"I only tested it," Gemma replied. "It's not my fault the design was flawed."
The scarred inventor limped toward a rack on the wall. "I've been experimenting with several new bullets, using the same design as the Firebolts." He tossed Malloryn a bullet. "Full of colloidal silver. Burns a blue blood, burns the hell out of a dhampir."
"A Firebolt will tear a hole in an enemy," Malloryn pointed out.
"Then you had best make sure your aim is exceptionally good if you're surrounded by friends," Jack replied smoothly. "This way you won't kill anyone, but you'll incapacitate them." He grabbed a smooth orb made of brass. "Ava helped me with this design. It's a recreation of a Doeppler Orb, used by a group of humanists several years ago to release a toxic gas that could drive blue bloods mad. Ava's managed to create a means to transfuse the Black Vein serum into a gaseous state when the Doeppler Orb is activated."
"I managed to distil it into a perfume bottle too," Ava said brightly. "One spray and it's in the air."
"I can't see any potential problems with that at all." An injection of Black Vein was toxic to blue bloods, dhampir, and vampires, and deadly within minutes. "Except for the fact none of us can use it."
"That's why it's not for you," Ava chided. "I made it for your wife. A little 'Welcome to COR' gift."
It hadn't escaped his notice everyone was going out of his or her way to include Adele.
He didn't quite know what to think about that.
"And for anyone else," Jack said, tossing Malloryn a breathing mask. "This will do in a pinch."
"We managed to get some vital information out of Corvus," Malloryn said, as the rest of COR gathered around the dining room table.
Jack and Ava had spent all morning searching the room from top to bottom, and finally managed to find the listening device Balfour's agent must have set inside. He'd told them not to destroy it, just in case he wanted to send Balfour on a wild goose chase.
"We've confirmed Corvus, Devoncourt, and Sir George Hamilton are the three leading members of the Rising Sons, though Dido is the one who controls them."
He watched Adele's face as he mentioned her father's name. Though she paled, she didn't protest.
"Corvus admitted there's some scheme with the metaljackets that Balfour is hatching, though Sir George was handling it and Corvus didn't seem to know many of the details. He's mostly in charge of recruiting, since he owns the club and is the perfect lure for the disenfranchised. Devoncourt's in control of munitions."
"So they have explosives," Gemma mused. "But we need to get to Devoncourt to find them."
"Or Sir George to work out what this scheme involves," Jack murmured.
"Byrnes and Ingrid, think you can track our erstwhile earl?" Malloryn asked.
"Consider it done," Byrnes replied.
"We'll handle the metaljackets plot. Sir George is awaiting a final piece of information they need to get this scheme off the ground, though their informant is withholding it until a certain payment comes through. Apparently, Sir George is furious. Doesn't want to look the fool in front of Balfour. The informant's supposed to be in attendance at Lady Haynes's ball tomorrow night, where the transfer is intended to take place. He and Sir George had some sort of falling out years ago, and Mowbray doesn't trust him to hold up his end of the deal."
"Mowbray?" Adele lifted her head from her hands. "There was a letter to a Mr. Thomas Mowbray on my father's secret desk. He was an old business partner who part-owned one of the factories Father had invested in."
"The one and the same," Malloryn confirmed. "We need to attend Lady Haynes's ball, to see if we can get some eyes and ears on this transfer. Think you're up to it, Duchess? I believe we were both invited, were we not?"
Adele looked like she had a little color back in her cheeks. "I'm not the one who's going to turn heads. Lady Haynes is going to think it the coup of the year to have your illustrious presence in her ballroom."
"As well as my cousin, Lady Beechworth, and her husband, Dmitri Grigoriev, a Russian prince," he replied, gesturing to Gemma and Obsidian. "Think you can get them past the door?"
"Oh, please," Adele replied. "Give me a challenge, Malloryn. You may all be lethal in dark alleyways and gambling dens, but the Echelon and its ballrooms are my territory. I can get them in. Just don't kill anyone, or I'll never be able to show my face in society again."
"I'm sorry, my lord."Sir George bowed his head as Balfour lashed out, kicking the desk in his study over.
"Sorry?" Balfour snarled. "Sorry? I told you not to commit anything to paper."
"They didn't take anything," he growled out, "except for my bloody paperweight."
"And you're certain they were inside your private study?" Balfour demanded.
"Yes. The floorboard is rigged to alert me should anyone break in."
Balfour strode to the fireplace and depressed the sun symbol. This was what he got for relying upon others.
"Do you think they found the map?" Jelena murmured to him as they ducked inside.
"They couldn't have. I burned it yesterday."
Balfour made Sir George examine the room. "Nothing else's been touched?"
"Nothing. I've checked everything."
Jelena knelt in front of the desk, examining the lock. "Someone's picked it. There's a faint scratch on the lock."
His fingers curled into fists. "Then we need to move the explosives. Tonight."
"But they couldn't know what the—"
"They'll know," he snarled. "Move every stockpile tonight, or I'll remove your throat. And make sure all of those bloody automatons are in place. We're so close to completing our plans. I will not suffer any more incompetence." He turned on Jelena. "I want the Duke of Malloryn distracted. Keep him away from rest of the Rising Sons. I don't care how."
"Trust me," she purred. "I know exactly how to do it."
Chapter 21
There was another body that night.