The Sphinx Knows

The bar was dim, smelling of stale gin and broken promises. Elena sat alone, her third martini sweating onto the coaster, waiting for the man who might destroy her career.

She'd become quite good at being a corporate spy over the past eight years. The art of extracting secrets from careless executives, of photographing documents in bathroom stalls, of wearing wiretaps like jewelry. But tonight, she wasn't the hunter. She was prey.

The surveillance photos had appeared in her mailbox three days ago: images of her meeting with competitors, her handoffs with foreign brokers, her face illuminated by the glow of stolen laptops. Someone knew everything.

"You look like you're waiting for bad news," said a voice beside her.

Elena turned. The woman was perhaps fifty, with silver-streaked hair and eyes that seemed to see everything and reveal nothing. She wore a rust-colored velvet blazer, fingers heavy with rings that caught what little light there was.

"Just thinking," Elena said.

"About your secret life?" The woman's smile was slight, knowing. "The one that pays in cash and costs you sleep?"

Elena's hand tightened around her glass. "Who are you?"

"I'm what you might call a sphinx." The woman signaled the bartender. "I know things. I solve riddles. Usually for a price."

Elena felt cold despite the warmth of the bar. "You're the one who sent the photos."

"I'm the one who can make sure they never reach your CEO. Or the FBI."

"What do you want?"

"Not money. I need someone with your particular talents. There's a project. Very important. Very dangerous." The sphinx slid a folder across the bar. "Your alternative is prison, or worse. Your choice."

Elena opened the folder. Inside were photographs of a golden retriever—a beautiful, gentle-looking dog with soulful eyes—and documents detailing something called Project Cerberus. The dog wore a collar with a small, strange device.

"What is this?"

"Enhanced animal intelligence. The military's been trying for decades. They've finally succeeded." The sphinx's voice dropped lower. "That dog can understand human speech. Follow complex commands. Report what it hears. And someone just stole it."

"You want me to find a dog?"

"I want you to find a weapon that looks like man's best friend. Before the people who took it realize what they have. Before they start training it to do terrible things."

Elena stared at the photograph of the dog, its innocent gaze seeming to implore her from across the bar. She'd stolen secrets for years, sold companies' futures for profit, ruined careers without losing sleep.

But this was different.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the best." The sphinx finished her drink. "And because, Elena, everyone deserves redemption. Even a spy."