"What advantage would having a clone in such a position be to someone like Sethanon? I would have thought it would be more advantageous for him to have the Science and Technology division's development hindered rather than increased."
"That question is not one we can answer."
Not until they caught Sethanon, anyway. And he had proven as elusive as a ghost.
"So, you've had Wetherton watched?"
"Had an agent in his office for the last two months. She can't get close enough. Wetherton plays his cards very close to his chest."
If the man was a clone, he'd have to. One mistake and the truth was out.
"What does all this have to do with my wanting a transfer?"
He smiled—all teeth, no sincerity. "The minister has recently received several death threats. He was given police protection, but the would-be killer has slipped past them on a number of occasions and left his notes. The minister now requests SIU's help."
She regarded him steadily. "So who did you use to drop the notes? A vampire? Or a shapeshifter?"
Amusement flickered briefly through his bright eyes. "The original threats were real enough."
Yeah, right. There was just a little too much sincerity in his voice to start believing that statement. "Am I the only agent being sent in?"
"No. You'll handle the night shift—it better suits your growing abilities. Jenna Morwood will do days."
Morwood wasn't someone she'd met. "What's her specialty?"
"Morwood's an empath and telekinetic."
So she'd be able to see an attack coming by simply reading the emotions swirling around her. A good choice for this sort of work. "We the only two going in?"
"Yes." He hesitated. "Wetherton has requested that the night watch stay at his apartment when he's there at night.
Since the first two threats were hand delivered, I've agreed to his request. I want you to observe everyone he meets. Become his shadow and learn his secretes."
A big task. "I doubt whether I'll learn much. Surely most of his business will be conducted during the day?"
Stephan smiled grimly. "Wetherton has a surprising number of business meetings at night—and usually at nightclubs, where it's harder to get a bug in."
"He'll be suspicious of me. He's not likely to trust me with anything vital."
"Not for a while. It may take months."
Months out her life and her need to find her past. But also months away from the stone wall that was Gabriel. Would absence make his heart grow fonder? A smile touched her lips. Unlikely. "What about time off? You can't expect either of us to work seven days a week."
He nodded. "You get two days. Which two will depend on his schedule. Generally, it will be the days he spends home with his family. We have other arrangements in place there."
The man spends two days a week with his family? That didn't quite jell with the caring father image he'd painted of himself over recent years. "A real family man, isn't he?"
"Only since the original's death. Bought a nice apartment on Collins Street and now spends most of his nights there."
She frowned. "Will I be alone with the man? At night, I mean."
"Generally, yes."
Oh Joy. "I hope you're not expecting me to share the man's bed." That went way beyond the call of duty. Though maybe Stephan figured she'd be a shoe-in for under-the-cover work given her current lack of a sex life.
"No." He hesitated. "Though I should perhaps warn you that Wetherton has had an endless stream of beauties on his arm lately."
Great. She was protecting a lecher. Then she frowned.