A Brilliant Deception (19 page)

 

I
n the small executive airport where private charters came and went, there was a surprise waiting for us: Templeton, in the flesh, at the arrivals gate. He wore a linen suit and was sitting in the colonial airport underneath fans circling lazily overhead, surrounded by potted ferns and sipping tea from a china cup.

At the sight of him, my heart squeezed. He was a warm, welcome sight in a foreign land. After a round of hugs and handshakes, Templeton got down to business. “All right, darlings, I have a hotel reservation for us. Here, Catherine, give this to the driver.” He handed me a card.

I looked at the small rectangle of heavy card stock. My eyebrows lifted. “Raffles? Not exactly low-key, is it, Templeton?”

He grinned like the cat who’d eaten a canary. “When you’re a group of film producers, you don’t need to be low-key.”

“Ah.”

“Besides, no self-respecting Englishman would stay anywhere else when in Singapore.”

We gathered our bags and made our way to the shiny black Bentleys waiting outside. The tropical heat of Singapore hit me immediately, wrapping around me like a warm blanket.

My stomach tightened as I watched Felix. If he made even the slightest slip, I wanted to see it. I needed to know what was going on with him, what his secrets were, what his agenda was.

Our car pulled up to Raffles: precise rows of windows and carved pillars decorated the gleaming white building, topped by gracefully curved terra-cotta roof tiles. The hotel was surrounded by lush green gardens, perfectly manicured lawns, and softly rippling palms. The air, heavy with the fragrance of blossoming rhododendrons, was like thick honey, late-afternoon sunlight warming everything to a golden glow.

Once we were settled in our individual rooms, we gathered in the bar downstairs as the sun was setting. The iconic Raffles Hotel Long Bar was every inch gleaming mahogany and graceful rattan; bamboo ceiling fans gently stirred the air, creating a pleasant breeze.

“Have a Singapore Sling,” said Ethan as I slid onto a bar stool beside him. “This is where it was invented. At this very bar.”

I ordered, then sipped the cold, sweet cocktail. “Where’s Felix?” I asked, looking around, attempting to maintain a casual tone, although I felt anything but. I glanced at Jack, who looked unconcerned.

“He said he had to go out,” Jack said. “Wanted to get some supplies in town or something.”

I nodded, keeping my face neutral. But the cocktail soured in my stomach.

“Oh, there he goes now,” Ethan said, gazing out the windows that overlooked the front lawns. I turned my head quickly, squinting out at the twilit outdoors, to see Felix walking briskly away from the hotel. “Did you want to talk to him?” Ethan asked.

I glanced at Ethan, Jack, and Templeton, who were looking at me with curiosity. My eyes shifted to Jack, in particular. Felix was Jack’s brother. Was there a chance Jack was in on it, whatever Felix was up to? Even if he wasn’t, how would he feel about me making wild accusations about his only brother? The brother he’d flown across the globe to save?

No, I had absolutely nothing firm to say, no real reason to suspect Felix of anything. I needed to learn a little more first before I started slandering members of our team.

I shook my head. “Nope, it’s fine. Just wondering.” I sipped my frosty drink and stared ahead, silently counting to ten.

As the three of them discussed the cricket match playing on the television behind the bar, I excused myself to find the restroom. But in the lobby, instead of turning left to the restrooms, I turned right and slipped out the back entrance. I doubled around to the front in the direction Felix had gone, taking care to stay hidden from the Long Bar’s windows.

I moved fast and spotted Felix in short order. He was headed on foot toward the city center, and I tailed him. I reached for my phone in case I needed to call for backup, and then . . .
shit
. I’d left my purse at the bar. No cell phone, no wallet.

I liberated a pair of oversized sunglasses from a sidewalk kiosk and slid them on my face, doing my best to stay incognito. Felix paused outside a small city park and pulled out a cell phone. I moved close while he was distracted with dialing and tucked in behind a large palm tree, close enough to overhear.

I missed the first part of the conversation as I positioned myself closer. But then I heard him say, “Yes, everything is fine. It’s all a go.”

