Page 69 of A Touch of Treachery (Section 47 #3)

“It was mutually assured destruction,” my father replied in a defensive tone. “Henrika had information that could derail my career at Section, but I could keep sending cleaners to kill her. So we called it a draw and went our separate ways.”

“And you let Hyde Engineering grow and grow and sat by and watched while Henrika became even more dangerous and powerful.”

The General waved his hand, dismissing my accusations yet again.

“Henrika might be rich and powerful, but in the end, she’s just another weapons maker.

She didn’t even create anything truly remarkable or revolutionary, except for Redburn.

” His eyes glittered with a cold light. “And that formula should have been mine all along.”

I’m not leaving anything behind for Jethro Percy to get his hands on. That arrogant bastard has already stolen enough of my work . Once again, I heard Henrika’s voice in my mind, and a sick, sinking sensation filled my stomach.

“Redburn is based on Henrika’s original research,” I said in a low, strained voice. “The cancer research she was working on when you first approached her. The formula you were hoping to use to save Mom.”

The bright flare of bombs exploded in my eyes, and red-hot fire blasted over my body. My shoulders tensed, and my hands clenched into fists at my sides.

“Desmond? Are you okay?”

The General’s voice broke through my memories. My vision cleared, although that phantom fire kept scorching my skin, and my own screams kept ringing in my ears, along with Graham’s hoarse cries.

“Did you know Henrika was working with Adrian Anatoly?” I asked. “Before you sent me to kill Anatoly on the Blacksea mission?”

My father shook his head, and his face twisted with anger and a surprising amount of regret. “No, son. I had no idea Henrika was working with Anatoly, but she must have found out you’d been assigned to eliminate him.”

“Trevor Donnelly told her,” I muttered. “Graham mentioned the Blacksea mission to Trevor a few days before we left for Australia.”

My father nodded. “That’s what my sources have concluded too.”

“So I went on the Blacksea mission, and Henrika finally saw a chance to get revenge on you.”

Yet again, my father’s pale aura pulsed with anger and disgust. “The bitch can certainly hold a grudge, I’ll give her that.”

“And Redburn?” I asked, my voice even lower and more strained than before. “Did you know Henrika was going to use Graham and me as her guinea pigs to test the explosive?”

Genuine surprise flickered across my father’s face. “No! Of course not! I never would have sent you on the Blacksea mission if I had known what Henrika had planned. I know we haven’t had the closest or easiest relationship, especially since your mother died, but I love you, Desmond.”

My chest squeezed tight. I couldn’t speak through the hard knot of emotion in my throat, so I nodded instead.

A relieved look flashed across my father’s face, although it quickly vanished.

He sank deeper into his chair and steepled his fingers together, once again morphing into the General I knew all too well.

“Don’t worry about what happened in the conference room.

Despite Charlotte’s accusations, this scandal will blow over soon. ”

“And Henrika?”

“I already have my best people searching for her. As soon as they find Henrika, they will eliminate her once and for all. I promise you that, son.”

I got to my feet and buttoned my suit jacket. “You’re not going to get Henrika. I am.”

My father also got to his feet, and he grinned at me. “That’s my boy.”

I gave him a thin smile in return, then spun around on my heel, went over to the door, and opened it. “I think I got everything we need. Come on in.”

I moved to the side, and Charlotte strode into the office. Evelyn was behind her with Gia. Joan and Diego were standing outside with several members of the strike team, who had already handcuffed the General’s two bodyguards.

My father glanced back and forth between me and Charlotte. “What is this?”

“You’re under arrest, Jethro,” Evelyn said in a cold voice. “For working with Section enemies.”

The General scoffed. “You have no real proof of that. All you have is an old photo and a few documents. Are you really going to believe a lowly analyst over me? A Locke? Someone with a tarnished family legacy inside Section?”

“Actually, they have all the proof they need,” I cut in. “Thanks to your confession.”

My father’s startled gaze zipped over to me, and his eyes narrowed. “What did you do, Desmond?”

I went over to his desk and picked up the photo of my mother. I stared at her smiling face a moment, then opened the back of the silver frame, plucked out the tiny analog tape recorder hidden inside, and showed it to him.

