Then the feed shifted. Kelan ran into the rotunda and all hell broke loose. Rocco followed a minute later, running around the outside ring toward Jafaar.
“Jafaar was at the ceremony?” Kit looked at Rocco
“Yeah. Said he was a witness,” Rocco told them. “All the witnesses brought guests, but only the witnesses were permitted in the rotunda.”
“Those guests, the ones left in the ballroom, were the one percenters of the one percenters,” Selena added. “We were rubbing shoulders with aristocrats, sheiks, celebrities, you name it. It was like a rave for the world’s glitterati.”
Kit looked at Owen. “Lobo said there were some power players coming in to town, but no one knew what their agendas were.”
“Well, Jafaar was no stranger to King’s Warren,” Rocco said. “He knew another way out, as did the other witnesses. His limo was waiting there for him. Theirs were, too. You can’t really see it on this feed. I bet there are a dozen more entrances we don’t know about.” The video showed some dark footage of them running through tunnels. They came to a staircase, which they went up for a few flights before finally reaching an exit hatch. The video ended there.
“I shut it off in case Jafaar’s driver scanned me again. When we left, we went up to Yusef’s. Jafaar kept saying how pissed King was going to be that his carefully planned initiation of his prime warrior had been ruined.”
Kelan frowned. “So the whole initiation event had more to do with King’s warrior than with Fiona? They destroyed a girl’s life for a fighter?”
Rocco looked at him. “Not just any fighter. When I asked Jafaar why that mattered, he said King’s War Bringer was long foretold to be a uniter of the regions in the new world order. The fact that it didn’t happen and that King’s daughter had been taken would have devastating implications for his power bid.” Rocco glanced around the table. “I should note that Jafaar did not seem heartbroken over that turn of events.”
Kit’s brows lowered. He nodded toward Kelan. “Your ink says ‘War Bringer.’”
Kelan lifted his sleeve. His ink was no secret. He’d had it since before he entered the Army.
“It’s an odd label,” Blade said. “Odder still to have it used by King and Kelan. I understood it’s tribal meaning when you used it. But what does it mean to King?”
“Maybe there’s something in your mom’s papers that will help us understand,” Kit said. “Your turn, Kelan. Tell the guys what happened after Val left you at the biker bar.”
“Wait. What papers?” Kelan asked Blade.
Blade pointed to a pile of boxes set in the corner. “I found a note she left in her jewelry box.” Greer put that note up on the smart screen. “She’d taken these from Bladen. He was a librarian for a secret org. We haven’t had a chance to dig into them yet.”
“Go on, Kelan,” Kit ordered.
Kelan shrugged. “I was taken to a warehouse where I had to fight two guys for Fiona. After that, we were both transported to a steel building that was being used as a fight club. The announcer there told them I was the War Bringer. That phrase has meaning to King and the people around him.”
“This event seemed highly organized, with odd roles and labels for different people,” Selena said. “It wasn’t a simple party—it had a purpose, but what that was, I don’t know. People knew their roles—they were familiar with what was happening. This isn’t the first time it happened.”
Owen moved his stance. Kelan could feel his tension. “Were the guys who took Fiona part of this org?”
“Like everything else,” Kit said, “it’s unclear. Lobo thinks King put a bounty out for her capture. Lobo tracked down the owner of the house she was stashed in that first night. He’s one of the big sex traffickers in Denver. The bounty King offered and the opportunity to become one of King’s sex suppliers sent a powerful ripple through that trade.”
“What happened to the girls we recovered?” Kelan asked.
“They were checked out at a hospital, then were handed over to a women’s shelter.”
“The arena fight was supposedly to select who would be Fiona’s champion.” Kelan frowned. “It was run by the same shot caller who brought Fiona and me to King’s Warren—the one who got me out the next morning. He said he couldn’t save Fiona, that only I could.”
“So was he helping you?” Blade asked.
Kelan got up and started pacing the length of the conference room. “Maybe. I’m not convinced the arena fight was part of King’s scene. That guy could have taken Fiona and me straight to the tunnels. Why divert for a bit of entertainment first?”
“Describe him,” Owen said.
Kelan glanced at the boss. “My height, light brown hair, gray-blue eyes, muscular, in his thirties.”
Kit frowned as he looked Owen. “You know him.”
Owen’s lips thinned. “Wendell Jacobs. Our rogue Red Teamer.”
“Sonofabitch,” Blade cursed. “Is he King?”
“He’s not old enough to be Fiona and Lion’s dad,” Kelan said. “And yes, I think he is helping. He could have killed me when he took me out of the warren. Instead, he tranqed me and made it easy for me to find my way back to the tunnels. He was definitely the one who ended the competition before Fiona’s attacker could join the fun.” Kelan looked at Greer. “I heard a police siren. Everyone scattered.”
Greer nodded. “I’ll see if a trouble call hit the police blotter.”
“Wendell’s more involved than you thought,” Val said, watching Owen.
“What’s he doing hanging out with King?” Max asked.
Owen looked at them. “Good question. Find out the answer.”
“Well, there’s more. Fiona actually spoke to King. She said he visited her in her room Saturday.”
“We need to talk to her,” Kit said.
“I know. Take the video off the screen. I’ll go get her.” He paused on his way out the door. “This is not going to be easy for her, so keep it chill.”