Beneath This Mask

by Victoria Sue

  “What about not associating with criminals, because that’s gonna be hard?” Finn asked quickly.

  “Provided he is accompanied at all times by one of the team, he is covered for that.”

  Finn looked distressed.

  “Hey, buddy,” Adam said. “I’m out.” He put his hands out, like don’t forget that’s the important thing.

  Finn smiled, but he leaned a little closer to Talon.

  Jake sighed. He didn’t know how he had missed it when he first started. Maybe it took being in love to recognize it in others.

  Shit.

  Jake breathed through his nose, slowly trying to process what he had just thought. Love? He looked at Gael, who must have felt his gaze because he turned and focused those gorgeous blue eyes on him. Jake could feel his cock stirring just because Gael was staring back. He wasn’t sure about love, but lust was certainly an L-word he would use around Gael.

  He rubbed his chin absently, hating the fact that he hadn’t shaved, and hissed slightly because he’d forgotten it hurt to touch it. He was regretting not taking any Tylenol before they left. He’d seen Talon watching him a few times in the diner as he had tried to chew his food without it hurting.

  “I’m going to partner Adam up with Eli.”

  Jake’s focus was dragged sharply back to the present, as there was a kind of awed silence following Gregory’s words. To be fair, no one looked more shocked than Eli.

  “Sir?” Drew cleared his throat. “With respect, and if Gael wouldn’t mind, it might be helpful if I partnered Adam.”

  Talon swung his gaze to Drew. “Why?”

  Drew took a hurried breath. “Well, I just thought a human partner might look a little better with the assistant director.”

  Jake winced at the double insult.

  “We’re all human, Drew, last time I looked,” Talon returned mildly.

  “And as trustworthy,” Eli said, which was another surprise.

  Drew shuffled. “I didn’t mean—”

  “The assistant director is happy leaving the partnership decisions of the team up to Talon and I,” Gregory said with a little more bite than usual.

  Drew dropped his gaze to the floor, and Jake felt a little sorry for him. He didn’t fit. He didn’t fit with the team, and it wasn’t because he was a regular; it was because he was a jerk. It was as if Drew felt he had something to prove all the damn time, or maybe Jake wasn’t being fair. The rest of the testosterone in this room took a lot of living up to, and apart from Gregory, Drew was the only guy to see the inside of Quantico. Not even Jake had, but Gregory had explained that when he first applied. They might be an offshoot of the FBI, but they were more a specialized consultancy service, and none of them would work on “regular” cases, which suited Jake fine. He had his hands full with exactly what they were doing.

  Maybe Drew felt he had a lot to prove? He’d done the training and worked as an agent for three years. Maybe he needed to put out an olive branch, or maybe if Drew got the BAU job he was hoping for, he would never see the guy again.

  “So, we’re waiting to hear what Angel can come up with,” Gregory said, finishing his assessment of the case. “Drew, anything on the addresses?”

  “Nothing pertinent as far as I can see, sir.”

  “What about Derrick?” Gregory asked Gael.

  “I’m going back there as soon as I can.”

  Gael’s phone rang just then, and after glancing at it, he excused himself, stepping outside.

  Gregory looked at Eli. “Eli, perhaps you would like to take Adam and help him settle in. Benchmark will expect him to check in soon.”

  Jake watched in fascination as Eli colored slightly but stood, and Adam followed him out just as Gael came back into the room.

  “That was Angel. He has information and wants to meet.”

  Jake went to stand, but then so did Drew. Jake chewed his lip and winced as he pulled his skin.

  “Jake,” Talon said, the warning in his voice. “I understand your commitment, but enough is enough. You’re going home. I didn’t object to you coming to the meeting, but fieldwork—”

  At that moment all their phones sounded with an alert. Someone wanted the team.

  Talon dialed a number, and Jake stared at Gael in frustration. Talon said they would be right there and put his phone back in his pocket. “Fight in a bar, but it looks like an enhanced is involved.” He waved Gael and Drew away. “We got this, go.” Then he turned to Finn. “Can you please take Jake home?”

