“We have significantly more resources than you, I'd imagine,” Alex said dryly.
“You would imagine that,” Leshing shot back with a grin. “And you'd be wrong.”
“Oh!” Davorin laughed. “He's all Mr. Big Shot now that Mara's healed him. Maybe tone it down a little, dude. You know, since you're still under arrest.”
Leshing's expression fell. “I'm under arrest?”
“You're in custody,” Alex amended. “If you help us apprehend the criminals behind this, I'm sure we can work out a fine or something like that.”
Leshing grinned in relief. “Excellent! Okay, here it is. Uh...” He scanned the email.
Alex snatched the tablet out of his hands.
“Hey!” Edward complained.
Davorin stepped forward and crossed his arms, making his sleek muscles bulge as he narrowed his eyes at Leshing.
“All right, go ahead.” Leshing held up his hands. “You don't have to get all caveman on me.”
Davorin grinned as if caveman was his baseline. It absolutely wasn't, which made me grin.
“This is in two weeks,” Alex murmured as he looked over the invitation. “They've got pictures of the supes whose abilities they're selling. Blatant bastards.” He tapped the tablet and handed it back to Leshing.
Leshing looked at it suspiciously.
“I forwarded the email to myself,” Alex said. “Mr. Leshing, I'm going to have you secretly transported back to your home. I want you to return to your normal activities. Contact these people and let them know you'll be attending the next auction with a guest. We'll be in touch in a few days to prepare you for the mission.”
“The mission,” Leshing repeated excitedly. “This is fantastic.”
“Good day, Mr. Leshing. Thank you for your cooperation.” Alex headed out of the room.
As we left, Leshing called after me, “Amara?”
I turned back.
Edward Leshing had lost his cocky expression. He stared at me with stark gratitude. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“You're welcome.”
Alex led us upstairs and through the building as he made calls, already starting the process of getting us whatever we'd need to infiltrate the auction. He took us into an office, and I realized that it was his. Pictures of him with prominent politicians hung on the wall alongside diplomas of achievement. Alex slid behind his desk as he waved at the chairs and couch spread around the large room. I went to peruse the books on his shelves instead of taking a seat, and Malik took up a position by the door like a bodyguard.
Alex got off the phone and started working on his computer, “I'm having the photos of the supes put through our facial recognition databases. Hopefully, we'll have IDs on them soon.”
“Where is the next auction being held?” Cyprian asked.
“The same as the last. As smart as Leshing thinks they are, they're not smart enough to change their location.”
“They wouldn't have to if none of their customers know where the location is, beyond it being somewhere near Beijing,” Kyrian pointed out.
“Yes, but the fact that they keep holding it in the same place tells us that this is their base of operations,” Alex said as he typed. “I'm having a team look into any supe incidents in China.”
We often conducted a good portion of our own research, but Alex brought in human support teams when possible to save us for the more important work. The more dangerous work. Speaking of which...
“Braxis will be back by then,” I noted.
The room went silent.
“He might prove helpful,” I went on.
