Hostage to Pleasure

CHAPTER 42

Kaleb watched the late afternoon foot traffic in the square outside his Moscow office and considered what Henry had shared at the Council meeting an hour ago. This group—Pure Psy—posed a potential problem. Vigilantes of any type had a way of turning against the very power structure they initially supported. “Silver,” he said into the intercom.

His aide walked in from the outer office. “Sir?”

“I want you to find out everything you can about a group called Pure Psy.”

Silver made a note on her organizer before looking up. “Sir, my family has been approached with an invitation to join Pure Psy.”

Given the Mercant family’s ruthless penchant for following power, Silver’s willingness to share this information was an interesting comment on his own perceived status. “What can you tell me about them?”

“Not much at this stage. The group won’t discuss the exact nature of its activities with nonmembers. My family is being cautious about getting involved—we don’t want to do anything to jeopardize our standing with the Council.”

It was a veiled offer to feed him information. Kaleb knew Silver’s family would cut his throat without a thought if he lost his power, but for now, he had the Mercant resources at his disposal. He’d have been concerned that Silver would betray him with the same glibness, but that wasn’t the Mercant way. The family had a history of unswerving loyalty unless and until the object of that loyalty proved weak. “Thank you, Silver,” he said. “I’d appreciate being kept updated on Pure Psy’s activities.”

“Yes, sir. Was that all?”

“Yes.”

After his aide left, Kaleb took a small platinum charm from his pocket.

A single star. A marker.

The NetMind and DarkMind had both defied him in his search for the owner of the charm, but he would succeed. Failure simply wasn’t an option.