“No. If he’s truly beyond saving, we obviously couldn’t let him go. But we don’t have to execute him, either. We can keep him contained, indefinitely.”
“You mean lock him up somewhere? I thought you didn’t—”
“It’s not our usual policy with irredeemables. It ties up resources and creates a security issue. But we can do it, if circumstances warrant. So what do you say, Jane? Will you help us try to save Phil?”
Of course I was going to say yes. I just needed a minute to let my brain catch up, to process everything I’d been told. But I guess True read my hesitation as uncertainty.
“There is another factor you may want to consider,” he said. “We chose you for this operation because we believe you are uniquely suited to draw your brother out into the open.”
“You think I’ll make good bait, you mean.”
“Yes. And there’s already evidence that your brother is moving to take that bait.”
“What evidence?”
“The Ozymandias operation. I understand you were upset about the script.”
“That business about Wise and me having a son named Phil? Yeah, I was upset.”
“Yes, well, we didn’t write that. The two of you were meant to pose as man and wife, but the script we composed in Cost-Benefits said nothing about a dying son or a disobedient daughter.”
“So someone rewrote the script before Wise got it…And you think that someone was Phil?”
“More likely a deep-cover agent working on his behalf.”
“And what’s his point? What’s he trying to tell me?”
“Obviously he’s aware you’re working for us. This could be his way of letting you know that he knows. Perhaps he hopes to recruit you. Or…”
“Or?”
“You understand, the indoctrination process your brother was subjected to would have been extremely unpleasant. So while he may be a committed Troop member now, that doesn’t mean he’s grateful for being delivered into the Troop’s hands in the first place.”
“You’re saying Phil’s mad at me?”
“If he is, can you blame him?”
“I…No. No. But if he wants revenge, why wait until now?”
“Perhaps he felt the life you were living before you joined the organization was revenge enough. The point is this: we can’t force you to accept this mission. But saying no to your brother, whatever he has planned, may not be so easy.”
“Well, that works out just great for you, doesn’t it?”
“Don’t misunderstand. We’re not going to abandon you to the Troop if you turn us down. But your best and safest course is to work with us on this…There’s also the matter of atonement. I don’t know how much you care about that, but—”
“Atonement? I let Bad Monkeys Incorporated steal my brother, True. How do I atone for that?”
“By stealing him back. Will you do it?”
Like I even had a choice. “Where do we start?”
“With the man who took him. John Doyle.”
“He’s still alive?”
“Not for lack of trying on our part,” True said. “In the weeks before he kidnapped your brother, Doyle was the target of a Bad Monkeys operation. He survived one execution attempt, and then, after abducting Phil, he disappeared completely. That was our first clue that he was more than just a lone predator. In the decades since, he’s popped up periodically—usually on some mission for the Troop—only to vanish again before we could get to him. Then, a few days ago, Doyle checked into the Venetian Hotel on the Vegas Strip…” True set a wrinkled newspaper, the Las Vegas Tipster, on the table. Under the headline CASINO GUEST AIDS IN MANHUNT was a face I’d last seen in a police mug shot twenty-three years ago. Doyle’s hair was white now, and he’d lost some teeth, but there was no question it was him.
My palms were suddenly sweating. “When did you spot him?”
“Almost immediately,” True said. “It is Sin City, after all: our surveillance coverage of the Strip is more comprehensive than the casinos’ own. Also, he registered under his real name.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only one being used as bait. You have his room number?”