Freelancer
is?”
Brody nodded.
“Then you understand that Kendra is in
charge of her own actions.” He used my alias, but when he said
'Kendra' he looked at me and realization hit.
He thinks I should tell Brody the truth. I
thought about the past year, about all of our weekly “board
meetings,” about all that he had agreed to. Brody had come through
every time with no questions asked.
Guy continued, “You're her client, so talk
to her.” He looked out the window and left the rest up to me.
I instructed Eberhardt to pull over so Guy
and I could change places. It would be easier to talk with Brody if
I weren't getting a crick in my neck.
“Okay, where to begin?”
“How about with that pendant? I'm sure I
would have remembered if you'd worn it before.”
I dug in my purse and pulled out a business
card. It featured my real name and contact number over a faint
imprint of a serpent striking at a coin. I handed it to Brody.
“Keira? Not Kendra? All this time...”
“Use public transceivers to call me. Your
line is probably tapped, and I'm finally trusting you with this.
Don't make me regret it.”
“Or what? You'll put a butter knife to my
throat?”
I smiled. “You'd be surprised what I can do
with a butter knife. But seriously, the wrong people could find
me.”
“And that would be bad.”
“Yes.”
“They'd kill you?”
“No, it would be much worse.” One lone tear
trailed down my cheek. I hurriedly brushed it away.
“What's worse than death?” Brody asked.
“That's a story for another time.”
-Brody-
Secrets and Lies
Kendra. No, Keira. That would take some
getting used to. “Can you tell me about the symbol? I recognize it,
but I don't know what it means.”
Instead of answering directly, she touched
her pendant. “Where have you seen this before?”
“A co-worker's doodles.”
Keira looked surprised, as did both men in
the front seat. I still didn't know their names. She turned her
attention to the one who wasn't her boss, the one she had been
intimate with outside of The Dry Martini. He looked familiar, but I
couldn't quite place him. Was he the reason she'd told me she
wasn't available a year ago?
“Do we have someone else at CalTech?” she
asked.
The man shook his head, and Keira returned
her attention to me.
“Who?”
Finally, some leverage. “What does it
mean?”
“It's the symbol for the Resistance. You
really have been helping to save lives, Brody. I never lied to you
about that.”
“Oh, you lied to me. Omissions, a false
name...you lied plain and simple.”
“Well, it was necessary.” She had the
decency to look uncomfortable.
“It's my secretary, Irene. Do you think
she's part of the Resistance too?”
“No. How long has she worked for you?”
“Just a few weeks in her current position,
but she was with the company long before that.”
The driver spoke up then. “Could be she's
looking for help.”
His sentiment surprised me. With his large
size and muscular build, he didn't exactly look the type to be
advocating for the weak.
“It's possible, but it's more likely she's a
long term plant,” the other man said.
Keira listened to them but watched me.
“Brody, would you trust Irene with your life?”
“No.” I'd learned the unhappy truth that
being at the top meant I couldn't trust anyone.
“Then don't trust her at all, but treat her
just the same as always. Otherwise, they'll know something has
changed.”
“They?”
“The Gov probably,” Keira said. “If you have
a long term plant, then somebody pretty high up is interested in
you. It's likely because of your ties to us.”
“Or it could be because I'm the head of one
of the top security companies in the realm.” Should I tell them
about the contract?
“It's best not to assume anything,” the
driver reminded us.
The man in the passenger seat spoke again.
“Keira's right. Don't trust Irene. Something doesn't feel right. If
she asks you about the Resistance