Assistant Director Collins leaned back in his large, plush desk chair. He was of the opinion that the quality of one’s office furniture was directly proportional to one’s importance, and so he always made sure that his was of the finest make. It also had the added benefit of intimidating the people he met with, sitting in their tiny guest chairs. It never seemed to intimidate his Chief of Security though, Collins reflected, watching James Darien standing in front of him. He always insisted on standing when he came to Collins’ office, placing himself slightly above Collins in stature. The AD was sure that it was a psychological tactic, but maybe he was just being paranoid. Either way, Collins ignored it; Darien was his inferior, he knew it very well and cheap tricks wouldn’t change anything. Letting it bother him only gave the other man undue power.
“You wanted to see me, assistant director?”
“Yes, Darien. I wanted to talk to you about the Parabellum case, but you understand that this must be kept strictly confidential, we can’t afford this leaking.”
“Of course, sir.”
“You have been here as long as I have, Darien, so you must remember each of these incidents.”
Darien nodded,
“How could I forget them, sir?”
“So, you know as well as I do the effect that the spectre of Parabellum has on this organization. People are already terrified, and with every incident it gets worse. Word of his reappearance has obviously leaked, despite our best efforts, and everyone is on edge, wondering who will be the next to die. But now things are beginning to get out of hand; we actually have an anonymous tipster claiming that Parabellum is one of our own,” Collins pause, letting Darien process the information.
Darien looked shocked and the director couldn’t blame him.
“None of our men could be responsible for this,” Darien replied confidently. “Someone is just trying to play games. Hell, it could even be from the killer himself. Trying to instill doubt, cause more panic and paranoia.”
Collins nodded, considering it.
“I hope that you are right, Darien. I don’t know if this is just one of his games, or if there is some truth to it, but what I do know is that we can’t afford to ignore anything at this point. That is why I called you here.”
“What can I do, sir?” Darien seemed eager to help.
“I am going to entrust this part of the investigation to you, Darien. I need you to tighten security on the building. I don’t want anybody coming in or out that you don’t know about. No one from outside is to be allowed into this building unescorted, ever, no exceptions. I also need more of your people reviewing the security footage. If anyone is acting suspiciously, you come to me immediately. If our guy is on the inside, I need you to find out about it. Can you handle that?”
“Of course, director,” Darien replied confidently. “If there is a rat in our house, I’ll flush them out. No one knows this building, or the people who work here, better than me.”
“Good. I knew I chose the right man for this,” Collins smiled.
“But I can assure you, sir, I control everything that goes on within these walls, and there is no way that this could be an inside job. Absolutely no way.”
“I am sure that is true, James. But the fact remains that we cannot afford to discard a lead, no matter how tenuous,” Collins sighed. “Parabellum has snubbed his nose at this agency long enough. You and I, we are both beginning to approach retirement age, we may not get another chance to see this case through and close it out. This time, I say we end it.”
“Of course, sir” Darien nodded slowly. “I am certain that this incident will be the last.”
With that, the man turned and walked briskly out of Collins’ office.
The exhaustion was like nothing Ryan had ever experienced before. He had been working for weeks straight on this case by now, no breaks, no time off, barely any sleep. A normal case was never like this. Suddenly, it was like he was working 2 jobs, riding his desk at the NIA all day, he came home only to work with Hawkins until late into the night, poring over evidence, photographs and case reports. The pressure of the new case, and the impending disaster that it entailed, only made it worse. He knew they needed to crack this, but Ryan wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this pace up without any rest. But what else could he do? They had limited time and resources, so he just had to keep on pushing. Today he wasn’t even going to take his lunch hour. Hawkins wanted to get the case files from the other 2 agents that had been killed in those ‘muggings’, and she wanted them immediately. So now, instead of eating, he was rushing into her building with the files tucked under his coat. And those files had been hard to obtain. With the arrival of Hawkins’ anonymous tip, the agency had gone on high alert. Word was that they were sceptical of its authenticity, but were treating it as genuine until they determined otherwise. Now they were suspicious of every agent doing anything unusual, which was very bad news for the two of them and their highly unusual investigation. Ryan was having more trouble than usual getting around unnoticed. But he had finally obtained his prize, and so it was that he was knocking on her door. As he entered, Hawkins looked him over critically,
“You look like shit,” she concluded matter-of-factly.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Ryan replied sarcastically.
“You get the files?”
“Yeah, I got them,” Ryan collapsed into a kitchen chair, rubbing his temples. “Here.”
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Hawkins took the files from his hand and flipped through them quickly. Ryan watched her carefully; if she was as burned out as he was, there was no hint of it. Her eyes glittered eagerly as she looked through the pages, already considering what she might find in them. It made him feel weak; she was working just as hard as he was, if not more so, rarely stopping to eat or sleep, but she just seemed to feed off of the pressure in a way that he didn’t. Like it energized her. Satisfied that everything was there, Hawkins tossed the folder down on the table and turned back to Ryan.
“Seriously, are you alright?” Ryan was surprised by the hint of genuine concern in her voice.
“Yeah, I just need some sleep, I guess” he mumbled.
“Well, these will keep me busy for today. So, I’ll tell you what; don’t worry about coming by again tonight. Take the night off, get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you if I’ve found anything. Ok?”
Ryan opened his mouth to refuse the offer, just on principle. But he knew he would be more help to her if he had a night to recharge, so he swallowed his pride,
“Thanks, I’ll do that. Just, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
“Deal,” Hawkins agreed.
“Well, I’d better get back to the office before they miss me,” Ryan got to his feet.
“Hang on just a sec,” Hawkins stepped closer to him. “We need to make this look good.”
