Allie's War Season Three (27 page)

"How many are on the human list?" Wreg said. "Total."

"Six hundred and forty-eight," Jon said at once. "It's the longest one. I think there's maybe two hundred and twenty, or two hundred and twenty-five on the Sark list...?"

"Two hundred and twenty-nine," Wreg corrected.

"Fine. Twenty-nine...so, what? Four hundred and nineteen more on the human list? And who knows how many of them are even alive...much less if we can find them?"

"And the intermediaries on the list?" Wreg asked casually.

Jon shrugged, tugging at the collar of his shirt as he avoided the seer's eyes.

"I assume 'Dori's looking into those names himself," he said. "He wouldn't let me see it. Dorje hasn't seen it, either. We were kind of joking we should have gone to a coffee shop instead of bringing it straight back here...taken a few snapshots before handing it over to 'Dori. We should have known he'd be keeping it pretty tightly under wraps once we gave it to him and the Adhipan..." Shrugging, Jon added, "I guess it's understandable. I mean, none of us had any idea there were
nine
down here, did we...?"

Wreg's eyes sharpened somewhat, but Jon saw the disappointment there, too.

"You did not see any of those names then?" he clarified. "...Not even accidentally? Did you look at any of the later pages when you obtained the list at the library?"

Jon shook his head, glancing at the seer as he ran his fingers through his longish hair. He was due for another haircut...and probably a dye job of some kind, if only because he looked too much like the image of himself currently circulating on the feeds.

"Balidor only told me the basics, Wreg...and no, Dorj and I didn't look. I know there are nine on the list, total...including Revik, Allie, Galaith and Feigran. That leaves five that are unaccounted for. Or at least five unaccounted for by
me."

"Are any of those five known to him?" Wreg asked. "...Balidor?"

His voice was even keener that time, betraying his interest.

Jon sighed a little.

He knew Wreg would have spoken to Balidor about this already, and that he certainly would have made an attempt to look at the list himself by now. Therefore, Balidor had obviously shut Wreg out, too. The seer was likely trying to find out if Jon might know more than he realized...if he'd seen a name, or if Balidor had let something slip when they spoke, probably since Jon was human and Balidor might have his guard down more around Jon.

Jon was tempted to tell Wreg just how unlikely the latter occurrence really was.

Jon knew he wasn't the only one exhausted by the cold war that endlessly seemed to be brewing between those two. The two senior infiltrators were always circling one another like angry tomcats, as if they expected the other to turn on the rest of them at any minute...or, more likely, to turn on Allie or Revik.

Jon knew Wreg was probably looking for any excuse to take Balidor down. He had been since Balidor shot Allie and nearly killed Revik. His opinion of the Adhipan leader hadn't improved all that much really in the intervening months, even though the two of them were often forced into working together these days.

In any case, Jon knew that Wreg hated the fact that Balidor technically outranked him. To keep the peace at least marginally, Revik and Allie made the strategic decision to split the teams. They put Balidor in charge of primary infiltration, and therefore intelligence...like the lists, construct maintenance, espionage and any infiltration ops occurring outside of New York.

They put Wreg in charge of the military arm of the seers, which included training, recruitment, ops planning and on-the-ground security.

Neither was overly happy with this arrangement, but it was probably the only thing that had prevented them from actively trying to kill each other up until now.

There was already a pool going on who would win in that match, if it ever went physical. Just about every infiltrator in the building had thrown some money into that pot. Jon was pretty sure Jax was the one who started it, and the one holding the money in his room's safe.

"No," Jon said anyway, expelling air through his lips in a short sigh. "Not that he's told me, anyway. Have you seen either the Sark or the intermediary list?"

Wreg lifted an eyebrow, amusement touching his lips briefly.

Jon knew the seer had probably heard at least part of his musings, but he didn't bother to feign embarrassment; he was pretty used to eavesdropping seers by then.

Wreg grunted a little at that, too.

He shook his head then, gesturing with one hand as if conceding a point. Jon wasn't entirely sure if Wreg was referring to what he'd actually said, or what he'd been thinking just then. He supposed it didn't really matter.

"Only the Sark one," Wreg said, still smiling. "...And only in part. Several of the names were familiar to me, brother...but only a few you would know."

"Who?"

Wreg made a noncommittal gesture with his hand.

"Now is not the time," he said after another beat. His words weren't a dismissal though, at least not entirely. "You will know, brother. Sooner than most."

Jon nodded, but gave the seer another curious look. He found himself wondering again, what the deal was with Wreg. He could be almost warm at times, which confused Jon more than the seer's gruffer exteriors.

"What about that book?" Jon said. "The one Revik had on him? That came from the vault too, right?"

Wreg made an affirmative gesture, clicking softly. "Yes. According to Adhipan, we have translators working on it..."

"And?"

"And what?" Wreg said. "Adhipan is holding on to these artifacts tighter than a weasel's asshole, brother. Do you really think he's consulting with me on this book...or even letting me see it?" Exhaling, he gave Jon a direct look. "I don't think they've had much luck. He thought about giving it to you, actually...to show to your friend." At Jon's blank look, Wreg shrugged with one hand, looking away. "...The Third of the Four. That crazy fuck who draws all day long in his pajamas and masturbates whenever you visit him..."

Jon felt his face grow hot. "What?"

