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Moving on, Olivia asked, “Who is your superior?”
“Do you honestly think I’m going to tell you anything useful?” Her laughter was genuine and lighthearted. “That naïveté never really went away, did it?”
“How large is the organization?”
“We are in the millions. You could live to be a thousand and never find us all.”
“And for what purpose, Iris? What is your main goal?”
“To make things better, of course.”
“To make what better?”
“Life. The world we live in.”
“You don’t have an ounce of altruism in your body. The only person whose life you want to improve is your own.”
“Oh, now that really stings.” She blinked her eyes in mock horror. “Who knew I could raise such a cheeky girl. But you’re right, you know. I don’t care. Not really. I lost my idealism at a young age. Learning that no one would look out for me but me, put things in perspective. When I was recruited, it put things in perfect alignment with those goals. I make a lot of money. I have every possession I could want. And I live a life of elegance, danger, and intrigue. What more could a woman ask for?”
“You still haven’t answered my question. Who do you work for?”
“You can ask the question a dozen times, my dear. It doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”
Olivia tilted her head and let a mocking smile play around her mouth. “You don’t know, do you?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You don’t know who you answer to. You’re just a cog in a wheel. You follow orders like a drone, a little worker bee. Like all those others—thousands—that you mentioned. The people high up in the organization likely don’t even know your name.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m very valued. You’re trying to needle me into telling you something. It won’t work.”
Yes, it would, but it would take some time. Shrugging, she said, “Whether you tell me anything or not, you’re finished.”
“You know, I used to think that virtuousness of yours was an act, but it’s not, is it? You really do think in terms of good and bad.”
“And in what terms do you think?”
“Not in any way you would understand.” She let out an elegant sigh of exasperation. “Is the inquisition over? I’m getting quite bored, and not to be crude, but I need to use the loo.”
“It’s too bad you can’t cross your legs, because this inquisition hasn’t even started.”
A smile played around her mouth. “You are much tougher than you used to be. I like to think I had something to do with that.”
In many ways, Iris had everything to do with Olivia’s veneer of toughness, but it wasn’t something to be admired.
“You think you can keep me here forever?” Iris asked.
Olivia had no idea what Hawke’s plans were for Iris. The UK authorities would want her, that was a given. Did they know she was in custody? Did they know she was a traitor?
“How about we strike a deal?”
“What kind of a deal?”
Hawke squeezed Olivia’s hand, letting her know he needed her to stop.
“Let’s take a short break, shall we?” Hawke said. He pressed his earbud. “Take the prisoner back to her room so she can use the facilities. Get her some water and a protein bar. She’s going to need the energy.”
They watched as the same two guards came inside and unlocked Iris’s wrists from the chair. They cuffed her hands behind her back. As she shuffled toward the door, she made one last parting remark that was so typically Iris Gates.
