“Silence, partisan.” Mars smacked his fist into the opposite palm and aimed a hard squint at Sybil.
The woman bowed, a sign of obedience that was promptly ruined when she twisted her head to Polly and smirked.
Air tightened around Polly’s head as purple mist floated down from the ceiling. The black ring was more pronounced in the center of Zeus’s aura. He materialized across the room.
Polly raced to his side. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Polly drew a shuddering breath. “Are you okay? Pierus has threatened your immortality.”
Zeus gently disengaged her arms, and eased her away. “Pierus is but a blemish on my ass.”
Clasping her hands in front of her, she fought the urge to hug him again. “Can he do it? Can he end your existence?”
“He can try.” Zeus leaned forward. Pressing his forehead against hers, he breezed calm, love and peace into her head with his thoughts. “I am all right, my child. Asclepius has checked me over and found nothing to worry about. Ease your fear.”
“But what about the black spot on your aura? Did you ask about that?”
Zeus heaved out a breath. “You girls are worse than Gaia. At least she knows when to leave it alone.” He pinned her with a steely glare. “We have larger problems. Have you solved your challenge?”
She glanced at the digital time read-out over the entry door. “If Mary plans to run the story exposing Argran’s monopolistic practices, we’ll know shortly. I should call in.” She’d lost her cell in the Hollow. Sparing her dad one more critical stare, she moved to the landline on the side credenza.
While she waited for Mary to answer, Sybil asked Ian for his phone. “I can dry it out so you don’t have to replace it.”
Water dripped from the side seam when he handed it to her with a half-smile. Polly almost laughed when the protector waved her hand over the device and recited a child’s nursery rhyme in ancient Greek. When she handed it back to him, he held it on his palm, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.
Mary came on the line, preventing Polly from telling Ian it was just another stupid parlor trick. Mary barked into her ear. “Where the frack have you been, Thanos? Get your ass to the station. We’re leading with your story and we need you for a live shot.”
Polly let her shoulders slump. “Took an unexpected trip and lost my phone. I’m thirty minutes away. There’s no way I can make it to the station. Can you give the story to Bieler?” Goddess, she couldn’t believe she was giving away a career-making story. Polly bit her lip, waiting for the response.
Mary’s words came slowly. “You want me to let another reporter break this?”
“Some things are more important.” Like the man she loved, or her dad’s health. She glanced toward the opposite side of the table, where her dad was speaking quietly to Mars, their heads bent together. Against the deep brown of Mars’s hair, her father’s hair showed gray woven among his curls.
“Thanos, you’d better be sure about this.”
She was. “Long story, Mary, but suffice it to say Argran isn’t happy about my snooping. I’m taking care of my family at the moment. Give it to Bieler.”
Ian stowed his now dry phone in his pocket and glided over to her. Warmth from his palm seeped into her shoulder as she finished speaking to Mary.
“I’m sorry you had to give the story up.” He kissed her cheek when she disconnected the call.
Polly closed her eyes. Even as she shoved away the disappointment of letting Bieler break the story, the memory of the dark ring flickering around Zeus’s pulse renewed the sting. “It had to be done.”
A discreet knock on the conference room door drew her attention. Sybil answered, conducted a brief exchange with one of Hermes’ employees. She accepted a phone from him, then shut the door. A wide smile lit her face as she approached Polly and Ian.
“Got something for you.” Sybil held a phone aloft.
“You replaced my phone already?” The communications department was always fast to replace lost items, but this put their previous track record to shame.
Sybil flipped the device around, showing off the henna tattoo design of the case. “It’s not new.”
“How the hell did you find it? I lost it in the Hollow.” When she grabbed it, the device buzzed in her hand, as though something had been activated or it had recognized its owner.
“It’s another way Zeus is tracking you. He warded all your phones at the picnic last weekend.”
That explained the buzzing sensation. “Don’t suppose you found my purse as well?” Having it back would save Polly from replacing it, her wallet and all her credit cards.