“Again? Is that really necessary?” he whined.
“You rushed over here on your lunch hour and then rushed straight back right after. How is that going to appear? This was your idea, you know.”
“Fine, just make it quick.”
Normally he wouldn’t complain about a woman putting her hands all over him. But on the whole, it was a very frustrating experience. Still, he couldn’t fault her logic, so he just stood there and tried not to think about it, while Hawkins kissed his neck and collar, leaving fresh lipstick prints on his crisp white shirt. She pulled open his shirt and moved her lips over his chest. Then she scattered a couple of strands of her hair on the shoulder of his shirt and jacket. Giving him a once over, Hawkins seemed satisfied with her handiwork.
“Now, if anyone is suspicious about where you went, they will get their answer easily enough.”
“Good. I’ve really got to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ryan excused himself hastily and headed back to his car.
Gently fingering the spot where she’d kissed his neck, he sighed. She did it so mechanically, but it was the most action he had gotten in weeks. That was something else he hadn’t had time for lately, and Hawkins’s games were only adding to his frustration. He had considered calling Mia for a bit of R&R, but that was impossible now. As soon as Cross had gotten word that Parabellum was after him, cognizant of the killer’s track record, he had his partner, reassigned overseas, hoping to remove her from harm’s way. Ryan was glad that she was safe, but he missed having her around. Ryan tried to push the distractions from his mind; there were more urgent concerns, after all.
As Ryan returned to the agency and re-entered the lobby, he heard a commotion coming from by the security checkpoint. Turning the corner, Ryan saw a woman arguing with one of the guards.
“I am just here to meet my brother. I come here all the time. What do you mean you can’t let me in?” the female voice was clearly irritated.
Ryan recognized her. The blonde from the elevator. It looked like she was back for another visit.
“Look, ma’am, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you,” the security guard said.
“Obviously,” she snorted. “What I want to know is if anyone can help me. I really am in a jam here.”
In spite of his better judgement, Ryan just couldn’t resist. He had regretted letting her walk away the first time, maybe this was his second chance.
“What seems to be the problem?” he asked casually.
“Oh, hello Agent Stone,” the security guard greeted him cordially. “Ms. Clark says her brother is an agent and they are supposed to meet for lunch, but we don’t have anyone to escort her to the visitor’s room. We’re overtaxed these days, you know how it is. So, she’s just going to have to wait outside. We can’t have her wandering the building unescorted.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she muttered. “What am I going to do? My brother’s phone is off, and he always keeps me waiting forever. Please, it’s raining outside, I took the bus here and I only have 45 minutes left for lunch.”
“Maybe I can help you out. I’m going that way anyhow, why don’t you let me take her up?” Ryan told the guard.
“Oh, you wouldn’t mind?” the guard looked relieved; it seemed that he was already tired of dealing with her.
“Not at all, you security guys have enough to worry about these days.”
“Thanks, Agent Stone. Just drop her off in the third-floor lounge, they’ll take care of her there,” the guard turned back to deal with the rest of the people waiting in the lobby.
The new escort rules were really jamming up the works down here, it seemed. Ryan turned to the woman,
“I can take you upstairs now, if you’d like, Ms. Clark,” he smiled his most charming smile.
“Thank you. Agent Stone, is it?” she smiled back, a perfect, blindingly white flash of teeth. “It is good to see you again. Looks like I was right, you are a cop.”
“Please, call me Ryan.”
“Well then, I’m Amanda,” she rested a hand gently on his forearm, flirting. “And I really appreciate you helping me out.”
“No problem,” Ryan pressed the button for the elevator. “You are good company on an elevator ride, after all.”
“So, what do you do here, Ryan?” she asked as they waited.
“Oh, well that’s highly classified,” he teased.
“Really, you can’t tell me anything?” she coaxed.
“Well, I could, but then I’d have to kill you,” it was an old line, but it always worked on civilians. “And we really aren’t supposed to tell reporters anything. In fact, I’ve probably already said too much.”
“What makes you think that I’m a reporter?” she seemed surprised.
“Oh, I’m a trained investigator, I can tell these things,” he smirked. “Well, that and your press badge is sticking out of your bag there.”
Amanda Clark flushed slightly and pushed the badge deeper into her bag, hiding it away.
“Very clever, Ryan.”
“Why thank you,” he chuckled. “So, what brings you here, really?”
“I really am here to meet my brother. But I never say no to a good story, either. I hear things are getting pretty interesting these days.” She leaned in closer and whispered in his ear conspiratorially, “So what about it, can you tell me why security is suddenly so tight around here? It wasn’t like this the last time I came. And my brother never tells me anything.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it,” he feigned ignorance.
“No? That’s too bad,” she pouted.
“Oh, that’s very good,” Ryan laughed. “I bet you get a lot of stories that way.”
“I get my fair share,” she admitted.
The elevator arrived at the 3rd floor, and they walked out into the hallway. Ryan led the way down the hall to the authorized visitor waiting room.
“I appreciate you bringing me up here. Is there any way I can thank you?” she spoke quietly, forcing him to lean in closer to hear her. “I know, let me buy you a drink tonight.”
“I still can’t give you a story,” he smiled sourly.
“Hey, even a reporter’s got to take a break sometimes,” she replied.
“That’s not what I hear,” Stone joked.
“Well, if you really don’t want to…” she twirled her hair around her pinkie finger.
“O’Reilly’s at 8?” he asked.
“I’ll meet you there,” she smiled.
Then she turned and walked into the visitor’s room. Ryan wondered briefly what the hell he was thinking. But he did have the night off, so why not? After all, you can’t work all the time.