“Fine. Nothing promotes clarity like a little rest.” My eyes snap wide open at Liam’s boss’s statement.
A weird saying, one I’ve heard only once before… Fletch said that to me while he was questioning me in the warehouse yesterday!
Holy shit, does that mean what I think it does? I’ve got to get off this stretcher, out of this ambulance if that woman is going to come in here and ‘debrief’ me, whatever that means. In my panic, I knock over a tray with some cotton wool and antiseptic that was probably meant to be used on me at some point, making a loud clattering noise at it hits the floor.
The door opens, and Liam steps inside, looking even more worried than before. “Everything OK in here?”
I can’t breathe, and my eyes are about ready to pop out of my head. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Right. Be careful.” He turns like he’s about to leave again. I can’t let that happen.
“Wait,” I say.
He pauses, with the door still ajar. I can’t be sure if we’re overheard, and I can’t take the risk if we are.
“Come here for a moment,” I whisper.
He looks out for a moment as if he’s unsure what to do. Then he finally steps inside all the way, shutting the door, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.
“What is it, Tess?” His voice sounds strangely raw, but I don’t have time to analyze his state of mind right now.
“The woman, that weird saying she quoted just now. Nothing promotes clarity like a little rest.” As I start to explain, suddenly my genius observation seems a lot stupider than it did in my head. “Yesterday at the warehouse, the guy in charge said exactly that. He said it was something his mother used to say.”
“Right.” Liam looks me in the eye. I don’t know if he’s trying to figure out just how badly I got bumped on the head, or if he actually takes me seriously.
“Think about it. Have you ever heard anyone say that?”
“No.”
“Me neither.” He’s right. I sound like a crazy person right now. Just because someone uses a weird turn of phrase doesn’t make them a terrorist.
“I’ll be right back,” Liam says, patting me on my hand and heading straight for the door.
Outside, I don’t hear voices anymore, just distant sirens. I try to tell myself I’ve done my part, and it’s up to fate, or Liam, to make sure things work out, but the knot in my chest refuses to budge.
Liam
Tess’s observation seems outlandish, insane, and yet… it would make sense, wouldn’t it? What if all this time, the mole inside our unit wasn’t an agent but the team leader? It’s perfect, elegant even.
I decide to take a risk to test the theory. What are the chances of Nexus having multiple people inside our little unit? Low, I’d say. I’ve already shared my suspicions about Clark with Mrs. H., and what happened? Nothing. She didn’t act on it, instead sending Clark out as my backup immediately after. Perhaps because she knew I’m wrong, because she herself is involved.
“Hey, Clark.” I catch up with him as he pulls into the wide parking lot. He lowers his window and gives me a nasty stare.
“Everson.”
“Threat contained?” I ask.
He nods.
“I’ll just come right out and say it. I told H you might be involved with Nexus,” I say, while keeping my gaze fixed on him, gauging his reaction.
His eyes widen in surprise.
“But… wait, you did what?!” he exclaims. He’s pissed and rightly so.
Strangely, he doesn’t seem concerned, though, just angry. He shows no signs of guilt or nervousness.
“When I got the phone call, and all of a sudden our prisoner ends up dead before he tells us anything of use, that didn’t look good, you have to admit.” I wait as Clark gets out of the car in a huff, slamming the door behind him and getting up close to me with balled fists. What is he going to do, punch me in the face? Let him try.
“Well, similarly you have to admit it didn’t look good to accept a phone call from Fletch in the middle of an interrogation, to lie about it, and then to run off, leaving me to deal with a dead witness. How do I know you’re not the one who’s involved?”
“Touché,” I say.
We’re only a few inches apart now. His forehead is turning sweaty; his cheeks are flushed with residual anger, and he seems to be completely tense. Every muscle in his body seems to be preparing for a fight. So that’s his story. While I’m suspecting him of wrongdoing, he’s doing the same to me. It makes sense.
