As they all gathered in the Lafayette Room for the promotion ceremony, Vik alternately looked pleased and envious. Tom didn’t have room for much envy. He was too down.

Tom got to witness something interesting, though. Wyatt walked onto the stage when her name was called, and she didn’t even look at Blackburn as he handed her the neural chip with her upgrades. She blew right past him to Cromwell and to shake hands with General Marsh. Blackburn raised his eyebrows, obviously picking up on the same thing Tom had—Wyatt was not pleased with Blackburn for some reason.

But Tom didn’t wonder about that for long. He found himself meeting General Marsh’s eyes, and had to drop his gaze, aware that he hadn’t met the general’s expectations. He hadn’t found a way to redeem himself. All that confidence Marsh had in him was misplaced. There was this pervasive sense of bleakness that settled inside him like a swamp. He wondered if Yuri was feeling the same way, seeing the possibilities he probably would never have.

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EVERY BREAK FROM the Pentagonal Spire, the military flew Tom back and forth to wherever his dad was. That way, Tom avoided a lot of the restrictions that would’ve accompanied traveling through an airport while on the terror watch list. He also got a ride straight to the Old Indian Chief Casino, where he plopped down in the restaurant to await his father.

Neil showed up soon, gave him a gruff hug, then launched into a story about some cheating incident at his last poker game: “. . . turns out this chump had some guy with binoculars, and this microphone right in his ear . . .”

That’s when a woman in a suit headed over to them at a rapid clip. “Excuse me, gentlemen.”

The “gentlemen” thing was why Tom and Neil both assumed she was talking to someone else. When she stopped at their table, they straightened up uneasily, because respectable-looking people charging up to them never ended well.

The woman gave them both a big smile. “I take it you two are the Raines party?”

Tom looked at his dad sharply, wondering what he’d done to get in trouble. Neil’s brow furrowed. He seemed to be thinking hard, too, trying to remember what he’d done as well.

Neil set his half-eaten burger down and wiped his hand with his napkin. “Who’s asking?” He sounded calm, but Tom could pick up the undercurrent of tension in his voice.

“I take it you’re Neil Raines?” she clarified.

Neil shifted in his seat and cast a look around. The woman was alone. No cops or burly henchmen were there as backup, ready to haul him off. Finally, his cautious eyes moved back to her. He folded his arms and jerked his head once. “Yeah, lady, you’ve got the right person. Again, who wants to know?”