Page 30 of Tainted Souls
“You’re bluffing,” he tries.
I straighten up, pulling the dagger out as I go. “If you say so.”
With deliberate slowness, I turn and walk toward the exit, counting silently in my head.One. Two. Three.
“Wait.”
I don’t turn around yet, wanting him to sweat a bit. I take my time to adjust my coat, then turn to face him again. “I want names, dates, origins. Everything.”
Viktor’s laugh is bitter and short. “You think I keep records? That’s how people like me end up dead.”
“I think you keepverydetailed records,” I counter, returning to his desk. “Because you’re too smart not to have insurance.”
His face pales to match the white of his knuckles as he grips the edge of his desk. “You’re insane. You know as well as I do that leaking such information can get me killed.”
“And refusing me won’t?” I threaten.
Viktor studies me for a long moment before opening a drawer. He retrieves a small metal object—a flash drive, unmarked and inconspicuous. “Every illegal entry in the past six months. I give you this, I stay off your radar.”
“You’re in no position to make demands,” I say, reaching for it.
He pulls it back. “What makes you think tonight’s attack and these turnings have anything to do with my clients?”
“Because the vampires that orchestrated this could have only gotten past security the way they did if they had help from inside the city.” I hold out my hand, palm up. “The drive, Viktor.”
With visible reluctance, he places it in my hand. As my fingers close around it, he grabs my wrist. “You didn’t get this from me, dhampir.”
I wrench my arm free. “Understood.”
The flash drive feels heavy in my pocket as I leave the den, retracing my steps through the butcher shop and back onto the street.
Viktor may be a snake, but having an informant in the underground proves to be valuable at times. Especially when it involves unsolicited murder.
The general examines the drive in his hands, his expression unreadable as he inserts it into his secure tablet.
Data floods the screen, all of it meticulously cataloged by Viktor’s criminal enterprise.
“This is… extensive,” he says, scrolling through the information. “How did you obtain this?”
“With my sparkling personality,” I deadpan, then start pacing the length of his office, restless energy coursing through me.“These vampires need to pay for what they did to Max and the others.”
The general’s office is sparse but purposeful, with tactical maps of Penn City covering one wall, surveillance feeds flickering on another. The smell of coffee hangs in the air, strong and bitter.
“These illegals,” he says, tapping the screen. “You know we can’t do anything past arresting them until further notice, right? There is a difference between not having official documents, and sabotaging security. One is a mere transgression, the other a felony.”
I nod, determination burning in my chest. “I’ll take care of it.”
He closes the tablet, then holsters his weapons. “There’s no need for you to get involved. I’ll dispatch my teams immediately.”
“I want to be involved,” I say, stepping in front of him.
He sighs, handing me a comm unit without objection, knowing I’ll be going anyway. “Where do you think you’ll be most useful?”
I take the device and clip it to my ear. “The eastern perimeter. If they try to flee the city, that’s their most likely exit point. You get your teams to search inside the city limits.”
“Alright,” he says, checking his watch. “We have three hours until dawn. Let’s make them count.”
The general reaches into a secure drawer then, retrieving a compact pistol and placing it on the desk between us. Its matte black surface gleams under the office lights when I pick it up, testing the weight in my palm.
