‘That’s your prerogative. You know the agents there better than anyone.’
My nerves spiked again, I couldn’t lie, and I couldn’t in good faith choose someone I didn’t trust. And those I trusted I’d said goodbye to.
‘Director Illarion Lazarev and Agent Aurel Arcos.’ I kept my voice even. ‘They’re the best.’
‘Okay.’ He nodded. ‘Get in touch with them and if they agree, get the files ready. We’ll brief the team tomorrow morning.’
‘What about the other request Belfort mentioned?’
‘Not needed at this time. We’ll see what we can achieve with your men, might not need anything further.’
‘Got it. I’ll be ready.’
When I moved to leave, he pressed a hand to mine. ‘How are you doing?’
‘I’m fine, we got out okay.’
‘I’m not talking about yesterday.’
Glancing away, I sat back down.
‘I’m okay.’ I shrugged. ‘Making the most of it all.’
‘You came to DC for a reason, I get that.’ He poured us each a glass of water and set one in front of me. ‘It’s been almost twelve months, and you haven’t said a word.’
‘There’s nothing to say.’
‘I beg to differ.’ He gave me a pointed look. ‘What about the nightmares, your power. You haven’t touched the Darkness.’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘And I won’t, not again, not after New York.’
‘The dreams are getting worse.’
‘Don’t they always?’
‘That they do.’ He said wisely. ‘But you shouldn’t feel like you’re alone in this.’
‘What do you want me to say? To open up, have a d&m?’
‘You don’t need to have a d&m, but you can talk to me, I’m on your side.’
‘I know you are.’ I nodded. ‘And I appreciate it, but there isn’t much to say; I left New York because I couldn’t be there anymore, I transferred here because I enjoy working in the field and I’m trying to rebuild my life.’
‘And how is that going for you?’
‘Are you asking because you care or because you think I’m a liability.’
‘Both.’
His lips pursed into a tight line, a subtle smirk peeked through though. I appreciated his honesty.
‘Well, it’s not going to be a problem, David, I’m holding my shit together and I’ve even started going out again.’
‘I’m glad.’ His mouth quirked into a smile. ‘You’re a bright young woman, Ace, you’re exceptionally good at your job and I don’t want to see you fall down a slippery slope from which I know there is only one way out.’
I swallowed the lump in my throat and the very real image of what he was talking about.
‘Trust me, kiddo, I’ve been there, seen the bottom, and it took a hell of a lot of strength to crawl my way out.’ He looked away for a moment and then looked up with a warm smile. ‘You’ve got people who care about you, don’t forget that.’
Riley got up and held his hand out, signaling the end of our uncharacteristic chat.
As I left, I didn’t know whether I was shocked or relived. All I knew was that I was going into the next job with a lot more strength than I had before.
***
That strength Riley had given me, was temporary, so it seemed. I must have dialed and hung up about thirty times.
My palms grew sweaty and the knot in the pit of my stomach became more like a damn boulder.
Clearing my throat, I finally talked myself into being a mature adult and made the call. It was his private line linked directly to his office at The Agency. Somehow calling him on his personal line at home, seemed too intrusive, too familiar.
The dial tone made my heart race and then, like all the air was punched from my lungs, I heard his voice. And all at once, every emotion I’d suppressed, every memory and every feeling rushed right back into me and bowled me over.
As I released a slow and calculated breath, I gripped the edge of the table and closed my eyes.
‘Director Lazarev.’ His voice came through, the subtle accent, the subtle roughness.
‘It’s me.’
A deathly still silence filled the line and then I heard his breath catch.
‘Ace?’
‘Hi.’
‘Hi.’ He said softly. ‘I, how are you?’
‘I need you,’ I said and then quickly corrected myself. ‘Here, in DC. The director asked me to contact the Agency, I need two field agents.’
‘Okay.’ He said hesitantly. ‘Who do you have in mind?’
‘Aurel and you,’ I said, mentally kicking myself. ‘If that’s possible. I understand you might have prior engagements-’
‘When?’
‘ASAP.’
‘Ace…’
‘It’s just on a consulting level for now.’
‘Sure.’ He replied dryly. ‘I’ll let Aurel know.’
‘Great. I’ll brief my team and have the details forwarded to you both.’
‘Ace, wait.’
‘I’ll speak to you when you get here.’
Before he could say another word, I disconnected the call and threw my head back groaning in frustration. Idiot. That was a disaster and I probably sounded like a complete moron.
It took a good fifteen minutes for my heart rate to slow to normal and a few more minutes for my face to stop shining like a damn tomato.
God. I slapped my palm to my face and shook my head.
At least I had the rest of the afternoon off to complete their personnel files.
Keying in my lower Agency clearance codes, I pulled up files on Illarion and Aurel and of course, a great, high definition picture stared right at me. My throat dried up and I quickly scrolled down condemning it to the ether.
Perks of being on lease to the FBI meant that I still had some of my old files on the Agency intranet, using what I could, I spent a few hours putting together a file for each of them. Everything from their evolved Sense to their preferred method of combat and weapon of choice. When I was done, I sent through the files to Belfort and shut everything down.