"You know." Wreg made another vague gesture, his eyes still on the wall monitor. "Feigran. The Rook. Your friend..."

Jon considered following that one, too, then clenched his jaw, deciding against it.

"What about the intermediaries?" he said after another pause, still studying Wreg's face. "We'll have to go find them, won't we? That's got to be the priority, right?"

"I honestly don't know, Jon," Wreg said, sighing. "Did you miss the 'tighter than a weasel's asshole' part, brother? Who knows when or if Adhipan will deign to involve me in extraction planning? In any case, the Sword and the Bridge will need to see these names, first."

"But chances are, he knows who's on the list, right?"

"He says he only knows a few."

Jon's lips pursed. Still, he was surprised Balidor had told Wreg that much. Brushing aside his own reaction, he rearranged his weight in the couch, letting his eyes settle back on the waterfall in the middle of the high-ceilinged atrium.

"That's unusual, isn't it?" he said. When Wreg didn't answer, Jon slouched deeper, planting his feet on the floor, folding his hands in his lap over his jeans. "I mean, from what Gar told me, you guys usually know the high level infiltrators. Their names, anyway. Something about their reps...who they've worked for over the years..."

"You are assuming those on the list would be infiltrators."

"I'm assuming they would be more visible in the Barrier than your average seer," Jon said, glancing at him. "I'm assuming they might stand out, unless they had pretty decent infiltration skills...or someone helping them," he added, without taking his gaze off Wreg's.

Wreg chuckled, as if in spite of himself.

"A safe assumption," he conceded, still smiling.

"Is that what's bugging you?" Jon pressed. "You figure they've got some hardcore alliances somewhere...people you think you might know more about than 'Dori?"

Wreg gave him another appraising look, that one sharper.

Jon found himself thinking he'd caught the infiltrator off guard, though. There was another silence before Wreg shrugged, giving him one of those denser appraising looks. Jon was still trying to figure out what it meant when Wreg rose from the couch, walking over and sinking his weight into the cushions only a few feet from Jon.

Jon felt himself stiffen at the seer's proximity, but didn't flinch away.

"Speaking of help," the muscular seer said, turning and curling a leg under him so he could sit forward, facing Jon directly, as Jon had him. "...And of infiltration. Aren't you supposed to be receiving training yourself, brother? Seer 101,
na?
That's what Nenz told me."

Folding his arms, Jon snorted. "Whatever, man."

But Wreg continued to measure him with his eyes, unsmiling.

"He was quite insistent about it," he said, his dark eyes still taking in Jon's face. "He told me he wanted you working with a variety of seers on this. He seemed to think there was some urgency involved, as he wanted to begin giving you work..."

"So? What's your point?"

"So...I am in charge of recruitment," Wreg said. He leaned back slightly on the cushions, but didn't move away. "...And training, young brother. Why haven't you approached me?"

"I figured you were busy," Jon said, glancing back at the monitor with a shrug. "There hasn't been a slow week around here for awhile, if you hadn't noticed..."

"I am not always busy," Wreg said.

"Well, sometimes I am," Jon said, giving him an irritated look.

Wreg smiled again, but that sharper, more appraising look remained in his dark eyes.

"You are not busy now," he said finally.

"Are you asking?" Jon retorted. "Or telling?"

"Whichever is required to get you to comply," Wreg said with a smile. "I can force you, if you like, brother. Would you prefer me to do that instead...?"

Jon found himself staring at the Asian seer, thrown a bit by the look he saw in his dark eyes. He couldn't pinpoint the meaning of the look exactly, but the glint of a predatory stare behind the calmness of his face brought Jon up short, if only because he'd never seen Wreg look at him like that before...or at anyone else, really. He was still staring at the seer's eyes when a voice from the other side of the couch jerked his head backwards.

"What the
fuck
is this?" Dorje said, staring between him and Wreg.

Jon jumped, startled.

Before he could comprehend the angry look on the Tibetan-looking seer's face, Wreg smoothly regained his feet, moving away from the couch and Jon before Jon finished staring incredulously at Dorje's expression. Seeing the anger growing on his boyfriend's face, right before Dorje turned to face Wreg in a near-fighting stance, Jon found himself at a loss, suddenly wondering what the hell had just happened.

He stood up when he saw Dorje strike out with the flat of his palm, shoving Wreg backwards a few steps as the larger seer had been about to leave the atrium.

"Whoa!" Jon said in alarm, holding up a hand. "Dorj, jesus. Calm down, man. You can't seriously be picking a fight with
Wreg..."

But the seer didn't even look in his direction.

"You mother
fucker..."
Dorje hissed at Wreg, making Jon jump again, hearing the fury in his voice. Dorje's accent worsened as he spat out words. "You told me you would stay away...you fucking
promised
me, you scumbag prick..."

"Back off, brother," Wreg said, giving him a death-like stare. "Right now...get your hand off me before I remove it for you..."

"Explain yourself, you lying, ink-soaked, Dreng-addict..."

"I don't have to explain anything," Wreg said coldly. "The Sword asked me to train your pup. I don't give a damn if you like it or not...it changes nothing..."

Jon stared between the two of them, feeling like he'd walked into the middle of a play, and had no idea what his role was supposed to be.

Wreg turned then, looking directly at him, his dark eyes flat, his face a harder mask.

"Come with me, Jon," he said. "I'm not asking anymore."