of their forums - the fucking place they make these plans, Zara - then we can brace for it. Maybe we'll get lucky and someone high enough up uses their real name. Arrest them and make a deal to get Soul Reaper's identity. That's how law enforcement works."
"And it's shit," Dez told him. "You know that as well as I do. We've spent years trying to play within the rules, and you know what? It's not doing a damned thing. He backed off a little, but that asshole has never stopped, and I'm tired of waiting for him to make a mistake. Did you see that list of names? He killed people, and he's proud of it. I should've been one. Rhaven, Claudia... Those are people we both know, and he's not going to stop until we're as miserable as he is."
"Dez..." Jason said.
But she leaned over and snatched the bottle from his hand. "Fuck your excuses. I got you a lead. Those forums are up, and they can only be seen on my computer right now. I made sure Deviant's shielded from this, so if you have to slap my pee-pee, then do so, but fucking use them."
"Dez!" Jason barked, cutting off her rant. "I don't think it's one person."
That made everything pause. Dez's eyes went wide for a split second, and then she put her calm face back on. Slowly, she took another long drink, but the woman didn't say a thing. Instead, it was Zara who turned to him with her mouth hanging open in shock.
"What?" she asked. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Bradley's wife pointed it out," Jason explained. "I've been coming at this like a man. I've never had someone hate me because of who I am, so it's not easy to think like that." He planted his feet on the ground, then rested his forearms on his knees. "Look, our big problem has been the irregular rate of escalation. There's been de-escalation as well. It makes no sense for a serial criminal to backslide, but this whole time, we've been coming at this like it's Soul Reaper making the plans. What if it's not just him? What if this is set up like so many other protest groups? Operation Wall Street, Anonymous, and so on. A shared goal, but not necessarily a recognized leadership?"
"What are you saying?" Dez asked.
"I think Soul Reaper hit you. I think he's back. I don't think he went after Riley. That was someone else. I don't think he was responsible for doxxing Kate and trying to out Rhaven last year. It only makes sense if there's more than one bad guy here, Dez. Just like with the shooting at Zara's school. They weren't the same groups at UNY-N and St. Mary's. They just shared the same ideology."
"And there's a lot of them," Dez realized.
Jason nodded slowly. "Yeah, there are. The thing is, Soul Reaper is still running this show. He's the man who attacked you, and he's back. That's why this feels like it did when Silk released. That's why he's gone back to his old tricks - because they're his tricks, not someone else's. But that means there's a catch."
"What?" Dez asked.
"We need to talk about the assault." He sighed. "You said they caught five. You told me you heard another your first time at F5. Someone who hadn't been caught. You didn't want to press charges, but I looked into him anyway. He has a good alibi, but you say he was there and I believe you."
"The reporter," Dez realized.
Jason nodded. "I know this won't be easy, but you and I need to talk about those weeks. We need to find some detail we missed. How many guys weren't caught? What did you see, smell, and hear. Did they say anything back then that might tell us who they are now? Those sorts of things. What kind of knife did they use? How were they dressed? What socio-economic class are they in? We need to go back there, Dez, and I know it's going to suck, but it's the one time we know he was seen."
She jiggled her head in a weak nod. "Ok." But she paused again, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, wrapped around the bottle. "I don't want Chance to hear."
Crysis immediately moved in, pushing his head against her leg. Dez forced a smile at the dog, but that was all she could manage. That she didn't pet him said more than she knew.