"Sorry." He dropped into the nearest chair and put his leather bag on the table. "I couldn't find the damn thing."
"What damn thing?" Lokan asked.
"An old Brotherhood phone. I remembered we had several of those that belonged to Doomers we captured." William opened his bag and pulled out the device. "I knew I'd kept them somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. I spent most of the afternoon digging through storage bins before I finally tracked them down." He activated the phone. "Reprogramming it so it would seem to be your phone didn't take long at all."
"Are you sure?" Lokan asked. "It has to be more complicated than just programming it with the number of my Brotherhood's phone."
"That should actually do it." William slid the phone across the table toward Lokan. "As far as Losham's device is concerned, this call will be coming from your original Brotherhood number. Same encryption protocols and same identity credentials. Their system is not nearly as sophisticated as ours."
Lokan picked up the phone and turned it over in his hands. "I had to ditch mine when Carol and I escaped from China. I was afraid my father would track us through it."
"You did the right thing," William said. "But Losham might wonder why you're suddenly calling after months of silence, and from a phone that you shouldn't have."
"The time for speculation is over," Kian said. "Let's do this and let the chips fall as they will."
Lokan entered the number and held the phone out to Toven.
He took the phone while holding on to Mia's hand. Her ability to enhance Toven's already formidable compulsion had been proven many times over, and hopefully, it would make it strong enough to reach through the phone connection and take hold of Losham's mind.
As Toven pressed the call button, everyone held their collective breaths.
Kian counted the rings. One. Two. Three. Each one felt like an eternity.
Four rings. Five.
Kian's stomach churned. Losham wasn't going to?—
A click. The sound of the call connecting.
"Lokan. What impeccable timing." The voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Did you get the alert?"
The greeting was strange, unexpected. What did Losham mean by that?
For a fraction of a second, Toven hesitated, thrown off by the odd response, but then he shook his head. "Listen and obey my instructions, Losham. Don't hang up!" His voice rang out sharp and commanding.
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Who are you?" Losham finally asked, sounding wary.
Before Toven could respond, Lokan leaned toward the device. "A friend. Hello, Losham."
Kian shot him a look. That wasn't the plan. Lokan was supposed to stay silent and let Toven maintain control of the conversation. But the words were already out, hanging in the air between him and Losham.
More silence stretched across the connection, and Kian's pulse thudded in his temples. Was the compulsion working? Was Losham fighting it? Was he about to hang up?
"What do you want, Lokan? Are you coming back to investigate?"
Lokan arched a brow but refrained from engaging.
The conversation was taking on a strange direction, but at least Losham was still on the line and still talking. That was something. His voice had an edge to it, but that was understandable given the circumstances.
Lokan nodded at Toven, indicating that he should continue.
"Stop any and all attempts to break into the glass enclosure in the basement of Navuh's mansion," Toven commanded, his voice layered with compulsion.
Another long silence.
Then laughter that sounded manic, teetering on the edge of hysteria.