“Don’t you think it’s strange that after I told her about my suspicions, nothing happened? Similarly, she didn’t hold me, just put me back on active duty, presumably against your advice.”
“That’s right. I insisted she keep you locked up at least until we could figure out what was happening here with your vehicle.”
He continues to stare me down, but I don’t break eye contact.
“Perhaps the reason she ignored us both was that she already knew we were wrong,” I say.
“How do you mean?” Clark looks surprised again, though the twitching in his jaw muscle betrays that he’s still seething under the surface.
“Perhaps she’s the mole.” As I say the words out loud, I see something click in Clark’s eyes. As if a little switch is flicked, and all sorts of puzzle pieces that previously didn’t have a place, fall into place in his mind.
He takes a deep breath and thinks for a moment. His body language changes: his muscles seem to relax as he considers my words, comparing them to his own observations and suspicions. The Clark I’ve known for the past seven years is back.
I tell him about Tess’s observation, assuring him that I trust her. There is no way my meeting with her was anything other than a coincidence. She’s an innocent in all of this and has had the misfortune to spend over an hour in Fletch’s presence before I intervened.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…” Clark sighs again, scratching the back of his head. “That makes a lot of sense. Now what?”
Before I get the chance to respond, his walkie-talkie crackles, and H’s voice breaks through the static asking for his position.
“Outside the perimeter, Ma’am,” Clark replies, while keeping his gaze fixed on me.
“Change of mission. We have reason to believe that Everson was involved in the attack after all. His intervention was just a clever ruse. You must stop him, by any means necessary,” Mrs. H orders.
“Understood. By any means?”
“I authorize you to use lethal force.”
That’s it, irrefutable proof of what I’ve just told him.
Clark instinctively puts his hand on his holster as he places the walkie-talkie back onto his belt.
“I’m going to have to take you in, old mate,” he says.
I’m about to protest, to argue in favor of everything I’ve just told him, but he doesn’t give me the chance to speak.
“You heard the lady. Let’s not make things difficult, all right?” Clark says as he approaches me with handcuffs at the ready.
Chapter Seven
Shortly after Liam leaves, I’m getting checked out by a paramedic. Apparently I’m all good, no sign of injuries other than the obvious bump on my forehead and sore bottom lip. Not even a concussion. They decide I don’t need to be taken to the hospital, and I’m grateful for their assessment.
Even if I’d been in a critical condition, they couldn’t have dragged me away from what might as well be the last time I get to see Liam. Only, he hasn’t returned yet.
I wait around the ambulance for ages, wondering whether to make myself scarce before the scary redhead comes back to debrief me or whatever it is she wanted. If I am right, and the painful cramp in my gut still seems convinced that I am, sticking around isn’t just potentially annoying, it could also be dangerous. What if she suspects that I know? My safety could be at stake. Again.
Right now I could really use Liam’s advice. Do I stay? Do I run? If I run, they’ll jus
t find me again. The woman knows where I live, for God’s sake. I don’t even know if he managed to catch the guy who was driving his car earlier. I don’t know a damn thing, and it’s driving me crazy.
“Are you all right?” the paramedic asks.
I realize I’m still sitting on the back steps of the van, despite him telling me that I could go.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. It’s just, I don’t have a car or anything,” I mumble, while getting up.
He smiles at me weirdly. His expression is almost sarcastic. You would still have a car if you hadn’t crashed it into a train earlier. So helpful.
There’s nowhere else to go, nothing else to do, so I sit down on the pavement next to the ambulance instead. I may not be seriously hurt, but my head is still pretty sore, and I’m exhausted.
The policemen who were chasing me earlier are parked nearby and eyeing me suspiciously. I’m surprised they haven’t arrested me. Perhaps Liam or someone from his unit explained the situation.
“Miss Aldershot.” Liam’s boss, the scary redhead approaches from behind the ambulance. “There you are. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
I swallow hard and rub my palms on my trousers, trying to get rid of the instant cold sweat that’s appeared.
