He met her gaze and nodded. “Yes. It’s now common knowledge. Edwin was effective, but his methods were brutal.”
Valentina placed her hand over his and squeezed it gently. “You’re a good man, Brant. Sometimes, we learn more from our parents’ mistakes than by the examples they set.”
Brant gave her a small smile. “Then I learned a great deal from mine.” He paused and added, “Back then, some of our residents acquired weapons on their own. Some manufactured devices using schematics they managed to download from our archives. But this is the first time we’ve had this new type of challenge. Even when we dealt with the surface dwellers in the past, we were able to minimize possible threats by assigning traders to act as our representatives on the surface. I don’t think any of us were prepared for this sort of fallout when we formed an alliance with your people.”
She gazed at Sergei through the window again. The interview had concluded, and OmniLab security was removing the young man from the room. They should be bringing in the next detainee momentarily. Brant had given her a great deal to think about, but she didn’t want to push him too much. A balance of perceived cooperation needed to be maintained.
Turning back to Brant, she said, “Nikolai said he’d acquired the club surveillance footage from Hayden for the past two weeks. We’ve already started running the images through our databases and compiling a list of names. We’ll investigate and interview each one of them until we figure out who’s distributing these weapons to your residents.”
Brant nodded. “Alec mentioned that’s why you were delayed. He’s already getting pressure from the High Council, especially since someone from the Inner Circle was so severely injured. Alec’s meeting with them right now to do some damage control. Some of them are demanding we close our towers to your people until we get to the bottom of this.”
Valentina squeezed her eyes shut, wondering how much that would set them back in their progress. The Coalition’s leaders were already concerned about OmniLab’s continued cooperation. If OmniLab closed their towers to their people, it might be enough to tip the arguments in favor of permanently severing their alliance. If that happened, the Coalition may decide to take the towers by force. They had too much invested to walk away now.
The door opened, and Valentina looked up to see Nikolai and Lars enter. Her heart clenched at the exhaustion etched on Nikolai’s face. The dark circles under his eyes hadn’t been as noticeable a few short hours ago. She immediately went to him and hugged him tightly.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she instinctively knew he’d needed her but hadn’t wanted to call her back to him before she finished on the surface. Nikolai always tried to do too much on his own and was reluctant to make any demands of her. The four of them were still getting accustomed to using their abilities in front of others, but no one in this room would have an issue with it. It wouldn’t matter if they did; Valentina had no intention of letting anyone she loved suffer a moment longer than necessary.
Reaching out through their metaphysical connection, she embraced him with her water energy and let it flow over him. Nikolai sighed, the tension in his body beginning to dissipate. He pressed a kiss against her hair and murmured, “Thank you, Valya. I’m glad you’re back safely.”
She released him. “Brant just finished telling me what happened. I’m sorry it took us longer to get back than we expected.”
Nikolai handed her his tablet and glanced toward the window where Sergei was sitting. “I appreciate you setting up the relay. I just finished running the images from the security footage through our database, and I have a list of names. Unfortunately, it will take time to analyze them all. I hadn’t realized how popular this club was with our people. Alec also provided me with the names of everyone who was detained tonight. I checked through the information, and they all work on the construction crew. Only one of them wasn’t part of Sergei’s original team.”
Valentina studied the tablet with the information on each detainee’s history. There was nothing remarkable about any of them, but that wasn’t a guarantee of innocence. It was easy enough to change information to mask someone’s true purpose. She’d done the same often enough for her contacts. Sometimes, small discrepancies could be discovered, especially when conducting an interview. It was easy for people to forget the details of a carefully crafted lie.
“I’ve seen him before,” Lars said, gesturing to the new man being brought into the room. “His name is Jaro, if I remember correctly. He was one of the people who escorted me to the underground river site when I dueled Alec.”
Valentina turned to regard the dark-haired man seated in the interrogation room with Sergei. The detainee’s body language was self-assured and confident, indicating his innocence. But when he sat down, she noticed he kept glancing at the door, a sign that he was uneasy. If she had to guess, she’d say he knew something but had reservations about sharing that information. Valentina pulled off her jacket, allowing her weapons to be easily seen. In her experience, the threat of violence was sometimes more effective than the actuality.
Tossing her jacket over a nearby chair, she tucked the tablet under her arm. “I think I need to go sit in on this interview.”
Nikolai nodded. “I agree.”
She opened the door and walked to the interrogation room. The man seated at the table glanced up at her when she entered. From all appearances and his unconcerned demeanor, he didn’t recognize her.
Sergei leaned back in his chair, a slight smile on his lips. “Ah, Valentina. I’m pleased you could make it. Would you like to sit?”
She leaned against the adjacent wall so she could watch both men. “No, I’ll just observe for now.”
“Of course,” Sergei replied and gestured to the man sitting across the table. “Jaro, this is Valentina. She’s here as Chairman Nikolai’s representative. I’m sure you understand how serious we’re taking this situation.”
Jaro’s body tensed. She nodded at him in greeting but didn’t say anything else. Her presence would be enough to make their intended point.
