She was anxious, and I couldn’t expect any different. I knew what he’d been to her and I meant it when I told her years back, I wasn’t trying to replace him but now…what if I couldn’t measure up to what they had?
‘What if they find out that we know?’ She asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
‘We’ve got a few people on the inside I trust; they’re keeping their ears on the ground for us.’
‘What about Daniel? We could use him.’
‘We are, I asked Josh to keep it off the books. I’ve tasked him to an information gathering mission.’
‘What information?’
‘Remember Reicher?’
‘How could I forget?’
‘Well, he wasn’t just searching for a Divine Sensitive for the hell of it.’
‘I figured.’
‘He knows more than we do at this point which is bad for us.’
‘You think he was responsible for Paris?’
‘I’ve no doubt. Same guys, right? The black-eyed soldiers.’
‘Yeah.’
‘But, since he got away without you, and he has unfinished data from that safe, I’m betting he’ll be coming back into the picture sooner rather than later.’
‘So, Daniel’s searching for him?’
‘Yes.’
‘Wow,’ she smiled. ‘You really are running the full show.’
‘You did say we were the A team.’
‘Definitely proving me right.’ She grinned. ‘What about the info we did manage to get?’
‘Well that’s going to be a bit trickier. It’s still under Belfort’s thumb. I don’t know how to get to it without tipping him off at this point.’
‘Won’t he want to help us? He’s already on board for the rest of this isn’t he?’
‘He is, but this goes further up the food chain, doesn’t end with him.’
‘How high?’
‘As high as it gets.’
Her eyes widened. ‘The president?’
‘Unfortunately.’
‘Shit.’
‘It’s not the worst news.’
‘Really?’ She looked skeptical but humored me. ‘How?’
‘Although he’s still answering to the White House, the Pentagon still has their own division required to view everything before it filters up.’
‘You want to intercept it.’
‘Intercept and switch.’
‘You’ve got someone on the inside?’
‘Double agent.’
‘Who?’
‘Remember my friend, Dan?’
‘The Dan you waved to at the Agency years ago?’
‘The very same one. Didn’t think you’d remember.’
‘That whole week is vivid as anything in my mind, not something you really forget.’
That was true, it was her first encounter with Damon and everything else that would shape her future. It was imprinted into my mind too.
‘If I can get him to intercept it, make copies with Josh’s help and leave false documents instead, we can do this.’
‘No shit. What’s his story?’
‘He went over to the Pentagon for career progression and to be closer to his family, but Elena saw something no one else did. She said there’d be a time when we’d need him. So, when she stepped down, I spoke to Dan, encouraged him to work on our side but stay there.’
‘What did you say?’
‘All I could, told him what Elena said and thankfully he reveres her as much as I do, so he took it as good faith.’
‘Interesting about Elena.’ She mused.
‘How so?’
‘Did she get information from someone?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She told you that that we’d need Dan as a double, how would she have known that?’
‘Maybe she went to the Seer?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You do trust her, don’t you?’
Ace looked at me like the question wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it was, when she remained silent, I pressed her.
‘Ace?’
‘I don’t know who to trust anymore, Ila.’
I didn’t either. That was the reality for us. I sighed and squeezed her hand.
‘Anyway,’ she began, taking a sip of water and then replacing the glass. ‘I’m just paranoid. We’ve already established that. You’ll read everyone in then?’
‘I will. I’ll touch base with Alex tonight and explain the job, by tomorrow we should have some pawns in place and the Bishop in play.’
Her faraway stare made me think there was a lot more she wasn’t telling me and with a little searching, Elena’s name kept coming to mind. My guard went up. Maybe Ace saw something no one else did. I placed that information into the back of my mind, not too far to forget, but enough to allow me to focus on the task ahead.
‘Okay good.’ She smiled. ‘This will be one hell of a job.’
‘Yes.’ I agreed. ‘When we bring you back in, it’ll be business as usual. You and Aurel will team up and work on projects that I’ll assign so I can keep an eye on you both.’
‘You think it’s best to go back to New York then?’ She asked.
‘I think so. If you’re happy to come?’ I glanced up at her.
‘It only makes sense.’
‘We can work out another way.’
‘No, it’s fine.’ She smiled, ‘This is what we need to do.’
‘Okay.’ I nodded. ‘I’ll get some bogus missions written up, so you and Aurel can keep focused on this.’
‘You have full control over assignments?’
‘Mostly, yes. There are a few instances in which the Board steps up and gives their input.’
‘What about Alex?’
‘We’ll keep him in the shadows, he’s still our best asset on the outside.’ I muttered, looking over her shoulder.
‘What is it?’
‘The man directly behind you has been standing there for the past fifteen minutes.’
‘Waiting for someone?’
‘Doubtful. He was out the front of your apartment yesterday too.’
‘Should we leave?’
‘No.’ I smiled, keeping the conversation as light as possible. ‘Don’t want to spook him.’
‘Do you think it’s a tail?’ She asked.
‘Most definitely. He seems to be speaking to someone.’
