Chapter 44

UNMASKING THE MASTERMIND

John’s Electronics Repair Shop, West Hollywood, California, United States

What Sherlock Holmes and Rudolf discovered was chilling.

Gen believed every word that the pair told her, standing next to the stoic magitech scientist, Alicia DeLuca. The look in the great detective’s eyes was like beacons of truth, shining down like spotlights that told her this was what she already knew all along but couldn’t believe until it was confirmed. But still, a part of her resisted accepting this knowledge, knowing that the moment that she did, that she’d start a war that would go on for a very long, long time.

The moment that Gen took what she’d been given and acted on it, everything in her world and the one she’d unknowingly entered would come unhinged. She would disrupt balance in the House of Fourteen. She’d blow the lid off the dragonriders. She would create a chaos unlike any other in Los Angeles. And although Gen wasn’t sure if she was ready for that, she also knew that she couldn’t run from it—not for long.

Alicia bustled off for the projected image on the back wall of the repair shop. It showed the various locations of interest in Los Angeles. “So, as you can see, there are five places where the transmitters are stationed. However, taking down the towers won’t be easy. They are sturdy and meant to withstand winds and other extreme elements.”

Gen nodded, pooling her courage in that moment. She was used to storming castle walls. This felt similar…and very, very different. “So, Emperor and I have to be fast. We have to do it before the authorities can respond and defend.”

Alicia nodded. “It will get a little more complicated than that, I’m afraid. But yes, that’s your first concern. Then you need to get craftier with each demolition, otherwise they’ll know how to take you out, so you need to surprise them.”

“We can do that,” Gen said with conviction.

“Good,” King Rudolf stated, pointing at the fifth and final transmitter located in central Los Angeles. “This one will show you the location of the headquarters, where the mother beam is coming from, if you will.”

Alicia nodded. “Yes, and if you follow that, it has to be where Charlie Sloane is operating, which is the one location that I can’t pinpoint here. I know where the transmitters are but not where their broadcast is coming from. Find the final one, and you’ll find the headquarters.”

“Okay, we can do this,” Gen said, trying to inject a new resolve into her bones. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in her and her dragon. It was that she wasn’t ready for this new challenge.

Sherlock Holmes stepped forward, looking down at her with a serious expression. “But are you ready for what comes next?”

She smiled, sincerely. “Well, you cleared my name with what you discovered, right?”

King Rudolf nodded with a toothy grin, holding up a small zip drive. “This proves your innocence beyond any measurable doubt. It has all of the footage on you. All accounts of the quantum-entangled silicon and pretty much records of all bathroom breaks during the day. It clears you, completely.”

“Then, I just have to go after Charlie Sloane and carefully plan the next phase for the person I need to take down,” Gen said, pulling in a breath, trying to loosen the fear building in her chest.

Sherlock Holmes gave her a look of confidence. “When the time is right, you’ll know how to bring down your enemy. But waiting to judge the best way to attack is better than letting them know you’re aware of them. Wait. Plan. Then attack before they know you know they were ever a threat.”