“Apparently not,” Parker added.
“It’s been over a year,” Flint pointed out. “The clones only took around two years to grow. These could be a new batch.”
“So it’s the Syndicate,” Tony stated. He rubbed his thumb over Bailey’s hand. The repetitive motion soothed him while he mused. “They’ve rebuilt their army of psycho soldiers, they have at least”—he counted quietly on his fingers—“at least four samples of our DNA. Unless Daisy somehow managed to collect a sample of my blood last night. Then it’s five. I don’t think she had time, though.”
Parker steepled his fingers and tapped them to his lips. “Four out of eight unblocked genome sequences might be all they need to replicate our abilities in new clones.”
“But do they know how to stop them from expiring? Wasn’t that the issue with Sara?” Grace asked. She reached across the table and clasped hands with Evan.
Sara was Wyatt’s ex, a Syndicate spy, a suicide bomber, and after that, a failed clone. She only lived for a few months after being born as a replicate of her original self—with advanced soldier muscle memory—and then her body failed her. As far as the Seven knew, the clones were still failing.
“What did Barry Pinkerton say?” Flint asked Parker.
“He said he’d always known how to fix the expiration problem, but never told them.”
“And you believe him?”
“So cynical. But yes, I believe him. Doesn’t mean the problem won’t be fixed. Barry went out of his way to hide the solution because he didn’t want the project to succeed, but now that he’s gone, it won’t take long for someone to find a work around. They’ve probably already hired a new geneticist. One without scruples.”
Parker’s words sparked something in Tony’s memory. A name. He picked at the hem of his shirt for a moment, trying to pull it from his mind. When he remembered, his eyes lit up, and he hit his thigh. “Daisy said there was a geneticist whose name was Wayne Bosch.”
“He was Pinkerton’s lab partner,” Sloan added, eyes lighting up with recognition. “He specialized in botany. The entire other side of Pinkerton’s lab was covered with cages of different types of plant species.”
“Well, one of them somehow ended up alive and eating humans.” Tony grimaced, remembering the dried husks. “Did you find the bodies of the Faithful?”
Liza, who’d remained stoically quiet, spoke. “They were gone.”
“As though it had never happened.” Tony blinked and squeezed Bailey’s hand. “It obviously happened. We have the evidence to prove it. Is it too early to get any info about the plant parts we sampled?”
“At this stage, all we can tell is that the bio-matter is constructed of some sort of flexible DNA binding agent. It has a molecular structure we’ve never before seen.” Parker went over to Sloan. He tapped her screen. “See what you can find out about this man, Bosch. Even if he’s dead, looking into him might help us understand the creature.”
“Um,” Evan cleared his throat, looking awkward. “There’s something else about the dreams I failed to mention.” He shot an unguarded glance at Misha. “Some of the women being tortured were pregnant.”
Wyatt shot to his feet. He chopped his hand through the air. “No.”
“I’m sorry, bro.” Evan shook his head. “I know what I saw. Misha wasn’t involved as far as I can see… but… maybe the faceless woman looks indescribable because her identity is fluid, and with the special DNA growing inside her, she’s still a target.”
“Way to set everyone’s mind at ease,” Liza snapped, twisting to scowl at Evan.
Tension sizzled in the air. Tony could practically taste Wyatt’s wrath as it simmered uncontrolled. Wyatt took his woman by the hand and helped her from the chair. “We’re going.”
“But…” Misha started, then fizzled off. She rubbed Wyatt’s arm and said softly to him, “It will be okay. Don’t worry, love.”
Still, Wyatt’s eyes darkened, and he moved toward the exit.
“Wyatt,” Parker warned. “You can’t run from this.”
Near the door, Wyatt tugged Misha under his arm, and pivoted with a dark glare.
“Honey,” Misha said, looking up at Wyatt with big, glistening eyes. “I’m going to be okay. I’m more worried about the actual birth than anything else. You guys have me protected. Don’t worry. Stay a bit longer and hear them out.”
