The server brings me a salad. The greens are the kind that taste sweet and not bitter. My father gets the bitter leaves. So he really did have this meal made specially for me. Why?
I lift my salad fork and start to eat.
“Harper?” my father asks as soon as I take a bite, forcing me to grab my napkin and swallow down the food in a rush so I can answer.
“Yes?”
“Did he touch you?”
“Who?” I ask, stunned at his gall and pissed off at his intrusion.
“Tet.”
“Of course he touched me.”
My father stares hard at me. Probably not sure what I meant by that. But I don’t give a shit. If he wants to know if I fucked James, let him come out and ask me. I take another bite of salad as I wait for his reaction.
He surprises me by looking down at his food and dropping the subject.
Score one for Harper. Because I did not lie. And bonus points for making the great Admiral squirm, even if it was just internally.
“So tell me about your days.”
“My days?” I repeat, like I’m confused. But I’m not confused. At least not about his question. I’m confused as to what the hell he’s actually doing here. “Most of them were pretty boring. I stayed inside a lot.”
“That’s not what I heard. I was told you left every morning and evening to exercise on the beach.”
“Did James tell you that?”
“No, Number One told me that.”
I drop my fork. “You mean the guy who drugged me?”
“Yes, well. He wasn’t always so insubordinate. He was my best assassin until Tet took him out.”
“But obviously James did not take him out.”
“Obviously, James didn’t do anything. I told you, do not mix them up.” My father chews and then swallows. “Tet is a mess.”
“Hmm.”
My father smiles an indulgent smile, like such matters are above my level of comprehension. “Let me guess. Tet gave you that old spiel about mothers being killed and fathers standing by.”
I just stare at my plate as I shuffle the green leaves around.
“He’s insane, Harper. Long gone. He’s killed hundreds of people for the Company. And actually,” my father says, then stops to wipe his mouth and motion for the servers to remove his salad, “that number is so high, it might be in the thousands.”
“I don’t believe you,” I whisper.
“I’m sure. It’s improbable that one mad man could cause so much death and destruction. But he has. He’s the best we’ve ever had. And do you know why, Harper?” My father doesn’t wait for my answer. “Because he’s been conditioned since he was very small to not care about people. He’s been conditioned to lie and cheat. He’s been conditioned to get whatever he needs, any way he can. And he’s still alive today because he learned that lesson better than anyone else. Do you think I haven’t tried?”
“Tried what?” I just stare at my father, not sure if he just admitted to trying to kill James or reform him.
“But right now he’s being a good dog. Fetching that file for me. He’s got a vendetta with One. One has it. I want it. Tet is the perfect man for that job. And,” my father adds with a sly smirk, “it’s forced him to keep his deal with me. To deliver you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. He agreed to find you and bring you back after you showed him the file. But One…” My father shakes his head. And then he belts out a laugh unexpectedly. A guffaw that echoes off the ceiling. “Do you want to know the really funny part?”
I’m thinking no, but my father certainly isn’t paying any attention to what I want.
“The really funny part is that I sent every assassin I had off to kill Tet over the past few years.”
He stares at me, smiling, as I think about this for a few moments. “It didn’t work,” I say, my words just as unexpected as his laugh. “He told me… he told me he killed them all.”
“All but one.”
“Number One?”
“No, Harper. He thought he killed One, but One has other plans. So even though One tricked him, that was still a score in Tet’s mind. No, the job he never finished was Number Zero.”
“I don’t know all their numbers,” I say, like we’re talking about current affairs or the weather, and not men who kill people on command.
“Of course not. But you’ve met her. Watched him finish her off just a couple hours ago.”
My stomach rumbles and I just stare at my father, horrified.
Sasha.
How could I have forgotten that James shot Sasha?
And just as I’m thinking that the boat begins to move. “Are we leaving?”
“Did you really forget?” my father asks me, ignoring my question.
My breathing is speeding up and I have the familiar heart palpitations. The sweat starts to gather on my brow and I have to close my eyes and breathe deeply to stop the chain reaction.
A strong hand touches me on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I thought you were playing a game. I didn’t realize you hadn’t remembered. She was your friend?”
He hands me the bottle of water and I twist the cap until the plastic seal breaks and I take a sip.
“I don’t know why Tet didn’t kill her as he was instructed. I don’t understand why the child didn’t finish the job I sent her to do. She had the element of surprise and she handled herself very well when I sent the assassins to kill her grandparents. So the only thing I can assume is that they were playing off each other. Do you know what they were doing, Harper?”