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"Birds" Kat thought of the note in theto see the birds"
That was as far as Hale could go, Gabrielle said, and Kat couldn’t argue with the logic There was a reason clients never went on jobs, so Gabrielle waited outside with Hale, and Kat followed Garrett into the aviary alone
As Kat walked down the winding paths, the sound was overwhel the air Kat couldn’t hear anything over their cries Not the crunch of the gravel beneath her feet or even the sound of Hale arguing with Gabrielle in her ear
She was utterly alone in that huge faux forest until the trees parted, and she saw Garrett He gripped the wooden railing of a footbridge, staring up at the skyline that peeked through the canopy of trees
"Okay, guys," Kat said into her co or…" She paused as another reeted Garrett with a bow He wore a dark suit and dark glasses, but their words were lost to Kat beneath the cries of the birds around them
A s through the trees and passing beneath the footbridge overhead, so Kat crept toward it The birds squawked above A brightly colored pair flehen she approached their perch, but the men didn’t seem to notice, because they talked on, and eventually Kat could make out the words
"You have the device?" the other man asked
"I do"
"May I see it, please?"
Garrett huffed "I don’t have it on me, of course But it’s someplace I can access very easily when the time comes"
"And it’s secure there?" the man asked "The Hales are powerful people If they suspect what you’ve done, they will try to retrieve it, will they not?"
Garrett leaned against the railing and stared out through the net at the skyscrapers that loohed It was a cold, dry sound "Oh, I assure you, the Hales have never bothered with the business before I see no reason for them to start now And, besides…I have placed the prototype in a place where nothing has been stolen Ever So, yes, it is safe"
"And you can get it?"
"Sir, it is right under my nose So close that it could be yours as soon as you payprice"
"And have the Hales reveal their prototype at the gala next week?" Noas the buyer’s turn to laugh "I don’t think so"
"The Hales won’t be a problem," Garrett told him
"Perhaps But a wise man is a cautious man I ait to see what becomes of the Hales and their prototype As soon as the world knows they have not y, then--and only then--you and I will have a deal"
Garrett didn’t argue He just said his good-byes, and when he finally left the aviary, Kat didn’t bother to follow She had seen and heard all she needed to know So she stuht about the view out of Hale’s office , the sprawling streets below Itin a cloud A celestial view
Then she thought about her trip to Garrett’s apartht pictures--not a thing out of place except for the pile of e, Kat had thought at the tiht had stayed with her--the one little bit of disorder in his otherwise perfect world
But that wasn’t it She knew it then So she closed her eyes and thought about the letters and bills and the bank state online
"Hale," Kat said cautiously through the coht?"
"Yeah" Hale sounded nervous "Why?"
"Which one?"
"Superior Bank of Manhattan," he told her, and Kat’s heart sank She’d known that would be the answer A part of her had feared it fro on Garrett’s coffee table, as soon as she’d heard his words on the bridge
"Earth to Kitty," Gabrielle said "Are you going to tell us what’s wrong?"
"Kat?" Hale yelled
And Kat took a deep breath "This is bad This is very, very bad"
Chapter 26
The train car wasn’t quite large enough, but no one see about the lull of a locoentle rock and sway and the blur of countryside, that had always been conducive to thinking, in Katarina Bishop’s hus curled up beneath her and let Hale take the lead, standing at the front of the car
"Thanks for co, everyone," he told them
"Of course we came," Simon said
"I want you all to know that this is not an ordinary job, and I know that I’ll pay you for your time and--"
"You think I’m here for money?" Gabrielle said