“We’ll see.” She brushed past him, careful not to touch him again, and crossed the living room—though she couldn’t resist a tiny smile as she pulled open the door. “Bring your crew to Clementine’s in two hours, Captain. Let’s see how well the kids play together before we decide to get hitched.”
“Fine.” He stepped over the threshold and turned back. “But if you’re on board, I want to leave tomorrow. We don’t have time to waste.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything. Yet.” She leaned her cheek against the edge of the door. “Thanks for helping me out last night, by the way. Sure was nice, not having to fight all those bastards by myself.”
“I was on my way,” he retorted. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled at her, a real smile that lit up his blue eyes and made her knees wobble. “Next time, save me a few.”
“Uh-huh. Bye, Knox.” She closed the door in his face and turned around.
Dani was so far beyond disapproval that she’d wrapped around to amusement. Her eyes gleamed as she shook her head. “This? Is a terrible idea.”
“Not denying it,” Nina admitted. “Maya, what do you know?”
Maya slumped into a chair, her fingers tapping lightly on the table in the pattern she used when she was sifting through her memories for a specific conversation. The first three fingers, followed by two taps of her pinkie, a ritual that lasted only a few seconds before she straightened, her eyes unfocused.
When she spoke, her cadence had changed. Instead of her usual wry drawl or warm excitement, the words were clipped, cool, enunciated almost to the point of parody.
She sounded like Birgitte Skovgaard, the TechCorps vice president who had raised her.
“I received the final psychological profiles of the Silver Devils,” she said, still staring at nothing. “Captain Garrett Knox troubles me. The way he executes his mission objectives shows … a certain kind of honor. Under normal circumstances, I’d suspect he might be sympathetic to our cause. But Protectorate Command trusts him, and there must be a reason for that. He may not show the same blatantly psychopathic tendencies as some of the other squad leaders, but that isn’t exactly a glowing character reference.
“As for his squad … Conall is brilliant, but eager to please. He’ll remain loyal to Knox as long as he receives positive reinforcement. The sniper, on the other hand, concerns me deeply. He’s an effective killer, so the Protectorate higher-ups protect him despite his antisocial personality, but I suspect his obedience is conditional and unreliable. The final two—”
Maya’s voice resumed its normal rhythm. “And then someone sneezed in the hallway, so Birgitte stopped. We didn’t usually talk about seditious activities in her office, but it was late and she wanted me to memorize the details of the report before she destroyed the hard copy.” The tapping resumed, and Maya’s gaze lost focus again, as if she was fast-forwarding in her mind.
“We talked about her meetings the next day. And then—” She swallowed hard, and her eyes tightened. “Simon came in to see if we were going back to the penthouse soon. Then he guarded the door so she could finish.”
Maya fell into Birgitte’s cadence once again. “The final two have potential. If it weren’t for their unfortunate association with Garrett Knox, I might have already approached one or both. Rafael Morales is charismatic and very popular, and not just with his peers. The staff and menial workers respect him and show signs of intense loyalty. In my experience, being beloved by the powerless can be an indication of strong moral fiber.
“James Mason, their medic, is the same—though there are fewer reports of him charming his way through the barracks. Rumor has it he uses his leisure time to assist at pop-up clinics in poor neighborhoods, directly contravening the Protectorate ban on moonlighting. He also gives free consultations to L-10 workers whose benefits packages don’t include medical treatments for their families. He clearly recognizes the flaws and abuses in our current system.
“Final analysis—there’s a strong case to be made for any man capable of winning over Morales and Mason. Garrett Knox could serve as a potential ally. It’s worth continuing to watch him. But his file shows plenty of red flags, and he’s been one of the sharpest weapons in the Protectorate’s arsenal. The fact that he accomplishes their aims without overt cruelty may simply make him a more insidious danger than we presumed. For now, I’m not willing