Memory Deception by Vanessa Muir

Author:Vanessa Muir [Muir, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hidden Sphinx
Published: 2019-12-02T18:30:00+00:00

11

Charlie took a breath, clicked the safety off the not-gun, and opened the misted sliding door that led into the conference room.

“—you understand how important it is to us, that the global perspective on how we operate remains positive. After all, we’ve strived to provide all of the regions with an adequate amount of…” Absalon Shamood stood at the front of the room, his hands pressed to a chrome conference table, shifting his gaze from one person seated at it to the next. His dark eyes were sharp.

They hadn’t noticed her yet, and Charlie took that split second to scan them.

There were women and men, dark-skinned, light-skinned, white-haired, redheaded. The influx of information was almost too much to take.

Levi spoke in her ear. “You’re looking for a petite woman with pale skin, dark hair, and thick eyebrows. She usually wears pantsuits. She’s young, might be wearing makeup. Conventionally attractive.”

Charlie didn’t reply, but she nodded. He could see what she did, through the uplink.

“There. Woman furthest from Absalon,” Levi said.

Ambassador Grigori sat at the end of the conference table, just to the right of the head of it, staring at Absalon through slightly narrowed eyes. Clearly, she wasn’t buying what he had to sell.

Charlie didn’t blame her.

“Now would be a good time, Spade.” The gentle nudge from Levi brought her to the present. She couldn’t focus on the nerves barreling through her stomach, bouncing off the walls.

Charlie brought the gun up and aimed it at Absalon. “Nobody move.”

He cut off mid-sentence, spotted her there. “What’s this?”

“You know what this is, Shamood,” Charlie said, trying for bravado she didn’t feel. She crab-walked across the room, toward Ambassador Grigori. Every eye was fixed on her.

Charlie kept her breathing steady, though it threatened to catch in her throat.

“Ah, it seems we’re in for a show.” Absalon gave an ingratiating laugh. “My sincerest apologies, ladies and gentlemen. There are a few clowns still left in the State. I’m sure you’ve heard of our struggles with the rebellion.”

“Black Mars.” The words came from Grigori. She bore a thick accent. “We have heard of this organization.”

“Terrorists,” Absalon said, almost dismissively. “And never good at it, either. It seems that some people don’t understand when they have a good thing going. Who sent you, dear? Was it Levi Daniels?” He kept the conversation going, but Charlie wasn’t fooled. Absalon had backed up a few steps, and his hand was stretching outward to the screen on the wall.

Likely, he would summon SSG agents by touching it. Or start a recording that would condemn her. Not that she hadn’t already reached that point in her “career.”

“Move and I’ll shoot,” she said, gesturing with the gun. “Step away from the screen, Shamood.”

He pursed his lips but ceased his advance toward the screen. “To what do we owe this interruption?”

Charlie reached the table and pressed a hand to Ambassador Grigori’s shoulder. “I’m taking the ambassador with me,” she said and brought the woman out of the chair.

Surprisingly, Ambassador Grigori didn’t struggle. In fact, her gaze had sharpened with intrigue rather than fear.

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