Sergei started asking general questions about the club and how often Jaro visited the establishment. Apparently, he’d been a frequent patron over the past couple weeks, which put him as a prime candidate for information gathering. Jaro admitted to knowing several people who frequented the club, and Sergei went over the list of names.
Valentina glanced at the mirrored window where she knew Nikolai was watching. He was most likely recording the names so they could compare them with the list they’d obtained. If there were a discrepancy, it would only direct suspicion to those people who weren’t being named.
She turned back to study Jaro again. Sergei was walking him through the events of the evening. Later, he’d circle back around and start breaking down Jaro’s story.
Sergei excelled at interrogation, but he and Valentina had different methods for extracting information. They knew one another’s strengths and weaknesses, and together, they’d always made a very effective team. If she were honest, though, he’d always been better suited to this head-on style of interrogation.
She preferred a subtler approach and usually in an informal setting. In some cases, being a woman was an advantage. People had an easier time confiding in someone they considered less threatening. She didn’t have a problem using her sex to accomplish her goals; it was just one more tool in her arsenal.
Valentina listened absently but focused more on the man’s body language, assessing his comfort and discomfort levels. One of the first things she’d learned was that it was easy to lie with your face, but as you moved down the body… your body language became more honest. Right now, she was focused on Jaro’s feet and how one of them was noiselessly tapping the floor. He was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t the same sort of worry the last detainee had exhibited. Her initial assumption was most likely correct. Jaro knew something but wasn’t sure if it was in his best interest to share it.
Sergei leaned back in his chair, and a
subtle wave of heat began filling the room. “Did you see where he got the weapon?”
The foot jiggle ceased abruptly. Both feet were now pointed directly at the door, a clear indicator he wanted to escape. Badly. “No.”
Her gaze immediately flew to Sergei. He arched a brow at her in response, and she blinked at him in surprise. She’d planned on waiting a bit longer to intervene, but what he was doing was risky. Brant had stopped the recording devices in here, but she didn’t know if anyone could pick up on his energy from another room.
Valentina approached the table and sat in the chair across from Jaro, blocking his direct line of sight to the door. Sergei leaned back and smirked at her. She paused, studying him for a moment, and then narrowed her eyes. Sergei was up to something.
Jaro’s gaze shifted to her, and she smoothed out her expression and focused again on the detainee. Forcing her body to relax, she decided to embrace a more nonthreatening mien. She needed Jaro to be cooperative but also understand she was still here as Nikolai’s representative. She’d deal with Sergei’s shenanigans later and in a much more private setting. “I reviewed your service record before I came in here, Jaro. It was somewhat surprising.”
Jaro’s face remained carefully blank. “Why is that?”
“Well,” Valentina began and leaned forward. Resting her wrists on the table, she slowly spread out her fingers. It was a subtle move, but on a subconscious level, Jaro would be aware it would take a little longer for her to draw a weapon. It was her way of indicating she didn’t consider him a threat and this was a friendly interview. Besides, Sergei deserved a little payback for whatever scheme he was concocting—a reminder there were other ways to get information.
“You’ve worked with Sergei for several years now. Before that, your evaluations were very positive. You joined his team with some of the highest recommendations. But you’ve stayed in the background since taking over this new position.”
Valentina swept her gaze over Jaro, pretending to assess him. She tilted her head and frowned. “I can’t help but wonder… Is it Sergei’s failure to see your potential? Or yours in not showing it?”
Jaro stiffened and darted a quick glance at Sergei. “I simply haven’t had a chance to prove myself yet.”
Valentina nodded in understanding. Ha. Take that, Seryozha. Less than two minutes. “Of course. We all need to take the opportunities as they’re handed to us. Fortunately, one has just made itself known.” She smiled and stood. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I believe you have some things to discuss. I’ll be sure to let Nikolai know how cooperative you’ve been.”
Without saying another word, she walked out of the room.
Chapter Five
Valentina walked backed into the observation room. Nikolai put his arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “Nicely done. Sergei’s using his truth barrier abilities, isn’t he? That’s why you intervened so soon?”
“Yes. He’s very subtle. It’s unlikely anyone would have noticed, but it’s still risky, especially here.”
Lars frowned. “He’s probably just eager to wrap up these interviews. I’m sure he’s tired. You guys have been out all night.”
Valentina made a noncommittal noise, but she knew the real reason. “That must be it. I’m sure he’s just… eager to go to bed.”
Nikolai arched an eyebrow, and she blinked up at him innocently. He chuckled and shook his head. “I should have known. You challenged him, didn’t you?”
She looked through the window at Sergei and bit back a smile. From all appearances, he’d managed to elicit Jaro’s cooperation. “I may have… offered some encouragement.”
Lars cleared his throat. “Ah, I’m sure. If he’s in a hurry to wrap this up, perhaps I should act as a stand-in and pretend to hold the truth barrier. Some of your people may recognize me, and it will limit his exposure. Even if someone can’t feel it, they’ll know something is wrong when they try to lie.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Nikolai agreed, tracing his thumb absently in a pattern on her side. “You were a common enough fixture in our camps that your presence will not be surprising. When Sergei is finished with this interview, your assistance would be appreciated.”
