Fiddlehead (The Clockwork Century 5)

Gruffly, he laughed. “The world is a battlefield, Miss Haymes. And I clawed my way to commander in chief because I am the best at what I do. ”

“You were shoved into the role by people who wished to manipulate you, and take advantage of your political ignorance. ”

“You don’t know anything about me. Or why I took the nomination, or why I’ve stayed as long as I have. ”

She sighed, as if this whole conversation had gone beyond the tedious and he was missing her every point. “Very well. Then we know nothing about one another, and this is all one great mystery—like how we ended up in this room, together. ”

“Don’t say that like you planned it, because we both know you didn’t. ” He almost added that she was wrong, that he could guess or infer a great number of things about her; he knew her kind. But he didn’t want to tip that hand, or give her anything else to refute.

“Of course I did. You sent your secretary after Desmond on that ridiculous Sunday errand. I laughed, but he’s too greedy, too excited that you were offering him what he’d demanded. It didn’t occur to him that you might be up to something. ”

He still didn’t believe her. “But it occurred to you. ”

“It’s a simple trick, which is why it worked, I suppose. An oldie but goodie, as they say. Magicians do it all the time: Distract the audience with one hand, so they miss what the other is doing. ”

“You like magic tricks, do you?”

“Very much. ” She nodded. “I wanted to be a magician when I was a child. My father told me there was no such thing as a woman magician. That was the first time I hated him. ”

“Because he was right?”

“Oh, no. He was entirely wrong. I hated him because I was too weak to prove it at the time. I think if he were still alive now, he might grant that I have indeed become a Mistress of Illusion, after a fashion. ”

Grant didn’t like where this was going. “And what audience have you spellbound lately? What illusions did you perform while they were distracted?”

She pursed her shapely lips in a smile, showing no teeth, but something else instead … some unkind, happy trait that made his skin crawl. “All the world’s a stage, Mr. President, not a battlefield. I believe the Bard would have my back on that one. And if I told you how the trick worked, I’d be a terrible magician, wouldn’t I?”

“It’s also a terrible magician who performs a trick that no one notices. ”

“Oh, all right then,” she said crossly—but lightly, as if her irritation was feigned. She wanted to be asked. She wanted to answer. “By way of throwing you a bone … you agreed to my amnesty because you believed I needed it. Poppycock! Utter illusion, from start to finish. ”

“Is that so? Then what do you really need?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” she said. Her promise was every bit as unsettling as her smile.

“That sounds rather like a threat. ”

“Oh, no. If I wanted to threaten you, I’d pull out the gun that’s sitting in my lap. I’m reasonably certain it overrules your … hammer. ”

“And you think that’s all I brought?” he asked.

“Whatever gun you’re carrying, you can’t reach it more quickly than I can reach mine. And since I win that particular little gambit, let’s move on to the next one. I’ll start: Tell me, what did you hope to find here, in Desmond’s office?”

“Brandy. ”

“Oh, droll, sir. Very droll. Particularly since I offered you a drink, and you declined. So what else were you looking for? I’m game to play along. ”

“Nothing that’s any concern of yours. ”

“I doubt that very much,” she said. “At present, almost any affair of Desmond’s is an affair of mine. ”

Grant found that prospect alarming, but unsurprising. He only let the latter sentiment show. “I’m certain that constitutes some breach of national security. ”

“Then arrest me. ”

“Apparently I can’t. ”

“So why don’t you ask me whatever burning questions you hoped to have answered? We both know you can’t touch me, so I have no reason to lie. You never know—it might be easier than rifling through Desmond’s drawers. ”