Page 79 of Desecrated Saints
I don’t care if the good part of her has to die. All I want is the monster that dwelled beneath the ground with me. This execution will ensure that.
CHAPTER 16
BROOKLYN
PRETTY TOXIC REVOLVER - MACHINE GUN KELLY
“Not in a million years,” Hunter states flatly.
Sitting behind his neatly organised desk, he stares at me with defiance. There isn’t a single crack in his facade. Arms crossed over his crisp, white shirt, his lips press into a tight line. Countless muscles bulge through the material, advertising his strength.
“It should be us,” I argue back. “We’re experienced and capable of handling anything on Lazlo’s part. If you send an army of spooks in there, you’ll scare him off. Let us handle this.”
“Am I not speaking English? I said no. End of discussion.”
Swivelling in his leather office chair, he runs a hand over his slicked back, chestnut ponytail. Despite being in his late twenties, he seems far older than his years. I feel like a speck on the radar compared to his wealth and knowledge. Sabre is living proof of it.
His office is far bigger than it needs to be and lit by the sun shining through the tinted glass windows. Packed bookshelves, ring binders, and textbooks make way for cork boards full of photographs, papers, and connecting ribbons of red string. He’s mapped out everything in excruciating detail.
Blackwood sits at the centre of Hunter’s organised madness. Cut-out news articles featuring Bancroft, Incendia, and several political big fish are pinned in between, connecting the other five institutes that each hold their own place. At the very top, there’s a printed alert from law enforcement.
Wanted.
Armed & Extremely Dangerous.
Our faces stare back at me.
“You’ve spent so long trying to do the impossible.” I gesture up at the packed cork board. “You run the risk of losing the best lead you’ve ever had. Lazlo isn’t going to waltz in and start spewing information.”
Hunter looks nonchalant. “I will convince him.”
“How? Unlike Incendia, you have to follow the law.”
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt!” I snap at him.
“With all due respect, Sabre is well-equipped to handle someone like Lazlo. We’ve been tackling criminal enterprises since long before you turned up.”
“And we’re not equipped? You’ve seen us in action. We know what we’re doing.”
Standing up, Hunter moves to the window. Hands laced behind his back, he considers the vast city landscape before picking up a framed photograph from his book-covered console. I can spot him in it, along with a younger carbon copy, complete with flowing brown hair and a cheeky grin.
“I’m trying to keep you safe,” Hunter spells out, putting it back down with a frown. “You’re making my job increasingly difficult.”
“Look, I appreciate what you’re doing for us, but we have a say in this too. Lazlo is the reason we’re here. He started this by taking our lives from us.”
“We’re attempting to give you them back.”
“What lives?!” I throw my hands up.
“Yourself and Jude Farlow are fugitives under temporary house arrest. I have warrants from the government, police and secret service, all demanding I hand you over for re-incarceration. Most of them report to Incendia.”
My voice dries up as Hunter focuses on me.
“You’d be dead if we didn’t step in. That is what we’re giving you, Brooklyn. Your lives. Help us to understand how Incendia did this, and we can secure your futures.”
“I can’t do anything knowing Lazlo is still out there!”