“It’s obvious the government has decided you’re no longer of use,” Dr. Meyers suggested, “so they’re blocking you. Going to war with you would attract too much attention, so they’ve avoided that, but they’re going to every anomaly and gathering it for themselves.” He chuckled. “You should be happy they haven’t killed you.”

  “No,” she snapped, shooting up and slapping her hands on her desk. “They barely understand what’s going on. Selene’s dogs needed my help to manage the local situation. There’s no way they're accomplishing so much without me.”

  “They’re using the Crimson Wind,” he noted. “You told me yourself she was working closely with them.”

  “That’s one possibility,” Amanda agreed, “but it goes beyond that. The Crimson Wind’s involvement at the end of incidents is one thing, but they’re blocking my investigations.”

  “It’s more than a possibility. It’s the truth.”

  “I will accept your knowledge of your lab operations, but that doesn’t make you an expert in other fields.”

  Dr. Meyers’ lips curled into a smirk. “Anything is possible. The existence of the anomalies proves that.”

  She stared at him. “I’ve paid you very well, Doctor, and I’ve given you complete freedom to pursue your research.”

  “As someone recently asked me, do you have a point you’re trying to make?”

  The smirk was too much. That bastard was nothing more than a freelance employee, but he thought they were equal. She’d taken her company from nothing to one of the most important in Silicon Valley. She’d learned about magic when the government barely understood it.

  Meyers needed to watch himself. There was only so much disrespect she’d take. She needed him, but only for now.

  “There might be a leak in the organization,” Amanda replied. “I’ve been having my people probe everyone involved even tangentially with this project to ensure no one has decided misguided false patriotism is more important than doing what they’re being paid to do.”

  “I don’t work for the government. I’ve never worked for them.” Meyers sounded offended. “Those fools are short-sighted, and I do appreciate that you’re considerably less squeamish about what my research has entailed. Your failure to keep others in line isn’t my concern.”

  He motioned for her to sit. “If you want results, get me what I need.” He scoffed. “I don’t care about leaks. I don’t care about the Crimson Wind. I don’t care about anything other than more samples. I’m more than content to leave the field operations to you, provided you don’t complain about their failures to me.”

  Amanda sat, her jaw and neck tight. She needed more pills. She hadn’t had any withdrawal effects yet, but it was only a matter of time. There could be deadly consequences.

  That bitch Selene thought she was safe and in control, but she was only a government employee, a pathetic civil servant with delusions of grandeur. She had not created anything other than rules and wasted time, unlike Amanda.

  Zaena should have been nothing more than a means to an end, but the government was protecting her. That meant Selene was protecting her.

  There was more to the Crimson Wind than Amanda currently knew. She needed to figure out the woman’s secrets and how to tame her like the government had.

  Amanda pinched the bridge of her nose. Taking on the Crimson Wind and the government at the same time wasn’t possible.

  Taking on the US government in America was suicide, even for a billionaire. The solution was simple: pursue her interests where their reach was weaker.

  Isolating the government was impossible, but there was a possibility she could do something about the Crimson Wind. It was fortunate she’d cast her net wider than relying on either.

  “I have a potential lead,” Amanda explained with a sigh. “A strong one that I think Selene D’Arcy’s monkeys won’t be able to interfere with easily, nor will the Crimson Wind. It might neutralize our disadvantages in sample collection.”

  Dr. Meyers’ smirk turned into a broad, genuine smile. “Have you collected the samples already?”

  “It’s a more complicated situation than usual,” Amanda explained. “Our luck failed us this time. The samples aren’t local, and gathering them will require active specialist assistance. I’ve already arranged for that.”

  “I see. I understand that, and I hope you take better precautions with any recovered samples. There was too much cellular degradation in the previous ones you provided me.”

  “You’ve expressed that repeatedly, Doctor.” Amanda managed a smile, her confidence returning and swallowing her frustration. “The specialist collection teams will be traveling with the necessary equipment to ensure the preservation of any samples taken, living or dead. I’ve read your reports, and I understand what’s necessary. I’ve made sure it’s been requisitioned. Any anomaly samples killed during the collection process will be preserved within less than fifteen minutes. We’re still tracking down the current location of the next samples, but we have the general area. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Excellent,” declared Dr. Meyers. “That’s why I enjoy working for you. The advantage of being a billionaire is that you can throw money at problems.”

  “Money doesn’t solve everything.”

  “It solves enough.”

  The problem was some people weren’t as easy to buy as Dr. Meyers. Zaena and her friends would be far less annoying if they’d take a paycheck to do what she needed. Samples from Zaena might be all that was needed to finish the research.

  Dr. Meyers glanced at this watch. He’d gone back to looking bored. “What if your most recent lead doesn’t pan out?”

  “Then we’ll escalate our efforts,” Amanda explained. “Despite the danger. I can, as you put it, throw more money at the problem for the greatest potential sample source.”

  “I admire your enthusiasm, but what does that mean?”

