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“Next up is Magnolia.” She shook her head. “I can barely keep all these new names straight. Anyway, while I know very little about her as an agent, the new director of Albanian intelligence, Zamira, and I have been friends and colleagues for many years, and I trust her opinion.”
“Also glad to hear.”
“I was impressed by Schön’s success on Gozo as well as the preliminary brief I reviewed.”
“She’s a good agent, Nem.”
“What was it you just said? Glad to hear it? I am too.” She took another pull from her drink, this one much longer. “Bloody Typhon.”
I laughed out loud. “I wondered if you caught the way he worded the announcement.”
Her eyes opened wide, and she brought her hand to her forehead. “Dammit! I forgot we have someone else joining us here in Shere.”
“Who?”
“Niven St. Thomas. Do you know him?”
“It’s been a while, but I ran a couple of ops with Saint.”
“It was announced previously that he’d be joining the coalition, but now, it’s slightly more official.”
I raised a brow. “Moreofficial?”
“You do know Saint married a vicar, yes?”
“I believe I heard something to that effect.” I couldn’t help but shake my head. Back in the day, the man’s code name was the antithesis of his personality.
“Her name is Harper. Quite lovely. An American. Anyway, he was waiting for her to be assigned a parish closer to Shere. Well, in Shere, actually. It was mentioning Typhon that made me think of it.”
“Why?”
“Typhon cannot abide Saint and vice versa.” She smiled. “Which means…”
“We’ll see less of Typhon?”
She set her drink down and pumped her fist in the air. “Thank God, right? The arrogant arsehole.”
“I’ll admit I won’t miss his presence.”
“There are few here at the command center who will.”
“Um, Nem, since we’re talking privately, I’d like to discuss Schön a bit more.”
“Of course.”
I told Nem what I’d learned about her during our brief stay on Gozo. “Most of which I might not know if it weren’t for Ehren’s bad behavior,” I added.
“I’m worried about her, Mag. Ehren, not Schön. When I said Macht was escorting her, I’ve asked him to get close to her and see how much of a threat she really is. In the meantime, we’ll keep a close eye on Schön. She’s one of us now, and we protect our own.”
“Roger that.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Not yet.”
She smiled. “Shall we join the others? I’m feeling a little guilty for not being more welcoming to our new arrivals.”
“Yes, but there is one more thing.”