“Michael,” Op Nine said softly, coming to stand beside me so Mike could see him. “Michael, you know me. You know what I am. You know Section Nine.”
Mike’s eyes had gone wide.
“I don’t believe you,” Mike said.
“I shall tell her that. I’ll explain you didn’t believe us.”
“Shut up,” Mike shouted. “Just shut your pie-hole, Padre. I’m not giving up the Vessel.”
“The Great Seal has been lost,” Op Nine said. “What use is the Vessel to you now?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s the only thing that’s keeping Al here from blowing my head off.”
Op Nine smiled grimly. “Tell us, Mike, or I will give the order.”
He held out his hand toward me. I got it immediately, and handed him his cell phone.
“Well, Padre, I love my mom, don’t get me wrong, but I always thought my life might have turned out just a wee bit different if it hadn’t been for her. You know how it is, Al—we got no choice when it comes to parents, and some of them are woefully underqualified.”
“This is Nine,” Op Nine said into the cell phone. “I am authorizing Execution Code Delta-Alpha-Tango. Repeat: authorizing Execution Code Delta-Alpha-Tango.”
“Lemme talk to her,” Mike said.
Op Nine was pretending to listen to the nonexistent person on the other end of the line.
“Yes. Advise her that the Hyena refuses to cooperate.”
“Tell her self-preservation trumps familial loyalty!” Mike shouted. Then he said, “ ‘Hyena’? That’s my target name?”
“Very good,” Op Nine said into the phone. “Yes. Execute Delta-Alpha-Tango immediately.”
“Wait!” Mike yelped. “Okay! Stay the code!”
“Stay,” Op Nine said. The hand holding the phone dropped to his side. “Where is the Vessel, Mike?”
Mike took a deep shuddering breath. “I’m lying on it.”
I groaned. We hadn’t moved him to search. I grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him off the couch. He hit the floor with a “whoomf!” I yanked off the cushions and threw them across the room. There was a cavity right in the center covered by a hinged door. I pulled the door open and brought out the Vessel. A lot lighter than I thought it would be, it was very plain, no fancy designs or markings of any kind, made of brass or bronze, I guess, the metal hammered very thin.
Op Nine flipped the cell phone closed and slipped it into his pocket. Then he turned to me and held out his hand.
“I said it was hope that separated us from them,” he said to me gently. “But so does mercy, Alfred.”
“Okay,” I said. “But some things are unforgivable too.”
I handed him the 3XD.
“There,” Op Nine said in that same gentle voice. “You see, Alfred? He is here. You’ve just provided us with the evidence.”
50
“What now?” Mr. Needlemier asked.
“Now some answers,” Op Nine said. He pulled Mike from the floor and plopped him down on the sofa. “What is Operation Utopia?”
Mike started to smile, but the look in Op Nine’s eyes killed it.
“A very noble cause that a very stupid kid ruined,” he said after a pause.