Simon was silent for a long moment; he wrung his hands and opened his mouth to speak twice before sound finally came out.

“You are partly correct,” he admitted. “But it isn’t what you think. I was with them, but I don’t want to be, not anymore. I don’t want them to succeed in what they are planning. That is why I tried to warn people. That is why they want to kill me."

I had to admit, the two unconscious incubi in my back room did tend to support his contention. Unless they were his back up. But Cooper must have believed him, or he never would have given him this address. If Simon had shown up and shot Cooper, he wouldn’t be here now. Maybe if he’d been tortured… but why take the risk just to get to me? If Simon was lying, they didn’t need to rush this. There were easier ways. If it was a lie, it didn’t add up.

“Why? If you were one of them, what changed your mind?”

Simon dropped his eyes to the floor,

“Do we really have time for this?”

“To believe you, I need to understand.”

He nodded slowly,

“It isn’t something I am proud of. I was just 13 when I joined. Was recruited. I was young and stupid, and my friends were all members. I know that isn’t a good reason, but Omega was… everything I wanted to be. And everything he said made so much sense, at the time. I liked the thought of being a ‘Master’ and ruling over the humans. I thought all humans were silly and weak. And I liked the idea of not having their rules apply to me.”

“So, what happened to change your mind?”

“Nothing dramatic, really. I just… grew up. Not just that, I guess. But growing up, for my people, also means gaining control of yourself and your abilities. Now, I only exert my will on others when I choose to. So, I was able to meet people as they really were, not addled by what I came to realize was my own weakness. And I liked them. People weren’t the fools that I had thought them when I was an arrogant teen. They could be smart and funny and compassionate and brave. I had so much in common with them. I enjoyed their art and culture and jokes. And the more people I met, the more I realized that I didn’t want to see them hurt. They were not just food, not just some thing for me to master. They are my friends and lovers and I truly care about them. I finally understood why we agreed to the Pact, all those years ago. It wasn’t that we were bullied into accepting the terms, no, most ubarae genuinely didn’t want to hurt or kill anyone. There was no need, and no desire. They wanted to live with the humans, in peace. Now, don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t just some epiphany that happened all at once. For a long time, I resisted admitting, even to myself, that I doubted the Domini’s mission. They didn’t just let people go, for one. For another, they were, or at least had been, my friends. How could I turn against them? But eventually there came a day when I woke up and I looked forward to the things that the Domini spoke of with dread, instead of anticipation. Still, I think, at least in part, I had convinced myself that it was just a game we were all playing, that it would never really happen. I didn’t have to do anything to stop it, it was just a fantasy. But these days, with them finalizing concrete plans, and preparing to execute them, well, I finally couldn’t deny it anymore. I had to do something. I should have done it sooner. But I was afraid. Afraid of what they would do to me. Afraid to be…” he shook his head. “Maybe it is already too late. But I had to at least try. Which I guess leads to the obvious question, do you believe me?”

I sat in silence for a long moment, absorbing what I had just heard. It had a ring of truth about it. And he wasn’t trying any tricks. I wished I didn’t, but I believed him. It was time to make a call.

“Yeah. I do. Let’s hope it isn’t too late,” I pulled out my phone and dialed James’ private number.

“James? Are you alone? We have a serious problem.”

“Rayna? Didn’t I tell you to take some time off?”

“Look, this is going to sound crazy, but you need to get out of the office and send all of the Partials to ground. Pull them off every case, get them somewhere safe. Immediately.”

“You are right, that does sound crazy. Now, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but have you been drinking?”

“No. Yes. A little. Look that isn’t the point right now! I need you to trust me, Jim.”

“I do trust you, Rayna. But I am going to need more.”

“Right, I get that. Ok,” I struggled to decide how to summarize what I had been told. “Did Cooper tell you he was meeting with an informant tonight?”

“He did. But he hasn’t reported back yet. How did you hear about that?”

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“Cooper and the informant were ambushed, they were both shot. It doesn’t sound like Cooper made it,” I heard Jim curse. “He sent his informant here, to me. He was followed by a couple of ubarae gunmen. They have been taken care of, but the informant had an interesting story to tell.”

“What did he say?”

I explained about the Domini as quickly as I could.

“Shit,” James whistled through his teeth.

“Yeah.”

“This is very serious, if it is true. Do you think that you can believe this guy, Rayna? Is he telling the truth?”

I took a breath, I knew he would ask, which was why I hadn’t called until I had an answer for him.

“I believe him, Jim. More importantly, we can’t afford not to.”

The silence on the line told me that Jim was considering that.

“You are right, but I can’t just shut down the whole place on the suspect word of one informant.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I need to look into it myself, see if I can corroborate this story. If I can, I’ll shut it down. Until then, I have a job for you, if you’re willing.”

“Well, my day off is pretty much shot, anyway. What can I do?”