His eyes softened on her, but when he took in the family, there was panic in them. “This is out of control. We don’t have the resources to deal with all this.”
Liza hugged herself. “I agree with Wyatt. There’s no way we can mount an assault on them, not with our limited intel and manpower. Yes, half of you with your powers count as ten men, but they’re building an army of us. They’re close to completing it. Even if they let the incomplete clones loose until they expire, that’s still a minimum two-month shit storm we have to deal with.” Her worried glance went to the sketches Parker had rested on the coffee table. “And not all of us will get out of it unscathed.”
Her heavy words settled with a storm of tension crackling through the room. Everyone began to argue. Wyatt, barely retaining his stance in the room, placated Misha with hushed tones. Others were barking suggestions on how to get more resources. None of them were practical, and for once, Tony was at a loss for words.
When Bailey shifted awkwardly next to Tony, he realized she would be feeling very out of the loop. Most of what they spoke about had happened before she was in on their secret. He moved their entwined hands to his lap and covered it with his other hand. When she looked up, and he gave her a reassuring smile, she froze.
“I just thought of something,” she mumbled.
“What?”
“Back in the agency, if we needed more intel, we would turn someone to our side—create a double agent.”
Coming to stand near them, Parker interrupted, somehow having heard Bailey over the din of the family arguing. “We’ve already got Pinkerton, and the information he gave us hasn’t led to much that we didn’t already know. It seems like the Syndicate keep most of their information contained in pockets, or silos. None of it runs on a central server. There are probably precious few who know enough to do harm to their organization.”
Bailey straightened her spine. “I’m talking about Daisy.”
Parker shut her down. “We’ve tried to turn Daisy. I think it’s time to accept the fact she’s a lost cause.”
On his words, the arguments stopped.
Mary gasped. “Don’t you say that, mijo. Don’t you ever say that.” She wiped her glistening eyes. “That’s what the Sisterhood said about you all when you were just babies. Thank God I didn’t listen to them, or none of you would be here. Frankly, I’m ashamed at your callous outlook. I taught you better than that.”
Parker’s jaw twitched. “What will you have us do, Ma? Beat her around the head and drag her home?”
“Now that you mention it…” Griffin murmured.
Lilo slapped him on the chest in outrage. “She’s your sister. Your lost sister. Your mother is right. You need to stop thinking of her as a lost cause.”
Griffin tugged on his collar and nodded at his wife. “Family forgives.”
“And we stick together.” Lilo took Griffin’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
“I have something,” Sloan added. “We’ve tracked her to that building on the far side of the Quadrant. All we need to do is up our surveillance, put a plan in place, and roll it out. There are five of us now with powers. Surely we can infiltrate the place and take her out of there.”
“But are there five?” Parker gave Tony a condescending look.
He stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you’re never here. We plan—”
Tony held up his hand, interrupting. “I’m taking a break from acting.”
That shut the smug bastard up. Parker’s jaw closed with an audible click. “You are?”
“Yes.” Tony glanced
at his mate who smiled gently back. “I can’t be in two places at once. You were right. I’m telling you all here and now that I’m committing to the team full time. At least until we’ve dealt with the Syndicate.”
“Won’t that affect your cover?” Lilo asked from across the room. She had a wily mind, that woman.
Griffin nodded in agreement. “Lilo is right. As much as it pains me to admit, having an airtight alibi is good for all of us. If you suddenly quit and disappear, it could raise questions.”
Tony shrugged. “I guess I could do some volunteer work in the meantime. Considering my stint in rehab, I don’t think it will come as a surprise.”
“I’m proud of your choice, mijo.”
“You’re always welcome at the sobriety house,” Bailey suggested.
“Thanks, babe. That’s a really good suggestion. In fact, I’m going back this week.”
“Okay,” Parker said, taking control of the meeting. “So, Tony’s on-board. Sloan’s looking into Bosch. We’re all agreed we need more resources, and we’re going to kidnap Daisy, turn her and then use her to take the Syndicate down. Just exactly how are we going to extort the sister we left behind to burn?”
