Page 94 of Us Deadly Few
Those were the words written by Timothy Talbot.
To uncover the truth behind Project Helix—something powerful enough to save humanity—they needed to leave Apollo and find Prometheus. The problem was that they were no closer to understanding what Prometheus was than they’d been when they left Apollo.
They might never discover the truth.
But Winnie still held onto hope. And hope was a stubborn, fickle beast.
“What do you know about Hermes?” Khalani probed, leaning forward. “Why is it so different from Apollo?”
Winnie looked up, pondering the question. “Did Winnie end up reading that book? Let me think… Ah, yes! She did.” Winnie’s face brightened and she clapped her hands together.
“There was a book about Hermes that a Death-Zoner brought back a long time ago. It was written by one of their scholars. Initially, when citizens first descended into Hermes, it was quite similar to Apollo. Dark, dreary, and depressing. However, a wealthy individual who owned casinos before the Great Collapse saw the opportunity for greater riches and built the first casino here.
“It was immensely popular, and it didn’t take much time for the Hermes Council to seize control of the wealth and power the casino generated. The difference in Hermes is that the people here didn’t mind the government taking more control. And the kind of authority that comes from the will of the people is thehardest to dismantle.”
“And the casino?”
“The casino continued to grow, bringing with it all manner of greed and crime. We best hope not to cross paths with one of the deadly gangs in this city.”
Khalani gulped, and Winnie placed a gentle hand on her knee.
“Don’t you worry, Khalani dear. Winnie likes Spade. He’ll take care of us.”
“How can you be so sure, Winnie? We just met him.”
“So? Winnie’s a great judge of character.” She tapped her temple with a sneaky grin, coaxing a faint smile from Khalani.
“What are you writing?” she gestured to the notebook on Winnie’s lap, needing a distraction.
“Oh.” Winnie’s cheeks flushed pink. “Winnie knew she couldn’t bring the typewriter, but she still needs to record our journey somehow. She’s been using this notebook instead.” Winnie smoothed her hands over the cover, and Khalani glanced at the last sentence she’d written.
“And they will venture into the jaws of a casino tomorrow, and Winnie prays they will emerge victorious,” Khalani read aloud.
“It’s not done yet. Winnie will wordsmith to make it better,” Winnie added, suddenly shy.
“I think it sounds great,” Khalani smiled, but she jumped when loud footsteps descended the stairs, only minutely relaxing when Spade appeared, wearing black slacks and a white button-down shirt.
“Good. The two of you are already up,” he noted, staring at them. “I need you to wake the others and come upstairs.”
“Why?” She frowned.
“There are a few people you need to meet.” Without another word, Spade marched back up the stairs, disappearing from view.
Winnie and Khalani exchanged nervous glances before setting about waking the others. It took several attempts to rouse Serene, but Takeshi was already awake. Khalani noted the dark circles under his eyes, wondering if he’d slept at all.
His face was cold as he bounded up the steps, taking them two at a time.
As Khalani climbed up behind him, she formulated a new plan to deal with Takeshi and her complex emotions.
It was brilliant.
It was called the “Keep Your Distance Plan.”
Based on her calculations, it yielded a one hundred percent effectiveness rate, if she followed the protocol.
Keno, the barman in the backroom, stood silently as they emerged, signaling for them to enter the larger bar area. The patrons from the night before had vanished. Spade gestured to a long table that hadn’t been there the previous night.
At the table sat four men in slick suits.