“That’s cutting it close, isn’t it?” Fagin asks, her brow furrowed. “Why not go back earlier than the day she screws everything up? It gives us more time to kick her skinny ass.”
“To give the Benefactors less time to throw counterattacks at us,” I say. “If they’re as brilliant as we think they are, they’ll understand the more the timeline changes, the more the future may not be what they wanted.”
“You’re damn smart, kid,” Carter says. “If only you used your powers for good.”
“Where’s the fun in being good?” I give him a sly smile and a wink.
Playful banter with Commander Carter. Will wonders never cease?
“We’ll leave a small crew behind,” Carter continues, “to protect the timeline from more manipulation. As I was saying,” he nods at me. “Arseneau will take position, disguised as a servant, in the kitchen, and once she has eyes on the target, our security detail—dressed as the king’s guard—” He gestures toward the four soldiers to his left. “will arrest her on charges of stealing jewelry. Easy enough to convince everyone she’s a common thief.” He grins at me and I smirk in return.
“There’s nothing common about me,” I say. “And you know it.”
“What happens if she spots Clémence first and high-tails it out of the palace?” Nico asks. The nearness of him, the smell of soap on his skin, is distracting. I have to force myself to focus on Carter again.
One of the security detail leaders, a giant of a man whose muscles have muscles, says, “You’ll be coordinating all of the security cameras installed from the command center on your ship. As we worked through in our strategy sessions, we’ll have sentries posted at various points outside and inside the palace. Once she steps foot on the grounds, we’ll track her movement through human and cameras observation. She won’t get far if she bolts.”
“Unless you guys were able to track the other ship and identify how many other Observers are on the ground, that’s a risk.” I point out what I think is the fatal flaw in their plans.
“We have elite special forces on this mission, Mademoiselle Areseneau,” the security chief says. “Our boys will scout the grounds while it’s dark to neutralize suspected targets. No one gets by us.”
“What about the other versions of ourselves?” Nico asks. “Seeing our duplicates on that day presents certain paradoxical problems, right?”
Fagin leans into the conversation. “We avoid those problems by staying out of our own way. You,” she points at Nico. “Remain on the ship, monitoring data feeds and providing intel. Since we know that Dodger went to the king’s chambers after Original Timeline Me left her in the great hall, Current Timeline Me,” she points at herself, “can step in after that and steal OT Clémence’s letter before she gets to the king’s apartments.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Please. I’ll see that coming a mile away. Do you have a backup plan?”
“Darling girl,” she chuckles. “Remember who taught you to pick pockets.”
I’m not sure what kind of paradoxical fuckery would happen if I came face-to-face with myself, even in this shitty disguise. I’d prefer not to mess with that.
“Regarding the time jump,” Carter continues, “which will occur as soon as this briefing session is done, we’ll caravan through the time portal. Since only one vessel can go through at a time, the other ship will go through first and wait—using the cloaking shield to obscure their presence—for us to complete our jump.” He makes an inclusive circular gesture of himself, Nico, and me.
“Us?” I ask, hoping he’s not suggesting what I think he is.
“You don’t think I’m gonna let you jump all on your own. Look what happened last time. You wound up in hell. I’m here to keep you from wandering off. I’ll also have a few of my boys along for the ride to make sure things go smoothly.”
Three of the security team, all of them looking like professional wrestlers, nod at me. I’m not sure if it was a congenial, let’s-be-friends acknowledgement or a try-anything-funny-and-you’re-toast warning. To be on the safe side, I’ll assume they’re looking at Nico and me as potential toast.
“I can buckle into one of the jump seats in the ready room,” Fagin says.
“Oh, no.” Carter smiles and takes Fagin by the elbow. He steps her over to the security team leader. “Lieutenant George, here, will see that you’re settled on the first ship. First class all the way.”
Fagin and I exchange looks. First class, my ass.
Her smile is more nervous than appreciative. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
“Any questions?” Carter asks.
I raise my hand and the simple act of asking permission to speak instead of blustering forward startles him. “Areseneau,” he says.
“What happens after we catch Trevor? We all go home and live happily ever after?”
Carter cocks his head and offers a smile. “That depends on your version of ‘happily ever after’, doesn’t it?”
Chapter 29
“This is ridiculous.” I push the brim of the twice-too-large cap up for what seems like the hundredth time. “Trevor gets an eyeful of me, she’s going to see right through this disguise.”
Carter gives me a hard look, up and down, inspecting my clothes. “You look like a servant boy to me. All you need to do is fire a flare when she shows up in the kitchens, and—” He stops, mid-sentence, and stares at the bulge under my shirt, right in front of my left shoulder. “What’s that?”
I give him my most innocent look, but he’s not buying it. He pulls me to a stop and pats down my upper body. He steps back and makes a “give it here” gesture. I sigh and pull the phaser from the shoulder holster.
“I confiscated all of the weapons. Where’d you get this one?”
“I didn’t like the idea of going into this situation unarmed.”
“Nuh-uh. No weapon for you,” Carter tugs the phaser out of my hand. “I wouldn’t want to tempt you to take matters into your own hands and have anyone wind
