“You don’t run anything in the Tribe yet. You don’t get to speak to them. You just get to listen to them berate you.”
Lucky me.
“People get retired from Dispatch for detours.”
His words served as a reminder of one of her former teammates who’d botched a job and been excommunicated from the Tribe, or “retired”—she guessed the Council members thought it was a nicer word. And Witt was warning her that she wasn’t immune to the same punishment, even if she was the daughter of the High Council.
“I understand all about retirements.” Her little stab of insolence surprised them both. Quickly, she clamped her mouth shut.
They regarded each other before Nena again broke the standoff. “Witt . . .”
His face broke into a wry smile she rarely got to see. “Now I’m Witt.”
It was now or never. “Yes. I need some intel from you. I’d rather it be you than Elin because I don’t want her involved too deeply in something that may blow up in my face.”
“So I’m expendable, then.” Witt let out a laugh. “I taught you well.”
She took a cleansing breath and pushed on. “Smith was Paul Frempong’s number two, back then in N’nkakuwe. Do you remember who—”
“I remember.” His tone was sharp, his eyes like razors cutting into her. “Explain.”
“I’m concerned there are bad actors within the Tribe,” she said. “Someone lied and said Attah was dead when he was not. And maybe they’ve kept him alive all this time, been his benefactor.”
“For what purpose?”
Nena spread her hands. “Money, power, control of Africa’s commodities by using ruthless people to get it. Lucien Douglas could be the benefactor. Perhaps that’s why he wanted Attah alive and the attorney dead.”
This was what she treasured about Witt the most. He never interrupted her, not like Elin, allowing her to fully present her argument before he rendered his judgment.
“Or perhaps Lucien Douglas is also a pawn being used by someone else within the Tribe, someone who wants to ascend the ranks by any means necessary.”
Witt narrowed his eyes. “What you say is treasonous, Nena; be careful.” It wasn’t a warning. It was a plea, because Nena read the concern in Witt’s stormy dark eyes.
“Or what if”—she took another deep breath, because saying this scared her the most—“what if Paul is alive as well? And Kwabena? What if they all lived and were lying in wait all this time?”
“To come after you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “They haven’t thought about me since they sold me. But what if they went underground and have been biding their time to infiltrate us and take over, with the help of members who seek to betray the Tribe?”
“Nena, I went to Ghana myself. The Compound was in ruins. The soldiers Paul used had turned on him, killed him for nonpayment, and then we dispatched all of them. We cleaned house.”
“What if they lied?”
Witt pursed his lips.
“Paul is like a—a—” She searched her mind for the proper word. “A crocodile. He can wait right beneath the smooth, tranquil surface for the right time to jump out and snatch you into the waters. You’re dead before you realize it.”
“And your father? How can we keep this from him when he is High Council? He has to know what you suspect about members of the Tribe.”
“To tell Dad now without concrete evidence would destroy him and put my family at risk. Dad’s put his soul into establishing the Tribe. He is the Tribe, and I’m not ready to blow up his world just yet.
“Please.” She hoped he could see logic in her reasoning, that he could find the seed of doubt to make him help her. “Could you gather intel on Dennis Smith? See when he suddenly appeared? Because if Attah Walrus lived, it means Paul lives, too, and is waiting just beneath the water. And Paul couldn’t have hidden all this time without help. I need the proof first, and then I’ll tell Dad.”
He was still dubious. “And the attorney? What of him?”
She held his critical stare. “I’m working on it.”
The sky was darkening by the end of their call, with Witt finally agreeing to make inquiries. Nena knew what the things she was saying could mean for the Tribe. They meant dissension in the ranks. They meant a housecleaning of those who were not truly for the cause. But if she was right, so be it.
And if she was right, she’d make sure for herself that Kwabena and Paul were gone for good . . . by her hand. And most importantly she’d protect her family at all costs from any threats, outside or in. Even if it meant going against the Tribe’s wishes.