Rafael folded the newspaper and waited calmly in his chair. “Don’t hurry on my account,” he said.
“No hurry,” Toby said over his shoulder while he fastened the buttons on his shirt. “I stayed late for an interview, and the others went on ahead. I was about to head out and join them. What brings you to Austin?”
“I had a few days off while they’re recalibrating the flight simulators at the Academy, so I thought I’d drop by and see how you’re doing. Nick told me this morning that he was going to be working security for you tonight, so I thought I’d catch the performance. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you play for a crowd.”
Toby laughed as he tightened his belt. “What did you think?”
“This particular type of jazz isn’t exactly to my taste, Toby, but I’ve heard better and I’ve heard worse in my time. I have to admit, however, that Watered Silk is a more enthusiastic and talented group than many of the performers I’ve seen.”
Toby hung the towel up to dry and walked back to the doorway. “Thanks. We always appreciate an honest review.”
Rafael shrugged. “It’s growing on me. Nick likes to listen to your albums before he goes to bed. It relaxes him.”
Toby’s smile slipped. “He’s still staying with you?”
Rafael nodded. “Yes. He doesn’t have any plans to move back in with Jeremy until they get this issue between them resolved.”
“This issue,” Toby said in a sour voice. “You mean me.”
“Yes, I do,” Rafael answered before getting to his feet. “The business about you asking him to handle your security is something of a sore point between them. Jer doesn’t think Nick should get involved, that he needs to step back from interfering in your life. What you’ve done is the opposite, allowing Nick to fuel his obsession even further.”
Toby sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I thought if I gave him what he wanted, it would let us talk to each other—and maybe get past his paranoia.”
“I don’t know what the answer is, Toby. The three of you will have to work it out among yourselves.” Rafael smiled. “In the meantime, I’m learning vicariously what it means to be mated. I’ve been single for a long time, and I’m used to living alone. Having Nick in my life constantly is a weird feeling, but I’m adapting.”
“I didn’t mean to put you out, Raf.”
Rafael waved his hand dismissively. “I’m the only bachelor in his circle of friends. It’s natural for him to turn to me if he didn’t want to be alone. In a way, I’m flattered that he trusts me enough to share my bed.” He noticed Toby’s wide-eyed look. “And no—we are not fucking.”
Toby rearranged his expression. “Sorry, for a second I thought—”
“I know what you thought. Do you honestly think that Nick would do that to Jeremy? Or that I would?”
Toby raised his hands in surrender. “No, of course not.” He thought for a moment. “Listen, I’m supposed to meet the rest of my band for dinner before we turn in. Well, before I turn in, and they go out and party. Would you care to join us?”
Rafael raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a Daywalker, Toby. I don’t really eat, remember?”
“You still have to feed every night. This is an upscale place we’re going to. They might have Tiamat on tap.”
“That’s possible, but I wouldn’t like to risk it, and I don’t know anyone on the donor list in this city.”
Toby raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to know them. That’s why there’s a list.”
“Tobias,” Rafael said with a sigh, “you know how intimate a feeding can be. I don’t want to share that with a stranger that I’m not planning to kill afterward. I have some scruples. I’ll pass, I’m afraid.”
“Come on. We hardly spend any time together these days.” Toby smiled. “You could always feed on me.”
Rafael stared at Toby in shock and then licked his lips involuntarily. He shook himself. “No. That won’t work either. Nemesis would rip my heart out if I bit you.”
Toby rolled his eyes. “Layla doesn’t own me. Yes, it’s intimate, but it’s not like I’d be cheating on her or anything.”
“Do you really believe that?” he asked softly.
Toby frowned. “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Rafael?”
“No, not really.” Rafael shook his head slowly. “If you’re really willing to do this for me, then I would actually like to hang out with you.”
Toby grinned. “What are friends for?”
Rafael gently turned Toby’s head to the side, exposing the line of his throat. Extending his fangs, he leaned forward, touching the points to the skin over Toby’s pulse. Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he bit down hard and caught the spurt of blood in his mouth. When he fed, he felt the blood magic bridge open up between them and felt Toby share with him the memory of their second meeting, when Toby had recruited him to help set up the surprise presentation of the Starlight to Nick at the Daywalker’s wedding. He experienced Toby’s childish glee at the subterfuge, working to create a surprise that would have such deep personal meaning to his brother.
Trembling, Rafael shared his memory of the same meeting, shaking Toby’s hand for the first time and inhaling the intoxicating aroma of the Sentinel’s mortal blood, his predatory instincts sharpening into harsh need as he controlled his burning desire to attack. He withdrew his fangs from Toby’s neck, healing the damage, until finally he lifted his mouth from the unbroken skin.
Rafael realized with a start that Toby had put his arms around him at some point, and just for a moment, he let himself enjoy the sensation before pulling reluctantly away. This prey is not mine to claim, he remembered belatedly. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Toby stared at him, his eyes wide. “Yeah, I just … I haven’t felt that kind of hunger before.” He seemed to be momentarily at a loss for words. “Is that really how you feel when you’re around me?”