“Sorry, no. But security will have a replacement ID ready shortly. And new plastic has already been arranged.” Sybil shoved a bulging envelope toward Polly. “Accounting sent four hundred bucks from petty cash to tide you over until you get replacement cards. You’ll have to fill out a form or two. Freaking paperwork.” Sybil rolled her eyes.
“The news is on,” Mars announced as he snagged a remote control from the center of the large conference table. He aimed it at the dark walnut paneling on one wall and clicked. The plank slid silently into the ceiling, revealing a bank of television. The large center display flickered to life.
Polly claimed a chair facing the screen. Ian sat on one side, sliding his arm along the back of her seat. On the other side, Zeus grabbed a spot. She reached for her dad’s hand, clasping it under the table.
The male anchor, Les Williams, filled the screen, his deep bass voice inspiring confidence and trust. “In breaking news, the president of Argran Industries has been detained for questioning by the Trade Commission in light of a Channel Seven investigation into monopolistic practices. Our Alexis Bieler has the story.”
The camera cut to the reporter, positioned in front of a large monitor displaying the file footage Polly had outlined in her report synopsis. As Alexis read Polly’s words from the teleprompter, a picture of Eos from the parking lot filled the screen, side by side with a publicity still of Scott Peltier. Polly’s lips moved as she voiced the narrative from memory along with the reporter. She nearly cheered when the camera cut to a developing scene outside Argran headquarters, showing an executive being led toward one of the government’s big black SUVs.
“You did it.” Ian tapped her shoulder, his voice quiet and filled with awe. “You saved the world.”
His words made her feel like a million dollars, but she knew her job wasn’t complete. “Not yet. We have to find a way to implement your alternative solution. If Apate was successful imitating you, the plant in Liberia will be gearing up for production.”
“And Greed is still at large.” Mars clicked another screen to life, displaying a map of the world. A red dot flickered off the east coast, near where Argran’s headquarters were located. “This is her current location.”
“Are you sure?” Polly’s voice cracked on the question.
Mars nodded. “When I zapped her in the cavern, I installed an ITS in her body.”
Ian cocked his head to the side. “ITS?”
Sybil paused from pouring a glass of water. “Immortal Tracking Sensor. Bitch can’t fly anywhere without us knowing. That was my idea.”
“Partisan, I liked you better when you had Polyhymnia’s lock upon your mouth.” Mars pressed a finger to his lips and twisted his hand. Everyone in the room, except Ian, probably heard his mental order to her to shut it. He turned his attention back to Polly. “We want this challenge in the books before Greed transforms any more. Tell me about this solution of yours.”
Polly looked at Ian, lifting one brow. “Are you ready to pitch your idea to Zeus?”
Ian’s eyes went wide as his jaw fell. Polly touched her fingers against the pulse pounding visibly at the base of his neck, and imagined a shot of the type of whiskey she knew he preferred sliding into his veins, calming his nerves.
A smile filled his eyes, even as he blanked any other expression from his face. He laced their hands together and turned to fa
ce Zeus. “Sir, I have a proposal for you.”
Thank God for Polly’s hand on his thigh. The light touch went a long way toward calming him enough to string two thoughts together. He’d thought to wait until after the challenge had been won, but if he pitched at least part of the idea now, he could help win the challenge.
Zeus drummed his fingers on the marble slab of the table, eyebrows raised. He steepled his hands under his chin. “I’m listening.”
“He’s a good guy. Go ahead.” Polly’s voice filled his mind.
Ian swiveled his head, casting a nervous glance at Zeus. The god’s expression didn’t change. “Can’t he hear that?”
“Nope. I shielded it. Sybil probably heard, but I doubt Zeus did.”
“You’d be wrong, daughter. But that’s a topic for later.” Zeus leaned forward. A tiny smile cracked his lips. “But Polyhymnia is right, I’m a good guy. And if you have an idea that could save my daughters, I want to hear it. Right now.”
