo smiled a little. “Shall I interrogate Señor Escobedo’s wife, General?”
    Nick saved the General from having to respond. “General, can you see now why we called this meeting so secretively and why we are conducting it in English?”
    Flores cleared his throat and tugged at his tie. He nodded. “We will begin an immediate investigation!”
    “You can’t!” Calli responded instantly, even before Nick could protest, or Duardo could raise his hand again.
    Flore looked at her blankly. “ Excúseme, Señora Escobedo. ¿Por qué no? ”
    Nick felt fingers digging into his thigh and looked down. Calli was holding him down in his chair, her nails gouging crescents into his flesh through the fabric of his trousers. She didn’t even look at him.
    “We are speaking English, General Flores,” she said, her voice flat. “And my name is Calli. Or you can call me ma’am, if you wish.” She gave the general no time to react, but held up her other hand, her palm out toward the general. “If you start an investigation, whoever this source is will instantly know we’re aware of them. They will shut up shop and leave Acapulco. Then we’ll never catch them.”
    “That is no matter,” Flores said flatly. “He goes. Problem is no more.”
    Calli shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice just as firm. “We must find who he or she is and question them thoroughly. We need to find out who else in this house is with the insurrectos and we don’t want them running back to Serrano with whatever they’ve learned about us while they’re here.”
    Flores’ face darkened further. Intelligence and counterintelligence was not his natural talent. But then, the game had not come naturally to Duardo once, either. But he had seen the implications immediately, whereas Flores was still struggling with the very idea that there might be more of them, or that it might even be a woman.
    Calli gazed at Flores, not sparing him. Nick