by Peyton Bogue
“Jesus,” Kai groans, placing his head in his hands in frustration.
“So, where does that leave us?” Sage asks, his own jaw clenched tight as he watches Mikalina irritability.
“We can begin an official inquiry into Sirin Logistics,” Mikalina says. “From our end, though, that leaves us with a whole lot of nothing. The FBI will receive all of the names of any individuals involved in the gun raid and the murder in Tehran, and access to any personnel files of the Sirin employees. We can’t charge Aleksander Kharkovy, or those working for him, with anything unless we find definitive evidence against them that doesn’t involve any of the information Newsom gives to the FBI.”
Sage and Kai both sigh collectively.
“What about his finances?” Sage asks, sitting up straight. “Or the corporations’? With Kharkovy’s resources, he’s going to have to send those guns back to Tehran. That’s got to be, like, half a million dollars to send them back, right?”
“Where are you going with this?” Mikalina asks him confusedly.
“If it takes half a million dollars to return them, how much do you think it cost him to bring those guns here?”
“You’re thinking we’ll be able to track him bringing those guns into the States, aren’t you? And then we can connect him to Aldridge’s murder and the illegal exploitation of firearms, right?”
“Exactly,” Sage says. “That’d definitely be enough to bring Kharkovy down, and who knows what else we’ll find once he’s no longer in the way. We could bring the entire Sirin Corporation down.”
“We’d need a warrant to get a hold of his account information, Sage, and that’s assuming that we’ll find something,” Mikalina says, shaking her head at him.
“We won’t need a warrant if we have probable cause,” Sage argues.
“How do you suggest we do that?”
Sage sighs. He hadn’t planned that far.
“At the masquerade!” Kai says suddenly, and both Sage and Mikalina look at him confusedly. “You know, the masquerade charity auction he holds every year? It’s on Wednesday.”
“No, I don’t know,” Sage says, raising an eyebrow at Kai in question. “How do you even know about it?”
“I keep up with the news,” Kai defends himself with a slight scoff, and Sage rolls his eyes.
“That could actually work,” Mikalina says. “All we would need is a claim of Kharkovy not giving the intended money to the charity he’s working with. If we look into his finances and don’t find anything, no harm done, right? It could be a mistake on our part.”
“So, we just go to the masquerade and implicate him in front of the public?” Sage asks. “We’d have to do it quietly.”
“We would,” Kai tells him. “We’d attend the masquerade. Go undercover. As soon as the check’s handed over to the charity, we intervene.”
“Are you both up for it?” Mikalina asks, her eyes flickering back and forth between them seriously.
“Are you trying to get out of going undercover, Lieutenant?” Sage asks her, giving her a teasing smile.
Her face breaks out into a grin, and she shrugs her shoulders. “You bet your ass I’m coming along, Detective.”
“Great,” Kai says. “With the three of us going in, Kharkovy won’t stand a chance.” He moves to fist bump Sage, and Sage obliges him, chuckling.
“If we do this, we’re doing this equally,” Mikalina says. “I’m not leaving one person on their own. I’ll ask Hazel to fill in.”
“Hazel?” Sage repeats, confused.
“Do you have a problem involving Hazel, Sage?” Mikalina asks, and even though her face is completely serious, her eyes twinkle with amusement, and Sage sighs.
“She’s a Forensic Expert, Mik. If we bring her undercover, she could get hurt. She doesn’t have the training for something like this,” Sage tells her, and Mikalina nods at him, bringing her hands forward to entwine them together on the top of her desk.
“I’m not going to risk anyone’s safety, Sage,” she says, more gently than he’d been expecting. “She’s going to be fine. We need someone who knows what to look for like we do, someone we can count on. I’m confident that she’ll be an asset to what we’re trying to do. If you’re worried about this turning into an actual date, I’m sure that—”
“A date?” Sage interrupts incredulously, shaking his head. “Why are you talking about a date?”
Mikalina curls her lip in amusement as she explains, somewhat emphatically, “We’re going to a masquerade ball, Sage.”
Sage just stares at her.
