Storm of Dragon and Stone by Thomas K. Carpenter

Author:Thomas K. Carpenter [Carpenter, Thomas K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Carpenter
Published: 2022-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ares found them in Leena's office. The head of production was standing at the wall-sized whiteboard, working out the preparation for evacuation in six days while the others, his siblings minus Kitty, Dresden, and the other leaders in the plant, added their input. There were four categories written on the board: people, product, supplies, and shutdown procedures. There'd been a lot of talk about what to do with the plant after they left. Dresden, of course, wanted to demolish the entire structure so the locals couldn't use it, but he was the only one. Moriganne, at least, had agreed with him that they should keep it intact for later, once they found a new site to produce Aevita. Some of the proprietary equipment needed to be disassembled and taken with them if they wanted a quick restart.

"Mori," Ares said softly, not wanting to alarm anyone. "Can I borrow you for a bit?"

Leena capped her marker. "We need to take a break for lunch. We'll resume in an hour."

When they were outside the room, Moriganne asked, "What's up?"

"I tracked a scorpic to the chemical storage warehouse on the south side of the plant. Based on the prints, I think it's gotten pretty big," said Ares.

"I'm glad you asked," she said with a smile. "Let's take this bastard down, big brother. Let me grab my gear on the way."

She turned away to head down the hallway, leaving Ares to muse upon her response. Moriganne never called him big brother, or treated him that way. Despite the order of ages, she'd always held herself as if she were the queen of the world. As if she were the eldest.

Moriganne returned a minute later wearing her hard hat and a bulging fanny pack around her waist.

"What's that?"

"A trick of my hall," she said with a wink, even as her forehead creased.

As they followed the painted pathways to the back of the plant, Ares asked, "Did you use them...you know, in the Undercity?"

"I did. Don’t you remember?"

"No."

After some silence, she said, "I'm sorry about using you against Vic."

"No you're not," he said right away. "You did what you had to do."

But it wasn't just that. He didn’t trust Moriganne. Hadn't for years. Mr. Thule acted strange around her too, as if he had spotted a fake but hadn't been able to prove it yet. Their father was blind when it came to Moriganne. She'd always been his favorite. The one Victor saw himself in. Not him. Not Solstice, may her soul be at rest.

"Some workers saw it go in through that window up there," said Ares once they were outside. The warehouse was locked. Ares badged them through with his key card. The interior was filled with secondary containment walls, short concrete and lined barriers that would hold in chemicals that spilled from their barrels or plastic boxes.

"I put a trap at the back of the warehouse," said Ares, trying to keep his face neutral. "It's probably drinking the mercury and mistletoe solution."

"The slow wards getting any better?" she asked, craning her neck to see ahead.

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