She frowned. “Then he said he was losing sensation in the affected areas because your weapon had killed his nerves and his tissue would soon begin to deteriorate. I did a standard sensory test and he reacted normally, but he wouldn’t believe me when I told him. He was so agitated I had to sedate him.”
“He’s on drugs or somethin’.” Hellhound linked his hands behind his head and stretched out his legs as though the hard chair under him was the height of comfort. “He was fuckin’ loony-tunes when we picked him up.”
Dr. Roth’s frown deepened. “I did a full tox screen. It was negative for all common recreational drugs, and also any prescription drugs that could potentially induce psychosis. Aydan, what exactly happened to him?”
“Um…” I gulped down the dryness in my throat.
“We tranked him an’ had him tied up when he came to,” Hellhound interjected smoothly. “He freaked the fuck out an’ shit himself, so we tranked him again an’ stripped him ‘cause the stink was fuckin’ disgustin’. Put a tarp under him, an’ then the fuckin’ coward woke up an’ shit an’ pissed himself again. That’s when we figured maybe he was scared enough to tell us where Kane was, so we pulled out a coupla his leg hairs an’ Aydan made up this bullshit story about a secret weapon.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Fuckin’ idiot fell for it hook, line, an’ sinker. He gave us a name an’ we picked up the next guy, Willis Arlington. In the mean time, we got some stage makeup an’ did up Barnett with a buncha fake blood. Arlington took one look an’ gave us the location of the butcher shop, an’ then started spillin’ names. We picked ‘em all up, an’ they’re all out in Dave’s truck ready to testify.”
“Dave?” Stemp’s eyes sharpened. “The redoubtable Mr. Shore?”
Hellhound grinned. “Yeah.”
Dr. Roth’s shoulders relaxed. “I did note that the areas Mr. Barnett seemed concerned about were lacking hair, but plucking a few leg hairs certainly wouldn’t account for the level of agony he described. He said the areas were hairless because the hairs had already died and fallen out and the tissue of his leg would be next.” Her solemn expression didn’t waver. “So you’re saying Mr. Barnett is simply… misinformed and overly anxious?”
“Yep.” Hellhound raised an eyebrow. “Good luck convincin’ him of that, though. He’s gonna spend the next coupla months waitin’ for his leg to rot an’ fall off no matter what ya tell him.” His lips twisted in a sardonic smile. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
Dr. Roth’s lips quirked, but she held onto her expression of professional gravity. “Perhaps some anti-anxiety medication,” she murmured, and left.
Dermott turned to me, frowning. “I have Germain’s report. He said he formally arrested Barnett and offered him a deal if he cooperated, and Barnett turned it down and lawyered up. That doesn’t sound like a panicky guy to me. What really happened?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Hellhound dove in again. “An’ then Germain hadta leave an’ we were gonna bring Barnett in, so we tranked him. When he woke up an’ realized Germain was gone an’ we weren’t cops, he totally lost his shit.” He snorted. “Literally.”
“Kelly.” Stemp’s dispassionate voice sent a chill down my spine. “Your report, please.” He sent a quelling glance in Hellhound’s direction.
I swallowed hard. If I revealed Hellhound’s lies and half-truths, he’d be in deep trouble…
“That’s pretty close,” I equivocated. “When I met Barnett originally he told me they had John and he was going to kill me, and he tried to abduct me. Arnie tranked him and that’s when we brought Carl in to try to get Barnett to tell us what he knew.”
I forced my spine straight and raised my chin. “It’s my fault Barnett was so scared. I pulled out his leg hairs and told him the story about the so-called secret weapon.”
I glanced at Kane and froze in the anguished grey of his eyes. After what he had just experienced, the thought of me intentionally inflicting pain and fear must utterly repulse him…
“I t-tortured Barnett,” I choked. “It was my idea and I take full responsibility. Dave doesn’t know anything, and Arnie never touched him. He was just following my orders.”