Someone knocked on the door, and Brant opened it. A security officer was standing outside with Yuri. The officer gestured to him and said, “You asked me to bring him here when he arrived.”
Brant stepped aside so Yuri could enter. Nikolai nodded at him in greeting and quickly updated Yuri on everything that had transpired. Yuri’s expression clouded, the energy in the air swirling with his barely restrained anger. “How far has Sergei gotten with questioning our people?”
Valentina glanced at the window. “This is his second interview.”
Yuri crossed his arms over his chest and turned to Brant. “Have you begun searching the towers for more weapons?”
Brant nodded. “Yes, but it’s an enormous endeavor and may take weeks to complete with our current manpower. That doesn’t even include our residents’ private quarters. We won’t check those without cause.”
Yuri frowned. “That’s unfortunate. We can’t even offer our people to assist in the search since we don’t know yet where the problem originated. Until we have more leads on our end, our ability to help will be limited.”
“Maybe not,” Valentina began and approached Yuri. She put her hand on his arm and felt his body immediately begin to relax. Ariana had been explaining some things during their training, and it was strange to see it in practice. Valentina had found that touching people, especially her bondmates, seemed to calm some of the negative emotions they were experiencing. Nikolai had often told her she helped him focus his thoughts, but she’d never realized she also had a similar effect on Yuri until recently. Ariana suspected it was tied to her abilities somehow.
Yuri studied her curiously. “What are you thinking?”
Valentina glanced toward the window again. Sergei was escorting Jaro into the hallway where a security officer was waiting. “This last detainee knows something. Sergei’s been trying to convince him to work with us.”
A moment later, Sergei entered the room. His eyes immediately went to her, and he arched an eyebrow. “I do believe you cheated that time, Valechka. Interfering with my interrogation before I finished establishing a baseline?”
She grinned. “Aren’t you always telling me we don’t have rules? Besides, the end goal is still the same. You wouldn’t have intentionally provoked me if you didn’t want to hurry things along.” Scanning him up and down, she debated which of his weapons she’d take first. Or maybe she’d let him keep one. It might make things more fun. His expression heated at her perusal, and she bit her lip. He was far too distracting. “What agreement did you come to with Jaro?”
Sergei closed the distance between them and put his arms around her. “You were right. He’s ambitious and eager for an opportunity. Based on what he shared with me, I don’t believe the weapon was acquired last night. Jaro has attended this club often, and he’s noticed some strange meetings between our people and the Omnis. Apparently, Pavel frequented this club too.”
Nikolai nodded. “Yes. We caught your former second-in-command on the surveillance video. I wanted to discuss the possibility of whether or not he might have had any involvement.”
Valentina frowned, remembering when she’d stolen Sergei’s notes from his tablet. She’d been bored to distraction reading through some of them.
Placing her hand against Sergei’s chest, she looked up at him. “You told me Pavel handled the inventory for the tower construction. Could he have been helping to smuggle the weapons in here?”
“It’s definitely possible, and that’s my suspicion as well,” Sergei agreed and idly began running his hand down her back. A small band of his heated fire energy swirled around her, and she leaned against him as he continued the leisurely movement. “I’ll check Pavel’s notes again for any obvious errors, but we’ll need to perform a complete audit on the inventor
y we’ve set aside for the construction. Even if we don’t know the exact number of weapons that are missing, we may be able to make an estimation by shipping weight discrepancies. I don’t think they’re being stored in the construction tower, but I intend to find out.”
Yuri nodded. “That’s something we can do from our end. Nikolai would be well within his rights to demand such a review, especially since he’s now taking such an interest in the construction progress. We can bring in some of our people to help conduct the audit and have them stand under a truth barrier first to make sure they don’t have any involvement.”
“That takes care of one problem,” Nikolai agreed. “Valya, did Dmitri have anything useful to say about the missing shipments?”
Valentina bit her lip as she tried to put together everything in her mind. She didn’t want to say anything in front of Brant about someone trying to set Sergei up to take the fall, so she’d have to tell Nikolai privately later. Sharing knowledge like that could backfire on them too easily.
“Actually, yes,” Valentina admitted, giving him a meaningful look to let him know she was censoring her words. “Dmitri told me about a conversation he overheard that might be related. Two people running deliveries between camps mentioned some weapon shipments were going to the towers. They hadn’t been able to reach their contact here for a few days and were concerned. It’s possible they were referring to Pavel and didn’t know he’d been killed.”
Nikolai nodded. “It’s definitely suspicious, especially since weapons aren’t on the list of approved transport items. If Pavel was involved, it was likely he had accomplices assisting him. It’s another lead, but we need more information. We’ll start running a trace on his known associates.”
Sergei hesitated. “Actually, I might have something else. Jaro mentioned overhearing the name Charles. When I was in Hayden’s club last week, a woman approached me. She seemed out of place, so it caught my attention. I spoke with her for a few minutes, and she was looking to meet up with someone from the Coalition. She specifically mentioned the name Charles and how he wasn’t able to meet. When she realized my identity, she backed away quickly. It was curious, but I wrote it off at the time.”
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