Spell Robbers by Matthew J. Kirby Page A

said.
    “Hold on now.” Agent Spear sat forward. “We might have someone.”
    “Who is it?” Mr. Weathersky asked.
    Agent Spear appeared to hesitate. “Ronin.”
    Agent Taggart snorted. “You must be joking.”
    Agent Spear said nothing.
    She raised her voice. “Are you out of your mind?”
    “If we had another three months for this operation,” Agent Spear said, “we might be able to come up with someone else. But right now, I believe he’s our only viable option.”
    Agent Taggart leaned an elbow on the table and pointed at Agent Spear. “You bring Ronin into this, and we might as well stage a full frontal assault. The operation will fail before it’s even begun! What are you thinking, Greg?”
    “Have you got any better ideas?”
    Mr. Weathersky held up his hands like Ben’s teachers did to break up a fight.
    The agents fell silent.
    “It will only be a matter of time,” Mr. Weathersky said, “before the gun is augmenting with accuracy and efficiency. We must move quickly, and consider all options. Agent Spear, will you bring me the dossier on Ronin?”
    Agent Spear rose from his chair. “Yes, sir.” He left the room.
    After he’d left, Agent Taggart put her hand on the table. “Sir, I —”
    “Class Three actuations, Agent Taggart.” Mr. Weathersky looked hard at her. Ben sensed a change in the waves coming off him. He wasn’t commanding loyalty right now. He was commanding respect and fear. How did he do that?
    The director continued. “If Poole gets that gun working, the Dread Cloaks will be operating with Class Three actuations. We’re talking about terrible storms. Tornadoes. Maybe even small earthquakes. What will we do then?”
    Earthquakes . Something tickled Ben’s mind. That man. His name.
    “I do understand that, sir,” Agent Taggart said. “But I also know Ronin.”
    What was the name?
    Agent Spear returned a moment later with a thick file in his hand. He handed it to Mr. Weathersky and took his seat. “Ethan Morrow, aka Ronin. Former Quantum Agent, went rogue nearly fifteen years ago. Since then, he’s operated on several heist crews working low-level crime. Staying under the radar.”
    Mr. Weathersky flipped through the file. “Where is he now?”
    “Last known affiliation was the Paracelsus crew,” Agent Spear said. “As far as we know, he’s still heading them up. An anonymous tip came in a week ago. Ronin’s planning a jewel heist soon. Intel says it’s legit.”
    “All right,” Mr. Weathersky said. “What makes you think he could get close to Poole and Dr. Hughes?”
    “He and Poole ran on a crew together ten years ago when Poole was just starting out in the Dread Cloaks.”
    Mr. Weathersky looked up at the ceiling. “The old True Coat crew, if I’m not mistaken.”
    “That’s correct, sir,” Agent Spear said. “We caught them in a heist and nabbed Ronin. Everyone else escaped. Ronin eventually escaped, too, but the point is, he could have rolled on the rest of the crew when he was in custody and he didn’t.”
    “So you think Poole will trust him,” Mr. Weathersky said.
    “As far as Poole trusts anyone,” Agent Spear said.
    Mr. Weathersky closed the file. “And you think we could turn Ronin?”
    “With the proper leverage, yes.”
    Agent Taggart laughed. “You’ll never turn him. He can’t be turned. He’s in it for himself.”
    Mr. Weathersky closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “Break the operation down for me. Likelihood of success, scale of one to ten. Agent Taggart?”
    Scale . The tickling in Ben’s mind returned.
    “If Ronin is involved,” she said, “it’s a nonstarter. Zero.”
    Scale . Earthquake .
    Mr. Weathersky turned to Agent Spear. “Same question.”
    “Realistically,” he said, “four or five, sir. But it’s still the only option available.”
    The name was right there. Ben could almost grab it. It was …
    “I agree. Until we come up with another solution, we’ll move forward