Nigel awoke to cold and bright lights. A chandelier hung above his head and he studied every facet of each fake gem. He wished that he and Jet were far away from Black Iris and had formulated a plan of action to appease Dahlia. But he had a horrible feeling that he would be attached to Black Iris for longer than she could imagine. He heard metal against metal. The sound was grating, like nails on a chalkboard. He glanced in the noise’s direction. Sitting across from the couch in which he gained his restful slumber was Eva. She was staring at him like a cat would watch a mouse. She appeared to be sharpening her knife with a cybernetic finger.

“I think I like this arrangement,” Eva said.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Nigel replied.

“There’s a benefit from my minor accident. I can be more of an effective assassin now.”

Eva emphasized the point by stabbing a metal finger into the couch. It ripped with ease.

“I’m sure that Dahlia can find a suitable cybernetic doctor to apply some skin on those fingers.”

Eva gave him a blank stare. Nigel didn’t know if his words were insulting; he couldn’t tell.

“You are correct as usual, Nigel Watson. Oh, I didn’t thank you for saving me,” Eva said.

The female assassin jumped on the couch, just missing his feet. Nigel pulled back. She extended her good hand. He took it in his and shook firmly.

“Oh, you’re welcome. You’ve been through a lot and—”

“You know something?” Eva said, cutting him off.

Nigel shook his head.

“I think you are a good guy.”

Nigel wasn’t expecting this response from a deadly assassin, but he took the praise.

“You don’t deserve to be hurt like that. I don’t like it when people I care about do.”

Eva gave him a smile.

“Oh, Nigel, I didn’t know you cared for me.”

“No, it’s not like that. I do care, but not in that way.”

Eva laughed, then squeezed Nigel’s hand.

“You’re sweet. If I liked boys, I would be interested.”

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“Oh,” Nigel said, dumbfounded.

“There you are,” Jet said.

He was relieved that she interrupted the awkward moment.

“I was just thanking your boyfriend for saving my life. He risked life and limb for me. I owe you,” Eva said.

The teenage assassin put her knife away, then left without another word.

“That . . . was interesting,” Jet said.

Jet positioned her wheelchair to get a better look at Nigel. He gazed into her eyes. She broke his gaze.

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I just woke up. I was just about—”

“Let’s work while we eat.”

Jet has been different since I arrived. What’s gotten into her?

Nigel followed Jet into the dining hall. He tried to push her, but she refused. The two sat at the end of the massive table. Moments later, servants descended, taking orders and providing water, orange juice and coffee. Jet removed a tablet from a messenger bag.

“Why did you lie to Dahlia?”

Nigel looked confused.

“When you described our plan. And what was that bullshit about SpiderJet? I abandoned that a long time ago?”

“I just wanted to show her some progress.”

“She knows you’re lying, and I’m sure she’s pissed about it.”

“How would you know?”

“I can tell when people are angry. My father acted the same way when he was upset.”

“What did you have in mind?” Nigel said, trying to change the subject.

“We have to talk about many things, but for the moment we need to get away from this mad woman.”

“Agreed. But I don’t know if we can find the remaining cabal wallets.”

“Leave that to me. SpiderJet may be dead, but CipherJet lives on,” Jet said, smiling.

His muscles relaxed a bit. He had been so wound up that he thought he would lose it if strained any further. Servants brought plates of hot food. Nigel started inhaling the three-egg omelet before Jet even had so much as a sip of orange juice. Jet took just a few bites from her oatmeal.

“I need a debrief on the work you’ve done.”

Nigel recited the events with Freeman. He described the DAO hack; Jet took notes, then started typing something on the tablet. Nigel moved the breakfast plates and turn on his laptop. The Hally Ninex screen with a dragon appeared with a login prompt. He entered his credential, then pulled up the secure email program and retrieved the Black Iris intel. After a moment, he recognized one of the IPs. It was from the Newport area. After a few seconds, he had the information he needed. Details about drones releasing canisters of gas were only some of the information contained within the files.

“The information in the file has some cross-contamination,” Nigel said.

“Whoever scrapped it probably didn’t wipe the media before imprinting this new information,” Jet said.

“That’s not the only thing. There’s information about the cabal.”

Jet moved his laptop so she would get a better look. Her presence of was intoxicating. He put a hand on hers. She squeezed his hand.

“There is video of you and Dahlia entering the underground.”

“That’s when we tried going after Doc Chop. It didn’t end well,” Nigel said.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that whomever Black Iris got this information from is planning a blackmail operation.”

“How do you figure?”

“Why would someone send the details about the gas attacks and a video of you and Dahlia infiltrating some lair? An argument could be made that you are working with Doc Chop.”

Nigel rubbed his eyes. He did not even think about the angle.

“All of this is inconclusive, but let’s keep looking,” Nigel said.

Jet yawned.

“I need a break. Care to see the grounds? They are quite beautiful,” Jet said.

“That sounds great.”

Nigel pushed Jet through the largest foyer that he had ever seen. Working with Jet made his anxiety levels dissipate to a tolerable level. Even if it was only for a short while.