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“I knew you’d come through with the right motivation,” Dacien said, his cultured drawl somehow carrying despite the tinny speakers on the cufflink.

“Are you clear that we don’t have proof?” I asked, discomforted now that I was actually handing Farron over to him. “I don’t want you … going too far until you’ve at least given him a chance to explain.”

“You’re passing over a SPAR agent to me without due process, and you want him treated gently,” Dacien said, the words laced with sarcasm. “All quite clear, as is your hypocrisy.”

I ground my teeth. “One more thing, Dacien. I want something in return for this.”

“That’s not how it works, Xan my boy. I’m the one who—”

“Not this time,” I said coldly. “You need to promise me this, or the deal’s off.”

“You forget who you’re talking to,” Dacien growled. “And you forget what I’ll do to you if you don’t deliver.”

“I’m crystal clear on both points,” I replied. “Nevertheless, if you want the name I have, those are my conditions.”

“No chance. Give me the name now, or—”

“Fine.” I pressed the cufflink with my thumb, ending the call.

Kara stared at me, eyes wide with concern.

Iyoni crossed her arms and huffed a laugh. “Don’t worry,” she said to Kara, “he’ll call back.”

“I could murder a sandwich,” I said, looking around to see if there was a nearby café. “It’s almost lunch.”

Kara reached for my arm. “No one ever says no to my father.” Her grip was tight, betraying not only her anxiety, but her fear for me.

“It’s about time someone did,” I replied. I didn’t have the luxury of being scared of Dacien. “There’s too much at stake. If he’s not going to give me what I want, then—”

I broke off as the cufflink vibrated in my hand. This was either going to be progress, or a declaration of war. I winked at Kara, trying to convey a confidence I didn’t quite feel, and clicked the button to answer.

“What is it you want?” Dacien demanded as soon as the call connected.

That was a promising start. “The man in question may be connected to something else I’m pursuing. I want answers from him too, and I want them first.”

Dacien was quiet for several breaths, only the slight hiss from the cufflink letting me know the call was still connected. “Very well. Then you won’t just give me the name, you’ll bring him to me.”

“I can’t do that,” I said. “There’s no way I can find him, let alone risk compromising my position in SPAR.”

“Not my problem.”

“He’s surrounded by SPAR agents in the middle of the city—I can’t exactly walk up, buy him a coffee, and haul him off.”

“You’ve now got two reasons to ensure this person is in my custody. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

“Damn it, Dacien,” I said, frustration mounting. “You’ve got people who can do this. Why don’t you—”

“Xan, if you make demands of me, you can hardly complain when I up your end too. Stop whining, and get it done.”

I clenched my jaw so tight it hurt. This was threatening to spiral out of my control—if it hadn’t already. “Where do I bring him?”

“To the docks. Warehouse 118. Be there at ten tonight.”

The cufflink clicked again, the call terminated.

“Fuck,” I spat, staring down at the ground. I’d played chicken with Dacien, but I wasn’t sure who’d swerved. “How the hell are we going to find him, get him away from whatever team he’s with, then deliver him to Dacien—all without being compromised?”

“Well, finding him’s the easy part,” Iyoni said. “Natalie could get that for us.”

“Not without leaving a trail that will look damn suspicious when he disappears.”

She flicked her fingers. “So mask the trail.”

I frowned, thinking. “Okay … you’re right, that’s probably the fastest way. We need to hire a van or something to transport him. A way to get him alone … and some way of controlling him.” I looked at the girls. “Either of you got a stun?”

“Not me,” Kara said. “I can entangle him with my whip.”

“Er … I could hit him,” Iyoni offered. “Might cave his skull in, but …” She trailed off with a shrug.

“Now I’m wondering why philosophy courses don’t come with a side elective in kidnapping and espionage,” I grumbled.

“Drug him?” Kara suggested.

“It’s the obvious choice,” I agreed, already going there, “but where do we get the drugs? We need a tranq, not a bottle of melatonin pills.”

Iyoni pulled out her phone. “Let’s ask Professor Google.”

“Brilliant,” I said sardonically. “Standing on a street corner, googling how to incapacitate a kidnap victim. We’re a real crack team.”

We waited while Iyoni typed.

“So apparently, a combination of ketamine and lorazepam would work. Fast-acting if injected, still effective in a drink.”

“Good to know.” I made a show of patting my pockets. “Shit. I left my tranq meds in my other jacket.”

Iyoni gave that the look it deserved, then went back to her phone. “There’s an urgent care center on Route-44. And look, a RoamFleet Rent-A-Car a mile farther up. Grab a van, hit the pharmacy, still time to get a late lunch.”