“Ya didn’t torture him,” Hellhound growled. “Doc Roth just finished sayin’ there ain’t a mark on him ‘cept from the restraints, an’ he did that to himself by freakin’ out.”
“Good enough for me,” Dermott seconded. “Tell me about this truckload of witnesses.”
“Not good enough for me,” Stemp snapped. “We can’t ignore allegations of torture. Particularly not when an agent admits to it.”
Everyone stared at him as though he had just reared up and hissed like the snake he was.
Icy fear trickled down my backbone.
I was going to jail after all…
Chapter 47
“Bullshit!” Dermott barked. “This case is still under my jurisdiction, Stemp. There’s no evidence of torture according to a medical professional. We’re done here.” He turned to me. “Kelly, tell me about the witnesses.”
“And tell us how their testimony was coerced,” Stemp added quietly.
“They weren’t!” Hellhound jerked upright in his chair, glowering. “That’s fuckin’ bullshit! It was a sting, plain an’ simple. Aydan told ‘em she was the new arms dealer in town an’ she had the weapon prototype, an’ they decided to switch sides an’ rat Parr out.” He glowered at Stemp. “It ain’t against the law to lie when you’re doin’ a sting. An’ there’s lotsa legal precedent for convictions based on evidence gathered through Mr. Big operations.”
My jaw dropped and we all stared at him in silence.
“What?” He crossed his arms, flushing. “I was just readin’ a piece on it a while ago. So yeah, sometimes I use big words. I ain’t as much of a dumbass as I let on.”
“And you can recite that article word for word, can’t you?” I eyed him fondly. “And you probably looked up the cases just for fun as well. And I bet you know them verbatim, too.”
His flush deepened. “Yeah.”
Dermott shot a triumphant look at Stemp. “Case closed.” He returned his attention to me. “Tell me about the witnesses.”
“They’re all tied up in the back of Dave’s truck. He’s waiting out in the parking lot.” I gave Stemp a wary glance. “Nobody has legally arrested them or read them their rights or anything.”
“Fine, we’ll process them out,” Dermott said. “Get…” He frowned at me. “…Shore, is it?” I nodded and he went on, “Get him to take them over to Sirius. We’ll keep them separated in the secured area until we can sort them out. I’ll have a team meet him there…”
He paused. “Oh, that reminds me. The tac teams picked up everybody at the Volslav meeting and cleaned out the weapons lab, too.” A grin spread over his face. “Full house in the brig tonight. Good job, everybody. Kelly, do you have the records for each of your prisoners?”
I pointed to Hellhound’s head. “Up there. Safe and sound and one hundred percent accurate.”
“Good. Helmand, come by Sirius as soon as you have time.” Dermott rose. “See you, Stemp. I’ve got some cases to wrap up.”
My heart sank at the sight of his victorious grin as he strode out. Shit, would he be promoted now? As much as Stemp unfailingly pissed me off, he was still a far better director…
“We better go,” Hellhound said, casting a significant glance at Kane’s pallor.
Spider nodded and slipped out, but I searched out Kane’s grey gaze. “You go ahead, Arnie. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Kane closed his eyes. “I’m really tired, Aydan. I need to rest for a while. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Oh.” I swallowed. “Um, okay. I hope you feel better…” I turned to feel my way out, a chill settling around my heart.
Kane spoke again behind me. “Director, please stay.”
“Very well.” Stemp’s dispassionate tone didn’t alter. “Kelly, please wait for me. I have a matter to discuss wit
h you.”
I nodded without turning back.
In the hallway, Hellhound’s arm closed around my shoulders. “He didn’t mean it that way, darlin’. He’s gotta use his strength to take care of official business first.”
“I don’t know, Arnie.” I leaned against him, seeking comfort. “I think I’ve disappointed him one too many times. You know how by-the-book he is. I went too far.”
“That’s bullshit, darlin’,” he began, but I pulled away to fumble in my waist pouch, hiding the foolish tears that stung my eyes.
