THE RIALTO – DETROIT – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ?I admit, there were a lot of things I kept from you at Rifleman Bank,” said Quinn

“I admit, there were a lot of things I kept from you at Rifleman Bank,” said Quinn. He dropped into the depths of the worn-out leather sofa across from Pritchard’s makeshift living area.

Jensen leaned against a support pillar, cleaning off the accumulated film of dirt, cordite and dried blood that still coated his combat gear. He made sure he kept Quinn and Vega where he could see them both at the same time. “I’m shocked,” Jensen said, deadpan. “What are you lying about this time?”

Quinn smiled thinly. “I deserve that. But I’m on the level now.”

“That right?” Jensen eyed him. “Then tell me your real name.”

That got him a shake of the head. “I said on the level, not stupid.” Quinn leaned forward. “Your man Frank, he’s right. The Juggernaut Collective wants you on side. You were already known to Janus before your unscheduled stop at Rifleman Bank, and what you did there… Well, consider it a successful audition.”

“That’s how he works,” offered Vega. “Janus looks for like-minded people, people whose lives have been screwed by the Illuminati. He brings us together, gives us common cause.”

“That what happened to you?”

The woman grimaced. “Let’s just say that without Janus and a mutual friend, I would have wound up floating face-down in Panama Bay with my throat slit.”

“So Janus is a man, then?” said Pritchard, catching Vega’s use of the pronoun.

She shrugged. “Maybe. That’s how he presents. But it doesn’t matter to me what Janus is. He gets results, that’s what is important.”

“You did a lot of damage on your own, Jensen,” said Quinn, picking up the conversation again. “Think of what you could accomplish with some real resources behind you. Janus is connected, worldwide, and that means the Juggernaut Collective has eyes and ears everywhere.”

“Almost everywhere,” corrected Vega, glancing back at Jensen. “We tried to secure evidence from the Panchaea site but that was a bust. You’re probably the only one who really knows what was going on down there. I’ve seen the data on you, man. You got skills. We need someone like you to get into the Illuminati’s power structure.”

“They know his face,” said Pritchard, folding his arms over his chest. “Well, some of them might…”

“They think he’s dead,” Quinn countered. “Look, it’s a simple enough equation. You work with Juggernaut and do what I reckon you’re planning on doing anyway – fuck up the enemy wherever you find them, eh? But the difference is, Janus can get you access to the intelligence you need to make that happen.” He made a show of looking around. “With all due respect to Frank here, I don’t think he’s going to be able to give you the same depth of help as we can.”

Pritchard made a low, growling noise in his throat. “That’s the deal? Jensen, are you really going to pledge allegiance to a faceless ghost who may not even be an actual human being? Are you going to put your confidence in this man?” He stabbed a finger at Quinn.

“He makes a good point,” said Jensen. “I never heard of this Juggernaut Collective before now. For all I know you could be another front for the Illuminati…”

Vega turned her head and spat. “Juggernaut didn’t end up on the National Security Agency watch list for nothing. We brought down Belltower, smashed a viral weapons plant in Syria, did for Zapphire Biotech and that whole thing with the contaminated riezene…” She paused, thinking through her next words. “You wanna know why I signed on, Jensen? Because it gets me some payback.”

“There’s a real opportunity here to expose and destroy our mutual enemy,” insisted Quinn. “But to do that, we need to work together. Every dictator in history knows that the best way to keep the little people down and suppress revolution is by making sure that the disaffected can’t connect.” He meshed his fingers together in a lattice. “Alone, individuals can only make a small dent. But a collective…” Quinn let the sentence hang – then abruptly he stood, brushing imaginary dust from his fingertips. “Listen, bratán, you don’t have to give me an answer right now. Take some time.” He walked away, patting Jensen on the shoulder. “Just consider what we’ve discussed.”

Jensen watched him go, his gaze meeting Vega’s on the way. She gave him a wry smile.

“I’ll think about it,” he heard himself say.

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