"What other problem?" Trent demanded.
Julie dropped her rump onto the worn couch. "Six men attacked Brother Sin and the Ingénue. I notified the police, showed my credentials, and made it clear this was a sanctioned defense situation." She paused to lick at her lips. "But one of those men was a Signifier."
"Shit," Rob hissed.
"How?" Trent demanded. "That doesn't make sense!"
"No, it doesn't." Davis pushed out a heavy sigh. "So you killed a priest. Now what?"
"Now I get to talk to Benedict," Sin told them. "Hopefully he'll have a few answers, because I can't begin to imagine why a priest would try to attack us. On the upside, that will cover for me giving him Rissa's answer."
"And the downside," Davis said, "is there will be an inquiry. How are you gonna handle that?"
"I'll handle it," Sin assured him. "We were attacked. I was simply defending my client, as I'm sworn to do. Besides, they were all wearing masks or hoods that hid their faces."
"Yeah," Rob said, "but there's no surveillance on that alley. It's your word, and we all know Joshua is going to try to spin this."
"I was there," Rissa said.
The priests all fell silent, turning to look at her. It was Zan who finally asked the question they were all thinking. "What good does that do?"
And Sin began to chuckle. "A Legion inquiry is a formal case. It allows me to bring evidence to support my case."
"And?" Julie insisted.
Rissa blinked a few times before turning her eyes to the woman. "I have just made a duplicate copy of my memory files. They are time-stamped. I could not see everything, but I believe there is enough to prove self-defense."
"Now," Trent said, looking somewhat smug, "we just have to subpoena her brain."
Rissa's eyes lit up. "I have always wanted to see if the cathedral is as impressive as the pictures make it look."
Sin just leaned forward, catching her eye. "More, Princess. It's the home of God. We'll add it to the list—even if I'm not formally tried."
Chapter Twenty-One
Leaning against the wall at the side of the room, Davis scoffed, shaking his head as if he'd heard a bad joke. Sin looked over, and he wasn't the only one. When Davis realized he was the center of attention, the man simply grunted in contempt.
"What? It's not like she can't just go to the Legion any time she wants," he grumbled.
"She can't," Sin said.
"She could if she actually left her fancy-ass little sanctuary," Davis countered. "I mean, the cathedral is always open. Kinda the whole point of being a place to pray." His eyes jumped over to Rissa. "You just have to be willing to actuallydoit. Not justthinkabout it."
"Be nice, Davis," Sin warned, unsure if she wanted everyone to know what kind of misery she had to deal with every night.
The man huffed in frustration. "She's a fucking walking enhancement, and all of you are buying this shit she says like it's the word of God."
Rob shrugged. "God works in mysterious ways, Brother. Look at how we all got here."
Rissa said nothing, her eyes unfocused. Sin couldn't be sure if she was offended or thinking, but she didn't look pleased. Unfortunately, he couldn't see enough of her face to read her expression. Besides, the woman seemed to be an expert at keeping her face stoic.
"God isn't gonna work through a damned cyber-whore though," Davis grumbled.
"I'm not a whore!" Rissa snapped, jumping to her feet. "I might be bought and sold, but I'm not a whore! Just get this damned file out of my head, and take me back."
Davis turned to face her. "You fucking have your every whim satisfied in there, and you're wanting me to believe you aren't selling yourself for it?"
"She doesn't," Sin said.
