A voice from behind drew her attention. It was rude to look over someone's shoulder. Zef gave the old man the eye and then went back to her reading. Nothing unusual. The last entry being a video of the show she'd seen. It hadn't been horrible.
She turned in her chair and frowned. "And if I have a score to settle with the boy, what do you think of that?"
The old man laughed. "Sweetheart, he's like family. I should be the one to end his life."
"If he's like family I should kill you, too." Zef grinned politely at him.
"Not of blood, grandson of my best friend who has gone on and passed. That the fucking light he isn't alive t o see his grandson wielding the power of the gods."
"I need him alive. And there is a standing order for his capture." Zef pointed to the high level mandate on Durante's life. "He's obviously important. And he's a wealth of connections the Atharim can exploit. Boy has the ear of the Ascendancy himself. I've seen them together myself. I was lucky to get away alive." She didn't mention the fact that she was let go by the very man who was supposed to kill her.
The man sat down in a chair he pulled from the table nearby. "What do you need him alive for?"
"He has a connection to a hacker I need. Someone who can get in and be untraceable, and keep an eye on the back door to make sure the information doesn't get into the wrong hands."
"So more than just the Ascendancy connection?" He nodded rubbing the stubble on his chin with his hand. He was an American like the boy and he acted like one. Clearly a cowboy when it came to killing the gods.
"It would be a shame to kill him before we got what we needed from him. And the scientists want him. Something about the bite that lost him his arm." Zef shrugged. "Still hunting even though he's a god. He could be useful." Zef didn't say he'd be useful only that he could. Let this man decide for himself.
"What are you planning on offering him for his services?"
"His life, all access pass to the Atharim database so he can keep hunting monsters."
"You'd give him his life? He's a fucking god."
"The Atharim once worked with gods to eradicate them. You can kill a god if he's unaware of you. He can fight a god. And he doesn't need to be trained. He's already sympathetic to the cause. And he's no slouch. Not like the normal gods we hunt, the children sick in their beds, or the few who master their talents. But so many more are coming into their power without Atharim intervention and we are losing the battle, we need an advantage."
"The gods we worked with in the past we controlled."
"So control him. You said he was like family."
She turned in her chair and frowned. "And if I have a score to settle with the boy, what do you think of that?"
The old man laughed. "Sweetheart, he's like family. I should be the one to end his life."
"If he's like family I should kill you, too." Zef grinned politely at him.
"Not of blood, grandson of my best friend who has gone on and passed. That the fucking light he isn't alive t o see his grandson wielding the power of the gods."
"I need him alive. And there is a standing order for his capture." Zef pointed to the high level mandate on Durante's life. "He's obviously important. And he's a wealth of connections the Atharim can exploit. Boy has the ear of the Ascendancy himself. I've seen them together myself. I was lucky to get away alive." She didn't mention the fact that she was let go by the very man who was supposed to kill her.
The man sat down in a chair he pulled from the table nearby. "What do you need him alive for?"
"He has a connection to a hacker I need. Someone who can get in and be untraceable, and keep an eye on the back door to make sure the information doesn't get into the wrong hands."
"So more than just the Ascendancy connection?" He nodded rubbing the stubble on his chin with his hand. He was an American like the boy and he acted like one. Clearly a cowboy when it came to killing the gods.
"It would be a shame to kill him before we got what we needed from him. And the scientists want him. Something about the bite that lost him his arm." Zef shrugged. "Still hunting even though he's a god. He could be useful." Zef didn't say he'd be useful only that he could. Let this man decide for himself.
"What are you planning on offering him for his services?"
"His life, all access pass to the Atharim database so he can keep hunting monsters."
"You'd give him his life? He's a fucking god."
"The Atharim once worked with gods to eradicate them. You can kill a god if he's unaware of you. He can fight a god. And he doesn't need to be trained. He's already sympathetic to the cause. And he's no slouch. Not like the normal gods we hunt, the children sick in their beds, or the few who master their talents. But so many more are coming into their power without Atharim intervention and we are losing the battle, we need an advantage."
"The gods we worked with in the past we controlled."
"So control him. You said he was like family."