  “Zaena, the Crimson Wind.” Amanda frowned. “If necessary, we can isolate her somewhere away from the city. The government might have tried to quash the truth, but she was there and involved with the UFO incident and almost certainly the Mojave incident. That proves she’s willing to leave the Bay Area.” Her frown turned into a wicked grin. “That means we can bait her away from San Francisco and the government’s prying agents. In that case, we might need to move your lab for the safety of the project.”

  Dr. Meyers gave her a calculating look. Amanda had been involved in enough negotiations to recognize the look. He was trying to figure out her limits.

  “I’ll do what I need to do to complete the project,” she insisted. “Up to confronting Zaena.”

  “You’d take her on directly? That will be extremely dangerous, given what we know about her abilities. Are you prepared for the damage that’ll involve?”

  “I understand that,” Amanda replied, “but it might become necessary. The US government currently has a monopoly on those pills. I’m half-convinced they might no longer be able to make them. Whether or not that’s true, what’s important is that private citizens should have the ability to produce them as well. We can’t have a bunch of bureaucrats and politicians benefiting from magic when the people who make things continue to function don’t have access, now can we? It’s not the American Way.”

  Dr. Meyers chuckled. “Is this about tyranny or about you?”

  “You know why I’ve succeeded in business?” Amanda asked.

  “Because you’re focused and ruthless.”

  “When I need to be.” Amanda smiled. “It’s more than that, though. Unlike some CEOs, I believe in win-win.” She shooed him toward the door. “I have a meeting with an old friend soon, so we’ll have to end this. I’ll send one of my people to coordinate with you about getting the necessary equipment ready.”

  Dr. Meyers headed toward the door. “I don’t care about win-win, Miss Morton. I only care about my research. When humanity achieves immortality through these newly discovered compounds, they will have one person to thank: not you, me. I’m willing to take all your abuse in the meantime.”

  “I’m funding this,” Amanda insisted.

  He stopped at the door. “Money is nothing more than a tool. It takes someone skilled to make use of it. Get me my samples, and I’ll make you your pills and many far greater things. You should be doing that rather than wasting time with old friends.” He waved and headed to his lab.

  She said to his back, “This is a special case. This is one very important old friend who might be able to help us.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Amanda folded her hands in her lap as she shifted to get comfortable in the back seat of her limo. The door opened, and her driver ushered in a stunningly beautiful dark-haired woman in cobalt-blue glasses.

  Her appearance annoyed Amanda. Everything about Selene suggested she was older than she appeared, which meant she’d been benefiting from the pills.

  It didn’t matter if she’d lost her source. If that was true, it was her responsibility to work with Amanda to create more.

  “It’s been too long, Selene,” Amanda greeted her. “I was a little surprised you agreed to meet with me, given you’ve turned me down repeatedly since our last little unpleasant discussion.”

  Selene took a seat. The driver closed the door. A thick divider would keep the conversation private, though Amanda suspected Selene had a device that would ensure it.

  “I’m a busy woman, Amanda,” Selene noted. “I didn’t come to San Francisco for this meeting, so please make this as quick as possible.”

  The limo pulled away from the curb. Amanda didn’t care where he drove. They weren’t going anywhere in particular. She’d ordered the driver to take a circuitous route around San Francisco until she told him to head back to the club they’d just left.

  Control. That was what the drive was about. Moving while talking to Selene would minimize her confidence in the ability of her agents and the Crimson Wind to help her. Amanda didn’t intend to harm her, but there was no reason to make that clear.

  “I’m grateful you found time to meet with me,” Amanda offered with a smile. “I’d begun to wonder if we were no longer friends.”

  “Friends?” Selene stared out the window with a bored face. “We were never friends, Amanda. You were someone who had resources the US government needed. In exchange, you were compensated for your aid, but when you decided to put your desires and personal interests ahead of the safety and security of the country, we, in turn, decided it was no longer advantageous to work with you. There’s no one to blame but yourself.”

  Amanda plastered a disarming smile on her face. She pushed out the fantasy of driving to the bay and having her driver put a bullet in Selene’s head.

  It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been involved in killing. Admittedly, the previous incidents had all involved criminals and terrorists, but she could argue Selene represented a greater threat to the American people, given her obsession with secrecy and keeping magic all to herself.

  Amanda and her company represented the best chance of advancing magical research. Denying her that opportunity was tantamount to denying regular American citizens the chance of a better life and future. It was a de facto war on the American people.

  She wouldn’t deny she would benefit more in the beginning, as would certain of her allies, but such was the nature of all technological advances. They would filter down to the masses in a cost-effective way, and her sacrifices would be compensated by being first in line.

  The government couldn’t so much as paint a parking spot without six planning committees and ridiculous budgets, and they still ended up with crooked lines. Magical longevity pills couldn’t be left in their hands.

  Amanda hadn’t gotten as far as she had by reacting based on emotion. Selene probably had a drone or helicopter following the car. All deaths needed to have a purpose.

