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gateway’s existence a secret.”
    Quinn was incredulous. This was getting harder and harder to believe . . . except that he’d seen the proof. Then again, he had just shown ­people he could turn out Las Vegas by snuffing some candles, so incredulity was an integral part of his makeup. “OK, then let me get this straight. You found a portal to a whole other world. With ­people in it. And you’ve just been, what, sitting on it?”
    â€œWe’ve been studying it from every possible angle,” Chaudri said.
    There had to be an endgame here. Billion-­dollar companies didn’t study things. They profited from them.
    More importantly, he needed to know where he fit in.
    As if anticipating that question, Kiara tapped her control panel. The image changed again, to a photo of a man in a white lab coat. He was middle-­aged, maybe a little older, with wire-­frame glasses and a pronounced nose. Looked like a cardsharp, the kind of guy who’s always thinking two moves ahead.
    â€œThis is Richard Holt,” Kiara said. “The head of our research team since this project started.”
    â€œHe’s a nice-­looking man, I suppose.”
    Kiara scowled.
    â€œSix days ago, he went rogue, and disappeared through the gateway,” Logan said.
    Quinn stole a glance at their faces. Kiara’s was cold calculation, almost hidden animosity. On Chaudri’s, sadness warred with admiration. Interesting. “Maybe he just needed a vacation,” he said.
    Chaudri barked a laugh. It came out nervous. “Dr. Holt didn’t believe in vacations.”
    â€œHe also took a backpack full of technology that’s not allowed on the other side of the gateway.”
    â€œWhat technology are we talking about?”
    â€œThat’s above your clearance level.”
    That excuse is starting to get real old.
    â€œWhatever his reasons, the executives want him retrieved,” Kiara said. “Quickly and quietly.”
    Quinn made a face, to show that he wasn’t happy about the clearance thing. “That sounds like Logan’s department.”
    â€œIt is,” he said.
    â€œAnd we have Chaudri, for the cultural angle,” Kiara said.
    â€œI guess you’re all set, then,” Quinn said. He still didn’t know why they’d brought him here, why they’d shown him something that was clearly a tightly held secret. They wanted something—­something worth more than a half million dollars.
    Kiara sighed. She almost seemed to agree. “Some of our superiors are concerned because we’ve all been working with Holt for a long time. He knows our tactics. Our tendencies.”
    Ah—­the reveal at last. “But he doesn’t know me,” Quinn said.
    â€œExactly,” she said. “And given their preindustrial technology level, your talents for illusion might be useful in a tough spot.”
    â€œIt certainly is an interesting way to go,” Logan said.
    Kiara frowned at him.
    So they did want a performance out of him. “The logistics would be tough,” Quinn said. “I’m used to working on a stage.”
    â€œYou’ll have substantial company resources at your disposal,” Kiara said. “Materials, schematics, a fully trained engineering team. Pretty much whatever you need.”
    â€œI guess I can draw up some ideas,” he said.
    â€œThey don’t even have to be your own. If any of your competitors have something that would be useful, we can have the details for you in twenty-­four hours.”
    â€œGood luck with that,” Quinn said. “Magicians are a secretive lot, from what I hear.”
    â€œYou’re one of the most secretive, and we got you here in, what, fourteen hours?”
    â€œTouché,” he said.
    â€œWe’ll provide you with virtually anything you need to create the best magic that you can muster. And trust me, it’ll have to be