WHAT did you say you do, Mr. Briggs?” the Henderson realtor asked Jason the following morning.
Bourne whipped off his sunglasses and gave her a grin. He dropped a little Texas twang into his voice. “Construction engineering, darling. Mostly in Dubai and Qatar. They love their big glass buildings over there.”
The Indian realtor, whose name was Iniya, smiled back with extremely white teeth. She was well into her forties but wealthy enough to look thirty. She had shoulder-length jet-black hair, overly red lips set against honey-colored skin, and smoldering green eyes. She wore a formfitting emerald designer dress, probably imported from Milan, and her breasts had been surgically enhanced to the size of small watermelons.
“And this would be . . . Mrs. Briggs?” Iniya asked, nodding at Abbey with pointed curiosity.
Abbey’s expression was severe. She had her hair tied tightly behind her head, and she wore an expensive two-piece navy suit they’d purchased in the Green Valley shops an hour earlier. “I’m Mr. Briggs’s attorney.”
“Oh, I see. Yes, of course.”
“Abigail here is a Harvard Law grad,” Jason went on. “I can’t say as I’m much of a fan of Hahvud types generally, but this gal is as smart as they come. My deal in Doha last fall? She out-negotiated some construction law hotshots from London twice her age on the procurement contracts and cut my sub costs by a third. The fact that she’s also mighty pretty to look at is just a bonus.”
“And you’re interested in building a house in the Sensara neighborhood?” Iniya asked.
“I am. Looks like my kind of homes up there. I like to have elbow room.”
“I understand, and you obviously have good taste, Mr. Briggs.”
“Charlie. Call me Charlie, Iniya. If we’re working together, we should be on a first-name basis.”
The realtor touched Jason’s shoulder with her long fingernails. “Okay. Charlie. Now, I do need to mention that the Sensara neighborhood is the most exclusive community in the Las Vegas valley. Privacy and security are both at a premium. You can expect to spend a minimum of seven to ten million dollars on a property there, and some of the homes have cost much more. Upwards of twenty million or even higher. Is that a price range with which you’re comfortable?”
Jason nodded toward Abbey. “Am I comfortable with that, Abigail?”
“It’s fine.”
“Abigail says it’s fine,” Jason told the realtor. “I leave the dollars and cents to her.”
“There’s also a background check before a prospective buyer can move forward. A rather extensive one.”
“Good to know. Every club has its membership rules, right? But of course, I have nothing to hide.”
“I’m sure,” Iniya said.
“How about we go take a look-see at the home sites? I assume the powers that be wouldn’t object to that?”
“Of course, that’s fine. You’ll need to leave your IDs at the guard gate. And I assume you’re not armed? Guests can’t bring weapons into Sensara.”
Jason smiled. “You’re talking to a man from Texas, darling. We’re always armed. But I left my guns at the hotel suite. Figured they might make my future neighbors nervous.”
“Then let’s go.”
The three of them used Iniya’s red Mercedes sedan to drive into the upper reaches of the Henderson hills, where the Volvo had gone the previous night. At the guard gate, Bourne supplied a driver’s license for himself and a passport for Abbey, and he hoped that her name didn’t trigger any red flags on a watch list. The guards took a close look at their faces but didn’t otherwise react. When they’d passed inspection, Iniya drove them through the gates, and they found themselves in a world of custom multimillion-dollar homes set amid the rocky peaks. Many of the homes were finished; others were in the process of being built.
“There are still a number of homesites left throughout the hills,” Iniya told them. “Most feature unobstructed views of the Strip.”
“I can see that,” Jason said.
“Did you choose the Las Vegas area for a particular reason?” she asked.
“Oh, I like it hot. Usually, I’m in Dallas or the Middle East. I’m a bit of a gambling man, so I like having a place to stay that I can call my own when I come to town.”
“Naturally.”
“Mind if we stop for a minute and let me stretch my legs, Iniya? I like to have boots on the ground when I judge a place.”
“Yes, of course, Charlie.”
The realtor parked the red Mercedes on one of the streets that curved around the hillside terraces. Bourne and Abbey both got out, and Jason put his hands on his hips and sighed loudly, as if admiring the views. He strolled up the street and surveyed each of the estates looming above him, one by one. They were all lavish, multistory mansions clinging to the sides of the mountain. Any of them could have been home to Medusa. Or perhaps all of them were. Then he spotted one particular estate higher than the others, with a commanding location above the valley and all of the wealthy neighbors situated below him. It was much larger than the rest, built in modules of rich stone and marble, with a series of flat roofs. On one of the roofs, he could see a helicopter, so the owner didn’t have to deal with the Las Vegas traffic. From where he was, he could also see a lineup of catering trucks parked on the road that led to the estate.
“Looks like somebody’s having a party tonight,” Jason said.
Iniya followed his gaze. “Oh, yes. A wedding reception actually.”
“Who’s getting married?”
The realtor hesitated. “I’m afraid I can’t give out any names, Charlie. As I mentioned, privacy is paramount here. Should you choose to build, of course, you’ll find the residents here very welcoming.”
“Sure, sure.” Jason continued to study the house at the top of the mountain. “Definitely the primo spot up there.”
“Yes, it was the first house built in the community.”
“Are those bighorn sheep I see? Wandering on the grounds?”
Iniya flushed with embarrassment. “Yes, the owner created something of a preserve for the animals.”
“Guess we all have our quirks,” Jason said.
Abbey arrived at Jason’s side, and she leaned close enough to whisper in his ear. “Check out the eye.”
Bourne took another look at the sprawling estate above them, and he saw it now. An elaborate series of fountains sprayed like geysers from one of the swimming pools, and the water in the centermost fountain formed a kind of screen on which was projected a huge, ultra-high-definition video image of a single human eye. As he watched, the eye actually winked at him.