Alarm bells reverberated through my head.
What
was all a go? And more importantly—
who
was he talking to?

I made sure I was completely out of sight as he listened intently on the line, and then I heard him say, “Well, I can make it to Station Q, if that helps.”
Station Q?

I chastised myself for leaving the hotel without my phone or any other way of communicating with the rest of my team. This was a huge development—I had to keep following. Felix turned off his phone and kept walking, farther away from the hotel. I chewed my lip, trying to decide if I should go back for reinforcements and tell them what I’d witnessed, or continue following him.

There wasn’t really a choice. I had to find out exactly what Felix was up to. I would have to find a way to communicate with the team later.

I followed him as he made his way through a few downtown blocks and right into the train station. I tried to steal a glance at a map in the station, but I had to keep my eye on Felix. I couldn’t let him get out of view. My fists tightened as I watched him step onto a train. One car farther down, I slipped on board, too. The train car smelled of wheel grease and vinyl upholstery. I found a seat and positioned myself so I could keep Felix in view through the window between the cars.

For three hours we traveled on that train. We were headed north, I assumed. It was the only direction to go in, really, as Singapore was at the bottom of the peninsula.

I glanced at the person seated beside me. “Do you have a phone?” I asked politely. I had to get in touch with the others. The elderly Asian woman looked at me warily. I mimed my request and tried to think of a few words she might understand. In the end it was futile, she either didn’t have a phone or didn’t understand. She glared at me with suspicion and moved away. There was nobody else seated anywhere near me, and I was loath to leave my post, lest Felix slip away to a different car or off the train altogether.

Fine. I was on my own here.

The scenery outside, at this point, had faded to black; we must have been going through Malaysian countryside. If this had been an ordinary train ride, I might have slept—the gentle rocking movement of trains always made me drowsy. There was far too much adrenaline in my system to allow for that now, and I had to watch Felix.

After a long stretch with nothing but blackness, the bright lights of a city began to flicker into view. I glanced out, and immediately spotted the recognizable twin Petronas Towers looming over the shimmering city of Kuala Lumpur.

We were in the capital of Malaysia. My eyes went wide with surprise. We’d come all this distance? I clenched my teeth. Okay, fine. I’d come this far. I would see this through. Wherever Felix was going, I was going.

I thought of Ethan, Jack, and Templeton, back in Singapore at Raffles Hotel. It had been about four hours since I’d disappeared from the bar. They must be concerned; they must know something was going on. I wished I’d been more strategic about this so they wouldn’t worry. But I’d have to deal with that issue later.

The train deposited us in the heart of the downtown core. Being careful to avoid ticket checkers, I tailed Felix right off the train and into the streets of the city. It was past midnight, yet the sidewalks still bustled and buzzed with people. Tinny music played on a street corner among a collection of homeless people. The city smelled of gasoline and steamed rice and the heady fragrance of orchids.

After following Felix through the streets for several minutes, he tucked into an alley. He paused then, looking around to see if anyone was following him. But he clearly wasn’t expecting a tail; it was a halfhearted effort. I watched as he disappeared through an unmarked steel door, beneath a lone blue lightbulb that hung crookedly above the doorway. The door, and the building it was within, had a shabby look. Litter and scraps had gathered against the wall as though they huddled there for safety.

I weighed my options. I had no idea who, or what, was through that door. My heart thumped thinking of all the potential dangers.

Then I pulled the door open and crept in after him.

There was a concrete staircase leading down into the darkness. I tiptoed down it as quickly as I could, my breathing loud in my ears. At the base was a damp, low-ceilinged corridor. I crept along and peeked my head into the first doorway I reached.

The room was lit up like Christmas. Electronic lights and displays blinked on computers and video screens. At least a dozen people bustled about, monitoring stations and moving between screens, pulling out files and consulting with one another. I stared, frozen a moment, trying to process what I was seeing.

It was some kind of underground operation. And it was organized.

