’fessed up, now that he had an advocate on the scene.
“It’s true, Jack,” Olivia said. “I know him as Mole. I had no idea he was the Velki you spoke of.”
“Velki’s my real name,” he said. “Mole is the code name I gave myself so your London associates would have some way to refer to me without knowing my real name.”
“Why ‘Mole’?” I asked.
“I’ve been underground for so long, serving the Council without going to the surface of the earth, that’s what I feel like, really.”
Now that was just sad, but the time he’d spent with the Council accounted for his sometimes odd, old-fashioned way of speaking. I raised him back up and over the side of the bridge, letting him drop gently onto the pavement. “Sorry, man,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“I didn’t know if I could trust you,” he said, sitting cross-legged, rubbing his ankles. “I’d rather fall from this bridge into the river than be revealed as a spy to someone who might tell those bloodthirsty blood drinkers about my treachery.”
“Let’s get off this bridge before a car comes along,” Olivia said.
Once Mole was on his feet I marched him back to the Savannah side of the bridge where I’d parked the car. Olivia had borrowed William’s Escalade and parked it beside my convertible.
“How’d you find me?” I asked Olivia, who was following us.
“Werm guessed where you were. He said this was your favorite dangling bridge for when you’re interrogating reluctant informants.”
I was getting too predictable.
The little vampire had lost his fedora and sunglasses into the river. All six of his hairs were standing on end and he squinted, even in the dark. Every time I looked at this guy, he just kept getting more unsightly. “Start talking,” I told him.
He looked at Olivia. “Can I trust him?”
“With your life,” she said. “I do.”
He shrugged. “Diana and Ulrich brought me here from England with them as their assistant.”
“And you were supposed to scout out dead troublemakers for me to raise,” I said.
“That’s right. But the plan was abandoned.”
“Let me guess. It was because Werm and I couldn’t give you any names.”
Velki looked insulted. “Believe me, I came up with more than enough material on my own to make the plan a success. I’m quite a talented researcher, if I do say so. And as you indicated the other night, your city has a quite fascinating history of violence.”
“It sounds like you’re playing both sides against the middle,” I accused.
“If I hadn’t tried to gather information for them, they would have done it themselves. At least I was able to report on what they were up to.”
“Why did Diana and Ulrich give up on this plan?” Olivia asked.
“Unfortunately for the good citizens of fair Savannah, they’ve come up with a much more diabolical plot. If it’s successful, it will endear Diana and Ulrich to the Council much more than raising a handful of evildoers.”
“I was afraid of that,” I said bitterly. A chill shook its way through me as I exchanged worried glances with Olivia. I thought maybe we didn’t want to hear this, but of course we had to. “Go on.”
“You’re familiar with the Savannah River Nuclear Site?”
I groaned. Now I knew I didn’t want to hear this. “Yeah. It was built in the fifties to produce nuclear weapons materials, mostly tritium and plutonium. Now they mostly process nuclear waste. What about it?” I asked.
“Well, now the facility is extracting tritium from materials the Tennessee Valley Authority irradiated in their commercial nuclear reactors. Diana, Ulrich, and Reedrek think they know how to get some of that material as it comes into the plant.”
“And do what with it?”
Mole looked apologetic. “Put it in Savannah’s drinking water supply. And poison the river for good measure.”
“How do they plan to do that?” Olivia asked, her eyes wide with alarm.
Mole shrugged. “I
“It’s true, Jack,” Olivia said. “I know him as Mole. I had no idea he was the Velki you spoke of.”
“Velki’s my real name,” he said. “Mole is the code name I gave myself so your London associates would have some way to refer to me without knowing my real name.”
“Why ‘Mole’?” I asked.
“I’ve been underground for so long, serving the Council without going to the surface of the earth, that’s what I feel like, really.”
Now that was just sad, but the time he’d spent with the Council accounted for his sometimes odd, old-fashioned way of speaking. I raised him back up and over the side of the bridge, letting him drop gently onto the pavement. “Sorry, man,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“I didn’t know if I could trust you,” he said, sitting cross-legged, rubbing his ankles. “I’d rather fall from this bridge into the river than be revealed as a spy to someone who might tell those bloodthirsty blood drinkers about my treachery.”
“Let’s get off this bridge before a car comes along,” Olivia said.
Once Mole was on his feet I marched him back to the Savannah side of the bridge where I’d parked the car. Olivia had borrowed William’s Escalade and parked it beside my convertible.
“How’d you find me?” I asked Olivia, who was following us.
“Werm guessed where you were. He said this was your favorite dangling bridge for when you’re interrogating reluctant informants.”
I was getting too predictable.
The little vampire had lost his fedora and sunglasses into the river. All six of his hairs were standing on end and he squinted, even in the dark. Every time I looked at this guy, he just kept getting more unsightly. “Start talking,” I told him.
He looked at Olivia. “Can I trust him?”
“With your life,” she said. “I do.”
He shrugged. “Diana and Ulrich brought me here from England with them as their assistant.”
“And you were supposed to scout out dead troublemakers for me to raise,” I said.
“That’s right. But the plan was abandoned.”
“Let me guess. It was because Werm and I couldn’t give you any names.”
Velki looked insulted. “Believe me, I came up with more than enough material on my own to make the plan a success. I’m quite a talented researcher, if I do say so. And as you indicated the other night, your city has a quite fascinating history of violence.”
“It sounds like you’re playing both sides against the middle,” I accused.
“If I hadn’t tried to gather information for them, they would have done it themselves. At least I was able to report on what they were up to.”
“Why did Diana and Ulrich give up on this plan?” Olivia asked.
“Unfortunately for the good citizens of fair Savannah, they’ve come up with a much more diabolical plot. If it’s successful, it will endear Diana and Ulrich to the Council much more than raising a handful of evildoers.”
“I was afraid of that,” I said bitterly. A chill shook its way through me as I exchanged worried glances with Olivia. I thought maybe we didn’t want to hear this, but of course we had to. “Go on.”
“You’re familiar with the Savannah River Nuclear Site?”
I groaned. Now I knew I didn’t want to hear this. “Yeah. It was built in the fifties to produce nuclear weapons materials, mostly tritium and plutonium. Now they mostly process nuclear waste. What about it?” I asked.
“Well, now the facility is extracting tritium from materials the Tennessee Valley Authority irradiated in their commercial nuclear reactors. Diana, Ulrich, and Reedrek think they know how to get some of that material as it comes into the plant.”
“And do what with it?”
Mole looked apologetic. “Put it in Savannah’s drinking water supply. And poison the river for good measure.”
“How do they plan to do that?” Olivia asked, her eyes wide with alarm.
Mole shrugged. “I
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