Replica(18)
“I’ve played this game before. I know what I’m doing.”
“Good.” I gave him the list of subway lines I planned to take, then waited for some kind of comment, but he just gave me a devilish grin. “After you.”
We made it the subway and to the coffee shop without incident. I could see him lurking twenty feet away, blending in as well as someone his size was capable of blending. I hated to admit I was glad he was there. That I could text him an SOS if I needed backup. The two-block walk to the diner had me on edge. Humans, I could handle, but there were so many unknowns in this new world I’d stumbled into. And now I was on my way to meet a man—or a vamp, werewolf, or monster—with an ego large enough to fill an underworld.
He was easy to spot, the only customer at a table in a diner with only three other people—a couple in the midst of an argument, and a old man hunched over his bowl of soup.
I stood next to the table, my hands in the jacket pockets. “Hades?”
A slow grin spread across his face. “You came.”
If I had run into this guy on the street, I wouldn’t have given him the time of day. He looked to be in his forties with a slight receding hairline. His pasty complexion suggested he spent the majority of his time inside, probably in the underground lab Lea and I had destroyed only days ago.
He was dressed up—trousers, a blue button-down shirt, and a blue and white striped tie. He wore eyeglasses, possibly to hide the mad gleam in his eyes.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, but I gave him a sly grin as I slid into the booth seat across from him. “After an offer like yours, how could I refuse?”
“Did you get the results?”
“Not so fast.” I’d activated the microphone app on my phone before entering the diner. “How do I even know you have any information about the Asclepius Project? Maybe you’re someone who saw my report and decided to try to get inside info.” One look into his eyes had told me he was the real deal. And that he was at least slightly unbalanced. Still, it would be stupid not to vet him first.
He sighed, sounding irritated, then slid a finger up and down on the sweating glass of water in front of him. “I thought I’d proved myself during our call.”
I tilted my head. “How do I know you’re the man I talked to on the phone?”
“Rachel, I only have a short time before I must catch a flight. You need to ask the right questions.” He sounded exasperated.
His response made me pause. “You’re supposed to give me information.”
“And I will. But first you must ask the questions. You have five. Then we are done.” He slid a pile of sugar packets in front of him, next to the glass, arranging them into a neat line. Five.
Well, fuck. I hadn’t planned for something like this, which was plain stupid on my part. His whole phone conversation had been a game of questions and answers.
I took a breath, clasping my hands in front of me. “What does the Aglaea division work on?”
A grin spread across his face as he picked up a sugar packet and ripped it open. “You were correct during our previous conversation. The Aglaea division worked with vampires.” He poured the packet into the water and watched the sugar granules float to the bottom of the glass.
“Worked? Past tense?”
He picked up two packets, ripped them open, and dumped them on the table, looking into my eyes as they spilled everywhere. “One thing you must know about me, Rachel—I am a very literal man. You have just wasted two questions.”
Shit. I tried to quell my panic. He hadn’t given me any answers at all. Not really.
“Where exactly should we look next?”
He picked up a sugar packet and ripped off the top, holding it over the table for a moment before pouring it into his water.
I resisted pushing out a breath of relief.
“You need to go to Iraq. To the Lelantos facility. They are planning to conduct a field test. You’ll find answers you’re looking for there.”
Which meant I had one more question left.
“Hades, are you my enemy or my friend?”
He picked up the remaining packet of sugar and poured it into the glass, then picked up the glass and drained it dry before he smiled. “I am only one of many boogeymen in your worst nightmare.”
My breath caught in my throat. Staring into his cold dark eyes, I believed he was just as bad as the rest of them.
“What about the pill?”
He grinned. “You’re out of questions.”
My back tensed. “You said you would address the blood cells.”
“All in good time. I will give you more answers when I think you need them, but know that for now we are allies in this quest.” He got up and moved beside me, leaning over to whisper in my ear. “There is no black or white in this world, Rachel. Only shades of gray.