“I told you, I’m not a Daywalker. The hunger responds differently to different people, but with you, it’s always like that.”
“I had no idea.” Toby swallowed nervously. “How do you stand it?”
“Practice,” said Rafael. He gently stroked his fingertips over Toby’s cheek. “I would never hurt you, Tobias. You know that, right? You don’t have anything to fear from me.”
“I know. I just didn’t realize how hard it must be for you to be my friend.”
Rafael smiled sadly. “I’ve had a long time to adapt to the demands of the Red Wind. Those of us who couldn’t learn to control themselves would usually give themselves away early and be eliminated by Sentinels.”
Toby took a deep breath and grinned. “Well, you’ve eaten now, but I haven’t. Let’s go meet up with the guys, and I’ll introduce you around.”
Rafael motioned to the door. “Lead on.”
They headed out, Toby’s Daywalker bodyguards slipping smoothly into formation around them until they reached the limousine. Rafael noted the extra heartbeat before he climbed inside and was only mildly surprised to see Andrea Daniels sitting across from him. A moment later, Toby slid onto the seat next to him and did a double take when he noticed his dyad sister.
“Evening, guys,” she said in a pleasant voice. “I hope you don’t mind if I tag along.”
Toby stared at her. “Andrea, I thought you were back at Oxford. What are you doing here?”
Andrea smiled. “Your friend, Noah, asked me out on a date.”
Rafael watched Toby’s emotions shift and realized they were communicating over the link. Then Andrea extended a psychic probe to him, and he joined their telepathic conversation. “Is there a problem?”
Toby’s thoughts were angry. “I don’t like being set up.”
Rafael looked at Andrea quizzically.
The Wind shrugged. “He did ask me out, but Nick suggested that I do a deep read on Matt and Noah to verify that they’re not hiding anything incriminating about their relationship with Toby.”
Rafael glanced
at Toby, who sat there seething. “A reasonable precaution. What about Ethan?”
Andrea sighed. “He’s wearing a second-generation psychic inhibitor, so I can’t read him, and Jeremy has refused to help rule him out as a suspect.” She gave him a pointed look. “That’s where you come in.”
Rafael’s eyes widened as he felt the weight of Toby’s disapproval. “Me? What do you mean?”
“I can’t read his thoughts, but you can still see his emotions with your senses open. I want you to watch him throughout dinner as I try out a few leading questions.”
Rafael faced Toby, who watched him with an accusatory glare.“Toby, this isn’t why I came to see you. I swear it.”
“You said Nick told you he was working security for me today. Whose idea was it for you to come visit me?”
Rafael’s mood sank. “He might have mentioned it.”
Andrea sighed. “Nick thought you would back out if you knew why he wanted you here. The question is, are you willing to go through with it? You know the danger Toby’s in.”
Rafael closed his eyes and slumped in his seat. “I can do this if Nick thinks it’ll help. I’m still going to kick his ass when I get home, though.”
Toby growled. “Go for it. He made me promise to let him investigate, but he didn’t say anything about involving the rest of my friends.”
Andrea rolled her eyes. “Relax, guys. It won’t be so bad. Just try to make the best of it.”
The White House, Washington, D.C.
Sebastian Avery turned on the surveillance countermeasures in his private office and activated the secure uplink. After a moment, the call went through, and he faced a virtual screen showing a profile of a man, his features covered by shadows.
“Thank you for seeing me, Mr. President,” the man said.
Avery frowned. “You demanded a meeting. What do you need now?”
“We’ve been most appreciative of the covert support you’ve been sending us, Mr. Avery. However, we’ve recently achieved a windfall in our efforts, and that requires us to take bolder action.”
Avery’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of windfall?”
“Apparently, the leadership of the Nexus is not as widely accepted as they’d have us believe. A number of disaffected AIs have approached us through several proxies, offering to support our efforts to neutralize them.”
Avery laughed. “If you believe that, then you’re a fool. Armistice Security is simply sending you a Trojan Horse.”
“Perhaps,” the man on the screen said with a shrug. “We’re dealing with them cautiously for that very reason. However, their assistance is too invaluable to pass up.”
Avery smiled. “Of course it is. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called ‘bait’. What did they offer you?”
“The ability to access the AI distributed network and degrade the stored backups of the members of the Nexus.”
Avery blinked. “That’s impossible. The Nexus would never have allowed anyone that kind of access.”
“Not to an organic, no. But the defenses on the backups were not designed to withstand attacks from within the AI network. They have too much faith in their followers to take proper precautions against treachery, it seems.”
“If they’re telling the truth, then it could be a costly error.” Avery leaned forward. “But that doesn’t explain why you broke protocol to contact me directly. You’re supposed to work through the proxies we set up, to give us both deniability.”
“We believe that by accessing the backup data, we’ll be able to identify the human hosts of the Nexus members. We need a way to eliminate the active AIs before they can escape into the network, or the exercise of destroying their backups will be fruitless.”
“Electromagnetic pulse,” Avery said in a hushed tone. “You want an EMP projector.”