He’d seen that eye before, on the phone he’d taken from the thug in the New York subway. It showed up on the welcome screen for the Prescix software.
Jason and Abbey exchanged a glance. Then he smiled at the realtor.
“So this reception tonight,” he said. “Are you going, Iniya?”
“I am, actually. My husband and I are both going. I’ve been the principal sales agent on the entire project, so I know everyone here. A limo will be picking us up and whisking us to the party. It’s all very lovely. You’ll discover that people in Sensara know how to do things right.”
“Must be a hot ticket.”
“Oh, it is. Several hundred people, I believe. Guests are flying in from all over the world.”
“Wish I could go and meet some of my future neighbors,” Bourne said. “Any chance you could snag an invite for me and Abigail?”
“Truly, I wish I could, Mr. Briggs, but it’s simply not possible.”
“I understand completely,” Jason replied. “No worries at all. I’m sure you and your husband will have a nice time. Where did you say you two live again?”
GABRIEL Fox,” Jason announced as he checked the fit of the black tuxedo jacket in the mirror. “The founder, designer, and principal shareholder of Prescix. He’s the one who lives in the castle on the hill in Sensara. I found a reference to his house in a tech magazine.”
Abbey replied from behind the curtain in the private dressing room. They were in an upscale boutique in the Forum Shops at Caesars. “It fits, doesn’t it? Medusa uses Prescix, so it makes sense that the founder would also be involved with Medusa. Maybe that was the whole point of building the software.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I think if Medusa already owned Prescix, the tech cabal would know about it. Prescix is part of Medusa’s plan, but they don’t have what they want yet.”
“Then why did the SUV pick up the casino manager and take him to Gabriel Fox’s estate to be murdered?”
Bourne frowned. “I don’t know. Hopefully, we’ll find out at the party tonight.”
“Assuming they let us in,” she said.
“Don’t worry about that.”
“I’m coming out,” Abbey called from the dressing room. “Are you ready to be dazzled?”
Jason smiled. “Ready.”
He waited as Abbey pulled back the curtain and emerged wearing a purple cocktail dress with flowers and swirls beaded over the fabric. The fringed hem fell only to the middle of her thighs and showed off her legs, and the deep V revealed the swell of her breasts. She did a little spin in her matching high heels, making the fringe fly, and then she smirked and balanced one hand on her hip.
“Well?”
“Wow,” Jason said.
“Does that mean you approve?”
“It means I’m concerned no one will be able to take their eyes off you. You may look too beautiful.”
“Thank you, sir,” Abbey said as she came and stood next to him in front of the mirror. “You know this thing costs like six months of my rent.”
“You’re worth it. We need to look the part.”
“I need to get my hair done, too. Men can get away with the scruffy look, but not women.”
“Our next stop is the salon,” Jason said. “We’ll have them package up the clothes and be on our way.”
“Are you going to tell me how you plan to get us into that party?” Abbey asked.
“You probably don’t want to know.”
“Tell me anyway. I mean, we don’t have an invitation.”
“But Iniya does.”
Abbey looked confused as she thought about what he meant. Then she inhaled with a sharp gasp as she understood. “Jesus. You’re not going to kill her, are you, Jason?”
“No.”
“It’s one thing to kill people from Medusa. They’re trying to kill us. But this woman isn’t Medusa.”
“You’re right. At least I don’t think she is. My plan isn’t to kill her, Abbey. If I had to do something like that, I’d go there alone. Not with you.”
Abbey was quiet for a while. “Because sometimes you do have to do things like that. Right?”
“Sometimes.”
“You kill innocent people.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Abbey.”
“Would you have killed me if I got in your way?”
Jason said nothing.
She stared into the mirror and admired how she looked in the dress, but the sparkle had gone out of her eyes. “I don’t know how you can live in your world. I really don’t.”
“There are days when I don’t know either,” he said.
She didn’t look at him as she walked back behind the curtain. “Well, I signed on for this. I came with you.”
He heard her changing, and he switched out of the tux into his other clothes as she did. A few minutes later, she came out from the dressing room, and she was Abbey Laurent again, not a fashion model. The cocktail dress hung on a hanger, and she gave it to him to pay for without a word. Her face was unhappy. He’d seen that face on women in the past. Women who’d discovered the man he really was.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“I can do this myself. You don’t have to go.”
“No. It’s a party. You’re less obvious if you’re not alone, right? Isn’t that what it says in your Life According to Treadstone book?”
“Yes.”
“So let’s go.”
Abbey headed for the display area of the store. He knew, right then, at that moment, that she hated him. He was bothered enough by her reaction that he forgot about the camera he’d spotted in the ceiling of the boutique. He didn’t remind her to keep her head down and her face out of sight.
NASH Rollins didn’t see a caller ID when his cell phone rang. Normally, the Treadstone phones could unmask the number of anyone who was calling, but not this time. He took the call and barked, “Who is this?”
“Hello, Nash,” Miles Priest said in his gravelly voice.
“Ah. Miles. Of course. Do you have information for me?”
“I do. You wanted us to focus on the woman. That was a good call. She’s in Las Vegas. We caught her on facial recognition in the Forum Shops.”
“Are she and Bourne still together?”
“So it appears.”
“Do you know what they’re doing there?” Nash asked.
“No.”
“Las Vegas,” he said. “I’m not surprised that Cain would go back there, since we think it’s a Medusa stronghold. All right, I’ll take care of it.”
“See that you do,” Miles replied.
The phone went silent as Miles hung up. Nash immediately dialed another number. “Get the jet ready,” he told the woman who answered. “Tell the director I have to go to Nevada tonight.”