STING
A weekof watching and I’m done waiting.
Tommy’s routine hasn’t changed. Same morning coffee, same table, same rotation through the Rot, same careful conversations with the same rotating cast of Rotters. He’s good. He’s disciplined. He hasn’t made a mistake big enough to confront him with.
But he’s getting more specific with Mara and that’s what’s getting to me.
Rogue reported yesterday that Tommy asked Mara whether Vi had mentioned any names from the papers. Not casually but specifically. “Has she come across anyone she didn’t expect?” Mara deflected, which is good, but the question itself is an escalation. The man’s not fishing for general information anymore, he’s fishing for something specific.
He wants to know if his name has surfaced.
A nervous man asking targeted questions is a man who’s running out of patience. Which means I’m running out of time.
I call the guys together to the Skylight Room. Vi is not included. I know how that looks after what she said to me. I know she’d tear me apart if she knew we were meeting without her again. But this is operational. This is the part I’m good at. The feelings can wait. The trap can’t.
“We need to test him,” I say.
Armen leans back in his chair and Rogue is perched on the arm of the couch, watching me.
“Test how?” Armen asks.
“We plant something. A piece of information that’s false. Feed it to Mara in a way that feels natural. Something she’d mention to Tommy without thinking twice about it. If Tommy reacts to it, we’ll know he’s not just being friendly. He’s running intelligence.”
“What kind of information?” Rogue asks.
“Vi found a name in the papers she didn’t recognize. Someone from the city’s development office. She’s been asking around, trying to figure out if anyone in the Rot used to work for the city before the collapse.”
Armen gets it first and his eyes narrow slightly. “That’s a direct threat to his cover,” he says.
“Exactly. If Tommy is Fischer, hearing that someone is specifically looking for former city employees in the Rot is the one thing that would spook him. He’d have to decide whether to sit tight or run. Either way, his behavior changes, and we’ll be watching when it does.”
“How do we get it to Mara?” Rogue asks.
This is the part I’ve been working through. Mara can’t know it’s planted. If she knows, she’ll act differently around Tommy. She’s not a good enough liar to carry it off. The information has to reach her in a way that feels organic.
“Rogue,” I say. “You.”
“Me?”
“You’re the most chill. You talk to her. It’s natural. You mention it in passing. Something like, Vi’s been asking about some name from the city development office. She’s trying to figure out if any former city employees ended up in the Rot. Keep it casual. Don’t make it a big deal. Just drop it into conversation and move on.”
Rogue thinks about it. “Mara’s not stupid. If I bring up Vi’s papers out of nowhere, she’ll wonder why I’m telling her.”
“So don’t bring it up out of nowhere. Wait for a natural opening. She’ll mention Vi eventually. She always does. When she does, you drop it in. Concerned. Casual. Like you’re venting.”
“Venting about what?”
“About Vi being obsessed with the papers. About her going down rabbit holes. You’re worried about her. She found this name, and now she’s on a mission to track down anyone who used to work for the city. You think it’s getting out of hand.”
Rogue nods slowly. “That’s actually believable. Vi does go down rabbit holes.”
“That’s why it works.”
“We’re using Mara,” he says. Not a question.
“Yes.”
“Without her knowledge.”