A virtual tap against his forehead pushed Ian back in his chair. Was that Zeus’s way of nudging? He sucked in a deep breath and plunged forward. “My research staff all resigned this afternoon. And I doubt I’d be welcomed back to the Eos lab after today, so I’m technically unemployed right now as well. I’d like to propose that you hire my staff as contract workers.”
He paused to take a breath and Zeus spoke. “What would I hire them to do?”
“Perfect the organic alternative to the chemical sanitizer Eos has had me working on.”
“Do I have a lab in my holdings, Mars?”
Mars studied the ceiling, his eyes narrowed. “Porton Down in Wiltshire, England. It was a military testing compound for the British government. But they’ve been shut down since you bought the facility. Too much contamination.”
Visions of soldiers in full battle gear and gas masks filled Ian’s head. Maybe something closer to home. “You can’t just magick one up?”
Mars turned a baleful eye on Ian. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Um, sorry. I have a few friends at Delphi City University who would let us use their lab to set up an alternative for the government of Liberia’s consideration.”
“So I hire your staff to do this.” Zeus propped his chin on one fist. “Can you guarantee success?”
“No.” Ian’s shoulders slumped. “What I can guarantee is that I will provide a solution. And it will work. The hard part might be convincing a foreign government that this is the right option. I’m a scientist, not a diplomat. My option is better for the population at large, but it will initially cost more money to implement. Liberian officials might not be willing to consider it.”
Snapping his fingers, Zeus called out. “Hermes? Please report to me in SecCom.”
Ian chanced a look at Polly, shrugging his shoulder.
Polly smiled broadly at him. “Hermes is the God of Diplomacy. I believe that means Zeus is amenable to your proposal.”
Relief sprouted through Ian like a time-lapse video of a mushroom growing. “Oh. Good.”
“I am certainly agreeable.” Hermes shifted into the room with a showy flash of light. Zeus said to Ian, “Please make the call to your colleagues at DCU, and to your researchers. We will want to get this underway as quickly as possible.”
Gotta love a guy, or god, who can make his mind up and get the ball rolling. Releasing his grip on Polly’s hand, Ian dug in his pocket for the phone. Sybil had miraculously restored it to working. Talk about magic. “I’m able to get a signal here, right?” he asked.
Sybil laughed at him. “We’re on the outskirts of Delphi, you dope. We aren’t really on Olympus. Most of us drive to work, just like normal people.” She leaned forward in her seat and lowered her voice. “Unless we’re running late and don’t want to piss off the boss for the tenth time this month.”
“Sybil, you will leave now and check Polly’s residence to make sure it is secured. Then you will establish a position and provide a guard for the night.”
“But…I have a date tonight.” Sybil’s tone turned petulant.
“Cancel it.” The command in Mars’s voice was unmistakable.
Zeus clapped his hands, drawing Ian’s attention from the bickering partisan and her cantankerous boss. Hermes had only stayed long enough to receive his instructions from Zeus. “A diplomatic channel with the government officials will be opened by tomorrow. Polly, I would like you to work with your sister, Melpomene, to influence those officials to agree to Hermes’ suggestions.”
“Makes sense to me.” Polly jotted a note on a pad of paper with the Olympus logo on the top.
Zeus pointed at Ian. “Contact your people and get them to begin work immediately. I want this done tomorrow.”
Things moved quickly when gods were involved. Seemed they bypassed the committee stage and went straight to the solution. “Yes, sir. It’s mostly done and we…um, confiscated samples of the nematodes from Eos. We’ll have it ready if we have to work all night.”
“Good man. We will convene for a progress update tomorrow. Human resources will be in touch with paperwork for you all.”
Ian blinked hard. “Just for my staff, sir. Don’t worry about me.”
“Nonsense. You’re vital to my daughter’s existence. You will be compensated.”
“All I ask for, sir, is that when the time comes for me to ask you for her hand in marriage, you’ll at least listen.”