  “But—” Jake protested as Gael shot him an apologetic look and followed Drew.

  “Jake,” Talon growled. “When this is done, we’ll review the partnerships again, but you are not fit to be at work, and I don’t want Gael going anywhere without backup.”

  Jake subsided and meekly followed Finn out to his car.

  ANGEL PICKED up a sweet potato fry and regarded Gael with solemn eyes. “There’s another guy, Ricky. He’s worked up here awhile, but he knows Skin from the port. They shared a room down there when they had money, and knew some good places to crash when they didn’t. He’ll talk to you but no one else.” He glanced at Drew. “Sorry.”

  “You’re not meeting on your own, Gael,” Drew said stiffly.

  Gael arched his eyebrows at the order and ignored Drew. “How long is it since Ricky has seen Simon, did he say?”

  “About a month before the room they were squatting in got demolished, ready for the area to be cleared.”

  “We need to find out an approximate date,” Gael mused. “They’ve been building down there nearly two years.”

  Angel shrugged. “I’ve only lived here a few weeks.”

  “And how reliable is this information?” Drew asked.

  Angel rested his gaze on Drew. “Well, I doubt the sort of hotel rooms he visits have bibles in the nightstands, if that’s what you mean,” he drawled.

  “And what else did Ricky tell you?” Gael asked, wishing Drew would be quiet.

  “Simon got a new boyfriend,” Angel said. “He only saw the back of his head once when he was getting in his car.”

  “Did—”

  “No,” Angel answered before Gael could ask. “All he said was that it was a sedan, fancy and a dark blue. Looked new. Money. The guy had brown hair, average build. He was wearing a suit.”

  Gael lifted a brow. Angel had given them the details without him having to ask. “Was it the first time Simon met him?”

  Angel shook his head. “No, the guy had cruised around maybe a week earlier, but he’d kept Simon overnight three times.”

  “Isn’t that unusual in a prostitute?” Drew asked, and Gael cringed.

  Angel didn’t get annoyed, though. If anything, he seemed to think Drew’s holier-than-thou attitude was amusing. “Ricky doesn’t know. Simon didn’t always say, and he was tight-lipped about this one. Said he had a fancy house.”

  “He went there?” Drew asked.

  “No, but the guy took a call from a lawn-care company, apologizing and saying they were terminating the contract.”

  Gael stilled. He glanced at Drew, but Drew was still staring at Angel.

  “Ricky says he’s going to party at Reunion tonight, but he’ll give you five minutes before he leaves.”

  “Where?” Gael asked.

  “Wherever his last john drops him off at,” Angel said pointedly. “But he always eats in here, so I think if you show up about nine, we shouldn’t be far away.”

  Drew inhaled as if he was going to make another protest.

  “If you want to check me out, give Lieutenant Davies from Miami PD over in City Hall a call. He’ll vouch for any information I give you,” Angel said quietly.

  “So, you’re a source?” Drew asked.

  Angel grinned. “Absolutely. Give him a call.” He popped another fry in his mouth and then reluctantly pushed away his half-eaten plate.

  “They’re not good?” Gael had demolished his.

  Angel smirked. “I have to fit in my shorts later.
” He looked around to make sure no one was listening and leaned forward to Gael. He nodded at Drew. “Not that I don’t mind meeting all the fabulous agents you work with, you understand, but I was hoping you were gonna bring the big guy.”

  Gael nearly choked on his water.

  “I’M NOT sure how reliable he is,” Drew said as they watched Angel sashay out of the diner.

  “What did you mean by a source?” Gael asked.

  “Confidential informant.”

  “That’s good, then?”

  Drew sighed. “Gael, CIs are only doing it to stop themselves from getting locked up in the first place. Trustworthy isn’t a word I’d use around him.”

  Gael’s phone rang again to save him from answering Drew. He frowned at the screen and put it to his ear. “One minute, Michael. Just let me get outside.”

  Michael sounded frantic. “Gael, Derrick’s being accused of attacking another child. They’re threatening to transfer him to somewhere secure. Can you get here?”

