Ryan hung up the phone with Hawkins feeling unsatisfied. The disappointment of the unknown sample was crushing for him, but Hawkins hadn’t been that surprised. Though most agent’s profiles were in the database, and they were all supposed to be there, some of the agents who had started at the NIA before DNA profiling became common, as Parabellum likely had, had not yet been entered, for a variety of reasons. Some samples had been collected but not yet processed, given the backlog, and some agents had simply never made the time to go and give a sample. No one pressed them for it too hard, especially if they didn’t work in the field. It was far from a perfect system, and, as Hawkins had put it, ‘if you were a serial killer, how eager would you be to give that sample?’ He certainly could understand the logic, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating. Hawkins had tried to cheer him up, telling him that the sample was likely Parabellum, and if they could just identify him, they could compare the profiles then, but frankly identifying Parabellum had been the goal of the DNA profiling in the first place, so he wasn’t exactly jumping up and down over that. DNA was worthless without someone to compare it to. Hawkins told him that she would likely be finished with the rest of her work and be heading back to the city by tomorrow. Until then, he was in limbo, waiting to see if she would get any more leads for him to run with. Sighing, Ryan fished out his keys and left the building. If there was nothing important for him to do, he might as well at least get a good night’s sleep. Approaching his car, he realized that that might end up being a problem. Leaning on his hood, running her fingers through her silky hair, was Amanda Clark. Seeing him, she pushed off the bumper and waved casually.
“Amanda! What are you doing here?” Ryan was surprised, to say the least.
He had thought, after their last conversation, that he would never hear from her again. He had even convinced himself that it was for the best, now was not the time to get involved with her, seriously or otherwise. But still, he couldn’t deny that he was more than a little bit glad to see her. It had been a long while since he had met someone he felt this way about, they had a spark between them, an instant attraction. It drew him to her almost irresistibly. It was too bad that the situation was so complicated right now.
“I felt that I needed to talk to you in person,” she walked over to him. Her perfume smelled delicately of passion fruit and vanilla.
“I don’t think…” Ryan hesitated, unsure of how to handle this.
“Don’t bother,” she interrupted. “I talked to Ethan, he told me what he did. I am so sorry. I can’t believe he would pull something like that, again. I don’t blame you for being a bit put off by the whole thing.”
“I…”
“He used to do this all the time when I was a teenager. It’s tough to get a second date when your over-protective older brother carries a gun. I made sure he understood that I do not appreciate his interference. Then, I needed to find you, both to apologize, and to find out for sure if that was what happened between us, because I thought we had chemistry. Didn’t we?”
“Oh, we definitely have chemistry,” he replied, without thinking.
“Really?” Amanda twirled her hair around her finger.
“Of course.”
“Then have dinner with me tonight. I’ll even cook for you, to make up for my brother. It is the least I can do.”
Ryan groaned; he had walked himself right into that one. He desperately wanted to say yes, to leave with her. She was one of the most amazing women he had ever met; she was gorgeous, but it was more than that, she was smart and confident and… there was just something about her. He even liked that she’d come here tonight. She had guts and she went after what she wanted. That kind of self-assuredness was very attractive. Maybe after all of this was over… but for now he knew he shouldn’t.
“Oh, I really want to, I do, but I shouldn’t. I mean, your brother…”
Amanda interrupted his carefully thought-out excuse by leaning in and pressing a finger to his lips.
“Come on, where is the harm in one dinner?”
“Amanda, I like you, but this would be a bad idea,” he protested.
“Well, don’t you want to be bad with me?” she teased. “My brother is not my keeper, you know. I choose who I spend time with. I talked to him very sternly. That will never happen again.”
“Still…” Ryan hesitated.
“Look,” Amanda coaxed. “You don’t need to decide right now. But can I ask you for just a little favour?”
“Name it,” he replied.
“Could you at least give me a lift home? A friend dropped me off here, but they had to leave, and I could really use a ride,” she looked up at him with those violet eyes, imploring him.
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“Alright,” Ryan relented at last. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to just take you home. Since you came all the way here for me.”
“My hero,” Amanda grinned, and climbed into his passenger’s seat.
Ryan drove her home in silence, trying to maintain a distance between them. Amanda watched him with a bemused look on her face. She knew exactly what he trying to do, and she actually seemed to view it as a challenge, one she was clearly determined to win. He could tell that Amanda was the type who was used to getting what she wanted. When they pulled up in front of her apartment, she turned to him,
“You don’t have to worry about what Ethan thinks, you know.”
“I really do. I mean, we work together,” he couldn’t very well tell her that Ethan wasn’t the only one who’d told him to stay away from her.
“I’ve actually decided that it’s best to date only the men Ethan doesn’t like,” she continued.
“Why?”