Mary winced, and Flint glared daggers at his eldest son.
Evan threw a scrunched-up piece of paper at Parker with a scowl. “Do you have to be such a dick about it? We’re trying.”
Liza rubbed her nose. “I can call my friend at the FBI. Maybe it’s time to get them involved.”
“Assuming they don’t know about it already,” Bailey piped in. “Hell, even the CIA and Homeland probably know. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do to check that won’t raise red flags. I don’t trust any of my old colleagues.”
“She’s right,” Parker added. “This operation is world-wide and the Syndicate has friends in high places. We all saw the breadth of the black site operation. They’re preparing for war on a global scale. For all we know, this comes from the government.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Wyatt snapped. “Can’t we just bomb them?”
Parker tapped his lip, actually considering it.
Mary stood up. “I think it’s time I call the Hildegard Sisterhood.”
“No,” Flint growled. “They want you dead.”
Mary shrugged. “Let’s be honest. It’s been years since I defected. At first, we assumed we hadn’t heard from them because we were in hiding, and we were good at it. But we’ve been in this city for years and the children haven’t exactly been quiet. The world knows about the Deadly Seven and their abilities. It’s almost a given that they’ve already found us.” She stood, flicked out her hands and began pacing alongside the couch. Her husband rolled to his side, tugged a dagger from his belt and handed it to his wife. She shot him an appreciative glance full of love and then flipped the dagger with perfect precision. She did this while pacing, thinking aloud. “All the Sisterhood wanted was a world without the destructive influence of men. They trained assassins as sanctioned Sinners.” She glanced at the newcomers to the family. “I was one of them. It was my job to infiltrate organizations, take down any male-dominated tyrannical organizations from the inside. Toward the end, their objectives moved more toward ending the general world domination type terrorism, regardless of whether women or men were involved.” Pausing for a breath, she twirled the dagger attentively, and then continued. “They tried to do good, albeit sometimes misguided. Since the start, they were against the Syndicate. The very fact that they knew about the organization means they have good intel. I wasn’t the only psychic on their team.” She took a deep breath and then stopped, mumbling in Latin, “Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei.”
“My friend, the enemy of my enemy…” Parker’s brow crinkled in concentration. “Okay. Let’s say we agree. We reach out to the Sisterhood to make them our allies. How would we contact them?”
Wyatt growled and scrubbed his face. “This is insane. I’m bringing a child into the world, and it’s gone insane.” This time, when he took Misha, they left.
Parker turned to Tony. “Are you serious about your commitment?”
Tony replied with a nod.
“Good. Meet me in Ops at five tonight and we’ll gear up and patrol. Sensing gluttony might be the key to finding this plant thing.”
It was on the tip of Tony’s tongue to say that he had prior commitments, including but not limited to his Netflix and Chill sesh with his lady, but he clamped it down.
Patrolling. He could do that. No problems. He bit his nails.
“Tony?” Parker prompted.
“I’ll be there.”
Twenty-Four
Bailey spent most of the afternoon with Tony at his place. Both had been shaken by the news revealed at the meeting. Bailey, in particular, had not before fully grasped the enormity of the situation. These people who created the plant monster had their operation reaching around the world. They experimented on anything and everything they could get their hands on, including pregnant women and children… and they were preparing for war. Not just any war, an all out apocalypse, and the Deadly Seven were the only ones standing in their way.
Settling into the theater room with a bowl of popcorn and soda, Bailey sat on one of the leather recliners. Tony stood before the screen, using a remote to flick through the available streaming selection of movies. The man had been adamant they spend the afternoon together before reality hit. Tonight he’d be out patrolling the city disguised in his battle suit, making his first appearance as Gluttony in months.
“What do you think their end game is?” she asked.
From the way Tony’s shoulders tensed, he didn’t want to talk about it, but she insisted. She asked again.
