The more he looked into Moore's past, the more convinced Pavel was that he was in some way responsible for Tatiana's death. The timing, connections, and interactions with Tasha Ozera—it all fitted in too well. How to get him to admit was going to be the problem. Since end game was clearing Rose's name, he'd need some sort of tangible proof of Moore's involvement, which was tricky given they didn't have direct access to him. Unless…
"Boss?" Pavel said, knocking on Abe's study door. Late, even by Moroi standards, the boss was still awake, as he was more and more often these days. Rose's innocence hung heavy in Abe's mind—as his long-time Guardian Pavel knew that. Half of what went on in Abe's office was a complete mystery to Pavel, but when it came to wicked strategies, the career Guardian was invariably up front and center.
"You look like you're plotting something," Abe remarked, one side of his lips twitching with anticipation.
"An idea," Pavel confirmed, pausing as he put his nebulous thoughts into words. "We know Tasha murdered or organized for Tatiana to be murdered, and we suspect Moore is involved. The problem is we can't yet prove it. With Moore on random temporary assignments, it's hard to even get close to him. But what if we changed that?"
"Keep talking..?"
"What if you offer him a private allocation? Even if he doesn't take it, he'd likely discuss it with Lady Ozera. If we tap their phones, we can hear if either of them says anything incriminating. If he takes it, we can send him to one of your smaller houses and have our local team monitor him. Lull him into a false sense of security and see if anything slips. Either way, once he's out of Court, when it's convenient, we can pay him a visit and convince him to talk."
The way Pavel said 'convince' made it clear there'd be violence involved, which Abe wholeheartedly approved of. Sure, there were other equally effective ways of making someone talk. But this asshole had almost certainly played some part in framing his daughter for murder—Abe was looking forward to extracting a confession in the most painful of ways. Pavel's suggestion was genius, really. Once Moore was ensconced in one of his many houses, the other Guardians there could have eyes on him twenty-four-seven. Plus, they could bug his room, and he'd be none the wiser. But key to it all would be making the allocation offer believable, so he'd take it.
"How do you suggest going about this?"
"First, we need to pick the place. I thought about the house in Antep? It's small enough we only keep a minor team there, plus there's no Moroi or Dhampir living in that region."
Abe rubbed his index finger across his goatee. Antep, Turkey was an excellent suggestion. The only reason he had a place there was because it was close to the Syrian border and was a convenient, secure home base when he was conducting the illegal arms deals he occasionally carried out in the area.
"How soon?"
"I'd like to wait until he is on his next short-term allocation. Ideally, I'd like Moore to have to call Tasha Ozera to discuss the allocation offer, rather than talk with her in person."
"So we can record what they say," Abe agreed, filling in the gaps. "We'd need to pick which Guardians were with him carefully. This isn't something that can be trusted to any greenhorn."
"I already have half a dozen in mind to choose from," Pavel replied with a grin. "Our most loyal and observant Guardians." Like Abe, he understood Ethan Moore's confession would go a long way to clearing Rose's name. "I have it on good authority that Moore will be temporarily allocated to a Moroi family in California for the next two weeks. I say we prepare everything in Antep, tweaking the team there as soon as possible."
"There's always a chance he'll say no," Abe mused. "From what you're saying, he's an unlikely sort to be offered a private allocation. Won't he be suspicious?"
"Not with the way I'll sell it to him," Pavel replied, decidedly smug. "It will cost a bit, but to make it believable, what if we offer half a dozen of Court's locum Guardians private allocations? That way, we don't have to single Moore out, and we do need some fresh blood. I'll phrase it in the context of a six-month stint, with a view to staying on if anyone impresses."
"OK. But if he's going to confess, we need witnesses. People who are sufficiently impartial, their word beyond reproach."
"I had an idea about that, too…"
Ever since Belikov had passed out in his bed with a bottle of vodka during Adrian's visit, he'd been even more downcast than usual. Eddie and Celeste were honestly concerned about his mental wellbeing, although he'd perked up a little once Lord Ivashkov returned to Court. Nonetheless, his guarding companions worried about Dimitri. He still visited church six days a week, not that it seemed to bring him any comfort.