On my walk back to my apartment, Belfort confirmed his approval and sent me the required time frame for their stay in DC. Sending that through to Illarion, I held my breath and waited, and when his message came through, my heart sunk when all it read was:
“Thank You.”
I wanted to slap myself.
Get it together, Ace. If I couldn’t be on the ball now, how was I going to handle seeing him tomorrow?
An urge to go out and get stupidly drunk washed over me and of course, my better judgement failed me, I picked up my phone and called Matt.
***
Nursing a mean hangover, I groaned in deep regret when I sat down at the meeting room table. Matt handed me a coffee, placing it in my hand when I struggled to lift my head up.
‘Drink.’ He said. ‘You’ll feel more alive.’
‘I don’t think anything can make me feel alive right now.’
‘You drank three bottles of vodka on your own.’
‘That many?’
‘Yeah.’ He chuckled, clapping me on the back. ‘Guess your super genes really do make you better than us.’
‘Stop.’ I muttered. ‘Stop trying to make me laugh.’
He smirked, taking a drink from his cup. ‘Why are you here so early?’
‘Why are you?’
‘Do you always answer questions with more questions?’
‘Do you always avoid answering?’
He grinned. ‘Couldn’t sleep. Kept throwing up. What about you?’
‘I’m running the briefing this morning. I had to prepare.’
His brows shot up, disappearing into his hairline.
‘Yeah.’ I took a sip of coffee. ‘That was my reaction too.’
The door slid open and Belfort came in followed by Peyton and Riley, each gave me a curt nod before taking a seat.
Every nerve inside me was quivering
and whatever confidence I’d tried to build up kind of disappeared like the three bottles of vodka last night.
Before I took the floor, Belfort stepped up to the front and handed us each a tablet.
‘As of yesterday, we’ve pieced together some information about the recent chain of attacks on both Sensitives and non-Sensitives. What this means for us is that the FBI are no longer able to keep this in house. I’ve asked Agent Hart to contact the Agency and put together a file about the agents who will be joining us—Agent Hart?’
‘Thank you, Director.’ I began. No one here knew the depth of the message we’d recovered and the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became. ‘I’ve contacted the Director of the Agency yesterday and requested two agents on a consultancy level. They’re due to land in DC later this morning. In the meantime, I’ve put together a personnel file for both agents to cut the introductions.’
Each agent opened the files and I caught a brief smirk on Peyton’s face when Illarion’s file came up.
Keeping me eyes dead ahead, it took everything in me not to roll them. Returning my attention to my tablet, I brought up the first file and began with the steadiest voice I could.
‘Director Illarion Lazarev—Evolved sense is Thought and Feeling, best in his field in known metric testing. Proficient in four methods of hand to hand combat including Muay Thai, Jiujitsu, Systema Spetsnaz and Krav Maga.’
Awe filled gazes found me as I spoke, Illarion was as impressive on paper as was the man himself. I wet my lips, composing myself.
‘Although Director Lazarev hasn’t undertaken field work for more than six months now, he insisted on joining us on this as a consultant and since he has been a field agent for ten years prior that, he’s invaluable. Further to that he served in Russian Special Forces which makes him deadly on the field and a good resource considering we had a run in with some Russian thugs recently. He is fluent in Farsi, Russian, English and Mandarin. Agent Lazarev is a strategist and genius.’
Peyton’s eyes skimmed the document over and over and a part of me started to get really annoyed.
Thankfully, when I glanced up, I was happy to see that Matt’s eyes were glued to the screen and his attention focused on me, although I didn’t use my power, I could still sense that tiny bit of energy that surrounded everyone like a hum or static buzz.
‘Any questions so far?’
No one said a thing, so I moved on.
‘Special Agent Aurel Arcos—Evolved sense is Sight, again, best in his field in known metric testing. Proficient in four methods of hand to hand combat, and he was Director Lazarev’s original partner and trainer. Agent Arcos has been a field agent for twelve years and is fluent in Romanian, English and Croatian. Agent Arcos is a both a surveillance and tech specialist.’
Again, every eye was wide with awe. Both men were impressive, and their credentials were stellar.
‘Questions?’
Peyton’s eyes shot up. ‘You said original partner.’
‘Yes. Arcos left due to differences of opinion with the then Director, when I came on board, Director Lazarev and I were tasked together.’
When she didn’t speak again, I turned my attention to the rest of the room.
‘Anything else?’
‘What is it they’re helping us with?’ Matt asked. ‘I mean the specifics; we know they’re here on a consultancy level.’
‘Director?’ I turned to Belfort.
‘Sensitives have an ability to sense each other, this will be of utmost importance for us in the field. We’ve been going in blind, so to speak, aside from Agent Hart, we’ve been taking risks going out there with no real way to know what we’re up against.’
‘Does this have anything to do with what was recovered in the safe yesterday?’ Matt asked.
‘It does,’ Riley added. ‘It’s some sort of message, one we believe links directly to the Sensitives, so we need all hands on deck, at least until we know what we’re dealing with.’
‘And we’re blind without them.’
‘Except Ace is one of them, isn’t she?’ Peyton snapped and my eyes darted to her so quickly I thought I’d lose control of the power and zap her. ‘Why can’t she help?’