  “On my way,” Gael said quickly and looked up to see Drew had followed him outside. “That was Michael Ramsay, the principal from Derrick’s school. He got a call five minutes ago from Bayside. Apparently Derrick might have hurt another child and they’re threatening to move him to a more secure location. Michael’s with him now. I’ve got permission to go.”

  Gael fished his keys out, relieved they had traveled in separate cars. “Drew, you need to go and look at those addresses. We both know that was too much of a coincidence. Can you let the team know what’s happening?”

  Drew looked worried. “I don’t like you going on your own.”

  “They won’t let you in if you come. I think having a look and seeing if we can find anything in those addresses is the key. We’re missing something, and this might be the connection we need.”

  “Okay.” Drew nodded. “Call me from the hospital as soon as you can, and I’ll let everyone know as soon as they get back from the call.” He paused. “Are you gonna call Jake?”

  Gael shook his head. No, Jake would be frantic and try and come to find him. Jake needed to rest, and there was nothing he could do in the hospital.

  Chapter Fifteen

  IT TOOK Gael thirty minutes with the traffic to get to Bayside. Michael had sounded worried. Gael had spoken to Gregory, who said child judicial services were involved and basically it was out of their hands. Gael tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Michael hadn’t gotten all the details. Something about an argument with another child, but that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

  Michael had been quite definite before. Gael was the only person Derrick had ever communicated with at all. He wasn’t capable of having an argument. Even when those boys from the school had wrapped him in the netting and poked him with the sticks, Derrick hadn’t fought them. He had cried out until someone had heard him. If he had any enhanced strength, he certainly hadn’t used it.

  Gael finally pulled into Bayside and looked at his phone just in case he had a text from Jake. Damn, nearly out of battery, and he wasn’t allowed to have it in the unit anyway. He opened the glove compartment and shoved it in there in disgust. He would work out how to text Angel later. First he needed to worry about a child who no one else seemed to.

  Gael walked quickly to the front desk and was relieved to see Isaac, Derrick’s train nurse.

  “I’m off,” Isaac said, “but I told Michael I would wait around for you and buzz you through.”

  “What happened?” Gael asked as Isaac keyed in the code to let them both through to the ward.

  Isaac hesitated and glanced back at Gael. “I don’t know, I wasn’t there, and I’m not supposed to talk about it with you. I’m sorry.”

  Gael sighed in frustration and followed Isaac through the door into Derrick’s room. Gael blinked. Derrick was curled up in the corner of the bed, shaking. There was a man in a white coat writing something on a chart, and a nurse was drawing up something in a syringe. There were also two security guards in a uniform Gael had never seen before.

  “Michael?” Gael said to the principal, who sat on the edge of the bed.

  Michael turned and sighed deeply. The nurse picked up the syringe, offering it toward the doctor, and nodded to the guards.

  “Wait,” Gael asked. “Please, let me talk to him.”

  The doctor paused. “And you are?”

  Gael flashed his ID. “Agent Peterson. I spoke to Derrick briefly yesterday and at the school.”

  The doctor blinked. “You spoke to him?”

  Gael nodded. “A mixture of tactile signing and his child’s computer.” He glanced at the bed, then at Michael. “Where is it?”

  The doctor looked nonplussed, but the nurse spoke up. “Barry, one of our other patients, has it. He and Derrick have been sharing it, and we didn’t have a problem with that yesterday.”

  “No, I know that. I mean, the tablet that belongs to Derrick. I had it fixed and brought it in yesterday.”

  The nurse glanced at Michael. “I didn’t know that. The one Barry wanted was the one we have here.”

  Gael looked at Michael. “What exactly happened?”

  The nurse answered for him. “Barry came looking for it even though he shouldn’t have been allowed in.” She looked pointedly at one of the guards. “I had to leave the room, and Derrick must have wanted to go to the bathroom. He isn’t capable of summoning for help and has been going in there himself. I was on my way back when I heard the crying. Barry came running out of the bathroom, insisting Derrick had hit him with the toy. He has quite a bruise.”

