“Thank you. I didn’t think anyone was listening.” Olivia picked up another edamame pod and waved it at Victor and Lucas. “For the past five years the Foundation has relied on the two of you to keep a lid on the monsters and other threats arising within the paranormal community. But that’s a full-time job in itself. You both have a lot of responsibilities. It strikes me that the Foundation needs a separate department that can focus exclusively on collecting and analyzing data from around the nation and the world.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed. “With Rancourt at the helm?”

“Who better?” She popped the pod between her lips, removed the beans and tossed the empty pod into a bowl. “Harlan spent the past five years exploring various paranormal traditions and identifying other organizations that are engaged in psychic research—”

“What other organizations?” Victor yelped.

Olivia ignored the interruption. “He established connections outside the closed world of the Foundation. As he has pointed out to me on more than one occasion, Bluestone and the Foundation are not the first or the only organizations that have investigated the paranormal. They are not the only ones dealing with monsters.”

“Hang on,” Victor sputtered. “I want to know exactly what other organizations we’re talking about. Intelligence agencies? Academic institutions? Foreign governments?”

“All of the above,” Harlan said. He munched on an olive. “And others. The Foundation does not have a monopoly when it comes to investigating the paranormal. The interesting thing is that every agency, society or group I’ve come across is intense when it comes to maintaining secrecy. Reminds me of the Foundation. Something to do with the concept of power, I guess.”

Victor sent him a withering glare.

“You have to admit Harlan is uniquely qualified to establish an intelligence-gathering and data-analysis operation to help guide the Foundation in the future,” Olivia said.

“Huh.” Victor ate some cheese. “Huh.”

Lucas studied Harlan. “What about it, Rancourt? Interested in the job?”

Harlan ate another bite of cauliflower. “I’ll think about it.”

He looked and sounded cool but Olivia felt energy shift in the atmosphere. He was intrigued by the offer. She smiled.

“One of the convenient things about the job,” she said, “is that you could set up your headquarters anywhere you like. No need to work out of the other Washington or Las Vegas. You could run the whole show right here in Seattle, for example.”

Harlan’s eyes burned. He picked up his whiskey and smiled at her over the rim of the glass.

“Okay, I’ve thought about it,” he said. “As the director of the Agency for the Investigation of Atypical Phenomena, I hereby announce the establishment of the Division of Intelligence Analysis. It will be overseen by the director of the Agency for the Investigation of Atypical Phenomena.”

“You,” Victor said.

Harlan drank some whiskey and lowered the glass. “Me.”

“Where do you plan to set up your headquarters?” Lucas asked.