Page 179 of Reverie
“Or is this like some kind of special ops family reunion?” Patrick grinds out, giving Marcus a look that would be lethal in most circumstances.
“Anyone want to fill me in?” I say.
I’m ignored.
“Long time no see, Law.” This comes from Keegan, who finally speaks. I raise my eyebrow at him.
So they all know Marcus?
“Yeah, well, that was the plan, right? I stay deep underground, and you pretend like you don’t know me.”
“Well, what brings you to this part of the world?” Patrick says, folding his hands behind his head. I note the thread of tension that causes his biceps to bunch.
“Probably for the same reason you are,” Marcus replies cooly.
“You’re a long way from the CIA headquarters, though,” Patrick says, rubbing his chin. “And you haven’t answered the question. What are you doing here, Law?”
Marcus sighs. “If I wanted to kill any of you, I would have done it by now, right?” He passes a look around the room, his eyes lingering on each of us for a moment longer than is comfortable.
“Start talking for real,” Keegan says in a measured tone. He pulls out his gun but doesn’t point it toward Marcus. Leaning further against the wall, he crosses his ankles and wrists, casually pointing his firearm toward the ground as he holds it with one hand over the other.
Marcus rasps a hand over his short fade. “How secure is this room, O’Brien?” Marcus asks, talking to Patrick.
Patrick grins, but it’s not a kind look. He presses a button on the wall nearest the exit. With the action, the blinds close over the single wall of windows, and the low hum starts around the room as the noise-canceling technology fires up.
A Max thing.
When he’s sealed the room, Marcus gives Keegan a heavy look, and the man places his gun back into his shoulder holster.
With a deep breath, Marcus begins to speak.
“I believe the Agency has been compromised. I got a signal from one of my people. They’ve cut the program, so I’m out here ghost.”
I try to keep up.
“So you think that Winthrope found you out?” This is from Keegan, who wears a serious expression that’s even more grave than usual.
“It’s likely, but not clear at this point. But I don’t particularly care to sit around and find out.” He blows out a breath, straightening. “Listen, I just came to warn you: There’s some serious shit about to go down on Isla Cara.”
“Isla Cara?” Technically, the property belongs to Ella and me, so if something were going down, we would know about it...right?
“Yep,” Marcus says, emphasizing the word. “Isla Cara is a very important place, if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
I nod, rubbing my thumbnail to my upper lip and thinking.
“Okay,” I draw out. “But we know about the big event coming up. The Hunt,” I reply.
“No,” Marcus snaps, not looking at me. “Yes, The Hunts are still happening, but there’s something even bigger about to happen and I don’t know exactly what it is. What I do know is you all need to either shit or get off the pot.”
Translation: We need to make a move or forget the whole thing. Except stepping back means mass devastation.
“Do you know who The Architect is?” I interject.
Marcus doesn’t physically acknowledge the inquiry, but he does reply, “No. I don’t.”
So much for that.
“When Benjamin was…dispatched several weeks ago, those who were on his side were given a choice: declare allegiance to the current Architect or be executed.”