"Three; there were numerous agents, not just from your organization at Theodore Roosevelt High, who in spite of the overwhelming evidence they had been given, knowing that a minor had been abducted and being aware of Sinclair's grand plan of using his well placed followers and stolen funds to infiltrate the government, allowed Sinclair to announce his plans of being the Grand Puppet Master and then failed to stop a crazed teen with a knife from stabbing my granddaughter?"
"With respect Ms Riley, there was a slight delay in getting all the necessary paperwork, and no one could have possibly have guessed that Ms Fields would have been able to bring a weapon to the school." The last few words were barely audible, as if he had realized just what he had said.
"There was a clear and present danger that supersedes the need for paperwork, not to mention that fact that I was able to disarm two assailants before the first of your agents arrived on scene. And where exactly is this undercover operative who seems to have disappeared?"
Realistically she knew that it was unlikely she would ever discover the identity of the person who had been undercover, but she would still make sure that her displeasure was known to the top brass in the agency.
There was a knock on the door and the petite agent, Evie, from the hospital walked in, a speculative gleam in her eye, that Mimi found herself admiring, perhaps this one had potential after all.
"Forgive the interruption, but Mr Henderson is looking for you. Agent Oliver has taken his statement and the trash has been taken out as well."
This reference to the rogue agent made Mimi smile, and she just hoped somehow word of his double cross got out to his fellow inmates. She might even have to make some calls to make that scenario a reality, especially if Nate showed any signs of regressing in his recovery.
From her conversations with Agent Oliver she was certain that he would make an excellent accomplice in this activity. He was also working to make sure that the charges of child abuse against Sinclair and all the henchmen involved were fully prosecuted, that there was no way the men would escape punishment for the years of terror and pain they had inflicted on Nate, on young Maddie McKenzie, who even now was still in hiding.
"Ms Riley," Evie began. "Can I just say that it has been an honor to meet you, and I really appreciate your lesson earlier this week." She must have looked confused because Evie continued.
"The way you brandished that walking stick, the effortless way you took those men out of the equation, not to mention how you incapacitated Robert, well it proves a point about using others weaknesses against them."
"If you mean their stupidity in thinking I wasn't a threat, their foolishness in not questioning my sudden but rather obvious need for a walking stick then yes you are correct, I used their weakness against them." Mimi paused, wondering if she should add to the lesson, then thought why not.
"Listen to me, both of you. The agency does good work, there are excellent agents in all levels, and in challenging times people have risen to the occasion. My problem is when people become complacent, when they are so focused on the win that they don't fully consider the cost of their actions, or in this case in-actions."
"In the future, if you don't agree with a plan or an idea, if you feel as if there is another way, a better way to achieve your goals then speak up. If that goes unheard or is ignored then go to your superior, or their superior, and if you really need to, as a last resort, ask them what Margaret Riley would do, and that might just make them pause long enough to see sense."
Silence greeted this statement, but she could see that both were taking in every word she was saying.
"Now there is still a lot of work to be done, the agency is going to need to clean house, to make sure there are no more surprises. I can't do that for you, nor should Nate be expected to do that. We need to focus on healing our town, on repairing the damage, on weeding out any lingering threat stemming from Charles Sinclair. There is a missing girl and a fugitive on the run that needs to be found, and that is a task for you and the other legal departments to do."
She smiled then. "You both show promise, so take this chance to prove your worth, to the agency but more importantly yourselves. When all of this has been dealt with, we can visit properly, and I might even be persuaded to teach a class or two at the academy, if you think people would be interested?"
She was assured that a lot of agents, not just trainees would attend, and then with some final reassurances that she didn't hold them personally responsible for the failings of those in charge, they left the room and she had a few minutes to herself.
"Mimi?" She heard the uncertainty in Nate's voice, the worry and she hated that it was there.
"Are you ready to go see your girl?" She asked, hoping that the joking tone of her voice might lighten some of the tension in the atmosphere.
"Like you won't believe." She watched as he seemed to struggle with something before speaking again. "I just want to spend a few hours with her, being a normal kid, watching some silly movie, not thinking about anything other than being with her. Is that selfish?"
"Of course it's not selfish Nate. Remember what Jack and I have always told you, there is no right or wrong way to do anything, just whatever works best for you in the moment. So why don't we grab some snacks and like the rebels we are, stay past visiting hours?" The smile he gave her was all the reward Mimi needed.
Maybe some day she would tell him about her past, about her time with the clandestine agency, and how the night of the pep rally might have been so different.
For now though she wanted to give him his night of normalcy, he had more than earned it.
CHAPTER FORTY
The sun was unseasonably warm, but Grace was not complaining. She had finally been discharged from hospital, and even though she would need some follow up appointments, her last set of scans had been very promising. Her wounds were healing nicely, there would be some scarring but so long as she was careful, there should be no further problems.
