Steel
They returned to the hotel.The journey back had been quiet, full of thoughts on both sides, he was sure. He needed to focus on Waters and Ka-Bar, but Daleyza’s presence in his life again—hell, in his bed—was all-consuming.
For the first time in his life, it wasn’t him straightening someone’s shit out, helping them get their head on straight. The fact that he didn’t know what to do or what to say added to a sense of weakness, and right now, he could not afford to be weak.
Arriving in their room, Daleyza removed her outerwear and went straight to the bedroom, where she lay down on the bed, her body turned away from the door. She slept almost immediately, exhausted from the fresh air and emotional upheaval.
At a loss as to how to help her, or even help himself, he scribbled a note and left it on the bedside table. A few minutes later, he found himself in the executive suite that God had turned into a commandcenter. Medusa, Nemo, Gem, TB, and Demon were still tailing Howard and the mysterious man from their Cerro Otto meetup.
Gilgamesh and Loki were standing over a map they had spread out on the large table. When he got closer, he saw it was a map of Daleyza’s home. Taped to the various edges were extensions showing roadways that could be used to flee the area once their project was completed.
“Where’s Daleyza?” Gilgamesh asked. “We have some questions.”
“She’s sleeping. Today is one of several days that have been far too overwhelming for her. Give her an hour or two, then I’ll bring her to answer all your questions.”
Gilgamesh nodded. “She’s gone through some of the worst heartbreak imaginable for a woman. It’s understandable.”
Loki sneered. “She should be happy to be reunited with her husband. Some of us won’t get the opportunity for our loved ones to rise from the dead.”
Steel didn’t know Loki’s story. All he knew was that all of Mythos had suffered greatly at the hands of the Salieri. So great, in fact, that the organization had become their sole focus. The members of the group they met first and knew the best—Loki, Gilgamesh, Medusa—seemed exceptionally bitter. Loki, perhaps, most of all. Steel wouldn’t be surprised, if it came down to it, if the man would not only scorch the earth to rid the world of the cult, but that he wouldn’t blink an eye if he took out everyone with him when he did it. It was a frightening prospect.
Gilgamesh, the seemingly gentler of the two men, tried to smooth over the awkward tension. “When she’s ready, we’d love to talk to her about the structures. Access points. We could really use a map of the castle structure inside as well.”
Steel nodded. “She’ll be happy to help. Just keep in mind, she hasn’t been home since the day we married, and she never returned there after the ceremony. It’s been a long time, and there are bound to be changes.”
Loki gave a curt nod. “Understood.”
A ping came over the computer, and God clicked a button. “You’re on speaker, Midas. How are our tails proceeding?”
“TB and Demon lost our mystery man. They thought at one point they’d been made because he looped around the town square and entered the civic center. It’s the National Snow Festival this weekend. He ducked inside, and they lost him in the crowd.”
“All right. Any luck with facial recognition?”
“No. It was hard enough to catch him on camera, where I knew there were cameras in the city’s center. He’s so bundled up that I’m getting hits on anyone in a blue parka. So far, all but two have been false positives. I’m having to click through them one by one, and it’s taking a lot of time.”
“Keep at it. Let me know when you have something. What about the general?”
“Still heading west, but we’re pretty sure we know where he’s going.”
“Misión San Nahuel del Vuriloche. Daleyza’s family home.”
“Yes. They’re not going to be able to stay out of sight much longer. It gets fairly isolated along the last miles of highway. Nothing else out there.”
“Damn.” God thumped his fist on the table. “Pull them back. We’ve now positively established the tie between her family and Howard. Any luck with your search on that event Daleyza saw him at?”
“I’ve narrowed down the year, and I have a list of every event the president attended. You’d think these leaders would be out running their country. He went to a fucking lot of parties,” Midas grumbled. “It would help if I knew what season, since she was born in January. Otherwise, I’m weeding through a whole year.”
Steel piped in. “Loki and Gilgamesh need her to help make a map of the inside of the castle against the historical documents. I can ask her when she comes to do that.”
“Thanks. Appreciate that. In the meantime, I’ll be in my cavewith Nova, running facial recognition through all known points of origin into Argentina as well as Bariloche, trying to get a hit on our international man of mystery.”
Steel walked over to the bank of computer monitors. “Midas?”
“Yo.”
“Can you pull up the best picture you have of the new guy and put it on the big screen?”
“Here we go with the silly questions again.”