“Oh, Ethan means well, but he has terrible instincts in that department. The only man he ever approved of for me was my ex-husband. And look at how that turned out,” her eyes glittered mischievously. “I guess we just have different taste in men.”
Ryan laughed.
“Don’t tell him I said that,” Amanda said suddenly. “He’d hate to think I don’t want his advice.”
“Oh, I doubt it’ll come up,” Ryan chuckled. “Your brother really doesn’t like me much.”
“Oh yeah?” She leaned in and whispered gently into his ear, “Then I bet you’re perfect for me.”
Ryan’s heart beat faster; he turned to look at her, his face almost brushing hers.
“Walk me to my door?” she asked softly.
Ryan knew if he did that it wouldn’t end there. He had known the first moment that they met that there was something magnetic between them. Even that first night, he’d felt like he had known her forever. He really had tried, but he was weak, and he couldn’t say no,
“Ok, just to your door.”
Then he opened the car door for her and walked her into the building.
It was late, approaching midnight fast. Adam Collins had just turned off his desk lamp and was closing his briefcase to go home when the door to his office burst open and James Darien rushed in unannounced. He looked agitated, his face was pale, and he was breathing hard.
“Assistant Director,” Darien struggled to catch his breath.
Collins noted that even in his obviously agitated state, Darien still made sure to emphasize his ‘assistant’ status.
“What is it, Darien?” Collins furrowed his brow. He had never seen James Darien unnerved about anything before, whatever it was must be serious. Collins set his briefcase back down.
“You know how you told me to closely monitor employee activity?” Darien began.
“Did you find something?” Collins’ heart rate quickened. For a moment, Collins wondered if he could have found some information on the killer.
“Well, yes and no. I found something, but it isn’t Parabellum.”
Collins’ face fell,
“Oh, well can it wait for tomorrow then?” Collins sighed, picking up his briefcase again.
“No, sir,” Darien replied. “This needs to be dealt with immediately. We have traitors of a different sort in our midst.”
“Traitors?” his interest was piqued again.
“I have been looking into the activity of the agents on our computer network, as you requested. There is an agent who has been downloading a lot of information from our open organized crime cases. A lot of information from cases he isn’t involved in. Specifically, he has been surreptitiously accessing the names of our undercover agents. Those that are still deep cover in various organizations.”
“My God,” Collins gasped, he knew exactly how this story always ended. “Maybe there is another explanation.”
“That was what I hoped too sir. But I looked closer, and I found this,” Darien handed him a sheaf of paper. “These are financial records for that agent and his partner. This evening, they both received a payment of $500,000 from an offshore bank account. I am afraid that there is only one conclusion to draw.”
“They are selling our agents,” Collins murmured, staring at the incriminating evidence. “Selling their identities to the targets.”
“I am afraid that is how it looks. What do you want me to do, sir?”
“We bring them in right now,” he replied coldly. “I want them back here, alive. If there is even a chance that they haven’t sold all of the names yet, then the sooner we get to them, the more agents we protect. And if we can question them about what they’ve sold, maybe we can pull some of those agents out before it is too late and salvage some of these missions.”
“With all due respect, Assistant Director,” Darien began slowly.
“Yes, Darien?”
“I suggest you give the order to bring them in alive or dead.”
“If they’re dead, we can’t question them,” Collins disagreed emphatically.
“True, but it is a calculated risk. It is likely too late for the agents who have already been compromised. Though we may not find out about it right away, they are almost certainly already dead. If we let these 2 get away, they could sell even more names. I suggest you pull out all of the stops to get them, one way or another.”
Collins chewed on the inside of his cheek, Darien’s logic made sense, but he hesitated to give that order. He didn’t want to be the man to order 2 summary executions without so much as a trial. As if sensing his hesitation, Darien added,
“And considering who one of the agents is, you shouldn’t handicap the people you send after her. She’s dangerous, and she will be desperate, once she learns that she has been discovered. She won’t come in without a fight. I guarantee it.”
Collins realized that he still had no idea who these agents were; to him it seemed like the least important aspect. Whoever they were, they were traitors; they had betrayed their oath to this agency, and they would pay. But Darien’s comment now begged the question,
“Who are they, exactly?”
Darien tossed two personnel files down on the table without a word. No words were necessary, Collins knew the two faces starring up at him very well. Darien had been right, about everything.
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Darien,” he said, trying to sound calm. “You were accurate in your assessment. I will be giving the order, we’ll bring these two back, dead or alive. Call in a retrieval team, now. I want to be briefing them in 30 minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Darien smiled.
Then he turned and left the office. Once he was gone, Collins looked down at the photos again. It wouldn’t be easy to bring these two in, but he would make damned sure that they didn’t get away. Betrayal of this magnitude could not go unpunished.