Chapter 23
“The Justice Department conducted a raid at Argran’s corporate headquarters. Agents were seen exiting the building with carts loaded with boxes of records and computers. Argran’s stock dipped to under one dollar after attaining a record high of sixty-seven just one week ago. The Board of Directors from Eos issued a statement that the merger between the two research and development companies is now dead in the water. Reporting from the grounds of Eos Corporation, I’m Polly Thanos, Channel Seven. Now, back to the studio.”
“Great report, Polly.” Lia clapped her hands, then the rest of their sisters joined in. Zeus had called a follow up meeting at the resort, demanding a progress report. Honestly, it was probably more of an attempt to get them all together for dinner, just like the old days. As soon as the meeting ended, they’d adjourned to the TV lounge at the Athenian.
Polly clicked the remote, silencing the six o’clock news. When she’d checked back into work this morning, Mary had summoned her immediately. The original story had been picked up by the networks, something every reporter dreams of. Exposure on the national stage. When Mary offered the story back to her, citing Bieler’s lack of knowledge of the subject, Polly had jumped at the chance.
She’d been so busy, she hadn’t had an opportunity to speak to Ian at all. And since Sybil had been ordered to guard Polly overnight, the condo had been a little crowded and a lot awkward. Mindful of their guest, Polly and Ian had barely done more than pillow talk and a little heavy necking. Sybil snored.
She’d missed him all day. Polly’s heart ached more with each passing minute, but they both had work to do to close out the challenge successfully.
And other than a brief sighting of Greed when she’d left work, the threat had been absent most of the day. It was gratifying to note with the small glimpse she’d caught of the bird, that the morph to human form had stopped. Bitch still looked more like a bird than a person.
Pierus had been absent, probably in hiding and licking his wounds over his defeat. No general liked to surrender. Pierus was most likely not the exception.
Sybil had emailed frequently throughout the day, reporting that Ian had made progress on his experiment, and Hermes had connected favorably with the right people in Liberia. Her last email at a little after four had been just one word in the subject line: Success.
Polly had to remind herself she might have won the battle, but they hadn’t won the war yet.
“I wonder who will be next,” Aerie mused. “I hope it’s not me. The Fall wedding season is about to heat up. I’ll be busier than a bee in a hive.”
“Speaking of weddings,” Lia piped up. “I think I’d like to be maid of honor at yours, Polly.”
A thrill raced through her blood, but she squashed it. “Mine? I’m not getting married.”
“Not what I heard. Word is Ian mentioned asking Zeus for your hand in marriage.” Lia lifted her brow and widened her eyes, the picture of innocent surprise.
Polly scowled. “Who told you that?”
“I’d rather not say. Gotta protect my source.”
“I’m going to kill Sybil.”
“Why would you say you don’t want to get married?” Aerie tipped her head to the side. “You love Ian, don’t you?”
“More than I’ve ever loved anyone.” Not Leonardo. Not even Lysander had held her heart the way Ian did. “But if I don’t marry him, I can’t spend the next five lifetimes missing him.”
Sitting next to her, Clio wove her arm through Polly’s and squeezed. “Not marrying him will not guarantee that you won’t miss him.” Her gentle tone drew tears to the corner of Polly’s eyes.
She blinked and swallowed hard past the lump that had formed in her throat. “I don’t think I can do it. I was thinking about speaking to Mnemosyne and asking her to fix my memory so I don’t rebirth with any knowledge of how much he means to me.”
“But Polly, Zeus has already given him one immortal gift.” Nia, seated on Polly’s left, patted her knee. “And look what he did for Clio and me. Jax and Thomas are our mates for eternity. Surely Father will do the same for you and Ian.”
“What if Ian doesn’t want that gift?” Doubt filled her heart. “What if one lifetime is enough for him?”
An acute ache blasted through her head, sharp, stabbing, impatient. Tears stung her eyes again, but this time they came from physical pain, not emotion.
“What the fuck?” Callie growled. “The man loves you for today, tomorrow and all eternity. Don’t be such a goose.”
Polly rubbed her temples where her sister’s rude nudge had speared into her brain. “Callie, that wasn’t necessary.”
Greed: Goddess of Delphi (Goddesses of Delphi Book 3) Page 20