Chapter 50

The building that housed Nick's so-called office was in Westminster, an ugly sand-colored brick with minimal white stone flourishes around the windows and doors. When Nick had strolled in, cheerful as ever, and invited Saffron along to "wrap up a few loose ends," she and Alexander had exchanged wary glances. It was nearly a week after she'd thought it was all over, save for whatever strangeness Bill's promises ensured.

"That sounded rather ominous, didn't it?" Nick chuckled, shaking his head. "I mean only that I'll be speaking to a few of the scientists from the Path Lab and wanted you to sit in on the interviews to answer any questions I might have about the scientific aspects."

Saffron hummed disbelievingly. Elizabeth had tearfully embraced Nick before shoving him hard and telling him she never wanted to speak to him again, then warned him if he ever went so long without visiting, she'd sic Alfie Tennison's bruisers on him. Nick seemed to have accepted the drunken warning for the forgiveness it was. Saffron, however, was not sure she'd ever forgive Nick for inviting her into the Path Lab mess. She wasn't sure she'd forgive herself for endangering Elizabeth and Alexander with her choice to pursue the mystery.

Saffron had acquiesced to Nick's invitation, only because she wanted to assure herself that nobody—not even mysterious, terrifying Bill Wyatt—could get their hands on information about Specimen 28923.

Now she, Nick, and Alexander, who'd refused to be left behind, walked into the building. It was just as ugly within, with white tile that had seen better days and water-stained ceilings.

"Charming place," Saffron muttered to Nick.

He winked at her, though his attempt at charm seemed to slide right off his face. By the time they'd crossed the foyer and checked in with the receptionist, Affable Brother Nick had disappeared behind a hardened mask. He'd made the same rapid switch when she told him about Bill. He'd listened raptly, particularly to her description of his appearance. He and Alexander had both been shocked that they'd passed him and his man on the stairs, but neither had made any sort of impression on them.

But in the end, Nick had only told her that he would look into Bill and his supposed network of secret-stealers. It occurred to Saffron long after he'd departed that evening that he might have already known about Bill's involvement.

Nick led them through a maze of halls until they reached a door on which he knocked. Two men were within, and the younger of the two rose and gave Nick a polite nod before exiting.

Nick held the door open for Saffron but blocked Alexander's way. "Stay outside, Alexander," he said casually.

Saffron nodded at Alexander, and he stepped away from the door reluctantly. Nick closed it.

The other man, who sat in a chair opposite an empty desk, craned around in his seat to glare at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Dr. Sutcliffe," Saffron said, venturing further into the room. It was a plain office holding only the desk, a few chairs, and a pair of lamps whose muddy yellow light mixed oddly with the blue morning haze from the windows lining the far wall.

"Brought you in for interrogating too, did they?" Sutcliffe glared at Nick as he went to sit behind the desk.

Nick settled in his chair, calm but alert. "I'm glad to see you're alive and well, Dr. Sutcliffe. From what I gather about those involved in this matter, you could have been in considerable danger."

Sutcliffe snorted, clearly disbelieving.

"After the statements given by various involved parties in the event last week, and thanks to the cooperation of multiple institutions, the contents of Alfie Tennison's private residence and his various places of business were thoroughly searched. We found a good deal of stolen information from a number of research facilities around London, including yours."

"Wells deserved what he got, that traitor."

"Indeed," Nick said dryly. "However, the information recovered belonging to Number 28 was incomplete. The case recovered from the greenhouse had some materials, but the majority of what you and the others reported missing was not recovered."

Saffron resisted shifting guiltily. She'd taken those materials knowing that Nick and his colleagues would be looking for them. She stood by her decision, but she felt bad that Sutcliffe had been hauled to London to answer for her actions.

Nick dipped a hand into a pocket to retrieve a few folded papers. He read, "The original specimen of the infected insect from Farm E—that's the one just outside Eynsford, if you recall—is missing, as well as the soil and plant samples the insect arrived with."

Saffron's hands twitched involuntarily. There hadn't been a plant sample among what she'd taken from the case. That meant it was still out there, somewhere, possibly in Bill's hands. What if he'd stolen it from Alfie before his properties were searched?

"I destroyed it," Sutcliffe barked. "Obviously!"

"You destroyed it?" Nick repeated, and Saffron was pleased to see he was truly nonplussed.

"Damn right, I did," Sutcliffe said, shifting in his seat. "I killed the growth Mary had been tending, then I took the samples—or what that rat Wells hadn't taken—soaked them in nitric acid, and burnt the whole mess until there was only ashes left."

Nick had regained his calm quickly. Voice flat, he said, "You are admitting to destroying invaluable government property."

Sutcliffe jabbed a finger at Nick. "I would do it again, a hundred times over. You like eating, Hale? You like having a stable life in a country not plagued by insects puffing out spores left and right, then eating everything in sight? Something like that fungus wouldn't stay locked away in a laboratory for long. If it wasn't stolen, it would be used, as you damn well know."

"You should be arrested," Nick said blandly.

"Go ahead! Arrest me! Call me traitor." He leaned forward, and Saffron imagined that he thought he was lowering his voice. It came out just as loud and brash. "But you and I both know that I made the right choice. If you think for a moment it would stay in whatever godforsaken field you people dropped it in, you're daft. This is nature. Nature always finds a way. It adapts! It worms its way into everything! How do you think a fungus like that got here in the first place? You know how few entomopathogenic fungi are in this area naturally? They travel on anything and everything. It probably came in on an innocent-looking ship bringing coffee or bananas from some tropical place! Damned if I can tell how it didn't manage to spread over the whole country, with how quickly it progressed."

"How do you know how quickly it progressed?" Nick asked sharply.

Sutcliffe opened his mouth, then mashed it shut. After a moment, he ground out, "Because I studied it, didn't I? How do you think I knew to destroy Mary's samples? I grew it, infected some of Narramore's earwigs, and the damned things went mad! Burnt those to a crisp too. I had to destroy the entire vivarium, and Quinn lost her mind over it! They ate everything I gave them. Probably would have found a way to eat their way out of their enclosure. Something about that damned fungus made their appetite insatiable. If the danger of infecting other insects and upsetting the ecosystem wasn't bad enough, it was the possibility of the infected insects eating anything in their path. They wouldn't stop at crops, I'd wager," he finished darkly.

"It wasn't your right to make that decision."

Sutcliffe lurched to his feet. "The entire ecosystem that your greedy stomach relies on would collapse if it got out!" His face had gone an alarming shade of puce. He sat back down heavily, chest heaving.

"He's right," Saffron murmured.

Nick gave her a quelling look, but she was quite done taking instructions from him. "Dr. Sutcliffe is right," Saffron repeated.

"Of course I am," he grunted. "Humanity isn't mature enough to not use something like that."

Nick didn't reply, but she saw calculation in his eyes. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. She was so tired of this. So tired of the contrivance and manipulation. She wanted someone to do something good and right without it costing something.

But as she departed the ministry building soon after, arm in arm with Alexander, she wasn't sure that was how things would ever be with Nick Hale. Luckily, she didn't plan to see him, or any of his colleagues, ever again.