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“Why would Marlow back me when Moreau controls her?”

“Because she’s still SPAR. And she’s not blind to what’s coming.”

I turned back, pulling away as the traffic moved again. “That’s the point, isn’t it? You talk about rallying to my banner … I’m the god damn catalyst, aren’t I? The spark in the tinderbox that sets the whole world alight.”

“It was coming anyway, Xan,” Iyoni said. “If conflict is inevitable, maybe you’re the one who can end it.”

*

The protestors were out in force as we drove into SPAR HQ, with a smaller group of journalists keeping them company. For once, I paid attention to the questions they threw at us, but they were only about the disturbance, not about me bonding Iyoni.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately felt guilt. Myas had sacrificed herself for me, and she wasn’t the only one who had died.

Moreau would pay for this.

We went straight up to the fifth floor. Marlow wanted to see me, and for once, the feeling was mutual. I knocked and went straight in, ignoring the protests of her PA that sat like a watchdog at the desk outside.

Marlow looked up from her screen. “Oh, it’s you. Why is it that everywhere you go, trouble finds you?”

I sank into one of the chairs around her conference table, Kara and Iyoni taking other seats. “I’ve been asking myself the same question. This was a personal attack.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”

“Moreau engineered it.” I watched her closely for her reaction.

She was good. The disbelief seemed so genuine, I wouldn’t have thought it was feigned. “Why would Moreau try and kill you?”

It was tempting to throw a ‘like you don’t know’ back at her, but I couldn’t come out and blatantly accuse her of being in Moreau’s pocket. We had to play the game. “I’m not sure,” I said honestly—because, as of two days ago, I was his pawn. “Nevertheless, we recognized one of his men.”

She nodded slowly. “You were at his estate this weekend.”

“Correct. He invited me.”

“Are you saying you saw the man that attacked you there?”

“Yes.”

She made a dubious face. “Silas Moreau isn’t the sort of man to be so blatant, or to make mistakes.”

“Are you suggesting Moreau isn’t behind this? When his man raised a hand to kill me, said ‘goodbye, warlock,’ and the only reason I’m sitting here now is because Lieutenant Myas gave her life to protect me?”

Marlow blanched. “Oh no, not Myas. She was …” She took a breath and her face hardened into a well-practiced mask, swallowing her grief. “Even if you have a connection to Moreau, you can’t touch him. His lawyers will bury us under paperwork. For the next decade.”

“I’m well aware,” I said, indifferent. If— when —I went after Moreau, it wouldn’t be through legitimate routes. Though I was well aware I couldn’t just rock up at his estate guns blazing, not with the firepower he had available. “Right now, I’m more concerned about the mole situation within SPAR.”

Marlow’s mask slipped again. “What?”

“They had time to get in position, and they knew exactly where the patrol would be.” The words were bitter in my throat. If I hadn’t talked Myas into responding, she’d still be alive.

Marlow stared at me, then leaned forward and pressed the button on her intercom. “Lucy, have Dr. Firth join us, please.”

The intercom crackled with a brief, “Yes, Director.”

“That’s convenient,” I said. “Firth was my next stop.”

He knocked and entered a moment later, paused as he saw me sitting there, then turned to close the door—but not before I’d seen the animosity in his eyes.

He’d masked it by the time he addressed Marlow. “Director?”

“I assume you’re aware of the incident today?”

“Yes, I was going over the preliminary reports in my office.”

“This was a deliberate attack, Doctor. It targeted Xan personally.” Marlow leaned back in her chair. “The Assistant Director and I would like to hear your theories on how they could know which patrol he was in, and its route.”

“I was under the impression this was a one-eighty-seven that”—Firth spared me a pointed glance—“got out of hand.”

“Now you know differently,” I said.

“Director Marlow,” Firth said smoothly, “I already expressed my reservations about the Assistant Director using our active patrols to sightsee. Lieutenant Myas was under strict orders not to engage in action with him present, but according to early reports, he countermanded that order. Now he’s claiming it was a”—he sneered the words—“ deliberate attack . I’m sorry that the Assistant Director was scared during an encounter with some rogue supes, but the real world isn’t a sheltered university.

I’m far more concerned about the loss of life SPAR suffered while distracted having to ensure his safety—when he should never have been there in the first place. ”

I smiled thinly. Damn, I hated this guy. He was insulting Myas’ memory, and for that alone, he was right at the top of my shitlist, a whisker behind Moreau.

Marlow held his gaze for long enough to assert some control, then spoke in clipped tones.

“Doctor Firth, the Assistant Director was on that patrol as part of my directive, and your personal opinion of him is irrelevant. What matters is that SPAR personnel are dead—including a promising young lieutenant—and someone inside SPAR fed intel to a hostile. Help us find them, or I’ll relieve you and ask Captain Reyes to take over. ”

Firth clasped his hands firmly before him, assuming a stiff posture.

“Director, there are six hundred men in my department. All of them are security cleared. If there was a leak, it didn’t come from SEMPA.

But frankly, we should be asking ourselves if SPAR wants to align politically with a loose-cannon warlock—someone who attracts trouble. ”

“Your department, your responsibility,” Marlow said coldly. “We need results, not excuses. Either find a solution or step aside.”

“Understood, Director,” Firth replied. “I’ll review all personnel and operational data immediately.

If there’s a compromised agent, we’ll find them.

” He paused briefly, letting the silence add weight.

“In the interim, for SPAR’s best interests, I recommend the ethics consultation be deemed concluded, and we shift focus to more urgent matters. ”

“Noted,” Marlow said. “That will be all, Doctor.”

Firth nodded curtly and left, avoiding looking at me like I was a hole in the room. The door clicked shut behind him. Kara shifted in her chair, glaring at the door, her lips pressed thin in a scowl.

Marlow let out a slow breath, then fixed me with her gaze. “I’ve worked with him for years, and his instincts are rarely wrong. On this occasion, I’m not convinced the mole isn’t in his department, but … I do agree with him on one point: your presence is not in SPAR’s best interests.”

“I’m not convinced it’s in mine, either,” I said dryly. “But here I am, much to our mutual disappointment.”

Marlow’s lips twitched. “As we’re both political pawns, it’s comforting to know I have an ally in my misery.” Her eyes narrowed. “At the risk of repeating myself, could you please get through the rest of the week without causing more problems for me?”

I tried very hard not to glance toward Iyoni. “Ribbon cutting tomorrow. Sounds low risk, doesn’t it?”