Page 147 of Gates of Tartarus

“Especially from private phones,” she replies, winking, still smiling. “I’m so fascinated with what happened. I thought you’d never come over. Please. I have to know.”

The words are jovial and phrased as a request but are undoubtedly a command, and she waits with an expectant air.

“Well, you know Maela and I have been texting... just a little. Not much.” I really pray that she has no trackers on our actual phones or keystroke indicators, because I’m lying through my teeth at the moment. Our first interaction ever was moments ago.

“Haveyou?” she asks, clearly interested.

“You gave us the idea – the girls’ channel, right?”

Elizabeth hmmmms quietly, frowning slightly. “Well. I rather thought I’d be included on that channel to be honest. I’m feeling quite hurt at the moment.” She smiles to soften her words, but it’s clear she means what she’s saying.

“Oh, gods. No, not like that Elizabeth. Like, I don’t know. ‘Maddox is calling with bad news. Prepare yourself.’ Or, umm. ‘Seef is being a drol. Be warned.’ Or, ‘The team is acting like scrots.’ I still don’t know what those mean, to be honest.”

I can tell that those hit, relaxing some suspicion that still lingers in Elizabeth, though not all of it. Not enough of it.

“It was just little things. I think more to touch base in case of future interactions, yeah? Not more than four or five texts really. And then maybe yesterday? The day before? I sent one that just said, ‘This might be too much for me’. Kind of felt like I was throwing it out into the void since I’ve nevermetMaela, you know? It felt – this is stupid. It felt safe to say, because she and I are in the same boat. Like, connected, but also not connected. And she just sent back, ‘Absolutely’. And then today, I don’t know. It’s just too much. It just is. And…” gulping back very real tears, hoping this isn’t going to backfire on me, I push on, voice wavering, “... and... with the… Tanaka…”

She cocks her head at me, raising a single, elegant brow.

“You don’t know? He, ah... he was lying this whole time. He…” I press my hands against my eyes, flexing my jaw to try to keep my voice steady. “He’s worked for Gomez this entire time. So. I don’t think I can…” I let my voice trail off but look surreptitiously up at Elizabeth, who, for the first time since I met her, looks properly stunned.

“I’m sorry,what?” she asks, clearly aghast.

“Tanaka. Works for Gomez. He has for years now.Years.”

“Oh Kailani.” Her voice is soft and dangerous, angry and sympathetic all at once. “Oh, my poor girl. I had no idea. I’m so very sorry.”

Real sympathy drifts off her in gentle waves, even while her fingers are flexed white on the table beside her. She glances at Fallon, who is frantically scrolling through her tablet, then shakes her head minutely.

“We had no idea.”

“Yeah, well. Neither did I. Clearly.” Voice bitter, I sit back, meeting her eyes. “And for some reason, it hit me today. Just. I can’t do it. And your offer was on the table. So I called Maela, said, ‘I’m leaving. Want to come?’ But her guys were in the background, and she had to hang up really quickly.”

Fallon nods, almost imperceptibly, confirming the length of the call, I think, and any lingering suspicion in Elizabeth ebbs away, leaving sympathy and victory in equal parts.

“So right when you walked in, that’s when she had texted ‘yes’. And the rest. Yeah. It’s history, I guess.” I shrug. Elizabeth is about to reply when there is a respectful knock on the door, and Doctor Phos looks in, concern lining his face.

“You asked for me?” he addresses Elizabeth deferentially.

“Yes, Phos. Kailani’s been experiencing migraines. Can you give her a quick check? Kailani –”she lays a gentle hand on my arm. “I’ll contact you later today to talk through your exit strategy. I’m assuming you’ll want some support when you tell your team, hmmm? We’ll just keep it quiet until then. We don’t want them pressing you into decisions when you’re clearly vulnerable. I’ll have a car take you home when your exam is complete.” She squeezes my arm gently, then turns to have a quiet conversation with Fallon before leaving the room.

“I’ll be just a moment, Ms. Reed.” Doctor Phos turns to look through his small bag and takes out his stethoscope, so I quickly and discreetly send the audio file I had just recorded to Maela, praying that it goes through, that they’re only tracking calls and not texts, and that she gets it before Elizabeth contacts her. Then I sit and grit my teeth while a kindly Phos shines lights in my eyes, checks my pulse and blood pressure, and sends me off with a prescription for pain medication and admonitions to be careful for the next few weeks. Rest and hydrate. And no strenuous activity.

It takes everything in me not to burst into tears or laugh in his face.

The Old Boys’ Club

Thursday, 6 December – Maela

My phone beeps, causing the hubbub of activity to quiet around me. It’s a compressed audio file, and I ignore Seef’s admonition to be careful of downloading bugs or some such bollocks and press play immediately. The sound’s muffled, and it takes a moment to understand what I’m hearing, but then I turn the volume up as loud as possible and lean in to listen. It’s some kind of quiet conversation between Elizabeth and, I assume, Kailani. It’s incredibly difficult to hear, so when Jorge presses “pause” I turn to snap at him, then smile gratefully instead as he hooks my phone up to a small, portable speaker, and the sound is amplified to audible levels.

“Well, you know Maela and I have been texting... just a little. Not much.” I’m listening, hands steepled against my mouth, and nod to myself.OK. OK.

“Haveyou?”

“You gave us the idea – the girls’ channel, right?”

“Well. I rather thought I’d be included on that channel to be honest.” Hearing the hurt in Elizabeth’s voice, weirdly, I feel guilty. I don’t know why – Kailani and I don’t even have a secret channel, and Elizabeth has betrayed us. I lean forward, wanting to know more.