“Because Hana started this,” I said as I looked over at him. “They put this target on my back by playing some weird, fucked up game. If they want me to be compliant, useful—whatever word they prefer—then they’ll help me end the threat that touches my people.”
My people.
The words surprised me coming out of my mouth. Not because they weren’t true, but saying them made it real in a way I couldn’t take back.
Fontaine caught it too. Something in his expression softened, just a fraction.
Cash exhaled and sat forward. “So what we doing? Because I’m not having another ‘wait and see’ week while that nigga feel like he can pick who lives and who doesn’t.”
Jelani blew out a plume of smoke. “We build it out in phases. It might take a minute, but if we rush it and miss a step, we’re not just dealing with Messiah—we’re dealing with everybody that benefitsfrom him.”
I nodded. “The Reapers give us access. The Order gives us more intel and resources. We use all of that to our advantage.”
Cash drummed his fingers against his desk. “Fontaine is one of the best hackers in the country, couldn’t he just find out the intel on Messiah?”
“There’s only so much I can dig up,” Fontaine said before I could. “I can figure out his shell companies, how he washes his money, but if he’s in with the Agency, then there’s stuff that I wouldn’t be able to find by simply hacking into his company’s servers. We need to know his weaknesses.”
“We need to make Messiah look like he’s bad for business for everybody he’s working with,” I said.
Jelani ashed the blunt. “We should give CJ a seat on the Council. It helps us expand our reach, gives him a stake to care about this whole thing with Messiah, and once he’s out the way, the Reapers can expand into his lane. It’s a win-win.”
Cash grinned. “Okay, little brother, you really running shit now, huh?”
“Man, fuck outta here,” Jelani said as he flipped him off.
“This is the second favor you’re asking me for,” Hana said, taking a slow sip of her cocktail.
The Emerald Lounge was busy tonight, but our booth sat far enough back to keep prying eyes and ears off us. Hana’s hair was in its curly natural state, and now I could see the resemblance between us more than I wanted to admit.
“Aren’t sisters supposed to help each other out?” I countered.
Hana laughed. “Yes. I suppose they are.”
“So will you help us or not?”
“I’ll help.” She let out a bored sigh and leaned back to study me. “But sister or not, you’re collecting debts quickly. Are you prepared to pay them?”
“Y’all basically strong-armed me into working for you,” I shot back. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No. It’s not,” she deadpanned. “Even if I was doing this off some family loyalty, The Order will still want something in return. Favors aren’t charity in this business, Nairobi. You know that.”
“So what exactly would ‘payment’ look like?”
Hana shrugged. “You’ll find out when the time’s right.”
I waved off her vagueness. “So. Messiah.”
“For Messiah, I can give you his security habits. Insider information on his supply routes.” She ran a finger around the rim of her glass. “He’s greased so many hands that he thinks he’s untouchable. But he’s become more unstable over the past few years. He’s a liability.
I shudder at the memory of him executing his wife in front of us like she was nothing.
“Would these people be willing to help us?”
She cocked her head at me. “Not necessarily. But they’ll have no problem leaking information.”
I took a sip of my wine and started doing the math in my head—what we needed, what could be done now without setting off alarms, how long it would take to infiltrate Messiah’s circle without making him suspicious.
“Six months. Minimum,” Hana said as if she read my mind. “And that’s me being generous.”
