Chapter 49
Ming didn't feel. But for the first time he wasn't completely calm either. Even the incidents with Katya Haas and Sienna Lauren hadn't affected him this much, although both women had tried and almost succeeded to kill him.
Had he felt he would have known that deep down he was motivated by nothing rational – not even lust for power – but by anger. And even further hidden below that aggression lay a fear so that had spread its roots so deep not even Silence could stop its influence.
What he knew however was the cause of his unsettlement: Alja Dardo. The cunning empath was always one step ahead of him. And now of all times the mysterious rebel everyone knew as the Ghost had thwarted his plans for Pure Psy. At this point it wouldn't be surprising, if she had something to do with that too. But no, now he was getting paranoid.
If he could only get to her. But he couldn't. Not yet. Just like he couldn't get to the Ghost. But there was one way he could indirectly weaken Alja Dardo. And that was the person she'd chosen to instrumentalize. He'd never have thought, that of all his adversaries Kaleb Krychek would be the one, he considered the easiest target. How could he have overlooked such a threat? It didn't matter now. The only thing that did was getting back in control.
Shoshanna wasn't amused about his call. "I'm not your puppet Ming," she answered harshly to his request.
"But we have an agreement. And since Tatiana failed it's your turn now."
"What about your turn? You haven't been any more successful so far. Maybe you're too busy trying to squeeze the last bit of profit out of Henry's ridiculous fanatics. I told you they're not worth the time." That was why she'd left Pure Psy to Ming and not taken control over them like she had over all other assets of the deceased Councilor after his death.
"They are very useful for my designs. The Ghost's attack has caused a setback that will slow down my plans but otherwise they are unimpaired. I will solve the problem in the end. But in the meantime…"
"It was stupid of you not to anticipate it. You're too focused on that woman." But really she had been surprised herself at the Ghost's sudden attack on Pure Psy. And the rebel was a threat they faced together too. As much as she disliked it, they were in this together. "Are you still sure it's only her? Kaleb didn't react as you predicted he would under her influence."
"Maybe I misjudged her agenda." Only to himself he admitted fully that he didn't know nearly enough about the elusive empath. "But not Kaleb. I knew his mentor. You can believe me. He is not a threat to Silence or the power-structure of the Council. It is the very thing that gives him the liberties he wants." Ming was certain Kaleb Krychek had turned out just as sociopathic as Santano Enrique.
"I don't care what he does in his spare time but I am pretty sure Kaleb wants more than a little 'liberty'. And we haven't yet talked about what he did to the Net. Or what he almost did to us. He is dangerous with or without that woman's influence."
"I agree he has become too powerful to let him continue. But we can't risk his death at this point." They might be blinded by false faith in Silence but even they had begun to understand how weak the Net had become.
"Is containment possible?"
"Perhaps but it would require excessive planning. First we need to get Alja Dardo out of the way."
Shoshanna weighed her options. Ming was circling back to that mysterious woman no one had known of a few weeks before. She wasn't even sure, she truly existed. But her power was weakened already by Henry's idiotic actions so she really had no options but to cooperate with Ming to a certain point. "What do you want?"
"Find me something on Kaleb that will weaken his influence. Anything. Leave her out of it. The public doesn't need to be made aware of her anymore, than it already is. Even discrediting her won't do any good. Just keep Kaleb busy. I need a few days maybe a week. Then we get them both out of the equation."
He was asking for her medial influence. It was her biggest asset. "I'll do it, if you get Tatiana to provide better shielding for me. I'm not turning myself into an easy target for him." She didn't have to fear a physical attack due to the impossibility of murdering a Councilor that was caused by the condition of the Net. But Kaleb could attack a mind and cause instant insanity.