“Looking forward to it,” Ki said and paused a second. “I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other. Physically and not on a computer screen. I mean, we work in the same building, Jot. How do we never see each other these days?”

“As my girls say, first-world problems.” Musil laughed again. “Okay. Downstairs. I hope I recognize you.”

“Har har. I’ll be the short, bald, pudgy Korean guy with the famished look on his face.”

Ki hung up. Five minutes later, he left the office, made a pit stop to the men’s room, then went up the hall to the elevators. Lunch awaited.

On the building’s eighth and topmost floor, Carol Morse had been mulling the problems of China, CloudCable, the Stalwart and Fake Gelfland on the one hand, a Russian-built secret city in Crimea on the other, and then Pinnacle showing up in that image search to exponentially complicate an already-nervous situation. All after leaving her third voice message of the day for Alex Michaels, who had seemingly gone MIA at the worst imaginable point in time.

It had added up to a splitting headache.

She was groping in a drawer for some Tylenol when her admin buzzed on the speakerphone.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Carmody and Ms. Alcazar are here to see you.”

Morse was surprised. She hadn’t been expecting Carmody. And certainly not Kali Alcazar, who had said nary a word to her since arriving in the country months ago. Which made her one among legions, but never mind. She had wanted Carmody to ask Kali for a favor. Maybe they’d turned something up.

She abruptly forgot about the Tylenol.

“Please, send them in.”

The door swung open, and Carmody appeared in his motorcycle jacket, tall, bulking and barrel-chested, coming right up to the desk with two long strides, sitting down in front of her without a word. He seemed to fill the entryway, fill the room, fill the chair. His knees were awkwardly bent and poked up higher than they should have, as if he had trouble squeezing himself into it.

She was thinking offices weren’t made for men like him.

“Duchess,” he said, “we’ve got news.”

So, they had discovered something.

She angled her head to glance past him. Kali had followed him through the door and stood just inside it in riding leather, looking as out of place as Carmody. He had insisted nothing was going on between them, and maybe that was true. Or maybe something was going on, and they didn’t realize it. Or he didn’t realize it yet. Not that it was really Morse’s business. And not that she qualified as an expert at love. And not that she had time to think about any of that right now.

She looked back over at him.

“OK,” she said. “Let’s hear it.”

He nodded and started to talk.

She listened, closely.