“Sure. No problem.”
“Please join me inside the tactical van?” She points to a black van parked nearer to the ramp leading towards the train station. “We’ll have some privacy in there.”
I nod but don’t say anything. If I refuse, it’ll create suspicion. At the same time, I don’t want to be alone in the back of a van with a potential terrorist either. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Reluctantly, I follow her inside, where she gestures over to the bench along the side wall of the van. I take a seat and wait while she closes the doors. It’s so small in here, so stuffy. My heart is racing, and my vision goes slightly blurry. I wonder if that’s just because of the accident.
“Are you all right? You look pale,” the woman asks, while taking a seat opposite me.
I nod and stare at the floor.
“Fine. Just tired.”
“All right. How about you start by telling me how you knew to come here today?” Her blue eyes bore into me.
It makes me uneasy, the way she continues to stare at me like a human lie detector. I’m certain she’ll be able to tell if I hide anything from her.
“I overheard a phone conversation by some guy who works at the airport. He was talking about agents, the tunnel, and Nexus,” I say.
“Who?”
“I don’t know the guy.” A cold sweat is starting to collect on my palms. Although I’m not lying, I don’t actually know Alec at all, of course, I still know more about him than I’m letting on.
She squints slightly as if focusing on me extra hard is going to uncover what’s going in my head. She can tell, can’t she? My throat goes dry, forcing me to swallow. God, I wish I was a better liar!
“And how did you end up at the airport last week?” she asks.
Shit, didn’t Liam tell her what happened? How he got into my car? If I answer this one wrong, I might get him into trouble again! I don’t know how to respond, so I try to buy time by faking a cough.
The redhead impatiently taps her foot as she waits for my response with her arms crossed when the back door of the van swings open. The first face I see is Liam’s, only things don’t look quite right. Then I see the other agent, Clark, shoving him inside with his hand on Liam’s shoulder. Shit.
“What the!” I exclaim in shock.
“Ma’am, here he is.” Clark nods at the redhead and pushes Liam further forward before shutting the van door behind him.
“This is bullshit,” Liam says. He avoids eye contact with me as he passes me by. His hands are cuffed behind his back.
“Shut up!” Clark responds, while elbowing him in the shoulder.
I don’t know what to say or how to react anymore. After all that, Liam coming in after me and trying to prevent the attack from happening, he’s back in cuffs? What the hell do these people want?
“Brilliant timing. Your girlfriend was about to elaborate on her involvement with Nexus. You might as well do the same.” The redhead triumphantly looks around the room, at me, then Clark, who seems extremely proud of himself, and Liam, who looks a lot less like a classy government agent and a lot more angry bad boy right now.
I can’t deal with this. All the strains of the day wash over me again, filling my eyes with tears. I’m sick of crying. I’m so sick of shit going wrong as well. Fuck.
I hide my face in my hands and wish I could just disappear.
“I will do no such thing,” Liam argues.
“Oh, sooner or later, they all talk,” Clark butts in.
“Very clever, to arrange for your car to be stolen from HQ to try and demonstrate your innocence. It’s lucky Clark noticed the secondary circuit to disarm the bomb, or we might have still had a huge mess on our hands even after the train was stopped,” the redhead says. Most of her words might as well be Greek; that’s as much sense as they make.
“That’s right, the secondary circuit. Very well hidden it was too,” Clark’s voice sounds subtly different. Less macho and celebratory, more thoughtful.
I look up to find him staring ahead; his full focus shifted from Liam to her. Odd.
“Good job,” she responds, seemingly oblivious to his change in demeanor.
“Interestingly, it was Liam who pointed out that the bomb would still be on the train after apprehending a Nexus guy on the platform,” Clark says.
“He’s good at covering his tracks, but not that good.”
I look at Liam, who is also staring at the redhead. There’s something different about him; he’s tense, but his anger doesn’t seem to be directed at Clark, who brought him in here in cuffs, but at her, their boss.