  She swallowed. Her hands trembled. Maybe there was more withdrawal from the pills than she’d believed.

  Amanda took a deep breath. “If it weren’t for my help, Mark Wong would have killed dozens if not hundreds of innocent people. There would have been an entire neighborhood destroyed and a huge mess. There would have been no way for the government to conceal what had happened. There would be all sorts of questions you’d be forced to answer.”

  “No one denies the usefulness of your aid in containing Mark Wong,” Selene replied in a near-monotone, “but past good actions do not give one credit for bad ones.”

  “I’ve invested a lot of my own time and money into helping you these last few years,” Amanda replied, her voice tight. “Often against my better judgment. We both know it’s allowed you to keep a lot of things off the books and avoid unpleasantness, including congressional hearings and investigations.”

  “I’m not denying that.”

  “I don’t appreciate suddenly being cut out because of Zaena.” Amanda snorted. “I know she’s a tool of yours and not a product. You need to stop being so short-sighted.”

  Selene raised an eyebrow. “You’re accusing me of being short-sighted? How laughable.”

  ”Yes, I know she has useful abilities, but she’s one woman who keeps involving herself in dangerous situations. She’ll die, then she won’t be useful for anything other than as a research sample. She can’t continue to aid you as I can.”

  “You know nothing.” Selene turned from the window to stare at Amanda. “You’re pathetic.”

  “What did you say?” Amanda snapped.

  “Need I repeat myself? Fine. You’re pathetic.” Selene narrowed her eyes. “Do you even understand who and what Zaena represents? Do you understand how important she is?”

  “She has access to magic,” Amanda offered with a shrug. “I don’t know if it’s inherent, item-based, or a combination of both. Her ruby necklace is likely a source of magic. I theorize it’s a battery of some sort. I don’t know where she got it, but—”

  Selene cut her off with a cold look and a raised hand. Amanda tried to continue, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  She swallowed. It was rare she was intimidated.

  “Zaena is an elf,” Selene explained. “I don’t mean this metaphorically, nor am I referring to government codenames. She is a bona fide representative of an intelligent nonhuman species, one with inherent magical ability. Because of that, this situation is more complicated than simply collecting samples from other people with demonstrated magical ability.”

  Amanda’s breath caught. It all seemed obvious in retrospect. Once she accepted magic was real, it made swallowing Zaena being inhuman that much easier. It also explained Mark Wong’s abilities.

  She’d assumed the anomalies were humans mutated by their power. It hadn’t occurred to her that an entirely separate race was involved. It was the missing puzzle piece.

  “You have an elf working for you, don’t you?” Amanda asked. “Other than Zaena. That’s who made the pills. Did the elf stop working for you?” She let out a strangled laugh. “Or was it Mark Wong the entire time? Don’t deny he was an elf.”

  “You think you know so much, Amanda,” Selene said sadly. “But you can barely begin to understand what you’re involved in and what it represents. The entire world is on the verge of changing.”

  “Then tell me more and let me help!” Amanda shouted. “You don’t care about not killing individual elves. You were more than eager to have me help Zaena take down Mark Wong.”

  “Mark Wong was a danger to the city and the stability of the United States of America,” Selene told her in an icy voice. “Anyone who is a danger to the country will be eliminated.”

  Amanda scoffed. “You didn’t say whether he was working with you before. I think I—”

  “Quiet,” Selene snapped. “I’m tired of hearing your voice.”

  Amanda tried to snap back but again couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She averted her eyes, no longer able to bear the hostile gaze of Selene.

  She wasn’t sure why she was backing down.

  Was she afraid of the woman on some level? Afraid the government would sweep her into a CIA black ops site if she pressed too hard?

  Amanda bared her teeth. She was Amanda Morton, CEO of Yggdrasil Systems and self-made billionaire. The government couldn’t take her down so easily. Selene needed to understand who she was dealing with.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” Selene continued. “What you need to be doing is helping Zaena.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s important for the future of this planet, and you will help in a way that benefits the country, me, and her.”

  Amanda found her voice again. “What about me? What about the pills?”

  “If you can stop being greedy for five seconds and do what you’re supposed to, I can potentially pass some along.”

  “You have more?” Amanda hated the desperation in her voice. She took a deep breath to control the shaking in her voice. “I wasn’t sure if you’d lost your source.”

  Selene shrugged. “We’ve had supply line disruptions, but those are being handled. We won’t be bullied by CEOs with delusions of grandeur. National security is more important than either your profits or your ego. I think you need to remember who I am and who I represent.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t made arrangements,” Amanda countered. “You try to burn me or I end up dead, and a lot might come out that you don’t want to be common knowledge. I don’t want things to end up that way, but I have to protect my interests. I’m sure you understand.”

  Selene smiled for the first time in the conversation. It didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Of course you do,” she replied, “but that won’t be necessary. You see, I think we can repair our relationship and both benefit from it. We can reset things. I have no desire for you to be an enemy.”