The Skin Thief

Chapter 78

"You cannot kill Gareth Salt."

I grind my teeth together. Well, not my teeth, but the teeth of the random body I've taken over.

Cobalt chuckles beside me and I get another waft of revolting, eyewatering body odour. I can't help but sneer.

"This is what happens when you call an emergency meeting. I don't have a chance to prepare," he jokes, showing his rotting teeth as he laughs.

"What, so when you're not my handler, you're a homeless drug addict?" I ask, my tone snapping.

"You'll be surprised at what you can learn from the most unfortunate in society," he replies. "But this is one of my many characters, dear Little Bird."

I wonder what he does in this realm beyond being my handler. How many people is he with his shape-shifting abilities? How many lives does he lead?

"Why can't I kill him?" I ask. "He's a threat who needs dealing with. Clarkie also. Both of those fuckers are filthy, dangerous animals who need exterminating. I'll be doing everyone a fucking favour."

Cobalt laughs and I nearly gag at his breath. "By all means, Little Bird. Tell me how you really feel."

"Gareth Salt is getting in the way," I hiss, not caring for his humour. He sighs and leans back against the wall of the building he's currently sleeping beside.

"There are many reasons why you are not to kill Gareth Salt and his lap dog." His voice is serious now, and he looks me in the eyes. "One, it is too risky. You are so close to where we need you and we don't want anything that may cause suspicion. That means, after today, no dream walking. No more assassinations. We won't be taking any more risks unless the situation is dire. This order comes from Mr Day himself. Your mission now is Marcus and getting into his ranks where you'll have access to everything we need. The locations of the backstreet portals they are using in the Second Realm, where they are creating their weapons and body armour, where their government is the weakest. Anything that can put a stop to this war before it can begin. Your main mission, however, will be reporting back whatever Kaiser has discovered so we can stay ahead of his investigations. You will also have to sabotage him, from drawing suspicions away from actual second realm agents to scapegoats to false clues that lead him to different conclusions. Do you understand, Little Bird? You need to make Kaiser chase his tail and keep him from interfering with this delicate operation we have set up here."

"I understand," I reply through gritted teeth. "But how can I do that when I haven't got the job? If Mr Salt were to have a sudden heart attack or a stroke, then Marcus would be able to hire me instead of Serena."

"Reason number two as to why you can't kill Salt. They'll replace him with someone competent. The man is a useless, corrupt arsehole. He can pull a few strings now and then, like with what he's done with you, but he has no real power. He's a blithering idiot, easy to manipulate and terrible at his job. The MOD is in shambles, with security risks everywhere and a lack of funding. It has weak points that we can exploit. It's how we were able to get you in in the first place. Mr Salt is smart enough to secure his position. He has friends in all the right places. But, upon his death, well, it will be the Commander, Mr Kaiser's boss, who will take his place. The man is as good as Mr Day, and I can assure you, with him in charge, our way into the MOD will be closed for good and a whole lot of trouble will follow."

I sigh and rub my temples.

"Fine," I say.

"You're a fine agent, Little Bird. You'll find another way to get close to Kaiser. We are sure of it."

"What about Clarkie? He wasn't there last night, but when he returns, it is impossible to bug Mr Salt. He watches me like a hawk. I wouldn't be surprised if he follows me down an alley one night after work," I grumble.