by Matt Lincoln
I sprinted out of the taxi as soon as we made it to the airport. I’d paid on the app, so I didn’t have to worry about that, at least. I was stopped at security. FBI Agents had special permits that allowed us to bypass security, but the person manning the station didn’t seem convinced by my MBLIS credentials.
“Sorry, those are the rules,” the young man shrugged. “They told me everyone has to go through, no exceptions.”
I didn’t know whether I should scream or cry. Considering it was a massive holiday weekend, the airport was packed, as was the security line. I considered calling the police for assistance, but considering I was something of a fugitive right now, that probably wasn’t the wisest idea.
“Look, I’m not trying to be a pain or anything,” I spoke as calmly as I could manage. “But this is an emergency. It’s federal business, and I need to get on that plane. Can you ask your manager or something?” The young man leveled me an uncertain look before finally shrugging.
“Okay, just a second,” he murmured as he pulled his radio off his hip and said something into it. His manager arrived an agonizing five minutes later, and finally, they allowed me through without any further trouble.
I walked as quickly as I could toward the hangar our plane was in, breaking into a run as soon as it was in view. The pilot who typically transported us to and from our destinations, Conner, was leaning against the narrow staircase, looking at something on his phone.
“Hey,” he called as he saw me approaching. “Ready to go? I heard it was urgent.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “The faster we get back, the better.”
“Just you?” he asked, glancing around me in confusion. “Where’s Agent Patel?”
“Not coming,” I answered. “She’s doing damage control.” It wasn’t really a lie since she probably was currently trying to put out the fire I’d started back at the police station.
“Alright, let’s go,” Conner called as he tucked his phone into his pocket and climbed up the stairs. He closed the door behind me as soon as I was inside before retreating to the cockpit.
I sank into the first chair I reached. Adrenaline had been coursing through my body since the moment I’d answered Eliza’s call, and now that I was finally sitting down, my muscles were starting to ache from the strain.
I forced myself to take some deep breaths as I willed my heartbeat to slow down to a more reasonable rhythm. I felt the plane begin to move as we prepared to take off, and I reached down to pull my seatbelt on. My fingers were trembling, and I fumbled with the seatbelt for a minute before finally managing to get it latched together.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the seat. I’d told Patel just a few days ago that she wouldn’t be able to focus if she let her emotions get the best of her, and here I was doing the same thing. I needed to calm down, but the moment I closed my eyes, I could hear Eliza’s screams again. We’d known each other for almost a decade now, and I’d never heard her sound like that. I clenched my fists as the rage I’d felt earlier began to bubble inside of me again. I was going to find who’d done this and make them pay.
30
Fiona
I bounced my leg nervously as I racked my brain for ways I might be able to help. I’d been staring at the same spot on my computer screen for over ten minutes now, but I hadn’t been able to think of anything. I shuddered as I remembered the events that had transpired earlier that day.
It had been right around six in the evening, and everyone had been preparing to go home. Especially after the incident with the delivery truck, Wallace wanted everyone to make sure they got plenty of rest. Junior had gotten a call just as we were about to leave, and I’d watched with mounting dread as his face had grown more and more horrified the more he listened.
Eventually, he’d revealed to us that someone had attacked Charlie’s mentor, Harry, and kidnapped his granddaughter, Amber. Amber’s mother, Eliza, was beside herself, and Junior and Miranda had taken off right away to bring her back to the office.
Eliza had been hysterical when she’d arrived, wailing at the top of her lungs and begging us to help find her child. Eventually, she had calmed down and was currently sitting in the break room, completely silent. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which was worse. It had been heartbreaking to hear her cry so pitifully, but the shell-shocked, catatonic state she was in now was troubling in a different way.
It was now a little after eight in the evening. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, but everyone was still here. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for. The flight from Bermuda to Las Vegas was about nine hours without stops, so it would take Charlie all night to get here. Still, Eliza was Charlie’s family, which meant she was one of us. I knew that none of us were willing to leave her alone while she was going through this.
That being said, I felt frustrated at my inability to do anything useful. Wallace had asked me to try to trace the taunting call she’d received, but unless the person called back, there was very little I could do. I glanced out of my office window and toward the break room. The door was open, and I could just make out Eliza sitting on the couch. She was staring blankly at the floor while Junior said something to her. If anyone could get through to her, I was confident it would be him. Miranda had told me he’d even deescalated a standoff earlier that day between a group of police officers and a pair of armed suspects. He was good at reaching people emotionally.
“Hey,” Miranda suddenly called gloomily from the doorway.
“Oh, hey,” I responded just as despondently. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“How’s the trace coming along?” She asked.
“It’s not,” I replied as my face grew hot with shame. “There’s just nothing I can do without a little more to go on.”
I flinched as Miranda swore and slammed her fist down onto my desk. Normally, I would have chided her about being more careful around my equipment, but given the current situation, I let it slide.
