J. Robb - Delusion in Death

“ My bonus. Weaver fucked me over.”

“That bitch.” Not controlled now, Eve thought. Cornered, furious, cracking. “And it wasn’t the money, not really. Right? It was the principle. What did you do, Lew? Impress me. You had the formula, you had the journal—all those secrets inside the faded brown cover. Sure, we found that.” She kept her eyes steady when he blinked. “The men said you really put it together, Lew. All the time, the effort, the planning that went into building the lab, outfitting it. And the risk. Talk about balls. It’s dangerous, cooking up LSD, mixing it, getting all the parts and pieces together. That takes brains and balls. It takes imagination . People are going to talk about Lewis Callaway for generations.”

“You admit it.” He jabbed a finger at her. “You admit that.”

“I was messing with you before. Nobody’s ever going to forget what you did, who you are. Jesus, Lew, you’re in a league of your own. Tell me what you did. I’ll never forget.”

He shook his head, turned away again, but his breathing was fast, his eyes calculating.

Nearly there, she thought.

“If you did this,” Teasdale put in. “Can prove you did this, the agency will be very interested. They want people like you, Mr. Callaway, working for them. High-level positions.”

“Wait just a damn minute,” Eve began.

“Lieutenant, we’re talking about global security. My superiors—and this reaches the highest chambers—have authorized me to persuade Mr. Callaway, should he prove himself, should he offer details that leave no room for doubt he perpetrated these events, to consider an offer.”

“Working for the HSO?”

“Menzini’s talents have certainly been useful. My superiors are of the opinion yours will follow suit.”

“Some cushy job!” Eve rounded on Teasdale. “Some big, covert government deal? For killing people? I should’ve known you’d play it this way. Let me do all the work, then grab the prize at the end.”

“Those with the skill and aptitude for such matters are more useful with us than not.” Teasdale merely shrugged. “HSO values creativity and—as you so aptly stated—balls. But I can’t discuss any of it any further without solid evidence, and Mr. Callaway’s statement.”

“My grandfather works for the HSO? He’s alive and working for you?”

Teasdale pokered up. “I’m not at liberty to say anything more on that matter at this time. I don’t have that authority.”

“I should’ve known you’d screw me over,” Eve said bitterly.

“Priorities, Lieutenant. And power. The choice is yours, Mr. Callaway.”

“You thought you had me.” He sneered at Eve. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. All my life I knew there was something more in me, something different. They tried to hold me back.”

“They?” Eve prompted.

“My parents. But I could always get what I wanted, make people do what I wanted—or pay. I knew I didn’t get the more from them. They’re nothing. Ordinary. And when … when I found out where I’d gotten it, I was happy. At last. I’ve finished playing the game, pretending to give a shit. People needed to pay.”

“Joe Cattery, Carly Fisher.”

With a cagey smile, Callaway folded his arms. “Immunity.”

“I can’t authorize that.” Reo put a little squeak in her voice. “My boss has to—”

“The HSO offer takes precedence over assistants,” Teasdale said, smugly. “Once Mr. Callaway has given me the information necessary, I’m authorized to make him that offer. People needed to pay,” she repeated to Callaway. “And you had the means.”

“I had what I needed. Cattery, Fisher, they’d pushed the wrong buttons, hadn’t they? Messed with the wrong person, and for the last time. That’s what I can bring to the table,” he told Teasdale. “I’ve got the means and the brains to make HSO the most powerful agency on-or off-planet.”

“I’m listening.”

“What’s the offer? Spell it out.”

“That depends on what you tell me, and what can be proven. I can tell you HSO is very interested and intrigued by your—alleged—talents.”

“Bureaucratic bitch,” Eve muttered, and got a cool smile from Teasdale.

“You’ve been outmaneuvered, Lieutenant. If, of course, Mr. Callaway elects to cooperate with us.”

“I’m going to have terms,” Callaway told Teasdale.

“We can certainly discuss terms, but we require proof you had not only the means, but did, in fact, execute these incidents.”

“They all did what I wanted, didn’t they? What I made them do. Everyone in that bar, in that crappy café danced to my tune. That’s what you’ll get with me,” he told Teasdale. “Someone who gets the job done.”

“What did you make them do, Mr. Callaway?” Teasdale asked.

“Kill each other. Slaughter. Live their fears and die fighting. It was all there in the journals, my grandfather’s papers. His crazy religious angle? You don’t have to worry about that from me. I’m not crazy, and I don’t believe in anything but myself.”

“That’s important. My superiors will want to be assured of just that.”

“Idiot Joe, sitting there, moping for his wife and brats. And I thought, you won’t mope much longer, asshole. I wanted Weaver, too, but she left, skipping out to have sex. I settled for Joe, and the rest of them. That fucking bartender, the bitch of a waitress, that stupid woman and her friends. All I had to do was put the vial in her pocket when she bumped into me. Already opened. It takes a few minutes to take effect, and I timed it right down to the heartbeat. That’s how good I am. Got a little headache, but that’s all. I was out in the air before it took hold. And I just kept walking.”

“You made the substance yourself?”

“It’s tricky,” he said with a nod at Teasdale. “Not that hard to come up with the ingredients, especially if you take your time. I had to build the lab. It’s small. I wouldn’t mind playing around with other ideas in a better lab. I’ve got a knack.” He tapped his chest with his thumb. “I guess I got it from the old man.”

“I’ll pass that on,” Teasdale replied.

“I think I can improve it, so it lasts longer, starts faster. The second hit would’ve been better if the effects had taken hold quicker. Once the cops got there, started stunning people, it cut down on the count.”

“How did you choose the second location?”

“For that bitch Fisher. She thought she was going to climb over my back? Her and Weaver, always plotting and planning out to hold me back.” He sliced his hands like an umpire calling the runner safe. “That’s done.”

“And the second accomplishment. How was it done?”

“I wasn’t going to go in. It would give the cops a reason to look at me. See, I think things through, figure the angles. I just waited for the delivery girl. Dumb as a bag of hair, that one. I stopped her, asked her to order me a sandwich, grab me a table. Said I had to run into the drug store, but I’d be right there. Gave her a thank-you hug, stuck the open vial in her pocket. Done and finished. I grabbed that pita and strolled on back to the office.”

“Where were you hitting next?” Eve asked. “Indulge me.”

“Why not? There’s an Italian restaurant down from the office. Appetito. Weaver goes there a lot. All I’d have to do is check her book, see when she’s taking some fuck there for foreplay. I made friends with one of the waitresses. I’d use her for delivery. With those three out, I’d move up, take over for Weaver. Now they can suck me. Their loss is HSO’s gain.”

“It is indeed,” Teasdale agreed.

“Is that enough, Reo?” Eve asked.