The thing was, I didn’t recognize any of it—it wasn’t CIA, or FBI, or Interpol. It didn’t have the look of Caliga. I didn’t see any official uniforms or badges or seals, nothing to suggest this was local Asian police or Intelligence . . .

I had no clue what I was seeing, but one thing I knew for sure: I had to get out of there. I turned to slip away, and walked straight into a massive, immovable object: the hard chest of a security guard.

“W
ell. What are you doing here?” the guard said with a toothy smile, speaking in perfect English.

My mouth went dry. Not good.

He stood me up from my crouched position and pushed me forward, into the room. “Look what I found,” he announced, and everyone’s heads turned our way.

I briefly considered fighting my way out of there. But it was too late. Too many armed men. Still, I had to try—

Felix stepped forward, staring at me with wide eyes. “Cat! How did you—” He noted my fighting posture, I’m sure, because he put his hands out in a calming gesture. “Relax,” he said. “It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re not the bad guys.”

“Then who are you?” I hissed. I looked around me. “What is this?”

Felix glanced at someone beside him, a balding man he’d been speaking to when I’d been pushed in by the security guard. The man shrugged. “Go ahead. You have to tell her.”

Felix worked his jaw. “It wasn’t supposed to happen until after this job. If at all,” he said to the man in a commanding tone that was very un-Felix-like.

The man shrugged. “Well, she’s here now. You can’t pretend she hasn’t seen this. They’ll understand.”

“Who will understand?” I demanded.

Felix looked back at me, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. “Okay. But what I’m about to tell you—it’s highly classified. You cannot discuss it with anyone. Breaching that promise will mean your immediate cancellation as a candidate.”

“Candidate? What the hell are you talking about, Felix?”

“Cat—just promise. The secrecy. Okay?”

“Fine. I won’t tell anyone. Now, please, will you—”

“Come with me.”

He pulled me by the arm and led me into a small inner office, away from the workings of the control room. He indicated a swiveling leather chair and took a seat behind a desk.

Once I was seated, he rubbed the side of his face and watched me carefully. “Why did you follow me?” he asked. “I didn’t think you’d suspected anything.”

I crossed my arms. “The pink wig, Felix. I didn’t tell Templeton about that part of the job. I didn’t tell anyone about that. The only way you could have known about it was if
you
had been following
me
.”

Various emotions flashed across his face as he registered this. He finally said, “Oh shit.” He was clearly annoyed at himself.

“So that’s my story. What’s
yours?
” I said, folding my arms, ready to hear. I was still guarded, but not quite as on edge. There was nothing about him that betrayed danger—at least not for now. My hackles were down. The fear, however, had been replaced by an industrial-grade curiosity. What on
earth
was going on here?

“I am actually a member of an organization called the Global Protection League. We call ourselves simply the League. I am their representative. And we have been watching you for a while.”

I struggled to maintain a neutral expression. Felix went on to explain that the League was an independent international organization, with a mandate to protect world order and stop any threats to that.

“Like a military black ops?” I asked, trying to make sense of it all.

“Kind of, but not associated with a single nation.”

“Like the UN?”

“Yes, only a little more—covert.”

“Or a lot more covert,” I said. I’d never heard of the League, and there was no way it was public knowledge. “What’s all this?” I waved my hand, indicating the room we occupied and the control room we’d just left.

“It’s Station Q—one of our nerve centers. There are many such places, outposts and safe houses like this one, all over the globe.”

“And everybody who works here works for the League?”

“Well, yes. But there are various branches. Like—the Department of Antiquities. The DOA?”

I almost choked. He was talking about the covert organization Esmerelda had been working for. “They’re part of the League?”

He gave me a wry look. “Didn’t you wonder what they were a department
of?
”

I scowled. “So when were you planning to tell me? And—what do you mean, you’ve been watching me for a while?” I suddenly had a spasm of panic. “Are you investigating me? Am I considered one of the threats?”

“Not quite.” He laughed a little, then his face became serious again. “No, the reason why we’re monitoring you, Cat, why you are a person of interest to us, is because we want you to work for us.”

