The night after she sent her order to Viktor was an exercise in self-mastery for Catherine. Every passing hour was an invitation to paranoia.
Would Viktor betray her?
Would he alert The Rook, setting a more elaborate trap for her? Would Thorne, her intermediary, play a double game?
She was the queen, but her most powerful pieces were mercenaries or recent converts, their loyalty as fragile as glass. The silence of her library was deafening. She was blind, and she hated it.
To occupy her mind, she immersed herself in her new routine. She spent time with Valerius, playing the part of the attentive lover and enigmatic oracle.
She listened to his plans for his war against the Eastern Sail, guiding him subtly, congratulating him for his brutality and decisiveness.
She offered him her body as a reward, an act that for her was as empty and mechanical as signing a document, but which for him was the source of his newfound self-confidence. She kept him docile, satisfied, and above all, distracted. He was the shield behind which she waged her real war.
Thorne's report arrived two days later.
It was Leo who brought it, the boy seeming thinner and more frightened with each new mission, as if he could feel the weight of the secrets he was carrying. Catherine thanked him with a nod and waited until he had gone to break the seal.
The note was in Thorne's hand, but it contained a transcript of his meeting with Viktor.
"Oracle,
Our new 'friend' is as desperate and greedy as predicted. He accepted the terms without hesitation. His fear of his creditors is, for now, greater than his fear of his former master. I conducted the first 'consultation' session. He was cooperative. Here is what I learned."
Catherine felt her pulse quicken as she read on.
"1. Jun-Ho Park's new location: He has been moved. He is no longer in the Rook's Nest. It is too 'dirty,' too visible now that the Church and the government's Inquisition (Umbrella) are taking an interest in The Rook's activities. He has been transferred to a discreet safe house in the Magistrates' Quarter. At 8 Magnolia Alley. It's a stroke of genius on your father's part. He is hiding him in plain sight, in the midst of his most powerful enemies.
2. The matter of Milo's 'distraction': This is where things get complicated. According to Viktor, distracting Milo is nearly impossible. He has no known vices. No wife, no friends. His loyalty to The Rook is absolute, fanatic. He follows an extremely strict protocol. He never leaves his post, except for one and only one reason."
Catherine leaned forward, her eyes devouring the words.
"The Rook's security protocol stipulates that Milo must obey, without question, a direct, in-person summons from only two individuals: The Rook himself, of course. And his second-in-command. The true logistical brain of the empire, the man who manages the finances, the operations, and the internal security. A man whose existence is unknown to most of the lieutenants. His name is Kaito. He has no official title; he is simply 'Mister Kaito,' a nondescript accountant who is in reality the architect of Fortress."
A new name. A new high-level player. Her father's second-in-command. The information was priceless.
Thorne's report continued.
"Viktor suggests a plan of insane audacity. If we can produce a perfectly forged summons, with the handwriting and personal seal of this Kaito, Viktor will deliver it in person to Milo. As a lieutenant, his presence will not be questioned. Faced with a direct order from The Rook's second-in-command, Milo will be bound by protocol to obey and leave his post to go to the indicated meeting place. This would give you a window of opportunity."
The report ended with a personal note from Thorne.
"The plan is risky, but brilliant. However, it hinges on one thing: our ability to create an absolutely perfect forgery. I do not possess this skill. Do you have such an artisan in your game, Oracle? The board awaits your next move."
Catherine set the report down, her mind reeling.
The solution was there, right in front of her. A door had opened. Viktor had not just given information; he had provided a strategy. He had proven his worth. She had Park's location. She had the name of the man who held Milo's leash. She had the plan to get the watchdog away.
But as Thorne had so rightly said, it all depended on the quality of the forgery. She needed a master forger. An artist capable of reproducing a handwriting, a style, a seal, with undetectable perfection. Her nascent network possessed no one of that caliber.
Madame Lin could provide rumors, not forgeries of this level. Thorne was a man of science and violence, not an artist. Valerius? To involve him in such an operation was too risky.
Her mind cycled through the list of her assets, her pawns. And suddenly, a cold certainty settled in.
There was only one person she knew who had spent his entire life surrounded by official documents. Only one person who had seen thousands of signatures, seals, different styles of handwriting.
Only one person whose profession was the study and copying of ledgers. A man whose life she had broken, but whose devotion to her was the only thing he had left. A man whose hand may have been broken, but whose mind and knowledge of bureaucracy were intact.
Mathieu.
The curse eating away at him was a problem. His mental state was an unknown. But his skill was a certainty.
She stood and walked to her desk. She had to contact him again. She had to bring him out of the shadows where she had left him.
To execute this new plan, to take the decisive step in her war against her father, she would have to reactivate her very first pawn. Her most loyal, most damaged, and most dangerous asset to herself.