“Let me guess, he’s involved in whichever country doesn’t seem to be happy with Global Countries of Earth.”
The general nods. “For the most part, we have had peace, but that doesn’t mean that every single day, everyone is happy. He tries to fuel that unhappiness, to further his agenda.”
“He wants to take down the Global Countries?” I assume.
“Or does he want the chaos to grow to the point that he wants to try to sweep in and take control himself?” Tox asks.
The general grimaces. “I’m not certain, but whatever he wants, we don’t. I know that much.”
“You can’t point us in any direction?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, no. I am will to have a small task force assigned to you to keep you safe—”
“No.”
“Sophia, I know you’re quite skilled, but—”
“No. I won’t allow them to risk their lives to protect me.”
“Fine. Then they can go after—”
“No.”
“Sophia, it’s not up to debate. Right now, we’ve secured peace. Saad Ahmad was the last holdout to obscure that peace. John Doe will not stand for this. He wants you dead, but he won’t stop there.”
“No, if anyone needs to have additional backup, it’s the leader.”
“You think…”
“I would feel more comfortable if Madelaine Downing had extra protection right now,” I say firmly.
“No one has ever attempted to make a move against the leader of the Global Countries of Earth before,” the general says, her tone heated as if she’s appalled by the very idea.
“That doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” I say softly.
“Yes, but—”
“And who knows what John Doe is capable of,” I continue. “He has killed many others before, hasn’t he?”
“We think he’s the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Saad Ahmad’s son as well as other events that caused certain issues through the past decade, yes.”
“Has he killed before?”
“It’s possible the bomb was orchestrated because of him,” she says softly.
I wince.
Tox coughs into his hand. “I’m a little lost,” he admits.
“There was a massive bomb that blew up a building that was supposed to house a lot of the officers and the leader of Global Countries of Earth,” I say. I eye the general suspiciously. “That building had been empty, though, and the meeting had been held elsewhere.”
The general just looks at me without a hint of emotion on her face, but I’m willing to bet the military is why the meeting hadn’t occurred where it was said to be conducted.
“It was shortly after that that the first leader stepped down,” I muse.
“Yes.”
“Because he feared for his life.”
“Yes,” the general repeats.
“Because it’s a dangerous job,” I say pointedly.
“I don’t like the idea of you going up against John Doe alone,” the general says. “We have some new members to our—”
“She won’t be alone,” Tox says firmly.
“I appreciate that sentiment,” the general says, eyeing the Kurian, “but I was thinking that you could team up with—”
“No,” I say firmly.
“Sophia,” she starts.
“I thank you for giving us his name.”
“It’s not even his real name. Give me a week. I’ll have my best men on this—”
“You’ve had your best men on him already, haven’t you?” I ask softly.
She says nothing, but that’s confirmation enough.
“They never found him, not his real name, not any locations either? No bases of operations? Because he’s bound to have more than one.”
“He’s dangerous, and that’s all the more reason—”
"That's the exact reason why it will be just Tox and me to handle things."
General Janius Jackson eyes me. “You’re a stubborn woman.”
“A very stubborn woman.” I grin at her. “One who knows how to survive. I’ll be fine.”
She grunts. “You could just join the military, keep that wig, and go into hiding. We can protect you—”
“What about protecting the rest of the world?”
“You are one of the strangest bounty hunters I’ve ever met.”
“Yes, well, you don’t work with many of the others, do you?”
“No. I wasn’t sure when I was first told about using your services. I’ll admit it, but since Saad Ahmad, I’ve looked into your track record. It’s impressive, and I can see why John Doe views you as a threat.”
“He’s going to see how threatening I can be,” I assure her.
The general nods and looks up at Tox. “The two of you, so very strange,” she murmurs to herself. “If there’s anything you need, you let me know. Please.”
I nod. “We might be in touch.”
15
Tox
Walking away from the general with so very little to go on makes me very frustrated, to the point that I want to scream.
“What are we going to do now?” I ask Sophia.
“Don’t worry,” she says brightly. “I have an idea. You go on ahead to the car. I’ll be right back.”
“But—”
She’s already turning right back around and entering the tent. I debate trying to listen but opt to head to the car like she asked. She’ll tell me the plan.
Won’t she?
I think so. She knows she can’t do this alone. The two of us are in this together.
Together. I love the sound of that.
Sophia doesn’t make me wait long for her. She goes to open her door but pauses to brush back the blond strands, and I grimace.
“You don’t like?” she asks, striking a pose.
“Not really, no.” I lift my chin. “What did you talk to the general about?”
She climbs in, sitting behind the steering wheel. I took a chance by sitting in her car instead of my centuricar. I have a feeling we'll only be using one vehicle for whatever it is she has planned.
“I asked her if she knew the name of a poison to do what I want,” Sophia asks as if that’s a normal, everyday question.
Even though it’s perfectly insane, but what do I know?
"And what is it you want?" I ask, careful not to sound too judgmental. It's not that I'm judging her for wanting a poison. I just have a feeling she doesn't want to use the poison on John Doe, and