Page 148 of Gates of Tartarus

“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.”Join the club, I think, then smile wryly when Seef smirks at me. I know we shouldn’t be finding any of this amusing, but, somehow, the exchange lightens the tension.

“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.”But it’s not stupid. I know exactly what she means. And I’m so curious about her. I never thought she’d wonder about me.

“And… and... with the… Tanaka…” I can hear the sob in Kailani’s voice. “You don’t know? He, ah... he was lying this whole time. He… He’s worked for Gomez this entire time. So. I don’t think I can….”

“The fuck?” Seef exclaims. “Tanaka was working for Gomez? I need to call Maddox. Now.” His face looks like thunder. I don’t know who Gomez is, and I can’t remember all of the players on the US team, to be honest, but this is clearly news. Still, I scowl at Seef, shushing him.

Kailani’s voice is bitter. “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.”

“Ah,” Emlyn says. I look up at him, eyes dark, and nod again, remembering Elizabeth’s talk of “new recruits”.

“So right when you walked in, that’s when she had texted ‘yes’. And the rest. Yeah. It’s history, I guess.” Someone enters the room then, and the recording trails off.

We all sit in silence for a few moments. Kailani’s hand has been forced. It sounds like Gaia was monitoring calls, but her cover story is perfect. It just means that we’ll be going undercover. I gulp. Last week, I wanted to be Little Miss Thing, all fearless and feisty.Be careful what you wish for. But I won’t be going alone, I remind myself. I’ll have an ally on the inside.

“So,” I say, eventually.

“So.” Seef locks eyes on me. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” I try to be nonchalant, but my lip wobbles.

“Just a minute,” Jorge interjects. “Maela, you don’t have to decide now.” He turns to Seef and Emlyn. “Don’t crowd her. She’s had a shock, and she needs time.” My heart melts a little at his fierce protectiveness.

“It’s OK, Jorge.” I put my hand on his arm. “Elizabeth likes me; she’s been trying to get me to join Gaia for ages. She won’t want to hurt me.”

“It isnotOK.” Jorge’s face is stormy. “They are sending you in to do their jobs. This ispamplinas!” he spits out.

I smile crookedly. “That would be more impressive if I knew what it meant.”

“He means it’s bullshit.” Kavi’s voice is pure ice. “And I agree.”

“Hang on,” Emlyn says. “Nothing’s been decided. We’ve all been taken off guard. This… this is big news.” He rubs his hands tiredly over his face.

“We don’t have much choice,” Seef observes quietly. “I’m sorry, princess, but this could be our best chance to bring down Kronos. With you and Kailani on the inside, we have a real opportunity to find out who the major players are and get enough evidence to put them away. And now, if you don’t go in voluntarily, I wouldn’t put it past Cole to try to kidnap you. At least, this way, we’re forewarned and can do things on our own terms.” His voice is dispassionate, but I notice he’s clenching and unclenching his right hand.

“We do have a choice,” Kavi bites out. “Arrest Cole now.”

“On what grounds?” Emlyn asks. “If we bring her in for questioning, we can only hold her for twenty-four hours before we have to charge her or let her go. Even a legal aide on work experience would have her out in five minutes, probably without posting bail. And we’d have tipped our hand. She’s the head of one of the largest and most successful humanitarian organizations on the globe, with almost unlimited resources. We need to be careful and methodical. Seef’s right. Elizabeth will be feeling confident now. You and Kailani have, she thinks, agreed to join Gaia, and she undoubtedly has plans to try to use your abilities. Tennireef is in the process of taking control of the CDS–”

“Which will help him gain access to Babylon’s files,” Seef interjects. “At least he thinks so. Maddox says Tennireef seems pretty confident. He may have people on the inside already. Sounds like he thinks he’ll have full access by the new year.”

Jorge grimaces. “Not much time, then. So how would sending Maela in make a difference? We know Tennireef is corrupt, but we don’t have any evidence that a judge or jury would believe. Same with Cole.”

“The more people I meet face to face, the easier it will be for me to have visions,” I offer. “At least, I’m pretty sure. And, once I’m a part of Gaia, they’ll be more likely to let their guard down, won’t they? Ever since Elizabeth found out I could see Tennireef, he’s been on his best behavior. Same with Magda. Although,” I muse, “she clearly thinks she’s partially protected.” I rest my chin in my hands, turning things over in my mind. “We wondered whether Magda had the ability to remote view, but that’s less likely, isn’t it, than that she, or Kronos, I guess, has found a way to block… visions? All psychic abilities? It can’t be perfect, because I can still see what she’s doing, but maybe that explains why I can never remember her face clearly? Maybe Elizabeth is using the same technique? But if I’m at Gaia every day, working with them, maybe they’ll get cocky. And if I see one of them in the middle of something, and if we can catch them red-handed, then…”

“That’s a lot of ‘ifs’, Maela.” Kavi looks troubled.

“And who’s to say they won’t want to do tests on you?” Jorge points out. “Babylon has already done full scans and blood work on me.” He levels a steady eye on Emlyn, who looks slightly abashed.

My mouth falls open in a soft “o”. If I go in, and Kronos finds out what makes me “tick”, then that’ll just help them, won’t it? Unless we can get the information we’re looking for first, which turns this into a race.

Seef starts to pace. “So we need to–”

The sudden ringing of my phone makes us all jump. I look down at the screen and take a deep breath. It’s her.

“Hi Elizabeth!” I answer, as cheerily as I can.

“Maela!” Elizabeth’s voice is warm. “I take it that it’s safe to talk? Kailani gave me the good news, but she had a terrible migraine so I sent her home.”