Agents of the Glass (27 page)

“It was totally my fault,” said Karina, picking up the tablet. “Ouch. That doesn't look good.” The shattered screen had gone completely black. “Let me get you a new one. And I have a guy who can retrieve everything you have on this one. He's amazing. Used to work for the government, real hush-hush kind of stuff. Okay? Come on. Let's not end the day on such a bummer. It's just a tablet, right? Not nearly as important as a friend.”

Winter forced a smile and even apologized to Luke. “Sorry I freaked out on you like that. It's…I mean, my
life
is on that thing.” She took the remains of the tablet from Karina. “Thanks, but you don't have to replace it. It was an accident. My…dad is pretty good with stuff like this. He'll be able to get what I need from it.”

“It was quick thinking on Karina's part,” said Silas when Andy told him about the incident with Winter's tablet. “She's always been like that. Now tell me about the email.”

“I only saw it for a second,” said Andy. “Maybe not even a whole second. It was from a weird address—just a long list of random numbers and letters. Impossible to memorize. The message was…‘Cotwo delivery at WA cafeteria on Friday afternoon. More details to follow.' That was it.”

“Cotwo delivery? You're sure? With a
c
or a
k
?”

“C. C-O-T-W-O.”

“All right, I'll check it out. Maybe it's the name of a delivery service. Anything on Jensen yet? Heard from Detective Cunningham?”

“He's supposed to call me….Here he is right now.”

Andy answered his phone, hitting the speaker button so Silas could hear.

“This a good time?”

“Yeah, it's cool. Did you find Jensen? Is she okay?”

“Slow down. We haven't found her, but I have some news.”

Andy sat, expecting the worst. “Oh, no.”

“She's in California. At least that's what she says in her letter.”

“Letter?”

“Arrived here at the precinct yesterday, finally made it into my hands an hour ago. Looks legit. I haven't had the experts look yet, but the handwriting seems to match the sample you gave me.”

“What did she say?”

“The whole thing was staged, she says, to make it look like she was being arrested. She wanted to create a little drama—those are her words, not mine—and give the people in her building something to talk about, so she hired a couple of actors. She claims she's going to visit relatives in California for a while. We're waiting to hear back from her parents to confirm that. We checked the airlines, trains, buses. No sign of her yet.”

“It's a fake,” said Andy. “She would never use the word
drama
like that. She
hates
people who do that almost as much as she hates her uncle—and everything about California, for that matter.”

(
New York Inquirer,
Around the City news brief)

PHILANTHROPIST MISSING

Noted philanthropist Ilene Porter, the Porter Paper heiress with an estimated worth of nearly three billion dollars, was reported missing yesterday by her personal assistant. Although few details have been made available, a source revealed that police have reviewed security camera footage from the Newgate Hotel and have a number of “persons of interest” in the case.
—Zhariah Davis

I'm fairly certain that I'm included in the list of “persons of interest” mentioned by Ms. Davis—not an ideal situation in the middle of an already complicated situation. The last thing I need is to be dragged into a police station for questioning. Not that it would be the first time. Or, likely, the last. Don't worry, when you get into trouble—and you will—the entire army of Agents will be there to back you up. Remember, we have friends everywhere.

Andy left his building early Tuesday for Penny's morning walk, but as he made the turn onto York Avenue, he spotted Billy Newcomb and Silas, waiting for him in the Twenty-First Street Mission van.

“Get in out of the rain,” Silas said.

“I don't have time. I'll be late to school. And Penny hasn't eaten.”

“You're taking the day off. At least the morning. We'll feed Penny.”

“I have a math test today! I studied two hours for it.”

“You can make it up later. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Come on.”

Grumbling, Andy slid the side door open and climbed into the middle seat in the back. Penny hopped in after him, excited at the prospect of a ride.

“Don't you want to know where we're going?”

“Does it matter? It's not like I have a choice.”

“What if I told you it might help us find Jensen?”

Andy grunted. “How?”

“You're going to visit your dad at the NTRP Broadcast Center. He goes on the air in a few minutes.”

“I guess that explains why he was in such a hurry. Wait…how is
that
going to help find Jensen?”

