Chapter Four #2
If Abath was a spy, Roque needed to know, and he needed to know ASAP.
* * * *
DIMRI’S FIRST INSTINCT was to snap at Roque. Was he really saying that they should talk to the person he suspected of being the spy after what had happened at the tavern? Surely, he couldn’t be that obtuse?
Dimri forced himself to take a moment to think about it.
It didn’t sound like Abath was Roque’s friend, but he was still someone Roque knew well.
Even more so, he was someone that Roque himself had allowed close to Berith and his family.
If Abath was the spy, Roque should have known.
He shouldn’t have let him anywhere near the prince, and having done so would feel like a failure to him.
Dimri understood. This wasn’t only Roque’s job.
Roque wanted to keep the prince safe, but even more so, he wanted to keep his friend safe.
Having failed him in such a blatant way couldn’t be easy to accept, which would explain why Roque was adamant that Abath couldn’t have anything to do with any of this.
Roque was afraid of losing Berith. He was afraid he’d failed him.
Dimri took a deep breath. “Fighting and doing whatever it is we’re doing right now isn’t going to help,” he said in what he hoped was a reasonable tone.
“I understand why you want to talk to Abath, but I think it’s a bad idea.
If he’s the spy, he’s going to be prepared for someone confronting him.
He’ll have excuses and explanations, and we’ll lose the element of surprise. I really think you should reconsider.”
Roque stared. Dimri wasn’t sure if it was because he was surprised by Dimri’s willingness to discuss this or something else, but it didn’t matter.
They had to settle on a course of action.
They couldn’t ignore what was going on. They couldn’t confront Abath.
There was only one way to deal with this, and it was Dimri’s way.
Roque not following his lead could ruin everything, and Dimri was sure that wasn’t something Roque wanted.
That didn’t mean he’d go along with this. Roque was scared and confused, but he also wanted to be right. Dimri could understand that, too, but it was a problem.
Because Roque wasn’t right.
“Let’s say I do reconsider,” Roque offered. “What if following Abath around and spying on him takes too long? What if he takes advantage of it and uses that time to put plans in motion and hurt Berith?”
It was something Dimri had thought of, of course.
He was convinced they needed to be careful and discreet, but he was also aware of the danger.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have many choices.
“If we believe that’s what Abath is planning, then we should step in and try talking to him,” he admitted.
“If we don’t have enough time to do it my way, we’ll do it your way.
I just feel that we need to be more careful. We can’t ram our way through this.”
“Talking to Abath wouldn’t be ramming our way through it,” Roque grumbled.
“It depends on what you say when you talk to him, doesn’t it?
Look, we can find a compromise. Let’s do it my way for the first few days and watch Abath.
We can keep an eye on him and ensure he doesn’t get too close to Berith.
If we don’t find anything after, let’s say, a week, we’ll try talking to him.
I just want to be sure there’s nothing left to find out about him and this situation before we take that step. ”
Dimri expected Roque to say no. That was what he’d done the last time they’d planned something together, and Roque was incredibly stubborn. He hadn’t even admitted that Dimri had been right when it came to Medea and the tavern mess yet, even though there was no way he didn’t realize it.
Roque leaned back in his chair. “A week is too long,” he declared.
He was looking at Dimri as if he expected Dimri to argue.
Dimri wanted to because he thought one week was the minimum length of time to gather intel when spying on someone.
It revealed habits and routines. It gave the person Dimri was spying on more time to talk to people and contact allies.
He could see that Roque wouldn’t go along with his plan if he pushed for a whole week, though.
In a way, he understood why. Roque wanted this dealt with as soon as possible, and a week felt like an eternity when someone you cared about was in danger.
“Five days,” Dimri offered.
Roque blinked. “You’re willing to compromise?”
“We won’t get anywhere if we don’t. As much as I believe that a week would be better, I understand why we need to be faster.”
Roque slowly nodded. “I see.”
Dimri wanted to ask what he saw, but he didn’t.
Instead, he waited for Roque to tell him whether or not they’d do this together.
If he said that five days was still too many, Dimri would have to do this on his own.
He’d hate to go against Berith’s orders, and he knew how angry Roque would be if he found out about it, but he didn’t feel he had a choice.
His job was to protect Berith, his family, and his territory.
That came before feelings and friendships.
“All right,” Roque said.
It was Dimri’s turn to stare. He hadn’t expected Roque to agree. Well, he’d expected Roque to do so, but only after fighting with him for a while longer. Roque didn’t like not being right. Clearly, keeping Berith safe was more important to him. Dimri was glad.
He smiled. “Good.”
Roque leaned forward. A strand of white hair fell in front of his forehead, and Dimri watched as he pushed away the strand and grinned, exposing his fangs. “When do we start?”