  “Cameras?”

  She shook her head. “Not in the bathrooms. We looked at the tape, and it shows Derrick going in there, Barry following him, and then, a minute later, Barry running out crying. Barry has parents and they’re not happy.”

  “They’ve already contacted a lawyer and are threatening to sue the unit unless something is done,” Michael added.

  “And you’re going to drug him?” Gael was appalled.

  “We have permission,” the doctor said, a little defensively. “He qualifies under the Enhanced Protection Law.”

  Gael bit his tongue to stop him from saying anything that might get him thrown out. The Enhanced Protection Law was the same one that gave ENu the powers to forcibly sedate and detain enhanced. It wasn’t, as the name suggested, for the protection of enhanced. It was for regular human protection against the enhanced.

  The doctor sighed. “I’m sorry, but my hands are tied. At least if we give him something, his dose will be appropriate for his body mass. If we call the ENu, God only knows what they might give him.” Which was true.

  “And he’s frightened.” The nurse gestured to Derrick. “We haven’t been able to get near enough to make sure he is okay.”

  Gael sat down carefully on the bed and looked at Michael. “Where?”

  Michael swallowed. “He’s being transferred to Jackson Memorial.”

  Gael’s mouth dropped open. “No.” He looked at Derrick, who was silent, still curled up in a fetal position. Jackson Memorial was a young offender’s unit. It was harsh. Gael had seen a documentary arguing for its closure. The boys who were sent there were habitual offenders, and sent there as their last chance. They had interviewed boys who had since been released successfully, and they had described the military precision the place was run with.

  It would destroy Derrick. There was no way he could go there.

  “He’s not going into the young offenders’ unit,” the doctor said impatiently. “There’s a secure adolescent psychiatric unit as a separate wing.”

  “But he doesn’t need it,” Gael argued, not liking the sound of that any better. “Derrick has never been violent.”

  The doctor tapped his pen. “Look, there is nothing I can do.” He stared at Gael. “You have thirty minutes. I’ll delay things for a while.” He nodded to the nurse and the guards. “There will be unit personnel on duty just outside the room.”

  “Where’s his table
t?”

  “I’ll go see if I can find it,” the nurse replied and left.

  Gael sat on the bed. “Hi, Derrick.” He reached over to sign, and Derrick tilted his head a little as if listening. He didn’t look at Gael, but he was quieter. He seemed to have stopped trembling. Gael still hadn’t had much chance to do any in-depth research, but he knew his assumption of kids with autism not liking to be touched was very wrong. Autistic children were as individual as any others and reacted to touch in different ways. Like everyone else in the universe, really.

  Gael turned around and casually sat down, his back leaning up against the headboard. Every other time he had spoken to Derrick, he had been facing him. Derrick tilted his head to Gael, and Gael looked down at him. His pale blue eyes were unfocused as usual, but he seemed to be looking… no. He wasn’t looking—he was listening. Crap, Gael was bad at body language cues. Every time Derrick had done the same thing, as if he was waiting for Gael to talk. He had thought he was looking at him. “Hi, Derrick,” Gael signed and nudged him very gently, being prepared to back off.

  Just then the nurse came back with Derrick’s tablet. “Barry dumped it when he couldn’t get it to work. I guess it needs new batteries,” she said, but handed it over and then hurried away.

  Derrick shuffled until he was sitting up next to Gael.

  Gael rested the tablet on Derrick’s lap. Derrick never reacted. Gael repeated the signing. “Hi, Derrick, it’s Gael,” he said quietly.

  No one was more shocked than Gael when the tablet lit up immediately.

  “Hi, Gael.”

  “Hi, Derrick,” Gael signed.

  He glanced at Michael. His mind had gone blank. What did he ask?

  Michael moved very quickly to the door. In a minute he had returned with the doctor.

  Gael understood. If he could get anything out of Derrick, he needed a witness.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Bad man.”

  “A bad man hurt you?”

  Nothing. Gael glanced at the doctor, who was watching in complete astonishment.