Shards of Hope

Chapter 65

SHOSHANNA SCOTT HAD been all but off the grid since before the fall of Silence and of the Council, but Kaleb knew exactly where she was. He always knew the locations of all the dangerous players in the Net—Shoshanna might not be as psychically powerful as him, but she had a politically lethal mind.

Visual locked, he teleported to outside her London home the day after the attempt on Nikita’s life. The building had originally been owned by Henry Scott but he’d transferred it into his and Shoshanna’s joint ownership two years prior to his death—a subtle but telling sign of their relationship at the time. Shoshanna had been the definite alpha member of the pair until Henry’s sudden tendencies toward violence. The rest of Henry’s estate had gone to his family group, another mark of Shoshanna’s intelligence. Taking on an entire family was bad business.

Doing up the button on the jacket of his black suit jacket, the shirt below it the same shade, he walked up to the door. He could’ve as easily teleported to right beside Shoshanna, but he had political intelligence of his own. The door opened in front of him, a uniformed member of staff inviting him inside. Walking down the corridor with its marble-inlaid floor, he was shown directly to Shoshanna’s study. A slender brunette, she was standing by a table on which were spread a number of hard-copy maps of ancient London.

“Have you ever studied the layout of the city?” she said as he walked in, the cool white of her fingers tracing the route of the river Thames. “It’s an interesting project to occupy the mind.”

And a great way to keep people from focusing on what Shoshanna was up to in her self-imposed exile. “I didn’t realize you had an appreciation for history.”

She looked up, ice blue eyes meeting his. “It is from history that we learn lessons about the future, is it not?”

He inclined his head, wondering exactly what she’d learned from Henry’s doomed association with Pure Psy. Enough to mastermind a worldwide conspiracy? Or perhaps simply be a part of it.

“So.” She came around the table. “How can I help you?”

“You’ve retreated from public life. I came to see if you were sick.”

Shoshanna’s smile was cold, a false image she’d perfected as had he. “I’ve decided there’s far more profit in focusing on my business interests. Politics can be deadly—a fact Henry learned too late.”

“A wise move.” He looked around the room. It was filled with bookshelves, leather-bound books lined up in neat rows on the gleaming wood of the shelves. But, unlike Kaleb’s own library, it didn’t look like any of the books had been read. He thought it was a set, meant to put non-Psy at ease. “Are your businesses performing well?”

“I’m sure you’re well aware how they’re performing.”

He did. Shoshanna had ridden out the fall of Silence and, even factoring in the contract she’d lost to Nikita, she was now in a very healthy position. Silver had somehow managed to get her hands on the specific numbers, so he knew exactly how well Shoshanna was doing. “So you’ve dropped out of political life on a permanent basis?”

“Much safer that way.” She glanced at an incoming call code on the large comm screen on the wall to the right, ignored it in favor of returning her attention to him. “I’m a survivor, Kaleb. Post-Silence, the PsyNet is looking for a kind of governance I can’t provide. What I can do is leverage my contacts to place Scott Enterprises in the top tier before other businesses find their feet.”

Her logic was faultless, but his instincts told him she was hiding something. It could be anything from black market trades to industrial espionage to involvement in this conspiracy. He’d keep a careful watch on her. Even the most meticulous planners eventually made mistakes.

Leaving after another minute of conversation where no information was exchanged, he next checked in on Ming. The other man was heavily occupied with keeping Europe stable, his focus absolute from all appearances, but he was also a master strategist.

Silver’s sources had come up empty on Ming but for a vague rumor that he’d threatened a political rival named Kurevni. Since the man in question was still running against Ming, that appeared to be a false claim. Unless, of course, Ming had put Kurevni in place for reasons of his own—which he was fully capable of doing.

However, that was standard operating procedure for many powers in the Net. Kaleb was far more interested in seeing what his instincts told him about the likelihood of Ming being a part of the conspiracy. Their conversation was brief and pointed. He left with the distinct impression that Ming hadn’t given up on reclaiming the Arrows.

That motivation could explain the attempts against Aden’s life and reputation, but it didn’t explain everything else. Ming was all about order, not chaos. However the idea that all the suspicious events were unconnected, that different players were responsible for different elements, seemed improbable. Still, he wouldn’t discard it.

The fall of Silence had rattled more than one cage.

Ming wants you dead, he messaged Aden. I’m sure that’s not news, but you should be aware his intent remains strong.

Aden responded within a minute. Is he our puppet master?

Unknown. Too many variables in play. It might be time for Kaleb’s alter ego to do some covert digging.

Before that, he spoke to the heads of two powerful families and, while they both said all the right things, Kaleb’s instincts went on high alert. “Both Marshall and Rao are up to something,” he said to Sahara when he returned home.

“Why did you focus on them in the first place?”

“Rao remains a power player in Southeast Asia, but the family suffered significant losses as a result of the fall of Silence—and those losses may continue.” It made the Rao family prime candidates for discontent. “Pax Marshall, in contrast, has kept the ship steady, but he shows all the signs of being a man who wants the kind of power you can only get at the Council—or Coalition—level.” Kaleb smiled and, because this was Sahara with him, it was real. “He reminds me of me in certain ways.” The only difference was that Pax’s goals might be in opposition to Kaleb’s. “Ambition and pitiless will.”

“And I know exactly how dangerous you can be.” Sahara rose on tiptoe to kiss him, her hands braced on his shoulders. “We can’t ignore the other races, either, especially given how cleverly humans and changelings have been targeted by this conspiracy.” A frown forming over the dark blue of her eyes. “The Psy civil war, followed by the fall of Silence, destabilized the financial world in general, but the nimble businesses are surviving. A number of non-Psy businesses are actually doing better.”

“Yes.” It would be in the latter’s interests to undermine the stability fostered by the Ruling Coalition. “There’re too many suspects. We’re going to need further data to unearth the linchpins.” Putting his hands on her hips, he said, “It appears the Ghost is about to come out of retirement.”

Sahara’s lips curved. “I’ve always found the Ghost mysterious and deliciously sexy.”

Kaleb kissed her, her smile sunlight in the dark, twisted places inside him.