by Sophie Davis
“Could be.” He shrugged noncommittally. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Like I said, I’ve been quietly investigating this using only a handful of trusted Operatives, those that I am positive are not involved. I think that your specific Talents could be useful, since I have all but exhausted my other options.”
Great, I’m a last resort. This time I did read his mind.
His mental barricades were firmly in place, but since I was the one who’d taught him to build the barriers, they were easy for me to knock down. Mac was telling the truth, he really didn’t have any idea who the spy was. His inability to make any progress in his search frustrated and scared him. He was afraid that if the traitor wasn’t found soon, we would lose more Operatives. But he was most terrified by the certainty that if the interloper got another chance, this time he would make sure to kill me.
“And you consider me a trusted Operative,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. “I feel so special.”
“No need for sarcasm, Natalia. But, yes, I am confident that you are not the leak,” he answered.
“Why do you want me investigating at the School?” I asked, a little confused.
“Here and Elite Headquarters contain the Agency’s only Crypto Banks, as you know. There are two possible scenarios for how Crane got his information. The leak theory would mean that an individual, obtained access to your assignment information, and sold that information to the Coalition. The other theory is that we have a Coalition spy working in our ranks. Even in that scenario, the individual would still have needed your mission specifics, and the only way to do that would be by hacking the records in the Crypto bank, or bribing a Crypto to do so. If there was a bribe that would mean we have several traitors in our midst.”
“Why me? Why my records?” I asked with alarm. If Mac was right, wouldn’t it have been more advantageous to leak large batches of information? Or Hunting missions where whole teams could be captured or killed, instead of just one Operative? And I hadn’t even been an Operative when I went on my solo mission, I’d been a Pledge.
“Most likely because you were going after Crane directly,” he answered.
He had been making eye-contact with me up until this point, but averted his eyes when he spoke now. He was either lying, or at least only telling me part of his theory. I didn’t press the issue this time. If Mac wanted to give me an assignment, I was happy to take it.
“I see. I suppose this is an unofficial mission?” I asked.
“Yes, that would be best. I don’t want to cause panic within the Agency or tip-off the potential spy by launching a full-out open investigation,” he confirmed, meeting my gaze again.
“When do I start?” I asked, with a confidence I didn’t feel.
“Tomorrow. You will be posing as an Assistant Instructor, which includes living in Instructor housing. I’ve taken the liberty of matching you with several individuals who raised red flags in our preliminary search. By tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have each of their files sent to your communicator.”
He seemed relieved I’d agreed. As if I’d had an option. Even if Mac had actually presented this situation to me as though I had a choice, there wasn’t one. Ian Crane had killed my parents. Ian Crane had nearly killed me. And whoever leaked my identity and mission specifics to Crane was just as responsible as he was for my current condition.
“I’ll pack a bag,” I said glibly. Mac gave me a hard look.
“I’ll take you over first thing in the morning.”
“I’m sure I can find the campus, Mac, I don’t need a babysitter.” Mac’s house, my house, was on school grounds, it wasn’t like I had far to go.
“I’ll take you over first thing in the morning,” he repeated. With that, he turned on his heel and left my room.
“Couldn’t even bother to close the door,” I mumbled.
“If you want it closed, do it yourself,” Mac called from somewhere in my sitting room. I stared at the door until I heard a loud, satisfying THWACK. Gratified, I smiled to myself. My pleasure was short lived. A crack, followed by a thud filled the room. The door had splintered in two when I’d willed it shut. Crap, no more locking the door for me . . . good thing this was my last night here. Unfortunately, this was also my last night in my big comfy bed. Oh well, my bed was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
Hunted Coming Summer 2012 . . .
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Bear and Irish for all of their hard work and dedication. I would like to thank Bear for all her hard work editing; without her help this book would be seriously lacking in the word “that.” I would like to thank Irish for her patience, and all the late night texts asking her advice on story changes, which led to her having dreams about the characters. I would like to thank my mother for all of her support and advice. I would like to thank my father for repeatedly asking whether the book included sex. I would also like to thank Burner for indulging me by reading the book in one of its earliest renditions.
For more information on Sophie Davis and the Talented Series, visit Sophie’s website, www.sophiedavisbooks.com
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