Lissa's newfound fascination with auras, and what each shade meant, bothered the entire household. Eventually, Christian had taken a stand and explained to her that scrutinizing her housemate's auras was intrusive. Since then, she'd agreed to focus her attentions on the hapless humans she studied alongside. With the Princess not digging into their psyches equilibrium, such as it was, returned to the household, and before they knew it, they were coming up to the end of term and hence a brief visit to Court.
"What do you think is going to happen when we go back?" Celeste asked Eddie, the two on guard in the living room. Christian and Lissa were 'reading' in their bedroom, which everyone knew meant they were being intimate. With Belikov still asleep, it was the ideal time for them to talk.
"I have no idea," Eddie said, before sighing. "I just hope Christian forgets to tell his aunt we'll be visiting."
"Oh?"
Castile paused before he replied. "I can't put my finger on it. When I first met her, I liked Tasha. But she's changed. Now…"
"You don't trust her," Celeste concluded, unsurprised Eddison had reached the same conclusion she had. Guardians were taught to rely on their instinct. "I don't either."
"It's hard to imagine she killed Tatiana," Eddie said, almost in a whisper, "but the more I think about it, the more it seems plausible. You heard her comments about the age decree. Tasha was no fan of our late Queen, and she is super passionate about the age decree and her idea of Moroi fighting alongside dhampir." The two Guardians looked at one another. Almost hoping the other would not put their thoughts into words.
"I've had similar thoughts. I just hope I'm wrong."
"If you're not, and they find proof, it will destroy Christian. He's already gone through so much because of his parents."
"What's up, Ethan?" Tasha Ozera said after checking the caller ID on her cell. She was a little annoyed at being disturbed. Christian and Lissa were due home from Lehigh tomorrow, so Tasha was getting through all her chores so there'd be nothing to interfere with her spending the maximum amount of time possible with them while they were at Court. If her sometimes paramour was hoping for a hookup, it would not happen when her nephew, and more to the point his girlfriend's seriously hunky Guardian, were in town. Having neglected her laundry for longer than she should, she was now busy loading the washing machine and dryer.
"I'm almost finished up in California, but I just had an interesting call from Guardian Croft about a potential allocation with Abe Mazur."
Nearly dropping her phone, she was so alarmed, Tasha's heart started pounding as her fight/flight instinct kicked in. What did Mazur know or suspect? Him requesting Moore had to mean something?! Stepping out of the laundry, she sunk onto a stool at the counter in the Ozera townhouse kitchen, giving Guardian Moore her full attention.
"That's interesting," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady and not give anything away. "Did Croft say how that had come about?"
"Apparently Mazur asked Croft for recommendations for half a dozen locum Guardians for a six-month guarding gig in Europe. When six months are up, he'll offer some of the Guardians a permanent allocation, and the rest will go back to locuming at Court. I know we didn't set a definite timeframe on things, but the pay is almost double what I'm on now. This could be a good opportunity to set up for the future…"
"Perhaps," Tasha agreed, wanting more information. "Did Croft say where you'd be going?"
"No. He said Mazur travels a lot, and that he has houses all over Europe. Most of them are permanently guarded by a small staff of Guardians and that's what he wants the locums for—to guard his homes when he isn't there."
Something about this sounded way too convenient to Tasha. Private allocations paid better, so were highly sought after. Mazur giving a bunch of mediocre Court Guardians such a golden opportunity when his money could easily entice a higher quality of Guardian didn't ring true. No, if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. So, if Mazur wasn't hiring based on talent, then the chances are the allocations would be dangerous. It sounded like he wanted Guardians who were dispensable.
"Like I said, it would only be six months. If he offers me a permanent allocation, I can decline and come back to Court…"
Only half-listening to what Ethan was saying, Tasha was working every angle through her mind. If what he said was true, the chances of Moore running into Mazur were minimal, and Abe had no reason to suspect anything of him in any case. Having Ethan not at Court just now suited Tasha, as did having him on what was potentially a dangerous allocation. And if he made it back and cashed up in six months' time? She'd deal with him then.
