Chapter 29
Felix
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant Moore,” Brett said as they entered the room to which the man had been shown. The same room Maddox had been in when Felix had… He ignored that train of thought.
“What is this about?” Moore said, looking relaxed with his leg slung over his opposite knee, but the tension in his shoulders showed he wasn’t.
“I already explained that on the phone,” Felix said, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Lieutenant Colonel Venus Cage.”
“What about her?”
Brett sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table.
“Okay, let’s play it this way then. We know you have information about her missions over the years that weren’t, shall we say, on the books.
We know she attempted to have you killed.
And we know you called Adelaide Thompson and dropped a tip against Felix.
My initial question is, why drop the tip? ”
Moore stared at Brett, his jaw working from side to side before he exhaled heavily. “Exposure.”
“Explain,” Brett said.
Moore leaned his elbows on the table. “After I almost died, I threatened her. I told her I would spill all the details I had about everything that wasn’t sanctioned unless she left me alone.
I know about the attacks on the guards and what she had planned for each.
I knew she would take Felix, and by that point, I needed to do something.
I thought that if I made Felix a target of the media, there would be a lot more eyes on him and his whereabouts.
She wouldn’t want to kill him if people were looking for him.
” He gave a wry smile. “Apart from yourselves, obviously.”
“So you know what her plans are?”
Moore shook his head. “Were. Past tense. After she tried to get rid of me, I can guarantee she changed her plans.”
Brett glanced at Felix, silently asking if he should mention the meeting. Felix nodded once. “She contacted me earlier today. Said she had two more steps in her plan for outright martial law and wanted to meet. Any idea what that’s about?”
Moore frowned for a moment, rubbing his finger over his chin. “I didn’t know her overarching plan, just some of the steps involved.”
“Anything you can tell us, whether or not it’s valid, is helpful,” Felix said.
“She wanted you back in control of the cartel.”
“What about Malcolm?” Brett asked.
“She didn’t say, but I read between the lines. He wouldn’t be there.”
Felix’s heart hurt for Brett. That his sister wanted him to lose his humanity and become a soulless machine was terrifying. The man had enough weight on his shoulders without adding to it. What two steps could make her plan work? He asked Moore.
Moore shrugged. “I don’t know for definite, but my thoughts were that she wants control of everything: the military, the cartel and the royals.
If she had that, she would be unstoppable.
As for the two steps… I assume the first would be getting you on her side.
” He pointed at Brett. “But how she would do that, I don’t know.
You don’t seem like a person who would easily fall into her clutches. ”
“What would her final step be? What would she need to start martial law?”
Moore frowned again. “An impending catastrophe that would cause nationwide panic.”
Brett stood. “Thanks for your help. We appreciate it.” He headed for the door, and Felix followed, indicating to the guard standing at attention in the hallway to take Moore wherever he wanted to go.
“Brett!” he called, but his man didn’t slow down. Felix jogged up to him, moving in front of him to stop him. “What’s wrong?”
Brett wouldn’t look at him, his jaw clenched tightly. “She used to joke about setting off bombs around the country to ensure everyone did as they were told. I thought she was joking.” He met his gaze. “What if she wasn’t? What if she’s going to do it?”
Felix’s chest ached for him. “Then we’ll stop her. That’s what we’re going to do right now.” He cupped Brett’s jaw. “We’ll finish this. We will.”
Brett buried his head in Felix’s neck and held him so fiercely, Felix thought he’d break. He soothed him as best he could, and eventually, reality intruded.
“I’m sorry, guys, but we need you,” Dominic said.
They pulled away from each other, and Felix smirked at him. “You’re such a pain.”
Dominic shrugged. “I know.”
“What’s up?” Brett asked as they followed him down the corridor.
“We have guards stationed throughout the perimeter of the field and in the neighbouring fields, too. We have some eyes in the buildings that overlook the field, but they are some distance away, so not much use unless they were a trained sniper, sorry. They can still keep track of what’s coming and going.
Now we just need to have you wired up before you go. ”
“Why do we need to be wired?” Brett asked.
“Evidence,” Dominic said. “Brady wants whatever information you can get to be recorded in case they need some of it.”