“I have to phone Dave,” I mumbled, and pressed the speed dial. He answered on the first ring, and I summoned up a cheerful tone. “Everything’s fine, Dave. Can you drive over to Sirius Dynamics? A team will meet you there to unload your cargo. Give me a call when you’re done, and I’ll buy you as much beer as you can drink over at Blue Eddy’s.”
It would be better than dwelling on what I’d lost…
When I hung up, Hellhound appraised me for a moment before speaking. “Ya kicked ass today, darlin’. Hard to believe ya did it all with that hair-pullin’ thing. Does it really hurt that much?”
I pulled the depilator out of my pocket and handed it to him. “See for yourself.”
He flicked its switch and eyed the spinning head dubiously before pulling down his sock to touch it to his ankle. “Aagh, fuck!” He jerked upright, hopping on one foot. “Christ, that hurts like a motherfucker!”
I gave him a smile, letting his clowning cheer me as I knew he’d intended. He turned the device off and pushed it at me. “Jesus, darlin’, why would ya do that to yourself on purpose?”
“It doesn’t hurt that much when you do it regularly,” I explained. “And it hurts worst on your ankle and knee and inner thigh. That’s why I used it in those places on Barnett. If you’d tried it on your calf it wouldn’t hurt as much.”
“Fuck that. I ain’t tryin’ it again.” He frowned. “Why the hell d’ya rip out your leg hair anyway? That’s fuckin’ sick. Leg hair just ain’t that bad.”
I planted my hands on my hips. “You’re saying if you could choose between getting it on with a woman with hairy legs and armpits and one who’d shaved, you’d choose the hairy one?”
A devilish twinkle lit his eye. “Jeez, darlin’, I dunno. Hafta do more research. Line up a buncha chicks for me an’ I’ll start testin’.”
“Yeah, right.” I leaned against him, grinning. “Nice try.”
“Hey, a guy can dream.”
“Helmand.” Stemp’s expressionless voice pulled us apart. “I need to speak with Kelly privately. And you’re needed at Sirius to help document the prisoner intake.”
“I’ll meet you at Blue Eddy’s afterward,” I said, and Hellhound nodded, shooting me a look of concern before striding away.
“Walk with me,” Stemp commanded, and set off at a brisk pace.
I followed him down the hall and outside, where a gust of wind-driven snow made me zip up my parka and huddle into my hood. Stemp strode on into the snowy darkness and I hurried to catch up.
A block away from the hospital, he withdrew his hand from his pocket to show me the green light of a bug detector. Slowing his pace, he said, “I want to thank you. And apologize.”
“Uh?” Shock made me stumble over my own feet, and he waited patiently while I recovered.
“I’ll begin with the apology,” he said. “I apologize for seeming antagonistic in the debriefing. I wanted to be very certain there would be no repercussions for you as a result of your… unorthodox methods. An allegation of torture is potentially disastrous. By playing devil’s advocate I made sure that Dermott would back you. Having taken a public stand against me in your support, he’s extremely unlikely to reverse his position on the issue.”
“Oh.”
My tired brain churned through his logic. Always the chessmaster, two moves ahead of everybody else. But he was covering my ass.
“There’s no need to apologize,” I said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you, too, for several things.” A smile warmed his face. “Firstly, thank you for your care and concern over my home and plants. Bud Weems told me what you did. Secondly, thank you for believing in me when I contacted you secretly.”
He sobered. “Your trust both honours and concerns me. If I had been in your place, I doubt if I would have reacted that way. But a good agent relies on gut instinct, and in this case it served us both well. I hope it continues to do so.”
“And lastly.” He stopped walking and turned to face me. “Thank you for guarding the secret of Katya and Anna. As you probably guessed, I wasn’t entirely forthcoming in tonight’s debriefing. When I realized I had been recognized as George Harrison, I knew Katya and Anna could be endangered and I left immediately, putting their safety ahead of national security. That is…”
He hesitated, his mouth flattening. “…clearly contrary to the letter of my job description, but to be perfectly frank, I don’t care. My family comes first. I’ve relocated them and given them different identities. The mission with Interpol was secondary to my true motivation, but it worked out well nonetheless. So thank you for your discretion.”