"Well, you know I'll miss you," Tasha said, turning on the charm now she'd reached a decision. "But you're right, this sounds like a wonderful opportunity for you. How soon would you be leaving?"
"That's the only downside. Mazur needs people right away, so if I accept, I'll have to go almost immediately. The other guy here with me also got an offer, and he's going to fly out direct, but I can see if I can come to Court and say goodbye before I leave? I might be able to get twenty-four hours?"
"No. No, don't do that. They might think you're not committed to the role and offer it to someone else. Fly out from there but keep in touch, ok?"
"You'll be waiting when I get back?" Moore asked, sounding uncertain.
"Where am I going?" Tasha joked before saying her farewells.
"Looks like he's taking the bait," Pavel said to Abe, a decidedly smug grin on his face after they'd listened to the illicit recording of the conversation between Tasha and Ethan Moore. You didn't hang around Zmey for over twenty years without picking up some tricks—and by now, Pavel considered himself almost as devious as his employer.
"It looks that way. Is everything ready in Antep?"
"Yes. I've swapped out a couple of Guardians, so there's a good team on board. I have worded them up that they can tell Moore what you do in the area, and that you're usually only there for a three or four-day stint a few times a year."
"Is it wise for him to have that information?" Abe asked.
"Everyone knows you're involved in shady deals. Moore will be much more trusting if he's given the real reason you keep a house there than if he's lied to. And what's the worst that can happen? Some Moroi finds out you're even scarier than they already thought?" Pavel and Abe chuckled. Zmey's reputation amongst the Moroi was legendary—some of it more rumor than truth.
"Now was it my imagination, or did Tasha sound irritated to hear from Moore, then worried when he mentioned the allocation?" Pavel said.
"No, it sounded that way to me, too. I'm surprised she didn't talk him out of it."
"If she thinks you know nothing, and it's a well-paid easy gig, why would she?" Pavel reasoned. "Although I am curious about what Moore meant when he said they 'hadn't put a timeline on things.' They've obviously got some other plan we don't know about."
Abe frowned. He didn't like not being in possession of all the facts. Knowledge was power, and more than anything, Abe liked to be in control and work every angle.
"What's Ozera been up to? Anything out of the ordinary?" Pavel had Tasha under covert surveillance at Court, receiving regular reports from their eyes on the ground.
"She's spent most of this week at the Dragomir townhouse with her nephew and the Dragomir princess who are visiting during college term break. Other than that, she's been trying to drum up support for a defensive Moroi training program."
"Any luck with that?"
"Hard to say. She has an appointment with Her Majesty next week, so maybe we'll know more then."
"Adrian?"
"Cousin," he replied into his cell. "Why are you whispering? Is everything ok?"
"I'm in the bathroom. I didn't want to be overheard."
Adrian rolled over in bed and checked the time. 10:00 pm. Way too early to be up, in his opinion.
"What's going on, Lissa? Who don't you want to overhear you?"
"It's Tasha. She's been here every day since we came to Court. It's honestly getting a bit much."
"Then tell her you want some time alone with Christian. She'll get the message."
Lissa snorted in a rather unladylike way. She doubted Tasha would get the message no matter how unambiguously they delivered it. Tasha made no secret of the fact she loved spending time with Lissa, her nephew, and Lissa's Guardian.
"That's not why I am calling. Something weird is going on with her, Adrian. With her aura. It's ok sometimes—and boy, does she have it bad for Guardian Belikov—but sometimes it's filled with anger and hate. It scares me…"
Adrian was already well-aware of the state of Tasha's aura, so Lissa's information was not news to him. He also knew Tasha was dangerous.
"Does she know you can read auras?" he asked, concerned for Lissa's wellbeing.
"No. Before we left Lehigh, Christian and I decided not to share that information with anyone who didn't already know, and asked the Guardians not to say anything, either."
"I think that's for the best. It's still early for me, but give me an hour or so and I'll drop by."
"Thanks, Adrian. I might just be reading things wrong…"
"I'm not so sure about that," Adrian replied before disconnecting the call.