“It won’t.” Toys leaned forward, forearms on his thighs. “But it might make you lose the family you still have.”

That hurt. That one went all the way to the bone.

When I didn’t say anything, Toys leaned back, took the bottle from the cooler, and poured himself another glass.

“We don’t like each other,” he said, “but we have more things in common than you believe.”

“Apart from the fact that we both love Junie?”

“Apart from the fact that, despite better judgment, she loves us?” He smiled and shook his head. “No. Not that.”

“Then what?”

“Darkness,” he said.

INTERLUDE 13

THE PAVILION

BLUE DIAMOND ELITE TRAINING CENTER

STEVENS COUNTY, WASHINGTON

TWO MONTHS AGO

Eve sat on the sixth level of a set of bleachers, watching as the twelve Fixers known as the Righteous went through a knife drill. They wore the latest generation of spider-silk and graphene body armor, which allowed them to duel with sharpened knives. The armor was only vulnerable to cuts and stabs where it was necessarily thinner at the inside of the elbows and knees, undersides of the upper arms and armpits, and the neck. There was no real way to protect areas of flexibility from any kind of weapon. But they had also been trained to move and change angles to reduce the likelihood of injuries to those spots.

Santoro watched with a keen eye, lips pursed, fingers steepled together over his heart. He had not said a word in nearly forty minutes, and Eve was beginning to get nervous. Her fingers were knotted together on her lap and squirmed like a cluster of snakes.

Then a bell rang and the partners stopped, exchanged forearm bumps, and sheathed their weapons. Spiro—known now as Cain—barked an order, and the twelve lined up and stood at parade rest. Sweat ran down their faces, but they were not breathing hard. Not as badly as they had when this phase of training began. Eve was a brutal taskmaster, but she also made sure they were properly fed, got all their shots, and received massage and physical therapy. The Righteous had been in great shape to begin with, but now they were incredibly lean, tough, healthy, and powerful.

Santoro sat back and was silent for a few moments.

Then he placed his hand atop hers.

“You have done excellent work here, my daughter,” he said. And kissed her on the cheek. “No father has ever been prouder of a daughter than I am of you.”

Eve buried her head against his chest and began to sob.

CHAPTER 76

THE SLAAK ROTTERDAM

ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

Michael Augustus Stafford checked into his hotel, carried his own bags up, and locked himself into his room. He immediately opened his laptop and contacted Dingo, the head of Kuga’s computer team.

“Tell me you have something for me,” he said as soon as Dingo answered.

“Maybe,” said Dingo, who began the answer to every question that way.