Coming back to the leather recliners, he sat next to her and slid her a resigned glance. “They created us to sense sin. The initial plan was to train us as soldiers and then send us out into the world to execute the ones who sinned the most. Our birth mother thought we were to use our powers to target the worst sinners and convince them to be better, only using our abilities as a last resort. When she learned the Syndicate wanted us be judge, jury and executioner, she made it so our powers would only manifest when we had a mate to balance us, and help keep us sane. So... long story short, they want to raze the world of sinners and build a utopia of saints.”
“Surely you’re not serious.”
He gave a grim nod of the head and then stole a piece of popcorn. “Deadly.”
“Wow.”
Tony lobbed the popcorn into his mouth. “Mary used to have visions of the future when she worked with the Sisterhood. She saw two variations, one where we were used to create this destructive future, and one where we prevented it. The Sisterhood didn’t want to take a chance and wanted us dead. Mary believed we could be saved.”
“Oh my God.” Bailey slunk low in her chair. “And the people who created you are still trying to replicate what they did with you, but with clones they can grow every two years in a tank?”
Tony nodded, then grinned and pointed his remote at the big cinema screen. “Harry Potter?”
The man could snap off his worries in an instant, but Bailey wasn’t so adept. This news shocked her to her core. Forget about the years of work she’d sacrificed to fighting human terrorists, the Syndicate had created inhuman threats, and they weren’t even on the CIA radar… not that she’d ever known. If Liza considered turning to her FBI friend, then perhaps Bailey should reach out to her old agency. Except, she trusted them less than a glass of Cosmo. And Homeland? They feed those guys raw meat for meals. They were ruthless. Going to them with this news might not end well for anyone.
“Bailey, don’t worry,” Tony said, capturing her hand. “It will be fine.”
“How?”
“We fight.” He thought about it. “And we do what you said. Turn Daisy to our side and then use her intel to take them down from the inside.”
“Assuming she’s in a position of trust, and the intel is good.”
“She’s Juliu
s’s only daughter with him. Surely she’s his most trusted.”
Bailey wasn’t so sure it was as clear cut as that.
“Come here,” Tony said. He shifted the bowl of popcorn to his other side and then lifted her with strong hands over the armrest until she straddled him. Positioning her hips against his, he lowered his voice seductively. His rumbling purr penetrated her system. “Let’s not talk about it now. We have each other. Let’s focus on that.”
And then he used his lips to brush hers with a tantalizing sweep before nibbling her jaw and kissing her neck. Finding her erogenous zone beneath her ear, he went to work undoing her tension. A moan escaped, and she arched into him, enjoying his grunt of approval when her breasts pressed against his chest.
“That’s it, baby,” he murmured. “Let’s forget our problems, just for the next few hours.”
It was unavoidable. The tension left, just leaked out through her skin with every kiss and touch of his mouth. Being with Tony was like something she’d never experienced before. He was attentive, wanting, and loving. He was home.
After Tony had left to meet with Parker, Bailey gathered what belongings she could find in his apartment, and got ready to leave. They’d spent most of the afternoon watching precious little TV, but plenty of each other. Tony had been true to his words and made her forget about the outside world and its heavy problems.
She had to admit she liked spending time with him. She liked that he needed her. She liked that he made her laugh. And she especially liked that he came from a family that not only fought to keep the peace, but were dedicated to saving those less fortunate than them. Less fortunate and sometimes misguided. He represented everything she fought for while in the agency.
He was so much more than the movie star poster boy.
And he was hers.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and she smiled to herself.
She’d told him she’d be there when he got back from patrolling, but she hadn’t, however, mentioned that she would stay in the interim. Her to-do list was growing. She needed her own clothes, and her car was still at the hotel. The valet cost would be astronomical. Not to mention she wanted to speak with Max and the rest of the Nightingale Team. And her firearm was missing somewhere in the Cardinal City sewers. That last one was just going to have to stay there for the mean time. She wouldn’t be caught dead fishing around in those muddy waters on her own, maybe never.
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