Night Study

I lightly smacked the back of his thick skull. “Then donate some money to Child Services.”

Fisk made a rude noise.

“They’re inefficient because they don’t have enough staff or resources.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Progress! I let the subject drop. We walked in silence for a while. A few other people strode along the streets Fisk had chosen. Some nodded to him in greeting; others smiled. I spotted one of his helpers lurking in an alley, but she faded from sight once Fisk met her gaze.

“They’re ready,” he said.

My heart fluttered as my hand rested on my abdomen for a moment. I’d been the bait before. However, this time, I had a baby to keep safe. If Valek ever found out... No. Not going there. I concentrated on the plan.

Fisk took a few turns, then led me to an alley’s entrance. He made a show of checking for a tail before we dashed inside. When the alley’s rank fragrance turned my stomach, I thought of Janco whining about the stench. The alley dead-ended, but a few doors surrounded us. Fisk produced a key and stepped toward the one on the right.

“Hold it right there,” a familiar voice ordered.

I spun. The Mosquito stood about twenty feet away. He aimed a crossbow at us. I wasn’t expecting that particular weapon, but we could adapt.

“Hello, Kynan, or do you prefer to be called The Mosquito?” I asked.

“You don’t really think Kynan is my name, do you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Perhaps you did, since you believe I’m not very bright and would follow your Ixian friends.”

“It was a good decoy,” I said in my defense.

He huffed with amusement. “Maybe at night or if I was half-blind. Her posture on Kiki didn’t match yours.”

I’d say his powers of observation ranked pretty high. “You need to get a life if you’ve been watching me that long.”

“I told you before. I don’t give up, and I always finish a job before moving on.”

I glanced at Fisk. He held his hands to the side.

“The boy can go,” The Mosquito said, gesturing with his weapon.

Fisk hesitated.

A twang snapped, sending the bolt right between us. I jerked in surprise as the tip struck the building behind us. By the time we returned our attention to The Mosquito, he had loaded another bolt.

“You’re not fast enough, boy. Now go on. Fetch help for Yelena.”

“Go ahead, Fisk,” I said.

Fisk frowned, but he strode past The Mosquito, who kept his weapon aimed at Fisk until he disappeared from view. Then he swung it back to me.

“That’s new.” I gestured to the crossbow. “What happened to your ice pick?” I asked.

“I learn from my mistakes. I’m not getting close to you until I’m sure you don’t have any of those darts hidden in your clothes.”

“Then it’s in my best interest to keep you at a distance.”

He laughed. “Yes, that would be right. But you’re in luck. The game has changed.”

“Funny, I’m not feeling very lucky.” Actually, I was quite confident—one gesture from me and The Mosquito would be squashed.

“Cute. My client has changed his mind about you. Instead of killing you, he wants to talk to you.”

“So he can kill me later?”

“All I know is you get a free pass this time. I don’t have orders for next time.”

I considered his offer. “Does your client have my brother?”

“Yes.”

“Will he exchange him for me?”

“No. And if you’re thinking you can use your...truth serum on me to get the location of your brother, I’ve no idea where my client is keeping him. My knowledge is limited just for that very reason.” He shot me a sour look.

“I’m guessing Bruns...or rather your client isn’t happy you blabbed.” I couldn’t resist needling him.

The Mosquito tightened his grip on the crossbow. “Is that your answer?”

“Where does Bruns wish to meet?”

“I don’t know. I’m to inform him of your response, and then he’ll tell me the location.”

Smart. This way I couldn’t detain him until after I’d learned the meeting place. Unless he lied about the extent of his knowledge.

“And I know all about your trap.” The Mosquito glanced up at the windows on the second story. “Should I wave to the Ixians?”

Busted.

“You really do think I’m an idiot.”

“Not anymore,” I said.

He smiled. “Your answer?”

“Tell Bruns I’ll meet with him.”

“Excellent.” The Mosquito backed away. He paused at the entrance, checked for an ambush and disappeared.

I replayed the encounter in my mind, but really couldn’t determine a way that it could have gone any differently.

Fisk arrived with a handful of his helpers. “You let him go?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” I explained what had happened.

“I’ve assigned a team to keep an eye on him,” Fisk said. “Maybe he’ll lead us to his boss and where they’re holding Leif.”

“He’s intelligent, so I doubt he’d be that careless. But it doesn’t hurt to try.”

The door into the alley swung open and Ari and Janco arrived. The red splotches on Ari’s normally pale cheeks warned me. I braced for his lecture on the dangers of meeting with Bruns. He didn’t disappoint, listing a number of horrific and creative outcomes. Janco had rubbed off on him.