This time I couldn’t maintain my composure. My mouth dropped open.

“Well, I should say—we’re
considering
you,” Felix added quickly. “There’s a little bit of dissension on the board. They’re not sure if you’re trustworthy enough, if your motives are honorable enough.”

I pressed my lips together. Felix continued, “We’ve been monitoring your skills through this job. I wasn’t supposed to reveal the truth to you quite this early. You’re not supposed to know yet.”

“And the fact that you were kidnapped by Caliga in Yorkshire? Was that all part of your plan?” I raised an eyebrow.

Here, he blushed through to his ears. “Er, no. That wasn’t exactly part of the plan. I’m a recruiter. Not a field agent, per se.”

He then went on to describe the various missions the League was involved in. All the ways they were monitoring, and neutralizing, global threats. Their work was extensive. And it was good.

“How do I know what you’re telling me is the truth?” I asked.

“You need proof ?”

“I’m afraid so.” I’d been burned in the past by trusting too quickly. After Brooke I had promised myself I’d be more careful. “How do I know this isn’t a mess of lies to cover something else up?”

“Fair enough,” he said. He then showed me files. Documents of cases they’d been involved in. Videos of surveillance missions and past operations. There were corroborating documents, and files containing highly sensitive information. I spent a long time poring over everything he showed me. It all checked out. They were the real deal.

I said nothing for a moment, churning it all through. I looked down at my hands.

Felix kept speaking. “I’ve been in close communication with the board, with my supervisors. And they’ve said if you can pull off the Lionheart heist and secure the ring successfully—well, that’s when they wanted me to reveal the truth to you and invite you to join us.”

I looked up at him. A final test.

Felix leaned forward, closer to me. His voice lowered. “If you joined us, Cat, it would be an opportunity to use your skills for real good.”

His words were unnecessary. I had already been having the exact same thought.

If I wanted it, this would be my way to a more honorable life. I could still keep doing what I was good at—but for the other side. I thought about my mother, the image of her lying in that hospital bed. Although I hadn’t pulled the trigger, I might as well have. I was on that side. I was contributing to that culture. But this way—with Felix and the League—I actually had a shot at making the world a better place. I could be a real modern-day Robin Hood, not just a pretender.

And suddenly, I wanted it. I could taste it. I could see a way out. One I needed more than I cared to admit.

“It all hinges on this job, Cat. If you can do it, if you can pull it off, my case to admit you is going to be rock-solid. They will definitely extend an invitation. You rescued me and retrieved the target. They will want you for sure.”

“And if I can’t do it? If I fail?”

“Well . . .” He looked down at his feet, and the Felix I knew—the awkward and earnest kid—was back. “You have to understand, the stuff we deal with is incredibly sensitive. They have to be assured of getting the best people. They want the most competent, with minimal chances of failure. They’ve got a short list of candidates right now. If you fail, they’ll go with someone else.”

“Does Jack know?” I asked. “He’s your brother, after all.”

“No. Jack doesn’t know. And he can’t know. We have to keep very tight limits on who knows.”

I paged through the files again, and came upon a document about Caliga. I stopped.

Felix glanced down to see the page I was frowning over. “Yes,” he said. “We need to talk about Caliga.”

“They have all three Gifts now,” I said.

“They do,” he said, voice grim. “The League is very concerned. The trouble isn’t that there actually
is
power contained in the Gifts, but because now Caliga will consider themselves unstoppable, and will put into play whatever evil plans they have.”

I nodded. “Is this one of the reasons stealing the Lionheart is my test?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, but where is the Fabergé?” I asked.

“We don’t know.”

“So all I can do now is take the Lionheart Ring.”

“Doing that will mess with their plans enough while we’re still searching for the Fabergé.”

I tugged on my earlobe, thinking it through. Would I be able to do it? I had never dreamed of having an opportunity like this. It wasn’t going to be easy.

But it could be my chance to change . . . everything.