“We can’t break into a pharmacy without getting caught. On camera, at the very least. And I don’t want to endanger anyone.”

“Might try flashing your badge, Assistant Director, sir.”

Kara perked up. “That could work. They’ll know you from the news.”

“It’ll raise a lot of questions.” I grimaced. “What if they call SPAR, and it ends up getting routed to Firth?”

“Then he won’t take the call,” Kara said dryly. “He’s far too busy and important.”

I shrugged, not having a better plan. “Fine, let’s get it done. Let’s Uber over to the clinic, and Iyoni you can grab the van. That should give us time to get the drugs—if we can.”

A short while later, Iyoni dropped us at the East Providence Medical Center, and carried on up the road.

I pulled a resigned face at Kara. “I have no idea how to do this.”

“Wing it then.” She batted her eyelids at me.

I grunted and we headed in.

It was clean and crisp inside, a waiting area and a reception desk. I didn’t want to have this conversation with snotty kids and a few geriatrics listening in, so I slid my ID across the desk. “I need a conversation with whoever’s senior. It’s urgent.”

The receptionist picked up my card, her eyes flicking up to my face in surprise. “Mr. Sullivan,” she gasped, loud enough for the whole room to hear, but either the old folk were all half-deaf, or the screaming child was granting me some degree of cover.

“That’s right. I’m the Assistant Dir—”

“The warlock ,” she breathed, eyes bright and wide.

“Er … that too.” I supposed it would help that she knew who I was.

She was still staring at me, and hadn’t even seemed to notice Kara standing nearby.

I leaned forward slightly. “This is quite urgent, I’m afraid.”

“Oh! Yes, of course.” She blushed hard. “Let me get the Medical Director for you.”

She disappeared through a staff door. The room beyond had glass walls, and I watched her talk to a couple of people, curious glances coming my way. An older gentleman in a suit rose and walked briskly out. “Mr. Sullivan? Would you like to come this way?”

Perfect.

We followed him through to an empty examination room, and he closed the door after us. “How may I help, sir?”

“I’m in urgent need of some controlled substances,” I said bluntly, getting to the point. “You’re the closest facility that might help me.”

His eyebrows rose up over his spectacles. “Controlled substances? For personal use?”

I smiled. “No, Doctor. Strictly in my capacity as Assistant Director of SPAR. I need …” I pulled out my phone, checking the note Iyoni had sent me.

“Lorazepam and ketamine. Preferably in injectable form.” I slid my phone back into my pocket and shrugged apologetically, anticipating his next question.

“Usually, field teams would be provided with the necessary tools, but we have an incident, and my assistant and I are the closest supes to the scene.” I paused for emphasis.

“There’s an urgency, if you wouldn’t mind. ”

“This is all very irregular,” he muttered.

“I’m very glad to hear it, Doctor,” I said smoothly. “If visitors from SPAR often came by asking for enough drugs to sedate rampaging supes, I’d be more worried than I already am.”

“Huh,” he grunted. “Your ID please, Assistant Director?”

I handed over my card.

“Very well,” he said. “I’ll need you to sign a form, but … we can do that while I have Claire pull what you need.” He handed me back the card. “How much?”

I had no idea. “Five vials of each should do.”

He nodded like my answer didn’t surprise him, and put his head out the door to give instructions to whomever Claire was. I signed his form while we waited, hoping the audit trail would never need to be checked by SPAR. It was an unavoidable risk.

Not long after, we were standing by the side of the road as Iyoni pulled up in a white van, the blue-and-black RoamFleet logo clean against the sides. It was a common enough sight to make the van nondescript, and that was good enough.

I made a call as we drove off.

“Natalie? It’s Xan.”

“Hello, sir. All a bit hectic here.”

“I can imagine. Listen, I’m sorry to put more work on you, but I need a favor, and I need it fast.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“I need a list of where all the teams are. Now and for the rest of the day, if that’s any different. Names and their target buildings.”

Her intake of breath was audible down the phone. “Yes, sir. That might take me a while.”

“Do the best you can. Feed it in to me as you get it. Don’t wait until you’ve got everything. Maybe start with the REACT teams?”

“All right. Is there a problem?”

“No … I’m following up a lead, and it would be good to know which teams are near me depending on how it pans out.”

“Of course. It’ll be in your mail shortly.”

“Er … just text it, please? It’ll be easier to access on the fly.” That would help limit the audit trail.

“Yes, sir.”

“Thanks, Natalie. You deserve a raise.” I killed the call and glanced sideways at Kara, seated between us while Iyoni drove. “Should I be worried how easy it was to get the drugs and location of our target?”