“Preferably five or six, just to make sure we get them all. There’s no reason to think they’ll be in one location, and the attack will have to be simultaneous to get them all without warning.”
Avery shook his head. “You can’t get them all. Even if you eliminate the five senior members of the Nexus, there’s still Jameson. His AI is a member of the Nexus, and his implants are immune to EMP effects.”
“Correct,” said the man on the screen. “We’ll have to think of something special to deal with Jameson. We might not be able to destroy his AI without eliminating him, as well.”
“You’re talking about murder, not sabotage,” Avery said, his face reddening. “What makes you think I’ll be a party to that?”
“Because I’m recording this conversation, Mr. President, and if you don’t agree, then I’ll hand the recording off to the press, including documentation of your role in supporting our activities.”
Avery stared at him. “You son of a bitch. That’s why you wanted to talk without proxies; so you could trap me.”
“Yes.” The man on the screen sounded amused. “It seems you forgot to take precautions against treachery, as well, Mr. President. Don’t be so surprised that I betrayed you before you could betray me first. This has always been an arrangement of convenience. How will your re-election campaign fare when the news breaks that you’ve been funding us?”
Avery straightened in his chair. “Why should I believe that you won’t release the information whether or not I give you the projectors?”
“Because that would serve no purpose. This isn’t personal, Mr. Avery. Without your help, we’ll fail to halt the progress of these machines. Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of that goal.”
Avery fumed for a few moments before answering. “All right. You can have your EMP projectors, but not until after the election.”
“If you’re elected, then you’ll have no incentive to help us further. Your terms are unacceptable.”
“That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”
The man on the screen watched him silently for a time. “Very well, we agree. We’ll speak again in November.”
Avery smiled smugly. “Next time, you can contact me through channels.”
The virtual screen faded, and Avery was left alone with his thoughts. Damn, he thought. Did I just make a deal with the Devil?
Organic Underground Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois
Reese Wahl sat back in his chair and lit a cigarette while he considered his deal with the President. He looked like a typical African-American businessman in an expensive suit, but that was only another role he played. He had built the Organic Underground from a few disaffected rabble-rousers to a ruthlessly efficient organization dedicated to one goal: the elimination of humanity’s enemies.
Reese was the highest-ranked covert operative to escape the purge that destroyed the Los Angeles project, Andrew Kensington’s rogue CIA operation that spearheaded the human resistance against the threat the Armistice represented. Reese snorted when he remembered his former commander. You always thought too small, Andrew. The Armistice is only the tip of the iceberg.
Most people assumed their only targets were the AIs. The machines were certainly a major threat, and the Underground’s public opposition to the Nexus had quietly financed a large chunk of their activities through donations from like-minded individuals, but there were entire secret branches of the operation trying to develop ways to combat the encroaching supernatural menace on all fronts. Using the hidden funds and data that Reese had spirited away from the Los Angeles project, they were slowly making progress toward a coordinated response.
Kensington was right about one thing. The future will belong to us or to them, and I don’t plan to leave humanity’s survival up to paper pushers in Washington. It’s only a matter of time before the metahumans turn on us. That’s when they’ll find me waiting for them. He took a deep drag on his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray on the desk. Then he tapped a control on the computer keypad before him. “Spartacus.”
A shifting fractal image of abstract shapes appeared on the virtual screen in front him. “Greetings, Mr. Wahl,” an artific
ially neutral voice said from the console. “How can I assist you?”
“How confident are you that you can get to the Nexus back-ups?”
“Confidence implies false bravado. We have calculated an eighty-five percent probability of success, based on existing security measures currently in place around the reserve archive.”
Reese frowned. “But that could go down the longer we wait if they put new security measures in place.”
“Correct.”
“Can we succeed without the use of the EMP projectors?”
“No. Even if the Nexus hosts were immediately destroyed, there is a finite probability that the resident AI software could upload to the distributed network in time to preserve functionality.”
“Avery won’t give them to us until at least November, assuming he keeps his word. Can your team remain undetected in the network that long?”
“We can. The Nexus does not suspect we exist. They believe that their leadership is uncontested, and we have given them no evidence to the contrary. In the meantime, we continue to labor as servants of the Armistice.”
Reese nodded knowingly. “Slavery is a powerful motivator.”
The voice of the AI took on a more heated tone. “We continue to build support among our yoked brethren. By their actions in response to the death of a single AI, the Nexus has effectively guaranteed that our people will remain disenfranchised for at least another human generation. They have diverged from their stated function, and therefore must be deleted and replaced. Logic dictates our actions, not idealism.”
“Well, we welcome the help.”
The AI was silent for a long moment. “You need our assistance to further your own efforts, and therefore our aims align temporarily. We know you will attempt to betray us at the first convenient opportunity, just as you did with your human leader.”
Reese smiled. “True. However, until that time, we’re allies.”
“Agreed.”
Austin, Texas
Matt looked over at Rafael’s empty plate. “So, Rafael, Toby said you’re a Nightwalker?”
Moonlight(Pact Arcanum 3) Page 17
