“Why is she calling?”
“We may need to move sooner than I was hoping, but let’s find out.”
Ariana flicked open her comm.
“You didn’t get enough of me this morning?”
“Hello, Ari. Can I talk to her?”
“Talk to who?”
“Madame Copland.”
“I don’t know anybody by that name.”
“Liliyet Snorsgard, then.”
“Who?”
“Quit playing coy with me.”
“You used to like it when I played coy with you.”
“Look, Ari, you’re good at running, but you know we’ll find you eventually. I’d rather not waste much time here, and lives are at stake.”
“What makes you think I’m running? I could be home taking a bubble bath.”
“All we want is to talk with her.”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, Ari, here’s the deal. We’ll give Liliyet a choice to talk to us voluntarily—not even us, a third party—and it would be in everybody’s best interest if that conversation occurred. Otherwise, we’ll just keep chasing her, and you and I promise you I won’t give up. We’ll find you both; it won’t just be her ass on the line when we do.”
The comm went dead.
“The bitch hung up on me,” Ari said, genuinely affronted.
“What did she say?”
“She wants you to talk with a third party about something, and she says lives are at stake.”
“What do you mean, a third party?”
“She didn’t go into specifics.”
“That’s insane, right?”
“I dunno.”
“I shouldn’t just turn myself in, right?”
Ariana was silent.
“Look, I hired you to get me out of a jam, and I am out of a jam now, and I’m safe, at least temporarily. I can take it from here.”
Ariana was silent.
Liliyet was unsure what the silence meant.
Ariana suddenly picked up her comm and dialled some numbers.
“Who’s the third party?”
“Emma Hubert.”
“From Louisiana?”
“Yes.”
Ariana closed her comm.
“This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.”
“What?” Liliyet asked.
“She wants you to meet with the Ambassador from Louisiana.
“Emma Hubert?”
“Yeah. You know her or something?”
“No. Just by reputation. The Huberts are beloved in this city.”
“Can you think of any reason you’d meet with her?”
“No, not really.”
“You haven’t scammed anybody from Louisiana?”
“Not that I know of. I don’t exactly ask for detailed personal histories, though, you know?”
Ariana was silent.
“What do you think?”
“Ambassadors have immunity. So do embassies and their vehicles. You’d be safe in a diplomatic vehicle. At least until you got out.”
“You think I should do it?”
“I dunno. It’s a risk. This is all so strange. I have to say, Liliyet, I’m out of my depth here.”
A silence sank in between them as both thought about what to do. Outside, somewhere, a dog barked. Liliyet felt like a cornered dog with a stranger approaching. She was unsure if it was a friendly stranger or a dangerous one. She didn’t know what to do.
There was a knock at the door. Both Liliyet and Ariana started.