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substance, I suggest you cooperate.”
    Gav looked as though he’d been slapped. “Nick.”
    “Get in,” Nick said.
    The words
toxic substance
bounced around in my brain. Five dead men, no blood. That harsh smell. Had they been killed by an airborne pathogen? Like anthrax? Had we breathed in some of that as well?
    Night had settled while we’d been inside and there were no pedestrians on the street. None that I could see, anyway. That meant that no one noticed as we clambered into the side of the van. Not good. Not good at all. Nick and the other man who’d escorted us out tugged their masks back into place and rushed to return to Evan’s building. The others in their group had now been on their own in that death cell for at least a minute or two. What was going on?
    The lone agent in the van sized us up. His job, apparently, was to keep an eye on all the expensive equipment and to watch the proceedings remotely. Slightly built with colorless hair, he wore thick glasses but no protective gear. There were several monitors behind him. Three were live feeds, sending footage of those poor, slain men as the masked team checked them for life signs. From the monitors’ perspectives, I had to guess that cameras were mounted atop three of the gas masks.
    The man inside the van waved us into the tight space that looked like a prop from a big-budget Hollywood spy movie. “Agent Gavin,” he said by way of greeting. “I thought you were still on medical leave, sir. Didn’t know you were in on this one.”
    “I’m not,” Gav said. “What’s going on?”
    The guy turned to me, holding an instrument that he waved around my head and hands. He then wiped a damp pad under my nose and another across my fingertips. I fought the urge to pull away. “You’re probably safe out here, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure.” He examined the small pads and said, “You’re clean.”
    “Hydrogen sulfide?” Gav asked.
    The man gave a somber nod. “That’s our best guess.” He waved the instrument over Gav, swabbed him, and gave him the all clear, too.
    “Agent Taglia,” Gav said. “You want to tell me what happened in there? Evan’s dead. Along with four other people.”
    Taglia closed his eyes for the briefest moment. When he opened them again, he gave a quick nod, as though deciding he would set that fact aside to think about later. I knew that sentiment. I’d done the same thing myself any number of times.
    “Anyone else you recognized?” he asked.
    “We weren’t in there long enough. When I saw them lying there and put that together with the scent—”
    “Good thing you got out quickly. Chances are the chemical dissipated by the time you got there, but it never hurts to be safe. What are you doing here anyway?”
    Gav squared his jaw. “Evan asked me to come by.”
    “Why?”
    “He wouldn’t say. You know how he is. He just said it was important.”
    Taglia sent a perplexed glance my direction. “Who are you?”
    “My name is Olivia Paras—”
    “The chef?” He sent a disconcerted look at Gav. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
    Taglia’s reaction stopped me cold.
    “What isn’t true?” I asked, my head twisting back and forth between the two men. “What’s wrong?”
    Taglia ignored me. “I heard rumors but didn’t believe them. You’re the man. You’ve always been the man. How can you do this to us?”
    Gav’s voice was a warning. “Taglia . . .”
    “Do what?” I turned to Gav. “What’s he talking about?”
    Taglia gave me a withering stare. “I’m sure you’re a lovely person, but Agent Gavin is one of the most respected individuals in our ranks. It does him no good to be seen carousing with someone of your reputation. No offense.”
    “Carousing?” I repeated. “My reputation? Gav, is this true? Am I causing you more trouble than I realize?”
    “Taglia doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He would be best served by keeping quiet,” Gav said through clenched teeth. “Is that