Susan continued, "If everything looks good, please sign or stamp the contract. There are three copies. Take one with you; it will serve as your pass into the Eden Lake area."
Geralt had no objections. After signing his name, he left the building with a copy of the contract.
Once in the car, Geralt made a call.
The call connected.
"Caitlin?" Geralt said.
"It's me," Caitlin said. "How did it go?"
"I signed the contract," Geralt said. "A ragtag crew hired at the last minute? Isn't that a little sloppy?"
"Have you considered," Caitlin said, "that they aren't sloppy at all? Maybe they just don't think you're that important."
Geralt had no comeback. Put that way, she had a point.
Caitlin enjoyed his discomfort for a moment, then got back to business.
"Thorn Snake is a private military and security consulting company under the Gates Group. For the past two days, they've turned everything within a ten-mile radius of Eden Lake upside down."
A "private military and security consulting company" was really just a deniable outfit. Its members were mostly retired agents and soldiers—a pack of scum with innocent blood on their hands.
"And?"
"They found nothing. The trail went cold. Otherwise, they wouldn't need you 'gifted individuals.' The supernatural isn't Thorn Snake's specialty."
"Right."
Eden Lake.
A small grove at the campsite.
The people from the Gates Building conference room had gathered again.
Geralt was the last to arrive.
He wasn't slow. The others were simply faster. They were certainly putting in the effort for that ten-million bounty.
The scene had been well preserved.
Guards stood watch over it.
Thorn Snake's employees were elites drawn from various organizations, and they knew their business. People with real skills tended to be proud. They had found no clues, so