“We’ve got to have dates to look authentic, man,” Kai says, standing up and patting Sage on the shoulder like Sage is purposefully being dense. “Everyone at this masquerade will be too busy with their own dates to look too closely for a couple of cops, but we’ve got to blend in, too.”
“Exactly,” Mikalina says, leaning back into her desk chair.
“And I’m the one that gets to go on the fake undercover date with Hazel?” Sage asks.
“Yes,” Mikalina answers simply. “Is there a problem with that, Detective?”
She eyes him scrupulously, her eyebrows raised. Her tone is completely serious, if only part genuine. He knows she’ll only go through with this if he’s comfortable with what she’s proposing, but a delay in obtaining Kharkovy’s finances could set them back enough that they’ll be right back to where they started—with nothing. They might not get another chance like this for a while.
Sage bites the inside of his cheek. It’s not escaped his notice that neither Mikalina nor Kai have mentioned the alternate solution to this partnership: having Kai attend the masquerade with Hazel. Sage doesn’t exactly want to pretend to go on a date with either Mikalina or Hazel, but his choices are limited. No matter what he decides, they all still need to attend the masquerade. In the long run, Sage supposes, it’s not going to matter who he goes with anyway, so long as they retrieve the information they’re after.
Even if that means attending a ball with a person who is not his boyfriend, and someone who’s most likely got a slight crush on him.
Sage feels himself sigh again. He should have known something like this would happen sooner or later.
“I don’t have a problem with it at all, Lieutenant,” Sage finally replies, and Mikalina gives him a nod, even though she doesn’t look entirely convinced.
“As long as you’re sure,” she says, and when Sage nods, she gives them both a definitive shake of her head. “Then it’s settled. We can plan out everything once Hazel is done running the DNA samples on the guns. You’ve got to meet with I.A. in two hours, Sage. She’ll probably be done around the same time as when your meeting ends.”
Sage nods, standing up.
“W'll talk to you later, Mik,” Kai says to her, and both he and Sage leave her office swiftly, heading back to their desks.
“Man, I love going undercover,” Kai says to him once they’re sitting down again.
Sage gives him a look, huffing. “Easy for you to say. You’re going undercover with one of our best friends. I’m the one that gets to tell Rhys that I’m going on a date with Hazel Kimura to a masquerade ball.”
Kai grimaces, nodding. “Yeah, you may have gotten the short end of the stick here,” he concedes, and Sage can tell that he’s trying to hold back a smile.
“Tell me about it,” Sage mutters, and Kai does smile then, chuckling as they both begin to open up the remaining case files in front of them.
◆◆◆
Sage and Kai both catch up on their paperwork in relative silence for the next two hours until Sage stands up and gives Kai a small smile before he heads towards the second level of the precinct for his meeting.
He’s a little nervous, even though he knows he probably doesn’t need to be. He’s always nervous when he meets with Internal Affairs.
His meeting with I.A. only lasts about fifteen minutes in total, though, and half of that time is spent talking about how amazing it was that he shiel
ded Hazel with his entire body and only walked out of Newsom’s trailer with a bullet graze. Sage just gives the two officers a grin that doesn’t quite pass for congenial and nods along with them and answers any questions they throw at him about discharging his weapon.
Both officers tell Sage that he’s cleared and that his actions were sound, so he thanks them both and walks back to his desk, where Kai hasn’t moved from his own desk and is currently tossing peanut M&M’s into the air and catching them in his mouth.
Sage shakes his head exasperatedly, moving to sit back down again, but Kai shakes his head, standing up from his desk.
“We’ve got to go back and talk with Mikalina and Hazel,” Kai informs him when Sage raises his eyebrows in question. Sage is immediately fighting back a grimace as annoyance prickles across his skin, but he gives Kai a nod and turns around to follow him back to Mikalina’s office.
Hazel is already seated in the chair Sage had been sitting in earlier when they both walk into Mikalina’s office, and she and Mikalina are both giggling softly when Kai shuts the door behind himself and Sage.
Both women’s eyes snap to Sage and Kai as they take a seat on the sofa in the back of Mikalina’s office, and Sage’s entire body recoils when he sees the look on Hazel’s face. She looks absolutely delighted to see him, her eyes tracking him animatedly.
