Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
While the authorities were busy flocking to Germany to clear the clusterfuck I was about to cause in the canal, Esteban’s people would remove the smuggled weapons from the Helvig Star before anyone in the world was aware of how close they’d come to disaster.
My hands shook with nerves. The biggest challenge of being a member of the Paxis Council, according to my grandfather, was doing your part without attracting suspicion. Which meant I had to get several ships to turn crossways in the canal in such a way as to cause an international logistics situation without making even my own employees suspicious.
Thankfully, my grandfather had trained me for this.
When I got out of the session and grabbed my phone, I checked it for the list Minnie had provided of the current ship positions. Then I compared this to the coordinates of the location Jett had found when we were working together the other day.
I moved through the house to my grandfather’s old study. The room had already been cleared of his personal items, but not much else had changed. I cleared the decorative items from the top of one of the built-in cabinets, pried up the panel they’d been resting on, and entered the code to the safe below.
Inside lay several burner phones, stacks of cash in multiple currencies, alternate identification documents for the remaining members of my family, two handguns, and various other items that might be needed under extreme circumstances. I grabbed one of the phones and moved to the small powder room off the study that was even more soundproof than the study itself.
I dialed one of my contacts whose specialty was getting into software systems he wasn’t supposed to be in.
Vox answered. “What do you need?”
I gave him the names of two Maris ships, two Douvernay ships, and a Nowak ship, all in the same section of the canal closest to the spot Jett had found.
“I need you to create a logjam. Turn the ships, confuse them, I don’t care. I just need them to block the canal from six in the morning local time until about three in the afternoon. Then they can continue on their merry way. No casualties or property damage. Is that possible?”
“Yep,” he said. “Not a problem.”
The call ended without discussion of remuneration. He already had free access to Maris satellites, which was all the payment he could ever want or need in his line of work.
I blew out a breath and moved back to the study, returning the phone to the case and locking up. Then I moved over to the window and looked out at the Mediterranean.
The weight of Maris Holdings was heavy enough, but the weight of trying to stave off a war between Russia and the rest of the world was suffocating.
I closed my eyes and remembered Alvarado’s request for a game extension after this week’s issues had been resolved. He proposed helping in the aftermath of the cyclone in the Coral Sea since we were already gathered and able to arrange aid easily.
It had been an important reminder that we didn’t just prevent evil. We also tried to do good.
The Paxis Council was a good thing. Worth any stress associated with it.
Still, I wondered… how did the other members of the Paxis Council handle the stress?
We need things that help us remember we are men and not gods, al-Qadiri had said.
Well, I knew of at least one person in the world who was under no illusion about my being a god. I blew out a breath and smiled—the first I’d felt in hours, if not longer—thinking about Jett’s promise that he’d be waiting for me tonight.
It might be a weakness, but it was really fucking nice to think about someone looking out for me while I was trying to look out for the world.
I opened my eyes and stared out at the water again… just in time to spot Santi Alvarado leaning toward Jett with a hand on his face.
“What the fuck?” I muttered to the empty room.
After looking closer through watery shadows and blue-tinted light, I could make out that Jett’s eyes were wide and his body language was all over the place. Not guarded. Not reserved. Not staying the fuck away from Santi like I’d instructed.
Anger flared. My back teeth felt like they were going to break apart. I stormed out of the office and nearly knocked Selene Mercier over.
“Pardon,” I said. “I was just on my way—”
Her face was tight, and she looked upset. “Can we talk?”
I hesitated, torn between delaying to save Jett from Santi’s clutches and calming the fuck down.
The choice was far harder than it should have been. Harder than it would have been even a few days ago. But ultimately, I forced myself to choose the latter.
“Of course, Selene. Come in.”