The picture was blown up, so it was grainy and slightly pixilated, but the woman in it was very different. Her face was lean, and the bouncy curves that had made her a temptation six years ago had been replaced by a lean toughness that was very differently sexy. Her hair was hidden by a scarf, although she was wearing a khaki shirt and pants, and over her arm, she wore a worn leather gauntlet.
On top of the gauntlet sat one of the biggest falcons Carl had seen in his life.
“What in the fuck is that?” Chuck asked, which was fine because Carl was still fumbling for words.
“That,” Carl said finally, squinting at his screen, “is a bird that should not technically exist.”
“Is that a cross between an eagle and a falcon?” Julia asked, obviously fascinated.
“I think so,” Carl said, taking in the wingspan and the size of the bird from beak to lethal talon. “With a little condor thrown in.” Because the face was bald and red and long, like a condor’s, while the beak was lethally sharp and curved like an eagle’s or a hawk’s.
“That shouldn’t happen,” Michael said, finally comfortable enough to speak about something besides cars. “That—see, most birds, when they crossbreed, they’re only a species away. Like ducks mating with other ducks. They’re different species, but they’re species of ducks, right?”
“So falcons can breed with other falcons?” Josh said, as though making sure.
“Yup.” Michael nodded. “It happens in the wild. Not all the time, but enough for people to go, ‘Oh, this black-shouldered hawk got lonely and there was a red-tail nearby, and voila, we’ve got a real colorful baby hawk.’ But eagles, hawks, and condors are a different—” He flailed for the word for a moment. He’d done the reading, but he had no degree in anything close to Latin.
“Genus?” Josh supplied.
“Yes! They’re a different genus. And nobody wants them to mate because… look at that thing.”
It was a monster. Even bigger than an African Martial eagle, which was not a small bird, it had the sleekness and the speed of a falcon and—judging by Mandy’s grip on the jesses and another handler’s grip on the hood—a whole lot of pent-up aggression. Its wings were only partially extended, but Carl got the impression its wingspan was wider than a lot of apartments.
“That thing could wipe out the bustard population all by itself,” Carl said blankly. “Who in the hell would breed something like that?”
“According to this,” Stirling said grimly, “Serpentus. Your insurance company would.”
Carl turned toward him looking very much like a man lost in a dream. “They’d what?”
“Not them exactly. But your erstwhile friend, Ginger Carson. She gave the okay to try a crossbreeding program in Mexico in order to breed predators that could help protect Serpentus’s assets, such as—”
“Wineries,” Carl said flatly.
“Also poultry farms in the Midwest and a chinchilla farm in France.”
“Oh dear God,” Carl said, his eyes wide with horror. “This—this is monstrous. These animals could wipe out entire populations. There are laws against crossbreeding predatory species. One of these could wipe out ten coveys of sage grouse in a month. This is horrific! Mandy wouldn’t want any part of this!”
“Well,” Danny said, meeting eyes with Stirling and getting a go-ahead nod. “According to the information Stirling mined from those files you sent, she absolutely would not. In fact, the reason she disappeared into Mexico was because she’d gotten information that the crossbreeding was happening there. In fact, besides the last picture, which looks like it was mined from facial recognition software, that was the last entry on the hybrid birds.”
“They’ve been released into the wild?” Felix asked, obviously as horrified as the rest of them.
“Yes,” Stirling said, because Danny seemed to be skimming as fast as he could. “Apparently they first appeared in the wild in Qatar, and one of the first things they did was—”
“Attack the bustard population,” Carl said grimly.
“Exactly,” Stirling said, putting his finger on his nose. “So, if there were illegal breeding programs for predatory birds, maybe there were….”’ He bit his lip, obviously trying to make the connection.
“Maybe there were some programs for birds that fed the predators,” Hunter said, stepping out. “If you’re trying to keep a population of falcons healthy and breeding while you’re teaching them to hunt, maybe what you do is breed their favorite food.”
“Three dozen viable eggs,” Julia murmured. “Three dozen viable eggs, whether they were going to Africa to help replenish the population or going to Mexico to help keep these monstrous predators under control. Either way, that was an amazing windfall Matteo was transporting. That was a very worthy cause.”
The last slide Danny had brought up was the awkward-looking bustard, and almost in a trance, everybody in the basement stared at it.
“And given how many laws were broken,” Carl said, “and how much was at stake for Serpentus and for the people behind funding this potential environmental disaster, it was a cause worth killing for.”
There was a heavy silence, and into it a new voice spoke, one that was a little familiar but not quite family yet.
“So what do we plan to do about it?”
Everyone turned to look at the base of the stairs as Chuck said, “Dammit, Hunter, how did you not see that guy?”
“I saw him,” Hunter said. “But we’re talking about his brother. I think he gets to be in the party room.”
“He does indeed,” Felix said, striding forward to shake Leon di Rossi’s hand. “So glad you could make it, Leon. How are the children?”
“Exhausted,” di Rossi said. He smiled at Molly and then directly at Michael. “I understand Mr. Carmody was busy today, and they missed him, but Miss Christopher apparently has the world’s most tremendous job, and they enjoyed going backstage with her and her brother very much today.”
Michael hadn’t known that was happening, and for a moment he was jealous. Then he remembered what he’d actually been doing, and he had to concede it was okay to take a day off.
“The theater is starting a new production in a couple of weeks,” Molly said. “Which makes this the exciting part. Everybody’s practicing and building sets, and today was Stirling’s setup day. It was fun.”
“I confess, I needed the time to sleep,” Leon said, nodding his head. “But it was lovely to take them out to dinner tonight and hear all about their last week here. I can’t thank you enough, all of you, for making this week easier on us. I would have come anyway, but you’ve all made me feel like I came to visit friends.”
Felix said something suave and gracious, which Michael didn’t hear because he had a thought and turned to Stirling. “Do you ever sleep?”
His reward was a bright smile from a young man who didn’t smile enough. “I do,” he said. “I hang upside down like a bat with my computer connected to my brain.”
Michael snickered at such an outrageous image, and Stirling smiled to himself. Michael could see why Carl liked the young man so much.