There isn’t an ounce of trepidation in her gaze as she watches him. She doesn’t say anything to him as he settles in on the couch. His thoughts travel back to the kiss she’d given him on the cheek at the truck stop, about how nervous she’d been in doing so, but Sage sees no sign of that apprehension when he risks a glance at her. She won’t bring it up in front of Kai and Mikalina, but Sage can see how she’s eyeing him, as if she’s gearing herself up like she had at the truck stop. She wants to talk to him about it. The thought makes his insides churn.
Sage schools his features, not wanting to show his annoyance, and looks towards Mikalina, carefully avoiding Hazel’s almost predatory gaze.
“Is everything good with I.A.?” Mikalina asks him, leaning back against her chair. She looks much more relaxed and controlled than she had been two hours prior, and Sage assumes that she’s got some sort of plan of action for them by the way she’s tapping her short nails against the woodwork beneath her hand impatiently.
“All good,” he replies, nodding.
Mikalina gives him a grin. “Great. I’ve already briefed Hazel on the masquerade. I think it would be wise for both couples to show up separately but only a few minutes apart. We need to reconvene once we’re inside.”
The word couple makes Sage’s ire swell in his chest, and he continues to stare straight at Mikalina. He can feel Hazel’s eyes on him, but he just nods again, biting the inside of his cheek.
“We’ve got to be smart about this,” he says. “We can’t go in blind. It’s a Kharkovy benefit. There’s going to be security everywhere.”
“We’re going to blend in,” Mikalina tells him. “If anyone asks, Kai and I are investment bankers looking to negotiate business on behalf of the city. You and Hazel can say you're both a part of the charity’s foundation.”
“Is this ball open to the public?” Hazel asks.
“No,” Kai replies, shaking his head. “I didn’t think about that.” He glances towards Mikalina. “We all need to be invited to get in. Sage is right. There’s going to be security everywhere. If they suspect us of trespassing on their private event, or that we’re cops, they’ll kick us out. And Kharkovy will have even more of a reason not to cooperate with the police.”
“It’s a charity auction,” Hazel says confusedly. “How secure is this supposed to be?”
“No, Kai is right,” Mikalina says. “The last thing we want to do is tip Kharkovy off. I’ll reach out to the D.A.’s office. They’re bound to get invited to something like this.”
“He knows who we are, too,” Sage adds. “You, me, and Kai interviewed him with federal agents. Kharkovy might think we’re working with the FBI if he recognizes us. Hazel is the only one he won’t know.”
“Then you can be the one to get the check, Hazel,” Mikalina says to Hazel. “He won’t know that you’re with the police. It’s a masquerade. As long as we keep our masks on, he won’t know who we are. After we have custody of the check, it won’t matter if he recognizes us after that.”
“What about our weapons?” Kai asks.
“I don’t want us to go in unarmed,” Mikalina says. “Just as a precaution. Aleksander Kharkovy has friends in high places, and I don't want to risk what we’re planning getting back to him. Everything we’ve discussed here, or any future discussion, stays between the four of us.”
She eyes each of them seriously, and they all nod back at her.
Kai crinkles the package of M&M’s in his hand, and Sage glances at him curiously. Kai shrugs, moving his hand so he can offer Sage the package. Sage chuckles lightly, taking the package and reaching inside before handing it back to Kai.
Mikalina gives them a weird look, her eyes pinched, before she shakes her head and looks away, fixing her gaze on Hazel.
“Did you run those samples from the guns?” she asks, changing the subject. Sage perks up slightly at the change in subject, leaning forward and finally risking a glance towards Hazel as he pops the chocolate into his mouth.
Hazel is already looking at him when he brings his eyes to her, and she watches him for a second with a curious brow before she blinks, turning back to Mikalina.
“Yes,” she answers. “And I got some weird results.”
“Did you take samples from the guns before everything went to the FBI?” Sage asks, his eyes flickering to Mikalina in question.