“I need you to keep the informant safe from the people trying to kill him. When I finish checking this out, we will all meet up and decide what to do next. You think you are up for it?”

“I’m fine, Jim, nothing I can’t handle. It’s what I was planning on doing anyway. Call me when you’ve got something.”

“Right. Be careful, Rayna. If your informant is correct, there are some dangerous people with a powerful motive to silence both of you.”

“Same goes for you, James. If they figure out that I called you, figure out what you are looking into…” I let the thought hang. James wasn’t stupid, he knew what I was getting at.

“I know. I’ll watch my back.”

“And don’t trust any of the Immune. No way of knowing how many have been compromised.”

“Right. I’ll be in touch.”

James hung up the phone.

“So?” Simon asked anxiously.

“He is looking into it.”

“He doesn’t believe me.”

“He needs to confirm.”

“What are we supposed to do until then?”

“Stay alive. Which is easier said than done.”

“So, we stay here? Lay low?”

“No chance. Those guys” I jerked a thumb towards my spare bedroom. “Saw you come in here. If they weren’t complete morons, they reported that to someone. When they don’t report in again, more will come looking. We need to be gone before they show up.”

“How exactly are you planning on getting anywhere? Neither of us is exactly in a condition to be driving.”

He wasn’t wrong. But it didn’t matter, I didn’t exactly have a car, either. I had other plans. I dug out my first aid kit and tossed him a stack of gauze, some medical tape and disinfecting wipes.

“Leave that to me. Just clean that wound and bandage it. I’ll be back.”

I left him tending to his gunshot and went into my bedroom. I retrieved my go bag from underneath the bed and checked its contents. A couple of changes of clothes, spare ammo, a couple of passports, several rolls of cash bound in rubber bands, assorted other essentials. In my line of work, you never knew when you might need to travel in a hurry. I grabbed the bag and went back to the kitchen. I retrieved a few things from the fridge and dropped them in the bag. I tucked one gun into the bag and put another in my ankle holster. I hesitated a moment, then added the baton too. I looked around, trying to decide if there was anything else I needed to bring. I grabbed my tablet, laptop and their charge cords and stuffed them in the bag. Satisfied, I turned back to Simon,

“You ready?”

He put the medical tape down and inspected his handiwork. It was neat work, almost professional. He seemed to be starting to recover himself a bit. Nodding, he pulled his pant leg back down and stood up.

“Yeah. Good to go.”

“How’s the leg?”

“Fine, now. Can hardly feel anything.”

It must be nice to be ubarae, a couple of Advil were as good as a shot of morphine. I grabbed my cell and called for a cab.

“Let’s move. Cab should be here in a few minutes, and we need to meet it at the building next door.

“Why not have it come here?”

I sighed,

“Because they will be looking for us. We don’t want to make that too easy for them.”

“Surely they will check next door, too.”

“Eventually. But the longer it takes them to find our trail, the more of a head start we will have. Let’s go.”

The incubus rose and we headed for the door together. Bypassing the elevator, we took the stairs down and went out the back exit, heading for the neighboring apartment complex. The night was cool, and the moon was high and full in the sky. It wasn’t cool enough to need more than a sweatshirt, but the breeze was chilly. I walked faster. Simon turned to me,

“So where are we going?”

“Away.”

“You aren’t going to explain your plan?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I said I believed your story, not that I trust you. Better you not know, for now.”

“And I should trust you?”

“You need to trust me. You need someone to protect you. And if I wanted you dead, I could have just stepped back and let it happen. Would have been safer for me.”

He didn’t seem to have a response to that. We walked in silence for a while.

“But you do have a plan, right? I mean, we are going somewhere safe, aren’t we?”

“You talk a lot.”

“I’m nervous.”

“Good. You’ll need that edge. But no talking in the cab. We don’t want the driver to know anything. Just… follow my lead, ok?”

“Ok,” he barely managed silence for a moment before he resumed. “Will the blood on my pants be a problem?”

Probably. But I didn’t exactly have any men’s clothing on me.

“Just try not to draw attention to yourself. It is dark and so are your pants, hopefully it won’t be too obvious. We’ll get you some new clothes soon.”

“Alright.”

The cab pulled up in front of the building, throwing headlight beams across the parking lot. I positioned myself in front of the incubus, off to his left, blocking the driver’s view of his bloody leg as we approached.

“Where can I take you folks tonight?”

I gave the address of the Strathcona hotel, downtown.

“Odd time to be going to a hotel so close by. Everything ok?”

I laughed, a light easy sound that was at complete odds with how I was actually feeling,

“Apartment is infested with roaches. They are everywhere. They are calling in a fumigator, but I can’t stay there a moment longer. I need sleep. I told the boyfriend,” I jerked a finger at Simon, “that either he is springing for a hotel, or I am going to my mother’s.”

“She gets what she wants,” Simon rolled with it, shrugging.

“The ladies always do,” the cab driver commiserated.