Six hours later

N&J’s Investigative Services wasn’t far from the Newport Harbor, which meant it took a lot longer to get to the interstate. The weather was rainy, which caused the delay. Jet didn’t like driving on busy streets—let alone in Manhattan—but Nigel didn’t have a license.

“Wow, this place looks posh,” Nigel said as Jet pulled up to the Roxy.

“Everything in this place looks expensive,” Jet replied.

The valet took Jet’s car; then, moments later, they met Melissa in the hotel lobby.

“Nigel,” Melissa shouted from across the lobby.

She embraced him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You must be Jet,” Melissa said.

“I understand you had quite the adventure with Nigel,” Jet said, grabbing on to Nigel’s arm.

“Yes, I didn’t understand what he was doing most of the time, but if you had not sent clues to the island’s location, we never would have found you,” Melissa said.

Jet shuddered. She remembered the island where Jeremiah had taken her. While he didn’t kidnap her like the Sultan had, he made it clear she wasn’t his equal, either. Jet rubbed her eyes, a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She missed the little girl who was so eager to learn everything life had to offer. She hoped April would return to her someday.

“Where’s April?” Jet asked.

“She’s resting in the room—plus, I need to fill you in on what’s been happening,” Melissa replied.

“I hope she’s okay, it’s a long journey from Scotland,” Jet said.

“I made reservations at the Chef’s Table, off Fifth Avenue,” Melissa said.

“What kind of food do they have?”

“Chef Michaels will make anything you want—you are my guest.”

Jet nodded. “Lead the way.”

Two hours later

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Nigel couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a steak that good. He leaned back in his chair and savored the moment.

Chef Michaels had closed the restaurant for Melissa. After a rib eye and six other courses, Nigel was eager to hear what job Melissa had in mind.

“Now that we’ve filled our bellies and had some splendid company, you’re probably wondering why I have invited you to the city,” Melissa said.

“You said something about a job?” Nigel said.

“Yes . . .”

Melissa stopped mid-sentence. Jet nudged Nigel.

“You were saying, Melissa?” Nigel asked.

“Oh, sorry—I spaced out for a minute. It must be the wine.”

Melissa’s expression changed. She looked around the restaurant, checking to see if anyone was close enough to overhear their conversation.

“Does it have anything to do with April?” Jet asked.

Melissa looked away for a moment. After a brief pause, she filled Nigel and Jet in on the assassination attempt at her home just days earlier.

“I don’t know who would want to harm us,” Melissa said, holding back tears.

“Do you have any disgruntled employees or business associates?” Nigel asked.

“All of my employees have been with me since the beginning, and I pay them well. But . . . a shell corporation has been trying to buy my interest in my father’s island near São Tomé. I own more than half that island but was planning on using it as a research site for many of the diseases April was born with. I can’t bring myself to sell.”

“I’ll do some checking on your perimeter security. Can you give me access to your security logs?” Nigel said.

“I’ll make sure you get full access.”

Melissa paused for a moment. “Something happened to April after we played the Colossal Machine with her. For months before that she’d sat looking into space or talking to herself. But after your gaming session, she seemed to come alive again. But after the events at the castle, she’s shut down again. That’s one of the reasons I invited you here.”

Nigel put his hand over hers. She took his hand and held it tightly.

“We will help you, Melissa,” Nigel said.

“You mentioned other reasons for inviting us?” Jet said.

“Yesterday, when I had to complete the paperwork for the Mason Foundation’s New York office, my assistant brought a matter to my attention.”

Melissa took a moment to compose herself and poured herself another glass of wine.

“Delta is not the only cyborg,” she said.

Nigel and Jet shared a look.

“Yeah, we sort of figured that out,” Nigel said.

Melissa looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

Nigel relayed his experiences with Peter’s video and the clues he had found while chasing the malware over the past two days.

“I will need to look into this amateur sleuth’s show,” Nigel said.

“There are several augmented humans. It surprised me to learn of how many there are, some just like April. Jensen, a man who runs my New York office, received a complaint about a woman who was a victim of a vicious attack. They found her in battery park, holding the head of another woman in her lap,” Melissa said.

“That’s terrible! Is she okay?” Jet asked.

“She’s a cyborg, and the woman she was holding was her cyborg sister,” Melissa said.

“How many cyborgs do you know about?” Jet asked.

“Since the incident on the island I have been reviewing my father’s records, and Dr. Ash, the woman who transformed April into what she is today, had several more experiments leading up to Delta. Dr. Ash had a parallel project my father didn’t know about. That’s where this cyborg comes from.”

“How can we help her? I don’t think we can look up a cyborg specialist in the yellow pages,” Nigel said.

“I have someone in my employ. You will meet him soon,” Melissa said.