Page 65 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘From what little we know, they’re a leaderless paramilitary movement.’

Lachlan turns the cuff over in his hand. ‘What’s their MO?’

‘They tend to hit us systematically through the walkable tunnels and try to snatch whoever they can. We adapted to their incursion pattern a while back. It’s been nearly a year since we lost anyone.’ Finn looks at the cuff. ‘They don’t talk when captured, and they don’t recover their own. Even in containment, within a few hours, they’ll find a way to kill themselves, no matter how tightly you lock them down.’

‘Someone runs them,’ Lachlan points out. ‘No movement is leaderless.’

‘We’ve never been able to identify a command structure. No financial trail, all their comms traffic is bubbled, no law enforcement footprint. They patrol Varrow City, particularly downtown, but there’s no pattern to when or where they surface. They slip in and out.’

‘Freedom of movement like that is always bought and paid for.’

‘We’ve never been able to lock down anything solid.’

‘Are they fanatics?’

‘They’re professionals,’ Riley says. ‘In every sense of the word.’

Lachlan makes a face, still studying the cuff. ‘How would you know?’

‘Because this is my Tower.’

‘The attacks have increased drastically over the last few months.’

‘Kade,’ Lachlan says, dark eyes lifting. ‘What do you think?’

‘About the cuff, or…’

‘These so-called professionals.’

‘Riley is right. They are professionals. No human error, no decisions made from emotion. They’re elite operatives, and the cuff works as a kind of intravenous delivery system.’

‘Delivering what?’

‘The compound is incredibly reactive to oxygen,’ Finn explains. ‘Once removed from their wrists, it’s almost impossible to examine, but we believe it’s an advanced HPE.’

‘Human performance enhancer?’

‘Yes.’

‘Professionals,’ Riley repeats, ‘like I said.’

Lachlan says, ‘The people who broke in here weren’t professionals.’

‘Exactly,’ Finn agrees, taking back the cuff. ‘And this is a dud.’

Kade frowns. ‘So it wasn’t the Resets?’

‘A PMC in copycat gear.’ Riley looks at Kade, neutral all over. ‘We’re gonna talk to Seth now.’

Kade’s heart sinks hard and fast. ‘You think it was him?’

‘No,’ Riley says, headed for the doors of the Watch. ‘I know it.’

✴

Lachlan, Riley and Kade make their way down the main staircase of the Tower, headed for the basement. The journey there is silent, but Kade hangs back with Lachlan while Riley goes ahead.

The pair speak in sign.