My father’s eyes widened. For a split second, he looked confused and uncertain, and his icy aura flickered with the tiniest bit of hurt. Then an angry flush swept up his neck. “Was that little tape recorder her idea?”

“No,” I replied in a cold voice. “It was mine . You’ve always been paranoid about your security, so I knew I couldn’t get any electronic surveillance in your office.

Then I remembered seeing this recorder when we were in the armory prepping for the Winterfest mission, so I decided to go old school with my spy tech.

Even you don’t bother searching for analog devices anymore.

Before I went to the conference room for Charlotte’s briefing, I snuck in here and swapped out your picture frame for this one, which also serves as a makeshift Faraday cage that blocks electromagnetic pulses.

Then, when we came into your office a few minutes ago, I tapped the top of the frame to activate the recorder hidden inside. ”

More fury and disgust filled the General’s face. “You betrayed me for her ? A Locke ? Just because you’re fucking her?”

I reached out, snatched my father’s tie, and yanked him toward me. The General let out a startled grunt, and he had to brace his hands on the desk to keep from toppling over it.

“If you insult Charlotte again, I will stop your bloody heart,” I growled in a low voice only he could hear. “And we both know I can do it.”

I released his tie and shoved him away. My father staggered back, although he quickly regained his footing. Everyone else froze, except for Charlotte, who stepped up beside me. She didn’t touch me, but just having her here steadied my nerves.

“And I didn’t betray you for Charlotte. I did it for Graham,” I growled again.

“He was my best friend, and he died because of your bloody schemes. Me? I’m used to getting screwed over because of your crimes and manipulations, but Graham suffered unimaginable pain and agony just because Henrika wanted to get revenge on you through me.

Graham didn’t deserve that horrific fate, and neither did the other agents who died on the Blacksea mission.

Neither did Jack Locke and the cleaners you sent to Mexico just so you could eliminate a personal threat. ”

I shook my head. “Mom would be so bloody ashamed of you.”

My father jerked back as though I had punched him in the throat. His gaze flicked to my mother’s photo, and longing creased his face. My own chest ached in response, but it was too late for him.

My father squared his shoulders and raised his eyes to mine, his face as cold as ice again. “You’re going to regret this, son. You’re too much like your mother, too tenderhearted, not to.”

“You might be right about that, but you’ve been wrong about everything else.” I jerked my head at the strike team members. “Take him away.”

Two men stepped forward, but my father ignored them, stormed around his desk, and stopped in front of Evelyn.

“You might be Maestro, but we both know I have too many friends inside Section for you to hold me for long,” he said.

A thin smile split her lips. “I’m looking forward to proving you wrong, Jethro.”

Evelyn also jerked her head at the strike team members. “Put the General in an interrogation cell until I decide what to do with him.”

The two men approached the General, but he spun toward Charlotte, fury shimmering in his icy eyes. “You’re just like your father.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Charlotte replied.

“You have no idea the things Jack Locke did,” the General snarled. “The people he killed. The deals he made. The devil’s bargains he struck. Don’t pretend he’s some great hero .”

Charlotte stepped forward, her face inches away from the General’s, her eyes and aura even colder than his.

“I know exactly what kind of man my father was. Jack Locke devoted his life to Section 47, while you lied to him and betrayed him not for any greater good but just because you wanted to cover your own ass. My father might not be a hero, but neither are you, General Percy. And now everyone at Section 47 will know it.”

Again, my father recoiled as though someone had struck him, but again, he recovered quickly. “You’re going to regret this, Ms. Locke. Even more than my son will. I’ll make sure of that.”

Anger spiked through me at his threat, but Charlotte stepped even closer to the General, still as cold as ice. “The only thing I regret is that Desmond was saddled with you . He deserves far better than the likes of you for a father.”

My father glared at Charlotte a moment longer, and then the strike team members stepped in between them and led him away.

I followed the three men out of the office and to the elevators. My father got inside and turned around. His face was calm, but his eyes glittered with anger, as did his aura. His was the look of a man who was already planning to take his vengeance on those he thought had wronged him, including me.

Especially me.

The door slid shut, cutting off my view of the General, but a hard truth sliced through my gut.

I had just made an enemy out of my own father.