Chapter 14 #2
“Fred,” Connal said.
Gomez lifted a hand. “He can stay.”
Fred looked at Gomez, then at Connal.
“The corridor,” Connal repeated.
Fred bowed his head and followed the others. Just before crossing the threshold, he glanced back at the bed.
Gomez waved.
Fred gave him one solemn nod before closing the door behind him.
Gomez pressed both hands to his chest. “We’re best friends now.”
Avaneel made an offended sound.
“Second-best magical friends,” Gomez corrected. “You’re obviously first.”
She considered that, then nodded. Avaneel looked toward the chamber doors. “Zer is with the king?”
“He is,” Connal said.
Fizzwick flew down from the flowering branches and landed beside Gomez. “I will remain with him.”
“And bring pastries?” Gomez asked.
“Many.”
Gomez nodded solemnly. “A seamless transfer of power.”
Satisfied, Avaneel launched from the bed and followed the gargoyles into the corridor, returning to Zer.
Gomez looked back to Luke. “So what happens now?”
“The king hears what the gargoyles found at the warehouse. After that, we need somewhere secure in the human world to examine the drive,” Luke said.
“You’re not going to another drop?”
“No.”
“Or meeting anyone connected to the first one?”
That one Luke couldn’t answer with as much certainty.
“Not until we know what we’re dealing with.”
Gomez relaxed into the pillows. “Good. Because following up an ambush with another mysterious meeting feels like the sort of decision people make right before the screen goes black and the documentary narrator tells us their bodies were never found.”
Luke folded his arms. “Thank you for that.”
“I’m helping.”
“You’re recovering.”
“I can multitask.”
Connal stepped closer to the bed. “The drive will not leave our protection until we understand what it contains.”
“That’s reassuring,” Gomez said, turning to Connal. “You look like you could snap someone in half.”
“He can,” Luke said.
Gomez glanced between them, his mouth hanging open for several seconds while he processed Luke’s statement. “That was disturbingly casual.”
Luke ignored him. “Cosmo said Silenus has allies who may be able to provide a secure location.”
Gomez scoffed. “You don’t need the king’s people for that. I know people.”
Luke stared at him. “What people?”
Gomez’s expression turned solemn. “People who understand discretion.”
“What kind of discretion?”
“The kind that keeps vulnerable lives safe.”
Luke waited.
Gomez waited back.
“Gomez.”
“Fine.” He lowered his voice even though the only other people in the chamber were Connal and several pixies who had already stopped pretending not to listen.
“I didn’t want to tell you this because secrecy is important, but circumstances have forced my hand.
I’ve been keeping a secret from you, Luke. ”
As far as Luke knew, Gomez had never kept a secret for more than ten minutes. “What did you do?”
“I know I look like a mild-mannered civilian, but I’m savvy to the dark underbelly of society.”
The words took a moment to arrange themselves into anything Luke understood. “You are?”
“Luke, if I share this with you, you have to swear on the Hangry Hippo, god rest her shattered soul, that you won’t tell anyone.”
If only Gomez knew how good Luke really was at keeping secrets. “I swear on Henrietta.”
Gomez took a deep breath. “Luke, I’m a spy.”
Luke sat down on the edge of the bed. “You’re a what?”
“Okay, not exactly a spy. I help move, let’s call it restricted medication through an underground network.”
“You do what?”
Connal’s posture tightened. “You traffic in forbidden substances?”
Gomez looked offended. “What? No. I save kittens.”
Silence fell across the chamber.
Luke blinked. “Kittens.”
“Very sick kittens,” Gomez said. “See, there’s a medication that can save them, but technically it isn’t legal in our country.
But they’re kittens, Luke. What was I supposed to do?
Anyway, getting it isn’t always easy. So volunteers help connect desperate pet owners with people who know how to find it. ”
“You’re part of a criminal network that distributes cat medicine.” Luke didn’t quite believe the words even as he spoke them.
“I prefer confidential rescue collective.”
It took Luke’s heart a couple minutes to start beating normally again. “You called it the dark underbelly of society.”
“There are layers of secrecy, Luke. People use aliases.”
“What’s your alias?”
Gomez hesitated. “Mittens O. Justice.”
Luke closed his eyes.
Beside him, Connal asked, “Why would anyone prevent sick animals from receiving medicine?”
“Exactly!” Gomez pointed at him. “See? Connal understands the moral complexity.”
“I understand that the animals require aid.”
“And sometimes aid requires working outside traditional systems.”
Luke opened his eyes. “You order cat medicine online.”
“I facilitate access to lifesaving resources.”
“You have it mailed to the apartment.”
“Never under my own name.”
That explained the packages addressed to increasingly implausible variations of Gomez’s identity.
Luke rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re not helping examine the drive.”
“Hey! My contacts are extremely resourceful.”
“Do any of them know how to analyze encrypted data?”
Gomez paused. “I don’t ask what they do in their private lives.”
“So no.”
“So their skills remain unconfirmed.”
Fizzwick patted Gomez’s arm. “You help kittens.”
“I do.”
“You are a hero.”
Gomez’s expression softened. “Thank you, tiny best friend. Finally, someone appreciates me.”
The other pixies began whispering excitedly among themselves. Luke suspected Gomez would soon have the entire Unseelie court convinced that he ran a vast criminal organization dedicated to rescuing baby animals.
“I still don’t understand how this qualifies you to help me,” Luke said.
“Poor, sweet, innocent Luke. Clearly, someone set you up because they knew you’d be carrying the drive. You teach corporate people how to communicate or manage time or whatever your job is. You aren’t trained for international intrigue.”
Luke glanced at Connal.
Connal’s face remained impressively blank.
Gomez reached over and patted Luke’s hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. This isn’t your area of expertise.”
“No,” Luke said carefully. “Apparently, it’s yours.”
“I’m glad you finally understand.”
Luke had spent years protecting Gomez by keeping him separate from his real work. Until Luke could explain the truth without placing him in greater danger, he would allow his friend to believe the sick-kitten underground made him the better spy.
It might be the safest secret Luke had ever kept.
A knock sounded at the chamber door.
Fizzwick looked toward it as Connal turned toward the sound. “Enter.”
The door opened, revealing a fae Luke hadn’t seen before. Igneous, Balthazar, and Fred waited in the corridor behind him.
“The king is ready to receive your report,” the messenger said. “He requests Connal and Luke attend with the sentinels.”
Gomez’s eyebrows rose. “I’m being excluded from royal business?”
“You require rest,” Connal said.
“I can rest in front of the king.”
Fizzwick planted himself firmly on the bed. “Gomez stays.”
Gomez stared at him. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours.”
“That was annoyingly convincing.”
Luke moved closer to the bed. “I’ll come back and tell you what I can.”
“Everything you can.”
“Yes.”
Gomez studied him long enough to make sure he meant it, then nodded. “Fine. Go have your secret meeting. I’ll remain here and suffer beneath the crushing weight of all this attention.”
The other pixies descended around him, bearing another collection of pastries, flowers, and sparkling objects they had apparently decided he required.
Gomez surveyed the offerings. “I’ll try to be brave.”
Fizzwick patted his cheek. “We will help.”
Luke shook his head, but the sight reassured him. Gomez was safe, entertained, and unlikely to be left alone for the foreseeable future.
Connal held out his hand.
Luke looked at it for only a moment before threading their fingers together.
Igneous, Balthazar, and Fred led them into the corridor.
The gargoyles had learned what the structure in the warehouse was designed to contain.
It was time to hear the answer.