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A little of the elationthat Amber felt at her triumph faded then, as thoughts of the meeting to comeintruded. Six months on from the day when she and Simon had captured ColmO'Rafferty and the repercussions were still spreading out like ripples across apond. Her career still wasn't safe after everything that had happened. She'dinterfered in an investigation that wasn't her own. She'd stolen evidence. Yetshe'd also caught an escaped serial killer when no one else could.
"Okay," Ambersaid. She looked back at the competition as she got ready to leave it. Wouldthis soon be the whole of her life? The way things had been going, she mightwell find herself fired or transferred to a department that would make her wantto quit within weeks. Amber couldn't imagine being transferred to a fieldoffice somewhere, couldn't imagine working apart from Simon.
If so, would she be okaywith just puzzles as her life? Once, Amber would have said that it would havebeen perfect. Once, before she joined the FBI, there had been nothing shewanted more. Designing puzzles had been her life.
Now, though, she knewthat there were bigger things in the world. Amber needed to make a difference.More than that, she had made a difference, and she didn’t want to stopdoing that. It might not be her choice, though. Not when she’d been on amixture of forced leave and desk duties since she brought O’Rafferty in.
“It will be fine,” Simonassured her, obviously picking up on the sudden tension running through Amber’sbody.
Amber hoped so.
***
Agent Palliser waswaiting for them in the conference room over at the FBI offices. She wassitting there with an expectant look, so Amber and Simon went straight in.
“Phelps, Young, sitdown.” There was no hint in her tone about how this meeting was going to go,and that only added to Amber’s nerves. She sat opposite Palliser, waiting forthe older woman to speak.
“Phelps, how’s yourrecovery going?” Palliser asked.
“The physical therapistsays I won’t need the stick much longer,” Simon said. “I’ll be ready to go outin the field in a few weeks.”
“Let’s not get ahead ofourselves,” Palliser replied, and Amber resisted the urge to wince. Was shehinting that things weren’t going to go their way here?
“Let’s start with apiece of good news,” Palliser said. “O’Rafferty’s trial for the murders hecommitted after his escape has come through. He’s also been moved to a highersecurity facility to prevent anything like that from happening again.”
That was good to hear.Colm might already be looking at spending the rest of his life in prison, butAmber wanted there to be some recognition of what he’d done to those aroundher. He’d killed so many people close to her, had come so close to killing Simon,that there had to be some punishment beyond just going back to serve hisoriginal sentence.
“Phelps, if yourphysical therapist is willing to sign off on it, then I’m also willing to bringyou back onto active duty as soon as you’re ready,” Palliser continued. Shelooked over to Amber. “Which brings us to you, Agent Young.”
Amber resisted the smalltremor of fear that was threatening to run through her body.
“In the course of theO’Rafferty case, you stole evidence, you interfered with another agent’sinvestigation, and then, when you had information that your partner was indanger, you didn’t call that in. Instead, you went off to deal with it byyourself. Agent Mallory was most insistent that you should be fired.”
“Only fired?” Ambersaid. The last Amber remembered, Mallory had been pushing for her to bearrested over the missing evidence.
“Well, no,” Palliseradmitted, “he was insisting on more. He even went to my superiors withit all, which is why this process has taken so long. You’ll remember that Itold you before that you were on your last chance, Young?”
Amber nodded, feelingher fear growing about what Palliser was going to do.
“And I don’t likerelationships within my department,” Palliser said. “Not between partners, atleast. It complicates things too much. In this case, it meant that you ran offalone to take on a serial killer. Both you and Phelps could have been killed.”
“But we weren’t,” Simonpointed out.
“But you weren’t,”Palliser said. “Which is why things have turned out a little differently to theway Mallory expected.”
For the first time inthis conversation, Amber dared to feel a small degree of hope.
Palliser sighed."The fact is that you caught a killer no one thought would be brought tojustice anytime soon, Young. You and Phelps have done more than that. You'vecaught a bunch of killers, and you're far too valuable a resource to let go. Ieven have the NSA calling me because they want to make use of your expertise. Iexplained to them that if I allowed that, it would be on a strictlytemporary basis. You’re too valuable to my department for me to let you go.”
“So, I’m not beingfired?” Amber asked.
Palliser shook her head.She even smiled slightly. “Ultimately, our superiors care about results. Yougot them. Mallory didn’t. They figured that since your success warranted apromotion and your actions to do it should probably have gotten you fired, thetwo probably balance out.” She fixed Amber with a stern look. “Just.”
Amber breathed a sigh ofrelief. “So I’m back in the field?”
“Yes, although I’dappreciate it if you waited until Phelps is back to full health before chargingafter any more killers. You need someone with you who can rein in thatimpetuous side.”
She looked serious for amoment. "I should say that I've also had offers from plenty of otherdepartments to give you a place there. Organized crime, digital crime, andeven, as I said, the NSA. I told them that I'd put the offer to you. What doyou say, Young? Do you want to go work for them?"
Amber thought about it,at least for a moment or two. She knew that some of those offers would involvelooking at complex webs of crimes, puzzles at least as big as any a killercould set. The NSA would probably have her looking at codes, organized crime atcriminal networks. There was scope to do a lot of good there, and Amber knewthat each one would throw up its own puzzles, with more than enough challengesto keep her occupied.
Amber looked over toPalliser, then to Simon, then back again.
“I’m fine where I am,”she said.
Now, Palliser’s smilebroadened. “That’s what I hoped you’d say.”
There were more thanenough puzzles out there still to solve, more than enough killers determined toset them. As long as they did so, Amber was going to keep finding answers, andthis way, she would have Simon by her side while she did it.