“Now,” Liam whispers, Clark jumps into action, draws his gun and points it at the redhead.
I let out a surprised scream, then cover my mouth with both hands when I see Liam’s wrists have somehow freed themselves of his restraints. He lurches forward, going straight for her arm, which is instinctively reaching out for her own weapon. The struggle is over in a fraction of a second, leaving me breathless as my brain tries to comprehend what has just happened.
“I’ll have your jobs,” the redhead spits, while Liam puts her in cuffs this time.
“Yeah, right,” Clark remarks. He rests his hands on his hips, straightening his broad shoulders. “I wasn’t quite sure whether to believe Liam when he came to me earlier, but you’ve managed to clear things up wonderfully with your little secondary circuit remark. You couldn’t have known about that, because I hadn’t told anyone, not even Jenkins.”
The redhead glares at Clark, pressing her lips together tightly into a straight line.
Liam drags her toward Clark, handing her over to him, then comes up to me.
“Are you all right?” he asks. His voice soothes me, almost making me forget how scared I was only seconds ago.
I nod. “Fine.”
“I know you think this makes a difference, but it doesn’t!” the redhead shouts from behind Liam, prompting him to turn around.
“Oh? The attack has been stopped, the mole in our unit found and arrested, seems like a win to me,” Liam remarks.
“Someone will take over. Fletch cannot die,” she says with a sinister smile forming on her lips.
“Certainly looked like he did last night,” Liam replies.
“Oh, him! He was just a meaningless pawn. Nexus is bigger than any of you can imagine!”
I raise my eyebrows, watching her. Everything about her has changed. She had seemed so strict and controlled every time I’d seen her, and now, the complete opposite. She must be losing it.
“Right…” Liam turns his back to her and gestures at me to get up. I lose myself in his arms, where finally, after the most tumultuous day ever, I start to feel safe.
“Mark my
words! Nexus will prevail!”
Her tirade is interrupted by Clark’s phone, which he answers with a comically calm ‘hello.’
“Really? Interesting. Thanks, Jenkins.” Clark hangs up and grins widely at Liam and me.
“Guess what? They’ve identified the body from the warehouse. He shares a surprising amount of DNA with someone we know.” He gestures over at the redhead beside him by nodding his head.
“That’s very interesting indeed.” Liam wraps his arms around me tighter, making my heart beat a whole lot faster.
“Before they take you away, just answer me this. Why?” Clark asks.
She presses her lips together tightly but then gives in to the temptation to speak anyway. “Why does everything has to have a reason? Maybe I did it all because it feels good to be bad?” she taunts him.
“I’m not buying it. Are you buying it?” Liam asks Clark, who responds by shaking his head. “Never mind. Once they search her home and pull apart every last detail of her life and family background, something is bound to make sense,” Liam remarks.
“You’ll regret this,” the redhead snarls. Her face is a deep crimson as well now, her features tightened by rage. Within less than a second, she turns around, slipping out from underneath Clark’s grasp on her shoulder, and grabs his weapon right from the holster on his hip. Having her wrists cuffed together behind her back doesn’t hinder her at all as she aims the gun at us by twisting her hand around through the gap between her arm and side. A loud bang shatters through the air, originating right next to my head.
It deafens me instantly, filling my ears with a persistent, all-consuming buzz.
The redhead sinks to the ground, and Liam drags me backward away from the bloody mess. I don’t know how to react but cannot force myself to look away.
Although he’s here with me, I feel like I’m on my own in the van, alone in my head, with only that dead body and the growing pool of blood on the floor to give me company.
Slowly, muffled voices emerge from the white noise surrounding me.
“Tess… Tess… I’m so sorry, Tess, are you OK?”
It’s Liam. I look up at him, and his green eyes are full of concern.
Man of Mystery: A BBW Romantic Suspense Page 10
