Page 61 of Old Secrets

Only when convinced we’d do our best to defeat the meal did she bow and let herself out of the room.

“We better make wagers, Jake.” I gestured at the table, which was so burdened with food I feared it might collapse. “We need rules, and we need wagers. Only strong competitive spirit is getting us through this.”

“I don’t know what your parents did in there, but I am ready to eat several horses. Are you sure you can defeat me, my little vixen?” With a smirk, he picked up a piece of sushi. When he noticed me licking my lips, he brought the piece closer. “Do you want this?”

According to my fox, my mate could live without a finger or two. I reined her in, but I nodded. “I bite.”

Laughing, he brought the piece over. “Eat out of my hand, little vixen. Only then can you have the sushi.”

Aware we could make quite the mess, I took care accepting the treat from him. “Competitive spirit, not teasing with hand feeding, Jake.”

“But I like feeding you.”

“My parents have gotten the entire planet to heel right now, Jake. If they say eat, we are eating. Competitively until not a single bite is left over. Then we are going to go to that big bed, curling up together, and sleeping off our act of gluttony. Then we finally get to be put to work like the good, highly trained work dogs we are.”

Jake dared to laugh at me. “All right. But while we eat, I want to hear your thoughts about Greenwich and where we currently stand. I think I’m starting to figure out the whole story here, but I’m still struggling in places. Like that Jacob kid. How does he fit into this whole thing? How long has Greenwich been after you?”

“Number of full plates?”

“That sounds good.” Jake grabbed one of the plates, loaded it up with sushi and gyoza, filled one of the numerous dipping cups with soy sauce, and handed it over. He then made a plate for himself, sticking to the tempuras and other fried delicacies waiting for his attention. “We’ll take turns. You eat your plate first while I talk, and then you’ll talk while I eat my plate. I’m sure you’ll enjoy correcting me.”

I would, and pleased with the arrangement, I focused on my prey, the elusive gyoza and its sushi sidekick. “Can I make corrections as you’re talking?”

“Absolutely. What I learn may change what I say later.”

I dipped my gyoza in the soy sauce and appreciated how it remained fresh despite having been brought to the room. I suspected a fire witch had something to do with the perfect state of my dinner. The first bite roused my hunger, and my stomach demanded it be filled.

I obeyed.

“Your parents are the core of our problems with Greenwich, although Greenwich would have ultimately become our problem regardless of your status as their most beautiful and charming daughter.”

I snorted at his commentary, but I waved my hand for him to continue.

“In an effort to gain control over the United States weapon arsenals, of various types including nuclear, they began cultivating traitors in the central government. To assist their efforts, they planted individuals in many branches of law enforcement and the military. The military plants are the dangerous ones; they had access to the missile codes and arming systems. What we don’t know is if they had access to the guidance systems. I haven’t been able to ask, as I wasn’t certain who to ask—or if I should ask.”

I gulped down another bite of gyoza and said, “All things considered, I think it’s a good thing you didn’t bring that up. I’d rather not be in line for a severe questioning.”

“So far, so good?”

“We’re on the same page,” I confirmed before picking up a piece of sushi and dipping it in my soy sauce. Our adventure to Japan had taught me that they viewed sushi differently from what we were used to in the United States. Instead of large pieces requiring several bites, I was expected to pop the entire piece into my mouth. At most, two bites were permitted.

Most people could handle eating a piece of sushi in one bite, and I’d adopted their way of handling it. I foresaw choking when we returned to the United States, as I’d inevitably attempt to eat an entire piece in one go.

“I’m still not clear on how your ma became involved. At some point, she became associated with Greenwich, attempting to kill you. But you entered the care of the Johnsons. Your pa was the angel of the pairing, doing what he could for you without understanding you aren’t human.”

Right. Unlike Jake, who was a human bonded with a wolf spirit, there was nothing human about me. I was a fox who could take on the shape of a human. “It could be the air clan they discussed; she may have become involved knowing my species. Greenwich had followed me to the United States, murdering my first adoptive parents. But my bet would be this air clan had become involved, interfered, and kept me out of Greenwich’s hands.”

“That’s my thought, too. After London, I hadn’t thought the Johnsons would become involved with you again, although that seemed… strange.”

“Any accusations of abuse would have brought the CARD case back to the forefront, resulting in the confirmation she’d killed her son. At that point, she knew the jig was up. She had to get rid of my pa, because once the jig was up, he would talk. The instant he had confirmation she’d killed their son, the game would have been over,” I whispered.

I snatched another piece of sushi and chomped on it, grateful we lacked an audience to witness my abandonment of good manners.

“That’s what I thought, but my knowledge of CARD is not nearly as substantial as yours.” Jake picked up a piece of his tempura, and like me, he took his frustration out on his food. “Let’s back up to the Greenwich case, where you were accidentally kidnapped along with the baby. That is one thing everyone agrees on; they had limited opportunities, and the only way they could get the baby was to also take you. Considering where the kidnapping happened, they likely hoped you were prejudiced, although you’re anything but. I suspect standard Greenwich operatives would have no idea your appearance indicated a link to your parents, but I am willing to bet your picture quickly made the rounds to someone who would recognize you.”

“Thus starting the snowball. That matches my opinions on that.”

“Because you’re brave, cunning, and quite the skilled little vixen, you managed to escape with the baby until the Inquisition could retrieve you. That was quite the rodeo, as we needed to make sure we only had Inquisition operatives for the recovery.”