Page 74 of Crowe
“Sure. Why not. One of us can come with you just to be safe, but it would be good for you to get out of the apartment, and Mars’s shop is a good space.”
He reached over and touched the bracelet Mars had given him and nodded. “Yeah, it is a good space.”
“I have forty minutes before the meeting. What do you want for breakfast?”
“How about breakfast burritos?”
“I’ll cook the stuff, if you roll the burritos.” I bumped my shoulder against his.
Hawk was already at the conference table when I came in, coffee in hand, and a look on his face that said he’d already been working on solutions to the problems for a while and had opinions. Gator was beside him, phone face-down. Kat was at the far end with her laptop open, which meant she’d already been pulling data since before anyone else had breakfast. Diego was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and the particular stillness he had when he was working through something.
Wolfe came in last, closed the door, and sat at the head of the table.
“We need a long-term plan for Noah’s safety,” Wolfe said. “Corvane made a threat in a public venue in front of an FBI agent and walked out of that room like he had nothing to worry about. That tells me everything I need to know about how confident he is.” He looked around the table. “So. What are our options?”
It wasn’t a question.
Kat spoke first. “I’ve been tracking Corvane’s US movements for the past three weeks. He’s careful but not invisible. The Miami contact and the New York lawyer have both gone quiet since the Gala. Either they’ve been told to stand down, or they’re moving assets.” She turned her laptop so everyone at the table could see it. “Either way, the network is still active. Chance’s team is monitoring them but hasn’t found anything actionable yet.”
“Timeline?” Hawk asked.
“Unknown. Could be weeks. Could be months.” She paused. “Corvane is patient. He’s made that clear.”
“So we can’t count on Chance moving quickly enough,” Gator said.
“We can’t count on it,” Wolfe said. “That’s what we’re hoping for, but he can’t create evidence where it doesn’t exist, and Corvaneiscareful.” He looked at the table. “So what are our options?”
We spent the next twenty minutes going through the obvious ones. Increased security at the building, but Kat had seen to that. Restricting Noah’s movements, which was viable in the short term but unsustainable long term. Attempting to locate and neutralize Corvane’s US network, which was possible, but it would take months and might accelerate the threat rather than reduce it.
Caden knocked and came in with a tray.
He set it on the middle of the table with his normal quiet efficiency. It had cups, a small pot, and a plate of something that appeared to be shortbread. I reached for a cup before I registered that the smell coming from the pot was not coffee.
I looked at it.
Wolfe looked at it.
“It’s green tea,” Caden said. “I went shopping with Mika and Noah at the Chrysalis Moon the other day. The man there said it was a focus blend. Good for long meetings.” He set a cup in front of Wolfe, like the man always drank herbal tea.
The room was silent.
Wolfe looked at the cup of green tea. Then he looked at Caden. Something moved through his expression that he immediately got under control, and then he picked up the cup and drank.
Gator opened his mouth.
Wolfe looked at him.
Gator closed his mouth.
Hawk studied the ceiling.
Diego appeared to be very interested in his notes.
Caden collected the empty tray, set the shortbread in the center of the table, and left with a satisfied grin like he was pleased with what he’d done and didn’t regret it for a minute.
Wolfe drank his tea, looked at the whiteboard, and said, “Continue.”
Diego waited until the shortbread had been passed around before he spoke. “I want to put something on the table,” he said. “And I want you to hear it out before you react.”
