“Are you insane?” Christopher shouted. “He can’t move in!”
“He can and he just might, if he manages to be the level of helpful I’m demanding. Russell, this is a one-time only deal and the offer will not remain on the table for long. You’ll get to live in the American Centaurion Embassy complex. You’ll be restricted to a bedroom-bathroom-living room kind of hotel setup with no windows, and I’d plan on having the living room wall that’s along the hallway be made out of really thick glass, so we can watch you from near and far. Your rooms will be reinforced with steel and whatever else they’re using these days to make them inescapable.” Why not? The Elves could pretty much do anything. “You won’t be able to leave that set of rooms, unless you’re under heavy guard, and even then it will only be to walk down the hall to say hi to your mother.”
“Jeff, you cannot let her do this,” Christopher said urgently.
Ignored him. “You will not be allowed any access to a phone or any electronics you might be able to manipulate. If we think you’re okay with a television, you’ll get that, but what you watch will be severely limited and monitored twenty-four-seven. You’ll be monitored twenty-four-seven as well.”
“How will you manage this? The State Department will want me and the pressure Israel will put on you will make giving me to them worthwhile.”
“Oh, as to that, you’ll be dead. At least as far as the world is concerned. Your mother has some excellent computer skills, in case you weren’t aware.”
“What about the torture?” He asked it as if it was an expected addition, the way you’d ask the hotel desk clerk if there was an iron and ironing board in your room.
“We don’t do that,” Jeff said.
Kozlow snorted. “Right. I realize you haven’t been the top man for too long, but you can’t be that na?ve.”
“A-Cs don’t torture. Humans do. I’ll torture you beyond your most terrifying nightmares if any of the intel you give us is wrong, or leads us into a trap. And if you think you’ll just fool me, guess again. You’ll be going with us, with a gun in your back, and with an explosive in your head.”
“Kitty, I’m not allowing this,” Christopher snarled. “Regardless of what you say.” Prince came on my personal airwaves, singing “Let’s Go Crazy.” Nice to get Algar’s approval.
Turned away from Kozlow and got right up into Christopher’s face. “Cliff has Chuckie,” I snarled right back, only I ensured that I sounded far scarier than Christopher. “I saved you first. Consider that before you speak again. And if you’re ever insubordinate to me again in a situation like this I will rip your tongue out in front of everyone and then use it to wipe my ass. Is that clear?”
Christopher’s jaw dropped. “Ah . . .”
“Say you’re sorry, son,” White said calmly. “Right now. You know better than to speak to her that way.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Mean it.” I was still snarling.
“I . . . mean it, Kitty. I apologize. Sincerely.” Christopher was looking at me like he’d never seen me before.
Nodded, then turned back to Kozlow. Shot him a bright smile and ensured my eyes were opened just a little too wide. “So, Russell, what’s your pleasure? Door Number Three or a bullet through your brain right now?”
“They don’t know how crazy you are,” he said, sounding frightened and also impressed. “Or that you’re really the one in charge. They have no idea. They think you’re lucky and stupid, but not crazy and running the show. If you’re serious about the offer, I’ll tell you everything. I know where all the strongholds are, all the different doomsday plans, and where Cliff is right now. Which is where I assume your friend is, too.”
“Russell, this could be the start of a beautiful jailer and prisoner relationship. You’ll be rolling on G-Company, too, but they will also think you’re dead, so no harm there, right?”
“Right . . . boss. No harm there.”
“Good man. Christopher, take a lesson in how to speak to me. And, as of right now, Christopher, continue to stay silent because the sound of your voice is bothering me and if it bothers me any longer you’ll be a dead man. Boys, insert the explosive. Just in case,” I said nicely to Kozlow.
“Yeah, I understand. Cliff didn’t take those out until you guys exposed him.”
Interesting. Ensured my Crazy Killer Poker Face was fully in place. “Make it so,” I snapped at Siler and Buchanan. “Now.”
They both nodded and manhandled Kozlow out of this area.
“God,” Reader said quietly, “I love watching you work.”
“It’s a gift and a skill.” Looked at Christopher. “Your timing was excellent and so were your reactions. Seriously, you were great. We need to remember that for when we need to do it again.”
He gaped at me. “What . . . what are you talking about? You . . . you were acting insane. Are you okay? Did they dose you with something?”
“I’m So Confused” by The Soul Rebels came on. “Oh.” Looked to White. “I thought he’d caught on. I know you did.”
White chuckled. “I’m your partner for a reason. And I know that Malcolm and Benjamin were with you all the way.”
“I never had a doubt.”
“I caught on, too, you know,” Jeff said, sounding slightly jealous.
“Me, too,” Jeremy said quickly.
“Caught on to what?” Christopher asked, sounding like he was more than lost.
Tim shook his head. “You were with her and part of the interrogation at the Pueblo Caliente airport.” Christopher continued to look blank and more than a little freaked out.
Heaved a sigh. “Operation Drug Addict.” Christopher continued to look blank. “I was acting, Christopher. Just like a troubadour.” Wondered where Francine and the others were and hoped they were okay. If they were in the building they weren’t making themselves known.
“That was an act?” Christopher now looked shocked.
“Yeah. I thought you’d figured it out and were playing along.”
“No, I had no idea. Why would you do that, act the way you did? Threaten me the way you did?”
Heaved a sigh. “Because my audience respects crazy leaders with a plan and a willingness to kill their underlings if said underlings step out of line. He’d never have stuck around with Cliff otherwise once his exploding implant was removed, particularly since he shared that G-Company was respecting his skills. Which you heard. Hence why I thought you were playing along.”
“No. I’m not an empath. I really think your idea is insane and shouldn’t be done.”
“My ‘insane’ idea is to get the one person out of all the Crazy Eights who has any reason to want to help us to do so. I have both a big stick and an even bigger carrot. What we need from him is huge, he is the only one we have a prayer of getting this intel from, and it’s not something that we’re going to get via the normal methods, because if the dude was asking that nonchalantly about torture, he’s experienced it a lot and yet no one had a bead on Cliff until yesterday.”