The majority of the pain was also gone, and Grace was happy that she was finished with the heavy duty pain medication. Sure there was still some tenderness, and it would take some time to build up her strength, but before leaving the hospital she had been introduced to a physiotherapist who would work with her as she continued to recover. She also had the name of a couple of counselors should she feel the need to talk with someone about all that she had experienced.
Thankfully her tests had shown no remaining signs of concussion. Her doctor had reminded her that she still needed to limit her screen time, but honestly that was not so much of a hardship.
Silver Glade was still a topic of speculation and gossip on most networks and websites, though for the most part the local population were remaining silent. In fact most of the information that had leaked had been attributed to former F.B.I Agent Frank Midler, who was currently being held at an undisclosed location.
From what Mimi had told her, the man was singing like a bird in the hopes of getting some kind of deal from the prosecution. Sadly for him, he had yet to give them anything they didn't already know, but other Sinclair henchmen had been made aware of the rat in their ranks. It might seem extreme and unfair, but it was the least the man deserved for what he had done to Nate.
Currently her boyfriend was deep in conversation with Jack, and from her seat on the decking she could just about see the reflection of the unmarked police car that was part of her new normal.
Maddison Fields was still missing, she was proving to be a very resourceful person, and as far as Grace could tell, her attacker had already been making plans to run, even before the Pep Rally. She wanted to feel sorry for Maddie, for the way she had been used by Sinclair and her own mother. It couldn't have been easy to have to give up your real identity, to pretend to be someone else, especially when the charade had first began.
Ms Fields had been only too happy to talk about her daughter, how clever she was, how talented she was to fool the town for so long, incl
uding family members of the girl she had replaced.
The investigators discovered that Sinclair's original plan didn't count on the real Maddie's mother rescuing her daughter. The trip to Europe was to allow her time to heal from her initiation night, while completing her indoctrination into Sinclair's world.
The day before the trip it became clear to Ms Fields that something was not quite right with Mrs McKenzie, that she didn't appreciate the honor being shown to her daughter. A plan formed in Ms Fields' mind, one that she was quick to put into action, all without telling Charles Sinclair about, until the switch had been made, and the real McKenzie duo were gone.
First Ms Fields was punished, and then when it was clear that the switch would not be questioned she was rewarded. After all what could possibly go wrong by making your abandoned child take the place of their half sister, who had since birth been pampered and fawned upon.
From what Grace had put together, her former teacher had developed a severely unhealthy obsession with Nate's stepfather, when he had helped her to conceal the existence of her daughter. She was willing to do absolutely anything if it made him happy, and Sinclair had used this to his advantage for years.
Even now with all the charges she was facing, the years she would spend in jail, the fact that her daughter was on the run, nothing seemed to change her opinion of the man. When she had been asked about her part in Grace's kidnapping she showed no remorse towards the her victim, only that her beloved Charles had not been able to have his time with the little girl.
That nugget of information had convinced Grace that she no longer wanted to know what was being said, that she already had enough actual memories in her head, without letting her imagination run riot over what might have been.
Moving to the back of the deck, she watched the sky begin to change, vivid oranges and reds that made her want to grab her camera. She stayed where she was, remembering a conversation that had happened when she was still in hospital...
"Hello lovely, you're looking much better this afternoon." Mimi said in greeting, and Grace could see that the agent from the specialist unit was with her. This confused her, as she had been certain they had all the information needed. She hadn't remembered anything new, and she had been through the additional tests they had requested.
"Sorry to disturb you Grace, but there's something we thought you would like to know," Helen said, while pulling a chair to the side of the bed.
"Have you found her? Maddie?" She hoped they couldn't hear the slight edge of fear in her words, but the girl had stabbed her and was clearly unstable.
"Unfortunately not. Although it is about her, in a way." Helen paused for a moment, pulling some papers from her bag.
"As you know, all the information that Nate has been collecting has now been handed over to us. We've been able to use it as a starting point for the various cases we are now dealing with. Nate has told us how you have been helping him."
"He's just being polite," she interrupted the agent.
"Actually he's not. He showed us the photograph at the airport, and we were able to use it when we questioned Annie Fields. She has been happy to talk, to boast about all that she and her daughter have done for Charles Sinclair."
While she was happy to hear that her teacher was cooperating, it still didn't explain the agent's presence in her room.
"As part of the case we also took some blood and DNA samples; we needed to be able to show that a swap had taken place, that Annie Fields is who she says she is, that kind of thing. In the course of that part of our investigation, there was another interesting discovery. That's why I'm here today."
"To tell me the results?" Grace clarified, looking at Mimi for some kind of help. For once the older lady remained silent.
"That's correct. The lab has found out, that you Grace share certain DNA markers with Annie Fields. We have triple checked the tests, and the results are correct."
