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“What you’re feeling is the same, Magnet. The sooner you quit trying to convince yourself otherwise, the easier you’ll sleep at night.” He squeezed my shoulder and walked away.
My friend hadn’t needed to be specific about his reference. I’d known he was crazy about Verity long before he was ready to admit it. Unlike me, when I called him out on it, he’d responded honestly.
Why wasn’t I able to?
2
SCHÖN
“Argh,”I groaned and put my head in my hands when Magnet left the room. Why did every brain cell I possessed seem to die off whenever he was near?
Justin “Magnet” Magnussen was my commander. I’d finally been given a chance to prove my abilities in intelligence after being appointed to the Albanian task force of a UN coalition, and instead of impressing the agent who could advance my career, I turned into a dolt whenever he was near.
Truthfully, I’d never been attracted to any man the way I was to him. Magnet wasn’t just the handsomest person I’d ever seen; he was smart and funny too. But more, he was honorable. And kind.
Hesawme. It had been many years since anyone had. My parents had, but they’d been gone a long time. There’d been another woman, someone I considered a mentor and friend, but shortly before I left Switzerland for Shere, it seemed we’d had a falling out. It still hurt to think that perhaps she hadn’tseenme in the way I always thought she did.
I met Mrs. Strousberg when I was fourteen years old. Her first name was Carissa, but I’d never called her that, even as an adult.
My great-uncle, Henri “Baissier” Marchand, was named my conservator after my parents died when I was nine. He was a single, up-and-coming diplomat at the time, completely unequipped to take care of a young girl. Instead, he’d made arrangements for a couple who lived in St. Moritz—where my parents and I had resided—to become my guardians.
The Müllers were nice enough people; however, when I reached my teens and began acting out, as many girls that age do, they’d contacted Uncle Henri, saying they could no longer be responsible for me.
His solution had been to arrange for me to attend boarding school. The best in the world was located in Leysin, approximately five hours from St. Moritz. While it was where he wanted to send me, the cost was prohibitive. Even the money I’d inherited from my parents, as well as the settlement I’d received after their deaths, wasn’t enough. Rather than choose another less costly school, Uncle Henri had contacted Mrs. Strousberg.
She was the widow of a Greek billionaire, a shipping magnate, who had homes around the world, including one in St. Moritz, as well as in Paris, where my uncle resided at the time. He’d heard through diplomatic sources that Mrs. Strousberg, who had been orphaned herself, offered educational scholarships for girls like me.
From the moment we met, Mrs. Strousberg and I had seemed to hit it off. In fact, she’d occasionally visit me at the school in Leysin.
After graduating from Leysin, she’d arranged for me to attend the University of Geneva, where I majored in international relations and diplomacy. Once I’d obtained my degree, Mrs. Strousberg suggested I come work for her. I had other ideas, though. My dream was to go into intelligence.
While she’d initially appeared disappointed, she suggested I ask Uncle Henri to help me find a position. Baissier called upon his good friend Oskar “Gebieter” Schmid to give me a job with Swiss intelligence.
His error was in asking theführer, as most of those under his command referred to him, to give me assignments where I’d be in little danger. In other words, cared for, looked out for. Schmid had groomed me, somewhat like Mrs. Strousberg had, saying he knew the perfect field of specialization for me.
Three years later, when Uncle Henri finally discovered the kind of assignments Schmid had given me, he pulled me from the mission I was on and arranged for me to join the Swiss task force of a UN coalition.
Now, here I was, two months later, trying to figure out how to do a job I wasn’t trained to do. Except for intelligence gathering, of course, but the methodologies I’d previously utilized wouldn’t work in my current role.
“Change of plans,” said Magnet, returning to the solarium before I’d made a single note about the upcoming op.
My first thought was I’d been removed from the assignment, but I knew better than to ask if that was the case. Questions like that irritated Magnet.
“I’m replacing Michelangelo.”
My eyes widened, not sure what to make of his announcement. Hadn’t Nemesis specifically said that neither Francesca Vella nor her daughter would recognize the other agent or me but might him?
“Verity has agreed to craft a disguise effective enough that neither of our suspects will be able to place me.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, unsure what else to say.
“I hope you’re not too disappointed,” he said, winking.
Relieved was more like it. Not because I didn’t want to work with the other agent. I just dreaded being away from Magnet.
“Oh, good. You’re both here,” said Verity, walking through the door a couple of minutes after Magnet had.
“I’ve been thinking about your request, and while it is the easiest disguise to maintain, it might be difficult for you to do it alone,” she said to him.