She nods at him. “I had CSUs collect any fibers and traces from the guns, and some bullets to complete the ballistics report from the truck stop, Aldridge’s cabin, and the liquor store before Grayson and Richards took them. How weird were the results?” Mikalina asks, narrowing her eyes at Hazel.
“Both calibers from the truck stop and Aldridge’s cabin matched. All of the fibers from the guns also matched the Persian rugs we found in the trailer of Newsom’s semi. The weird part though,” Hazel says, tapping on the tablet in front of her, “is the DNA that I was able to pull off of a few of the guns.” She moves to hand the tablet to Mikalina, and Mikalina takes it from her, her brows furrowed. “The DNA I pulled off four of those guns came back as cross-species.”
Sage whips his head back to Hazel, and his eyes widen in shock. The only person he’s ever known that has cross-species DNA is Rhys. And Sage corrupted that DNA three and a half years ago. There’s no way that Rhys would show up in the system now.
If it’s not his DNA that’s showing up in CODIS, then that means there’s another person out there with cross-species DNA.
Which means—
“I thought maybe the mass spectrometer might have just been dirty or something,” Hazel continues, unaware of Sage’s growing panic. “So, I cleaned it extensively, and then I ran the DNA again, and I got the same results. No hits in CODIS, and I couldn’t even tell you if this person was male or female with how badly it’s corrupted. But it’s on all four of those guns.”
“What the hell?” Mikalina mutters, scrolling through the information on the tablet. She looks up after a moment, sighing. “Any prints?”
“I got a hit through AFIS, but the entire file is redacted,” Hazel replies, accepting the tablet Mikalina hands back to her.
“Well, that would explain it,” Mikalina says. “All of those Sirin guys are pretty much ex-military right? So, we’re back to knowing that the person who gave Newsom the job was probably someone he knew from Sirin.”
Hazel frowns. Sage’s eyes follow her movements as she taps on the tablet again, swallowing around his dry tongue. “Aldridge and Newsom were in the Marines, though, right?”
“Yes,” Mikalina replies.
Hazel shakes her head. “The AFIS hit from the print I got was from the redacted file of someone who w
as in the United States Army.”
Sage’s entire body freezes.
Mikalina looks at Hazel for a moment, rapping her nails on top of her desk, before she shakes her head. “Regardless of the military branch, we know this person knew Newsom, works for Sirin, and is ex-military. We can eliminate everyone else from Aldridge and Newsom’s division. The cross-species DNA doesn’t mean shit, though. And it’s probably an incorrect result. We can’t use that in court.”
“You may have to shell out some department funds for a new mass spectrometer then,” Hazel jokes, but Mikalina just shakes her head.
“Try to contact whoever you can to get that file un-redacted,” she replies.
“Already on it, Lieutenant.”
Kai nudges Sage, and when Sage looks over at him, Kai gives him a look of confusion and concern. Sage’s entire body is tense and rigid, and his heart feels like it’s about to beat right out of his chest.
Kai raises his eyebrows, but Sage just shakes his head, his eyes wide. He feels the back of his neck break out into a cold sweat.
He can’t tell Kai anything right now, not when Mikalina and Hazel can hear him.
The loud buzzing of Sage's phone a second later makes him jump slightly, and Sage swallows before he moves to take it out of his pocket. Both Mikalina and Kai’s eyes track his movements, but Hazel is looking at her tablet, engrossed in whatever it is she finds there.
Sage looks at the caller I.D. once he pulls the phone out of his pocket, and his heart skips a beat when he sees that Rhys is calling him, but he’s still tense and stiff. He slides the button quickly, then brings the phone up to his ear, shakily answering, “Hello?,” and then clears his throat quickly before anyone can notice how his voice trembles.
His eyes dart towards Kai, who’s still watching him carefully, as Rhys answers, “Sage?” His voice is tight, and Sage is immediately frowning at the anger in Rhys’s tone as he feels his heartbeat begin to echo in his ears.
“What’s wrong?” Sage asks, immediately alert and unable to stop the panic that slips into his words.
He hears Rhys growl down the phone, and the sound of it makes Sage’s heart stop. He knows both Mikalina and Kai are still looking at him, and it takes everything in him to keep the panic off of his face and to remain sitting.