“Yes.” Niro ran his hands through his hair looking to Mao. “I want more.”
“Is the council the answer?” Mao questioned with fire in his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
Ben could see the argument brewing, which could derail his plans. Listening to Mao argue for hours about staying put, was not on the agenda. “Let’s leave it for now. Niro, I’ll leave it up to you to think some more on the subject. If you decide you want my recommendation, let me know.” Ben slid open the screen on his cell phone. “Right. Time to ring the Thalassa brothers. I’m putting it on speakerphone, so please behave.” He aimed the latter at Mao, who scowled at him and returned to his seat.
The phone rang twice before Todd answered it. He was the brother who was the whizz of all things related to computers and information finding. “Hey Ben, how is it going? How are your mates doing?”
That he would ask first showed how special the brothers were. “They’re great. Thank you for asking. The time on the island worked a treat for all of us.”
“Did you see the email I sent to you about small islands for sale in and around that part of the world?”
Teilo instantly perked up. “Not yet, things are a little hectic, or they have been. Again, thank you, I really appreciate it. And I’ve another couple of favors to ask.”
“More favors, Ben? You were never this greedy before,” Magnus, his old flame and the now mate of Kelvin, a Thalassa brother, said through his laughter.
“Are you sure?” Ben joked back, then caught Nico’s curious gaze. Neither mate got what jokes really were. “Todd, are you up for helping me again?” he asked in a more serious voice.
“Always for my favorite council member.”
“Aren’t I the only council member you know that’s alive?” Ben scratched his bristly chin.
“In the flesh, yes. I know the others intimately in other ways.” Todd’s laughter was full of wickedness and Ben caught on to exactly what Todd had done.
“Been doing a deep dive into all the members’ backgrounds, have we?” He phrased it so Teilo and Nico understood what Todd meant.
“After everything that’s gone on, I think being armed with as much information will result in less horrible surprises. Anyway, what do you need from me?” The usual key tapping came through.
“It’s you and Ajani actually.”
“Magnus, could you go get Ajani for me?”
There was some grumbling before Todd came back to Ben. “Done, what else?”
Fast and efficient. “Beaumont got a threat with a request for money for an account in Paraguay. I need to know who sent it and where that person or persons are in the world. Also, I’ve got a list of names, and if they differ from the money requestors, they also need to be found.” Ben went into his notes, that Kylo had sent him with a list of who was involved in the assassin program and sent it to Todd. He wasn’t the only one who could multitask.
“Got them. I’m accessing Beaumont’s emails. Shit, this might take some time, the dude deletes nothing. Do you have a date he received it?”
“I never thought to ask. Can you give me five while I call him to ask?”
“Nah, it’s fine. Ajani is here, you can talk to him while I start a search.”
“Ajani?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Hey Ben, I’m so excited for you. I can’t wait to meet your mates,” Marvin said loudly like he wasn’t sure the speaker could hear him.
“Hi Marvin, you’ll get to meet them, soon hopefully.” Ben was amused as he listened to Marvin’s excited chatter while Ajani tried to explain he needed to talk to Ben.
Two minutes later Ajani said, “Magnus says you need a favor.” He sounded reserved which Ben expected.
“Actually, it’s not you I need the favor off, it’s your assassin friends. Do you think any of them would come to Paraguay and help Beaumont to work on finding the man paying the scientists for assassins to murder people? The danger aspect requires skills of the level your friends have.”
“Beaumont is a lovely alligator. I’m sure they’ll want to help him,” Marvin supplied helpfully in the background.
“Mate, we need to speak to them and right now, they aren’t here to ask.” There was a pause and the distinct sound of kissing. “Is this a council contract?” Ajani asked, sounding breathless.