Thankfully that didn’t happen, but what did happen, was Belfort shooting her down in an instant.
‘You’re out of line, Peyton, take it down a notch.’
Thankful for the backup, I kept my head up and let the conversation continue.
‘With all due respect Sir, how is that different to what we’ve always done. Before Hart and the Sensitives.’ She changed her approach.
‘It’s different because we’ve never lost this many non-Sensitives and Sensitives. We’ve never had to watch our backs from a force we can’t see. We need help and I’m not risking my people when I can get help.’
When everyone else remained quiet, Belfort returned his attention to me.
‘Whatever is going on out there,’ he gestured to nowhere in particular, ‘We are so far out of our depth. We need to know what is killing our people and theirs.’
‘So you’re worried?’ Matt asked.
‘Yes.’ Belfort nodded. ‘I’m worried. I see people dropping dead with no apparent cause, I see people turning up at the morgue with no warning.’
All of those things sent shivers up my spine, all of those things were bad news, unnerving.
‘At this stage we’re having the Agency on loan as consultants. They’re going to look at the cases we have, try to crack that message and in turn, we will help to put the Collectors and non-Sensitives away.’
My train of thought was lost as soon as that familiar hum sparked to life. I pressed my hand over my chest, taking in a long, deep breath, I froze and refused to turn.
‘Are you alright?’ Matt asked quietly, his voice laced with a deep concern I hadn’t heard from him before.
When that simple task called talking, failed me, I nodded and breathed in deeply.
The door slid open and, in a heartbeat, everything inside me sparked to life, all the silence echoing in my head quietened. I didn’t dare turn around.
‘Director Lazarev.’ Belfort stood, holding his hand out. ‘Thank you for coming on such short notice. Your colleague?’
‘He’s checking us in. I thought it best to attend the meeting now rather than make you repeat yourself.’ He let out a low chuckle, the kind that said he was being professional yet approachable and it was also the kind that made my knees buckle and my brain spiral.
And to add to it, all I could focus on was the subtle accent, the warmth of the voice I’d missed for so long, the kind soul I’d forced myself to leave.
Bowing my head slightly, I felt every hair stand on end as his gaze landed on me, his intoxicating aroma filled every pore.
I felt his eyes on me, I felt the heat of his and gaze nothing aside from anger and sadness filled my heart. And from him, I felt the intense questioning, the confusion, the same lack of understanding as the day I left.
Finding the courage to finally look at him, I turned, and my God, if I ever thought I’d be winded by simply looking at someone, I would have thought I’d lost it. But the moment our eyes connected after so long, it was just like the first time we saw each other.
It didn’t take a genius to work out that the brief, incredibly painful moment we stood, looking at each other was filled with agony.
‘It’s good to see you, Agent Hart.’ He said formally, extending his hand.
Facing my nerves, I reached over and the second our skin touched, the static in the room sparked and the electricity floating through the air was charged.
No one said a word, but I didn’t miss the shocked expression on Peyton’s face. Immediately she started questioning how well Illarion and I had known each other, what our history was and whether there was something there now.
Illarion took a seat beside Matt and the entire time Belfort spoke and Matt and Riley continued, Illarion’s eyes didn’t leave me and Peyton’s e
yes didn’t leave us.
Whatever else he said, went over my head. I was completely intoxicated, and it had nothing to do with the vodka.
‘Thank you for coming to DC so promptly, we look forward to working with you.’
‘It’s no problem at all.’ Illarion said with a smile, looking at me.
Belfort concluded the meeting and I couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Unfortunately for me, Illarion anticipated my move and slipped out before I could get far.
‘Ace.’
‘Illarion.’
‘Have you got a minute?’
‘I really don’t.’ I wrapped my hands around my tablet.
‘I just thought we could catch up over coffee?’
Instinctively, I shook my head and hoped that someone, preferably Matt, would somehow appear to save me from this conversation. No one came.
‘Sure.’ I barely whispered.
When he stayed frozen in spot, I realized that he had no idea where to go. Of course he wouldn’t, this was his first visit to DC.
‘We can get coffee downstairs.’
‘That sounds great.’ He smiled and motioned for me to lead on.
We took the escalator down, a few agents nodded at me as we went past, and despite the easy atmosphere my nerves wouldn’t settle.
I walked toward the counter and greeted the barista.
‘Usual?’
‘Always.’ I smiled. ‘And an espresso.’
Illarion shifted beside me and shot me a look when I paid for both.
He took the coffees and we walked over to a free table by the window overlooking the courtyard.
When we sat, a heavy silence filled the small space.
‘You look really good, Ace.’ He said finally, that familiar penetrating gaze found me and tore all my walls down.
‘You do too.’ I said quietly.
He smiled, keeping his eyes solely focused on me.
‘I like your hair.’
I’d forgotten that I’d cut it short when I moved here, the last time he saw me, I had long, flowing hair, almost down to my waist and now it sat just above my collar bone and it was almost blonde—the hairdresser here loved foils. It was a good change, small things I had to do to make myself feel in control.
‘The color is really nice.’ He blushed, then looked down.
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 2