“Makes sense,” Felix said.
They entered Sec HQ, and Felix grabbed the wires from the cupboard before getting Brett to strip off, much to his own delight. Brett’s mouth curved as Felix took his time, his fingers sliding over his skin.
“You do that for much longer, we’re going to need to use the cupboard for storing something else entirely,” Brett growled.
Felix shivered and finished. “There you go.” He quickly attached his own wire, and then they were ready. “Are we taking weapons?”
“Yes, she wouldn’t believe us if we didn’t. She’d know it was a setup. If we have weapons on us, she can see that we drop them, should she ask. Or she might be too cocky and not care,” Brett said.
Once they were ready, they headed for the car, Brett driving again.
“We’ll have eyes on you all the way,” Dominic said.
They headed for the field, the journey taking around twenty-five minutes, but neither said anything.
They knew each other well enough to understand what they would do in any given circumstance, and their newfound psychic connection would hopefully help.
Felix smiled to himself at the thought. What he wouldn’t give to know what Brett was thinking at any given moment.
Brett parked the car, and they climbed out. Both scanned their surroundings before heading to the fence separating them from the road. Jumping over it, he saw Venus standing in the centre, nobody around her. They paused, checking around them once again before heading towards her.
When they got within fifty feet, she called, “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, brother?”
Her hair was a lot wilder than when Felix had seen her at the chapel and in photos. She wore her military uniform with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. On her hip sat her gun. They moved a little closer, stopping around twenty-five feet away. “Venus,” Brett said.
Felix turned slightly to the side to keep an eye behind them. As his father said, he wouldn’t put it past her to play dirty.
“I’m glad you could come. I can’t wait to see you turn to my side of the game.”
“Game? Is that what you’re calling this?” Brett said.
“Of course it is, but I’m mightily disappointed by how you’ve played it. Very slow. It’s been over a year since this started.” She shook her head and tutted. “I thought you were taught better than that.”
“Well, some things I’m glad to have forgotten. Now what do you want, other than to set bombs off throughout the nation to create a martial law scenario?”
Venus’s eyes widened before she laughed, throwing her head back, her hand going to her chest. “God! I can’t believe you remember that. We were, what, eleven at the time? Good memory. But no.”
Felix didn’t believe her denial. Something about her posture and expression made him think that Brett had hit the nail on the head, but she was trying to pretend it was something else.
If it was true, they needed someone to look into it as soon as possible.
Hopefully, if it was true, she hadn’t set timers for them yet.
She glanced at Felix. “Do you like the location, Felix? Does it bring back memories?”
“It does, actually. It’s where I learnt my sniping skills.”
Venus smiled. “Good times, huh? I’m sure you would love to be able to use them today, wouldn’t you?”
“Don’t you know it. But I don’t need to worry.”
Venus raised her eyebrows, the expression so similar to Brett’s that it caught him off guard for a second. “Oh, why’s that?”
“Because I can shoot you just as well at twenty-five feet.”
She chuckled again, not seeming to care about that truth. “Good point.”
“Enough. You’re talking in circles, Venus.” Brett asked, his impatience shining through. “I know you want to tell me everything. How clever you’ve been. Now is the time. Why kill Cameron Deighton?”
“Collateral. End of.”
“Where did you get the tech to hide the roses in the chapel?”
Venus sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come on. I work for the military. They have plenty the public know nothing about. It’s easy to use, easy to hide.
” She snorted inelegantly. “You’re so much less than I thought, but you’ll get better.
No more clinging to your family of guards.
I’ve spent years building a web that stretches the length of the nation.
It’ll be at our feet.” She took a slow deliberate step forward, her eyes staring at Brett with cold calculation and fanatical resolve.
“Our father was small time. He was content with the drug empire. I’m going to have the entire nation in my palm. ”
“That won’t happen,” Brett said.
“Won’t it?” Venus smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Soon you’ll lose everything and be glad when I show you even a small amount of care.” She glanced over her shoulder and then back again. “You’ll be my most prized weapon. Tick, tock, no more time on the clock.”
“Not a—”