‘On the phone?’
‘No, earpiece.’
‘He’s definitely a non-Sensitive, though.’ She said.
‘You can tell from here?’
‘I can.’ She nodded, taking a sip of water.
‘Impressive.’ I smiled. ‘We should order.’
Ace nodded, looking over the menu, once we’d both decided, I waved the waitress over and placed our orders.
Without any further activity from the man aside from his attempts at being inconspicuous, the food came, and we ate, we talked, reminiscing about the Agency and her first days on the job all while keeping an eye on our stranger in the street.
It was somewhat surreal, that this is where we now sat. After so many threats, so many people who’d attempted to rip us apart and somewhat succeeded, but he we were. Together. She was stronger than ever, and I loved her more than I ever thought possible.
Whatever came for us next, we’d be ready. I wouldn’t let them end this.
The word around us continued and no one knew what was on the horizon. Ace’s eyes were taking in the surrounding streets, her mind miles away, but mine was right here, grounded beside her, exactly where I was meant to be.
Finishing up, I paid, leading her back out onto the laneway.
‘Is he still tailing us?’
‘Yes.’ I wrapped my arm around her waist. ‘We need to get off the street.’
‘Back to mine?’
‘I think we should stay away from there for now, see if we can get him alone. We should however, contact the others, get them to see if anyone else is on your apar
tment.’
‘Got it, I’ll text Alex.’
Effortlessly, she continued the charade, after the text was sent off, she replaced her phone and then linked her fingers through mine.
Hailing a cab, I opened the door for Ace and slid in after her.
‘Where y’all headed?’
‘We’re here on our honeymoon, what’s romantic to see?’ Ace asked sweetly.
The driver gave us a smile that was missing entirely too many teeth and handed her a small brochure. She flicked through it and picked a location. ‘Take us here please.’
‘It’s not really the most romantic spot, love.’
‘We love history.’ She grinned sheepishly.
‘Yes ma’am.’ He nodded, pulling into the flow of traffic. ‘Lots of history in this city, that’s for sure.’
‘Perfect.’ She leaned back in the seat.
Behind us, the man who’d been following got into a cab and pulled in behind us.
Whatever he was doing, we were going to get our answers.
The driver entertained us with a range of random topics of conversation which Ace eagerly contributed to.
I sat back and watched her with fascination. This woman was perfection personified. She was brave and gentle yet humble and fierce.
Every time she smiled, every time she laughed, I felt my heart swell with love for her.
There was a strong aura that flowed around her, and it didn’t take a Sight Sensitive to see it, you could feel it.
Her presence, her existence was so powerful it filled every space around her, Sensitives and non-Sensitives alike were drawn to her, she was like a star with her own gravitational pull.
How I’d lived the last eleven months without her, was a miracle. She was everything to me, and I’d be damned if I gave up now.
***
Ace
The cab pulled into a smaller side street and when Illarion paid the driver, we both stepped out into the bustling sidewalk. The lake had become my favorite place in DC, I’d often come here to run and clear my head but today it would serve a different purpose.
The Constitution Gardens were alive with people, it must have been the warm weather mixed with the time of year creating a perfect cover for us as he continued to follow.
He knew we weren’t tourists, but that wasn’t what mattered, the general public did, we blended in with the civilians and that was the goal—we had ourselves and my own conscience to answer to if things went bad, and I wasn’t allowing my previous arrogance to get in the way, the risk was too great now.
Illarion wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the walking path right beside the water.
‘He’s still on our tail.’
‘Good.’ I kept walking. ‘There’s a memorial building coming up, we’ll slip inside, hopefully he’ll follow.’
‘Civilians?’
‘It’s not often busy there, we should have a clear window.’
‘We’ll have to make it quick. Can you sense anyone else?’
‘No, no one yet.’
‘I highly doubt he’s flying solo.’
‘I know,’ I frowned, looking around. ‘That’s what worries me.’
‘Keep walking. We have to get out of the open.’
Illarion turned and checked a few times as we walked around the bend, smiling at a few other couples who walked past us and finally as the memorial building came into view, I twisted my fingers through Illarion’s and walked up, over the grass toward it.
‘It’s clearing up.’ I nodded toward the now almost empty space. ‘Should we go in together?’
‘I don’t want to split up, it’d be arrogant to underestimate whoever this guy is.’
‘Fair call.’ I agreed. ‘We can find a vantage point in there.’
He tightened his hold on my hand and led me into the small building. I stepped through the walkway over the threshold and pulled Illarion inside. For a few minutes, we stood in silence, holding each other so to any other person walking past, we would have looked like any other couple just getting away from the crowds for a private moment.
As we moved deeper into the space, the muscles in my chest tightened which I’d learned early on, alerted me to a sinister presence.
Illarion’s hand tensed around mine. ‘What is it?’
‘Someone else just joined the party.’
‘Who?’
‘Can’t tell, Sensitive though.’
‘Interesting, another unmatched duo.’
