Sizzle and Burn (The Arcane Society #3)(40)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“Houdini claims that he was interrupted before he could complete his assignment,” January said.

The voice on the other end was as icy as his own. Nash had considered that an asset at the start of the operation in Oriana. It was the reason he gave the operative the code name January. After exhaustive analysis, he had concluded that the disaster in Stone Canyon was due to the use of agents who succumbed to the emotional sides of their natures. Lust, envy and greed contributed to the unsatisfactory outcome of that project. He could not afford a repeat.

“In other words, Houdini failed,” he said. “That means that you failed.”

“There will be other opportunities,” January said, sounding not the least bit ruffled by the implied threat. “In the meantime, I have come up with a new approach to the problem, one that is more…subtle.”

Nash ground his teeth. The implication was clear: January was reminding him that it had been his idea to use Houdini to take the J&J agent out of the picture. He had envisioned a quick, surgical strike. The kill was to have looked like a routine parking lot mugging gone bad. No clues. No witnesses. One dead Jones.

His intense hatred of the Jones family was in his blood, bequeathed to him by John Stilwell, his Victorian-era ancestor. Stilwell had been destroyed by Gabriel Jones and the woman who later became Jones’s wife.

The Jones family had probably forgotten all about the first John Stilwell. What the bastards had not counted on was the fact that, in the year preceding his death, Stilwell pursued his own personal breeding program. His secret journal detailed how he deliberately seduced and impregnated at least two female psychics in London, women he believed had genuine paranormal talents. John Stilwell had been fascinated with the discoveries of Darwin. He had been curious to see if his own psychic abilities could be passed down and strengthened by mating with women who also possessed such powers.

Darwin’s theories had proved valid, although John Stilwell had not lived to see the results.

Phone pressed tightly to his ear, Nash started to pace the office. It was true that using Houdini to deal with Zackary Jones had been his idea. The Stone Canyon project had been wrecked by a Jones. He did not intend to allow another member of that damned family to interfere again. But now that things had gone wrong, he had to make certain that he did not take the blame. If anyone went down, it would be January. Fortunately, he had been careful to insulate himself from any fallout if there was a disaster, just as he had after the Stone Canyon affair. He was certain that members of the Inner Circle had not learned about his connection to that operation. Nevertheless, a second cover-up would be extremely risky.

The members of the Inner Circle had little patience with failure. He did not blame them. When he assumed his rightful position as head of the organization, he intended to enforce a zero-tolerance policy as well. The Darwinian approach to management ensured that only the strongest and the most powerful survived. But meanwhile, he had to protect himself.

“You are in charge of this operation,” he said. “It is imperative that you recover what Quinn failed to deliver to us.”

“It’s unfortunate that Houdini was ordered to dispose of Lawrence Quinn before the data on Quinn’s computer was analyzed and discovered to be false,” January said. “If Quinn had been kept alive he could have been interrogated.”

He fought back another wave of rage. When this was over, January would most certainly have to go. An unpleasant accident, perhaps.

“I anticipate that the next time you call, it will be with news of success,” he said evenly. “Otherwise I shall be forced to replace you.”

“One more thing,” January said, ignoring the threat. “Houdini is asking for a higher dose. He claims that the reason he missed the target was because he was given too little of the drug.”

Nash stopped in mid-stride, fear streaking through him.

“What’s your opinion?” he made himself ask.

“Judging by what I saw last night, I’d say he’s losing control. He couldn’t hold the illusion. Kept switching it on and off. That’s what slowed him down. The experiment is a failure and should be terminated.”

Cold fear knifed through him. Houdini wasn’t the only experiment the organization had produced. Hell, they were all, to one degree or another, experiments.

“You’re in charge of the Oriana project,” he said. “It’s your decision to make. But I would remind you that Houdini is a tool, a very expensive one. The particular version of the formula that was prepared for him required a significant financial investment. It would be unfortunate, to say the least, to see that investment wasted. However, if the project is a success, the loss of Houdini could be written off.”

He ended the call before January could respond, aware that his pulse was racing and he was breathing too rapidly. Fear and adrenaline shivered through him. It took longer than it should have to regain control.

After a while he crossed the room, opened the door and went into the outer office. His attractive administrative assistant looked up from her desk.

“Yes, Mr. Nash?”

“I’m going down to the lab,” he said.

“Yes, sir. Shall I cancel the meeting with the people from the online supplements company?”

“No.” Shit. It was one thing after another today. He paused at the door, concealing his impatience. “What time are they due to arrive?”

She checked the clock. “Forty-five minutes from now.”

“I’ll be back by then.”

He went out into the hall and headed for the stairwell. His office was on the third floor of the aging three-story brick building but he rarely used the elevator. He liked to set an example of fitness for the staff.

He passed a cheerful wall banner announcing that Cascadia Dawn Natural Food Supplements had achieved record profits for the sixth quarter in a row.

The director of marketing emerged from an office and nodded respectfully. Two women from publicity saw him and greeted him with formality. He acknowledged them, pushed open the stairwell door.

The top floor of the building was reserved for offices. Online and catalog sales were handled on the middle floor. The first floor served as a warehouse for the wide variety of nutritional products sold under the Cascadia Dawn Natural Food Supplements label.

The company was successful but it was not large. That was intentional. He planned to see to it that it remained a regional niche player in the nutritional supplement business. It was the perfect cover for an illicit drug lab.