I nodded. “I thought it might be something like that. I’m glad they’re okay. And I’m glad I don’t know where they are anymore. They’ll be safe now even if I get captured and… coerced.”
“Yes. And that brings me to ask you a tremendous favour.”
Aw, shit.
I braced myself. “What is it?”
He eyed me gravely. “May I entrust you with their new names and location?”
I stared at him in silence for a moment. Then I closed my dangling jaw. “Why the hell would you do that? You just got them safely hidden.”
“Life is uncertain.” His dispassionate tone never altered. “If something should happen to me, they would never know whether I had been killed or captured, or if I had simply abandoned them. I would like to spare them that uncertainty. You could contact them in the event of an emergency or accident.”
“But…”
He fixed me with his intense amber gaze. “I understand the significance of what I’m asking. But it would mean a lot to me. And to them.”
I stood for a moment, grappling with the urge to refuse. I didn’t want to be responsible for more lives. I didn’t want to acknowledge the lengths I was willing to go to protect them. Trying to save Kane’s life had been bad enough. To have a child’s life on my conscience?
No.
No, no, no.
But to let a child believe her father had heartlessly abandoned her?
I sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll send the information via the secret communication system on your computer. Be prepared for a transmission tonight.”
I nodded and turned back toward the hospital, the weight of responsibility bowing my aching shoulders.
“One more thing.” Stemp’s voice halted me.
God, now what?
I turned to face him. “What?”
“I should advise you that Kane has requested reassignment.”
I stared at him, the winter wind slipping like a dagger through my parka and into my heart.
“Kelly?” Stemp frowned. “Did you hear me? Kane-”
“Doesn’t want to work with me anymore.” The wind howled through the black empty space enclosed by my ribs. My numb lips spoke of their own volition. “Yeah, I got it. Is that all?”
“Actually, no.” He gave me a narrow-eyed appraisal. “You need to maintain a low profile until we’ve completed all the arrests and finished tying up the loose ends pertaining to Parr, Fuzzy Bunny, and Volslav. I would suggest witness protection or a safe house…”
He raised a hand at my incipient protest. “…but I know you would oppose it. However, I have another assignment which I believe is an excellent fit, and it is also in the nature of a personal favour to me.”
“What is it?” My words came out completely flat.
&
nbsp; “Reactivating my George Harrison cover came with the risk of drawing attention to myself in my current persona. I’ll deal directly with any personal threats, but I fear repercussions to my loved ones.”
“You just relocated Katya and Anna,” I pointed out. “If you don’t tell me where they are, they’ll be perfectly safe.”
“I don’t mean Katya and Anna. I mean my parents.” He sighed. “Despite our fundamental differences in ideology, they are… dear to me. I would like you to stay with them for a few months to ensure their safety.”
“Stay…?”
“Yes. It solves several problems. Firstly, they live in an extremely isolated area with little connection to the outside world, so it would be a relatively safe haven for you until the situation with Fuzzy Bunny settles. Secondly, they are…” He grimaced. “…unfortunately knowledgeable in dealing with someone suffering from post-traumatic stress. If you don’t accept this assignment, I’ll be forced to place you on administrative leave and mandate treatment for you, and I know how much you wish to avoid that. If you accept this assignment, you can call in to Dr. Rawling for phone consultations, and my parents will support you through the nightmares, anger, anxiety, or other symptoms you may be dealing with. And lastly, you can protect them should the need arise. I doubt it will, but…” He shrugged. “As you know, I prefer to be prepared.”
My mind steadfastly refused to comprehend his words. I stared at him for a moment before inquiring faintly, “You want me to move to a hippie commune?”
He laughed, startling me back to reality. “Precisely.”
My brain slowly rebooted. “But only for a couple of months.”
Spy Now, Pay Later Page 36