“How could I not have noticed earlier?” she muttered. “We saw that truck. That scumbag was right there, just a few feet away from us, and I…” She shook her head, unable to find the words to express her frustration.
“It’s not your fault,” I insisted meekly.
“She’s just a little kid!” Miranda scowled. “She’s, like, what? Five years old? Who the heck would do something like this to a five-year-old?”
“Child traffickers,” I answered derisively. “That’s the whole reason we’re on this case. Snatching a little girl isn’t anything new to them.”
Miranda released a shuddered breath as she raked her hands through her hair.
“Charlie must be freaking out,” she whispered.
“Have you had a chance to call him?” I asked.
“No,” Miranda shook her head. “By the time I got back from picking up Eliza, he was already on the plane. I won’t be able to reach him there.”
“Reach who where?” Junior asked as he stepped into the office.
“Charlie,” I responded. “On the plane. How’s Eliza?”
“Not great,” Junior grimaced. “I felt relieved when she started to calm down until I realized I couldn’t get her to respond at all anymore. Nelson’s in there with her right now. He and Harry were friends back when they were on the force together. He said he’d known her since she was little. Maybe she’ll feel more comfortable with him.”
“I didn’t know they were friends,” I remarked curiously. “I wonder if Charlie knows.”
“I think he does,” Junior responded as he fell into the only other chair in the room. “Charlie mentioned once that Harry gave Nelson a really good recommendation for him when he first applied here.”
“Small world,” I murmured as I folded my arms across my desk and leaned my head down. “So what now? We just wait until the kidnappers make a move?”
Miranda and Junior exchanged uneasy looks.
“I’m not sure what else we can do,” Junior sighed. “But I think this confi
rms that we’ve been being followed. There’s no other way the kidnappers would have known where to find Amber. She doesn’t actually live there, and neither does Charlie. That means they must have followed Charlie up to Harry’s house the day he visited.”
“That’s a good point,” I agreed. “But that was only four days after we made that original bust in the uptown neighborhood. That means someone’s been tailing us since the beginning of the case. How is it possible they caught on to us that quickly?”
“Someone we interacted with is dirty,” Miranda snarled. “It’s possible that they first became aware of us after the bust, but unlikely. Remember, Wallace made sure our specific agency was never named in the media. And yet, somehow, whoever was tailing us knew right away that this was an MBLIS case and even found the location of our office.”
“We interacted with dozens of people in those four days, though,” Junior interjected. “Cops, social workers, neighbors, the list goes on.”
“Well, we’d better start narrowing it down,” Miranda countered. “It’s the only possibility that makes sense, and the only way someone could have been able to track our movements so quickly. Whoever the supplier is, I think we’ve already encountered them.”
31
Naomi
As I suspected, the police were less than thrilled to learn about Charlie’s little outburst upon hearing that his niece had gone missing. They were even more displeased to hear that he’d suddenly run off after attacking Davis.
“I don’t know how you do things in your country,” the police chief had growled. “But here, we do not just beat suspects in order to coerce a confession!”
“I can assure you that wasn’t the case,” I’d responded, slipping easily into my former role as a diplomat. “Agent Hills had a visceral, if inopportune, reaction to the news that the suspect, Mr. Davis, was directly involved in the assault and kidnapping of his father and niece. Of course, I understand that this matter is not to be taken lightly, and I want to provide you with my fullest assurance that we will be looking into this incident extensively. He will be disciplined accordingly, but again, I want to emphasize the fact that his actions are in no way condoned by MBLIS, and ask that you please allow us to continue our investigation.”
I’d altered the details a bit in an attempt to make Charlie seem more sympathetic. After all, who could blame a man for losing his temper upon hearing that his family had been threatened? Regardless, I needed to find a way to salvage this investigation. If the police chose to kick us out because of what had happened, it could jeopardize the entire case.
“Fine,” the police chief groused. “But only because I’m eager to get this criminal out of my country. Don’t think I won’t be contacting the American consulate over this.”
“I understand completely,” I smiled politely at him.
Unlike Jamaica, Bermuda was technically a British territory, which put us in a hairy situation as far as legality went. It wasn’t the best-case scenario to have found myself in, but at least he was going to allow me to continue with the interrogation.
“He should be patched up and ready to go soon,” the police chief said. “Someone will be out to let you know when you can resume the interrogation.”
I nodded before sitting down to wait. All in all, it had gone pretty well. The fallout of having Charlie physically assault a suspect in custody, while handcuffed no less, could have been much worse. It was easy to forget sometimes that the laws of other countries weren’t always the same as they were in the United States. As agents who were dedicated to investigating international crimes, it was important for us to keep in mind the laws and customs of whatever nation we were visiting.
That being said, I couldn’t really excuse Charlie’s actions as being a result of cultural misunderstanding. It’s not like beating up suspects was allowed in the United States, either. On the contrary, the punishment would have been worse there than it probably would be here.