"How is this even possible?" She was stunned, none of this made any sense. There had to be some kind of mistake.
"Your father was adopted as a young boy wasn't he?" Helen asked, her voice kind.
"Wait, are you saying that Ms Fields is my aunt? Because that would make fake Maddie my cousin. Did they know? Is that why she hated me so much?" She was reeling from all the possibilities.
"To the best of our knowledge neither Annie or Maddie Fields are aware of the connection." Grace slumped back on the bed, her head swirling at the idea of being related to not one, but two of her attackers. She had no doubt that even if they did have prior knowledge of who she really was, it would have made little difference to what had happened to her.
"Lovely, do you remember your reaction when you saw the photograph first, when you recognized the watch?" Mimi asked. "We were able to track the shop where the watches were bought. Now the original watchmaker has died, but his son was able to show us copies of the bill of sales. There were only ever two watches made with that specific design, it was a special commission, and we believe it must have been your father's birth parents who bought them."
"It's a lot to take in, I realize that, but we felt it was important that you knew."
"Will you tell Ms Fields?" If Grace had her way she would keep that secret locked away forever.
"We believe that right now it would be too dangerous for that information to be made public. You can tell your family, and those you trust, but the smaller the number of people who know, the better it will be. At least for now."
"Thank you. For telling me, for giving me some answers, and for letting me keep it private." She tried to smile, but it felt forced.
"The record in the shop had no personal details about who ordered the watches. Just a phone number that has been disconnected for years. If, at a later date you would like to try and find out more, when things have settled down, then I would be more than happy to help."
She thanked Helen for her offer, for taking the time to visit in person with her news.
There were other conversations that she would have liked to have avoided or forgotten about. There had been phone calls from some of her fellow students, some were genuine inquires about her health, but others were not as pleasant. The callers were only hoping to hear some inside information. Or to share some of the lurid details with her, such as the how the former principal of the high school had been found in possession of certain illegal materials.
The entire school board was being replaced, all the teachers and staff were being vetted by one of the alphabet agencies, and a full security sweep had been done to ensure that there were no hidden cameras anywhere. She wasn't sure how much faith she had in the F.B.I given that they had not discovered Sinclair's rogue agent until Nate had unmasked him, but for now she would give them the benefit of the doubt.
The football team was officially disbanded, this was not a surprise to her, considering that the coaching staff and two thirds of the team had been charged with various crimes and were waiting on trial dates to be arranged.
Mark Hammond, as well as the other two players who had abducted and assaulted Grace, were being charged as adults, having turned eighteen prior to the crimes they had committed.
Hammond, via his lawyer had tried to persuade her not to press charges, that her reputation would be ruined, that she would never be forgiven for destroying the lives of boys who hadn't really hurt her.
As the lawyer had let himself into her hospital room to have this excuse of a conversation, she had not felt in the least bit guilty about having him removed in handcuffs to spend the night thinking over his actions. Nor did she have any regrets in sending Mimi to have a polite conversation with him the next day.
The whole episode with Hammond's lawyer had convinced Grace that she had to help with the changes the town needed to make. For too long certain people had felt safe in their actions because of the family they belonged to, while others had stood back either too afraid to speak out, or convinced that no good could come from rocking th
e boat, especially as far as the founding families were concerned.
She had spoken with Jack and Mimi about this, and as she'd expected they were on board with her ideas. Fear and complacency had almost brought Silver Glade to it's knees and that had to change if the town was to survive.
"Hello my Belle," Nate's arms wrapped around her, and she allowed herself to sink into his touch. She tried to hide the way she shivered when his lips brushed her cheek. They had not had much time together, and usually there was always some kind of serious discussion taking place.
Not that she wasn't fully committed to ensuring that all of the evil was weeded out, but still she was also selfish enough to want some time to just be a teenager. So for the next five minutes she did exactly that, she stayed silent, enjoying being held so close to Nate's body, neither of them talking, just soaking up the comfort they found in being close to one another.
It seemed strange that she hadn't really known him all that long, that since their first meeting it had been like she had jumped on to a roller coaster blindfolded, never able to see the many twists and turns along the journey.
There had been nights in the hospital when he had thought that she was asleep, when he'd apologized over and over for all that had happened to her. She'd heard the regret in his voice, his pain and guilt, that in spite of his efforts she had been caught up in the drama. She never once blamed him, and she was determined to show him this.
Tilting her head up to look at him, she trembled as his lips nuzzled along her throat. She moved slightly, offering him better access and he followed her lead.
As always seemed to be the case, the world seemed to melt away and they were soon engaged in one passionate kiss after the other, only this time it felt different.
More urgent.
More meaningful.
Just more.
Nate was feeling the same if his whispered words between each kiss were anything to go by.
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