‘Yep. I’m starting to think this isn’t coincidence.’
‘Same here.’ Illarion nodded to a dark corner up the back of the memorial. ‘Do we need to abort?’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘We can handle it.’
‘Okay.’ He nodded, pulling me deeper into the space.
As the two individuals stepped inside, I tensed and Illarion’s voice sounded in my head.
“We’re about to have company.” I said. “They’re surrounding us.”
I glanced around the corner and slowly slipped back beside Illarion.
“We need to move to the back. Now.” I instructed.
“Go.”
The voices from passersby outside still echoed through the walls, but as we moved further into the concrete fortress, the sounds grew sparser and the light, dimmer.
Illarion nodded to me, marking our usual formation—he took the left and I moved over to the right and knelt.
We didn’t have to wait long though, the Sensitive stepped around the corner and thanks to my shield being stronger than theirs he didn’t know where we were, the other guy came a few moments later and both Illarion and I jumped into action.
A blitz attack stunned them both. The Sensitive gave Illarion a good fight while I took the non-Sensitive out without much more than a strategically placed right hook.
He dropped like a stone, crumpling at my feet. I moved before he could fall and smash his head on the concrete, gently lowering him. Not only was I being a good citizen, I was also lowering the risk of someone else hearing a grown ass man hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Illarion and the Sensitive threw a few more punches at each other until finally, he was down and Illarion cuffed him.
When I raised my brows at him, he smirked. ‘What?’
‘Always just carry cuffs with you?’
‘Never know when they might come in handy.’
‘I bet.’
He grinned, turning back to the other guy, cuffing him too.
‘Well, that was anti-climactic.’ I expelled a breath.
Illarion knelt, rummaging through their pockets coming up with two wallets. He tossed me one while he looked through the other.
‘Jack Whiley.’ He muttered. ‘Florida license, doesn’t have anything else on him.’
Kneeling beside the non-Sensitive, I rummaged through his wallet and then his pockets and waist band. ‘This guy is, Ian Palmer, and he has this cheeky little side piece.’
Illarion raised his brows.
‘Haven’t seen a Desert Eagle in a while.’
‘Neither have I.’ A frown formed on my face. ‘What do we do with them? I’m thinking a line of questioning is in order when they come to.’
‘I’ll call it in. I don’t see us carrying two unconscious men out of here without many eyes on us.’
‘It would be quite a sight.’
Illarion laughed. ‘I’ll be back, stay with them.’
‘Got it.’
When Illarion disappeared out the front, I knelt beside them, checking the cuffs again. Satisfied that they weren’t going anywhere, I looked through Palmer’s wallet again. The guy literally had no cash, a few dollars but that was about it and a ton of pictures of a small, blonde girl. In a couple of them, he was with her, smiling with a wide, happy grin.
My stomach churned, who was this guy and why was he working with these creeps? He had a family for God’s sake, a child to go home to. Anger quickly replaced my remorse for him, some people had no id
ea how lucky they were.
Looking through the rest of his stuff, I found a photo of me in front of Dahlia’s, taken from across the street. He’d been following me, maybe Alex’s guy saw him around. I made a mental note to ask him about it.
‘Agency clean-up crew are two minutes out.’ Illarion said, bringing my attention up to him.
‘Good.’ I bit, shoving everything back into his wallet.
‘Everything alright?’
‘Yeah. Fine.’ I lied. ‘I’ll keep watch.’
Illarion didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. God, we’d both known each other too well. I rushed outside, plastering a fake smile on my face as random strangers walked past. I occupied myself with taking pictures on my phone, pretending to take selfies and when I spotted the Sensitives, disguised as maintenance crew, a few yards away, I gave them a knowing look, stepping aside and letting them in.
‘Here to contain the leak.’
‘Just down the back boys.’ I heard Illarion say.
Illarion came outside and joined me as they continued their clean up and maintenance of the imaginary leak inside the building.
‘I saw the pictures in there.’ He said quietly.
He didn’t look at me, but his hand wrapped around mine.
‘Sorry.’ I smiled, casting a quick look at him.
‘Don’t be.’
‘Think it’ll ever get easier?’
‘I think it takes time.’
Letting out a long breath, I conceded.
‘We should go.’ Illarion said finally. ‘Let them do what they have to, we’ll meet up later and you can question them.’
‘Okay.’
***
Ace
Ian Palmer and Jack Whiley sat in silence, handcuffed in separate interrogation rooms.
Illarion and I stood outside, with Belfort watching through the one-way glass while Matt interrogated Whiley and Peyton had her shot with Palmer.
It should have been me in there.
‘You were following an agent of the FBI.’ Peyton began, keeping her voice even and appearing disinterested on the surface. ‘I’m sure you understand that’s a federal offence.’
Palmer didn’t budge.
‘You’ve also been carrying an unregistered weapon with no license. Now I know you know that’s not good.’
He looked up at her this time.
‘And finally, you were found in the company of a known felon. That in itself is enough for me to hold you here, you know what that means?’
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 25