“Agent Patel?” an officer with striking blue eyes called out to me. I snapped my head up as he spoke. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed him approach. “Davis is ready now. I can take you back to the interrogation room.”
“Thank you,” I responded as I moved to stand up. He nodded politely before walking me back to the room. As we moved through the police station, I could feel a tension in the air that hadn’t been there earlier. Officers glanced at me out of the corners of their eyes and over the tops of their computer screens.
I sighed in resignation. I couldn’t blame them for being wary. They were probably all thinking of Charlie as the stereotypical image of an American FBI agent, rampaging his way into their country and doing whatever he pleased. I knew that wasn’t him. I knew that, despite his short temper, Charlie had never laid a hand on a suspect unless it was strictly necessary. They’d only seen the absolute worst of his behavior, and I wondered if perhaps Davis had orchestrated it to be that way.
That might explain why he’d appeared so calm when we’d been attempting to interrogate him earlier. Perhaps he was banking on Charlie abandoning the investigation when he heard about what had happened. He’d been right about that, at least, and we’d very nearly blown the entire investigation as a result.
It irritated me to think that we might have played right into his trap, and I was more eager than ever to bring him and his entire organization crashing to the ground.
“Thank you,” I smiled politely at the blue-eyed police officer as he opened the door for me to enter the interrogation room.
I could see Davis sitting back in the chair. His face was bandaged, and his shirt was bloody. Part of me wished there was a way I might have been able to take a picture of his sorry state to show to Charlie later. As much trouble as his stunt had landed us in, I couldn’t argue that it wasn’t deserved.
As I observed him through the glass, I noticed that he didn’t seem as relaxed as before and kept glancing around the room nervously. It was understandable, given the beating he’d just been subjected to, but something was off. Even as Charlie had been punching him, he’d been laughing and taunting him. Why would he be displaying signs of unease now, after the fact?
I realized that something must have gone wrong with his plan. The more I considered it, the more the pieces started to shift into place. Davis was somehow connected to whoever had been tailing us, and that’s why he was so confident before. He knew he could distract Charlie from the investigation by going after Amber. He couldn’t have guessed that Charlie would physically attack him in retaliation and thereby run the risk of ruining the case, but he was most likely counting on this derailing the investigation. Perhaps he’d suspected that we would both head back to the United States, and the fact that he was still here was rattling him because it meant his plan hadn’t worked.
Armed with my newfound suspicions, I steeled myself before entering the small interrogation chamber. Davis’s eyes widened as he looked up at me, as though he was surprised that I was still here. That confirmed my suspicion that he’d expected me to be gone by now. The shock lasted only a moment before he quickly schooled his features into a nonchalant mask. It wasn’t the same as before, though, and I could tell he was rattled.
“Agent Patel,” he greeted me with a smile that made my skin crawl. “What a surprise to see you. I would have thought you would have departed with your friend. It sounded like he received some pretty troubling news.”
“I don’t have friends, Davis,” I replied curtly as I settled into the chair across from him. I leaned back and crossed my legs as I looked down at him in a display of uninterested scorn. “I had no reason to go back with him.”
“Surely you aren’t as cruel as that?” Davis retorted, his smile still plastered in place but his tone trembling with uncertainty.
“You have no idea how cruel I can be,” I sneered. “So you kidnapped his niece. Why should I care? He’s just my coworker. I’m not about to let his family drama get in the way of finishing my mission.” It wa
s viscerally painful for me to say those horrid words, but I needed to scare Davis. I mentally apologized to Charlie but kept my expression cold.
“You’re bluffing,” Davis chuckled. “Do you really think you can trick me so easily?” His words were confident, but they were belied by the throbbing vein in his neck and the way his leg was beginning to bounce nervously under the table.
“Believe what you want,” I shrugged. “I would have thought that you of all people would understand how foolish it is to put stock into familiar relationships. You’re a man who dedicates himself to the kidnapping and trafficking of children, after all. There’s no way someone would be able to stomach that kind of work if they had children they cared about.”
Davis stared at me for a long while without saying anything, as though he were trying to gauge how genuine I was being.
“I’m afraid you’re wrong,” he finally said, still smiling but with less vigor than before. “Like I told your partner before he so viciously assaulted me, I haven’t done anything to any children.”
“So you have no intention of telling me about your organization,” I surmised. “Or about what’s happened to Charlie’s niece, Amber Monroe?”
“I thought you didn’t care about his family?” Davis countered.
“I care about solving this case,” I corrected. “And I care about making sure you never see another sunrise. This is a game to me, Davis. I don’t care about the details, so long as I win.”
“I’m afraid I will have to disappoint you then,” David replied. “I don’t intend to lose to you.” His slimy smile slipped back into place, and I answered it with one of my own.
“You really do think you’re clever, don’t you, Davis?” I snickered.