“There are some interesting guests scheduled for today: Roscoe Mertyn and Sylvia Langhorne, two philanthropists from the Halestrom Conference—
former
philanthropists, that is. Billionaires, both of them, and
not
people who are easy to get close to. I'm dying to hear what they have to say, but even more important, I want to know what Penny thinks of them. And don't take any unnecessary risks, but if you can sneak a peek at them through your Lucian Glass, that would be helpful, too. I have a hunch about something, and you're going to help prove it.”

“You think that NTRP got to them with Operation Tailor?”

“So, you
have
been paying attention,” said Silas. “That's what I'm thinking, yes. Last night, after I found out who the guests were, I went through a ton of records and found something helpful. They both attended an event where Mr. Nakahara—remember him from the meeting at the Mission?—was present with his dog. No
lumen.
He's sure.”

“So, if they have one now…”

“Exactly.”

The security guard inside the NTRP Broadcast Center eyed Andy up and down, then pointed at Penny with a scowl. “Where're you goin', kid? You can't bring that mutt in here.”

“I'm here to see my dad…Howard Llewell—er, Twopenny?”

Instant backtracking by the guard. “Wha…you're Howard's kid? I'm really…Come on in. Sorry, son,” he babbled. “Can you just sign in right here? Thanks.” He reached down and awkwardly patted Penny on the top of her head. “Really sorry about that, boy.”

“She's a girl.” Andy was enjoying the moment, this feeling of power that he had simply because of who he was—a very dangerous feeling.

“Oh, right. Of course. Sorry, she's a beauty, too. Take the elevator to the fifth floor. I'll tell the receptionist that you're on your way.”

It took Andy and Penny under a minute to reach the studio on the fifth floor, but the greeting they received there was very different from the one they'd first gotten at the front door.

The receptionist (gorgeous, familiar-looking) met him at the elevator as if she were greeting the Queen of England. “Andy! It is
so
nice to finally meet you. Your dad has told us so much about you.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” said Andy. He really did wonder what his dad had said about him.

She forced a laugh and ignored the question. “I'm Gerri—that's with an
i
—and this beautiful girl must be Penny. Omigosh, she is so
sweet.
Can I get you anything, Andy? A Coke? Blueberry muffin?”

“No thanks. I'm just here to see my dad. Can you take me to the studio where he does the show? I haven't even seen it yet. Isn't there a place where you can watch what's going on, you know, without being heard?”

“Absolutely. Follow me.” She glanced at the clock. “I'm afraid he's about to go on the air, so you won't be able to talk to him until the news break on the half hour.”

“That's all right. I just want to watch for a while.”

Gerri-with-an-
i
led him through a set of heavy soundproof doors and into an empty auditorium-style room with thirty or forty seats facing the glass studio wall. In an enormous, thronelike chair behind the glass sat the man himself, Howard Twopenny, with his two guests. He didn't see Andy and Penny enter, which was just fine with Andy, who wanted to give Penny a chance to get a good look at the guests.

“What do you think, Pen?” he whispered.

It didn't take her long to decide. As she stared at Roscoe Mertyn, her lip began to quiver and she gradually bared her teeth, emitting a low growl.

“Easy, girl.” He checked the room again, making sure no one could see him, and pulled his Lucian Glass from beneath his shirt. A quick glance through it confirmed what Silas had suspected and Penny had just told him: Mertyn had a clear
lumen lucidus.
To Andy, a newcomer to the world of the
lumen,
it seemed pale and weak compared to Winter's, but there was no doubt it was there.

During a commercial break, Sylvia Langhorne stood and moved close to the glass wall, her back to Andy. Penny had the same reaction, and the Lucian Glass again established the existence of the
lumen lucidus.
Two for two.

So it was true. Mrs. Cardigan, Silas, and the Agents had all been clinging to the hope that NTRP's ability to create the
lumen
was limited to the weak-minded or those who were seriously lacking in any of the eight qualities that the Agents regarded as essential, but now that hope seemed to be dead and buried. If NTRP was able to “flip” two of the most generous people in the nation, was anyone safe?

That sums it up pretty nicely, don't you think?