“Do that.” Evelyn tapped a fingernail on the table. “But in the meantime, what do you think, Scarlett?”
“Whether the warning is genuine or not, his contacting me confirms what we already suspected—Fenix is planning something significant in Naples.”
Oh shit.“You said they believe they’re going to heal the world? They’re going to use the Greek Fire, aren’t they?”
Scarlett frowned. “They’ve been collecting artifacts to build something symbolic—we believe it’s a literal phoenix statue. But we don’t know how the Greek Fire comes into play.”
“It won’t work,” I said. “The formula in Haddad’s files was incomplete. Full of garbage science that would take years to untangle, and definitely wouldn’t tell them how to create it.”
“Unless they already had most of the research?” Scarlett gestured toward my laptop. “Or someone sent themyourresearch when Lark couldn’t deliver everything?”
Double fuck.
“That’s why you’re here.” The muscles in Rav’s jaw flexed, as did his folded arms. “You suspected someone had the full formula.”
Not a question. Just a statement. I held his gaze, letting my heart slowly rip in two all over again. The disappointment—the anger—in his eyes was almost too much. I’dbeggedthem. Warned them. ‘Delete it,’ I’d said when management first told me their ridiculous plan. But no one listened to the Canadian girl, did they?
“Brooke?” Percival said my name slowly, as though processing the realization.
“Feared,” I said. “That’s the better word.”
Scarlett pursed her lips and turned to Evelyn. “We need to go to Naples.”
“But you hate—” started Brie.
“I know.” Scarlett patted the air as though to calm her team. “We don’t do rush jobs.”
“This one’s different,” said Rav. “Noah’s our problem.”
I should have protested. Aside from Rav, this was a civilian team. My Pendragon team were trained operators and belonged on the front lines—other than me.
God, he and I were both the anomalies on our teams.
But they had valuable expertise with Fenix and an inside man feeding them intel. They were a valuable resource.
“Pendragon is sending a full tactical team,” Percival said, frowning at me when I finally looked at him. “We’ll establish communication avenues when we’re on site in Naples.”
“Management won’t like this,” I said.
Percival snapped his laptop shut. “Then they should have looped me in.”
Evelyn nodded. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements with your superiors. And make sure they aren’t going behind our backs.”
Little late for that.
“I’m normally a planner,” Scarlett said with a grimace, “but Fenix is screwing with us again. We need to move quickly.”
My stomach tightened. Working alongside the Reynolds team meant working alongside Rav. Days or weeks in close proximity. Could I handle it?
You’re a professional, Brooke. You’ve worked with difficult personalities before.
But he wasn’t some random, difficult personality. This was Rav. The man who’d turned my world upside down in the best possible way, then ghosted me when I needed him.
“Who’s going?” Brie asked, already typing on her tablet.
“Myself, Malcolm, Rav, Emmett, Drew, Jayce, and Zac,” Scarlett replied. “The rest will provide support from HQ.”
Will cleared his throat. “I was thinking about Brooke’s protective measures against Greek Fire. I think I can modify the thermal incursion suits.”
