Page 29 of Deadly Alliance

Chapter Twelve

Emme watchedthrough the glass as Bea approached Bolton. The man had so much dried blood on his face he was hardly recognisable. What surprised Emme was apart from that he looked okay, no obvious wounds except maybe the black eyes and cut lip. He looked straight ahead as Beatrice moved closer to him. His hands and feet were zip-tied to the bolted-down metal chair.

His appearance made her wonder what kind of torture techniques they had used on him. Even she knew that some of the most brutal ones would not leave visible marks and she shuddered slightly at the thought.

Shane must have felt her shudder as he stood behind her and he moved closer to her back, offering his silent support. She’d had to go to battle with him to get in here and watch the interrogation. Zack had backed her, giving her permission as her superior and that had trumped Shane in this situation. He wanted her to learn from it and she was grateful that he had belief in her.

Shane had not been happy about it a silent message had passed between the two men and he had relented. The sound came through the speakers in the wall as Beatrice spoke.

“You know me, don’t you?” she said as she approached the man. Not a single emotion passed his face. “It’s strange because I don’t remember you at all. Whatever our association, it was forgettable.”

Not a flicker from the man opposite. Watching from a purely professional point of view was fascinating. It was as if Bolton was in another world, where nobody and nothing could touch him.

“Well, I can go back to forgetting you, now you are here and can do no more harm than a bug.” Beatrice turned on her heel and walked away without a backwards glance. The door opened beside them and she walked in.

Zin turned to her and spoke, “Anything?”

“Not a thing. I can honestly say I don’t remember ever meeting that man in my life.”

Zin turned back to the window, his arms folded across his massive chest.

“I’m almost impressed. He’s clearly had extensive training. Where did you say he received this RTI training?” Shane asked as Emme continued to watch the man.

“Will is still digging. The original document that states what type of training he had and where has been redacted. After speaking with Zack though, I would say UK intelligence services.”

“I agree,” Zin said. “I’m going to make some enquiries with some of my contacts and see if I can get a lead on this guy. The report we have seems to show some major gaps in his whereabouts which would fit with SIS.”

“Fine,” Beatrice said as Emme watched her leave.

The feeling in her gut told her something was off, but she couldn’t finger out what it was. Maybe it was just her way of trying to keep Shane close. The thought of him going home and not seeing him again filled the pit of her stomach with lead.

She studied him as she followed him out of the observation room and back towards the tech room. He was such a contradiction—warm and cold, fire and ice. He wanted her, she knew that, but was it just sex or were the gentle touches and soft words signs that he cared more deeply? She didn’t know, and it was driving her crazy because what she did know was that she was falling for him hard, if she hadn’t already.

She wasn’t even sure when it had happened or if it was real. Maybe it was a side effect of working so closely together. She hoped so because him leaving was going to hurt a fuck load more than she had thought it would otherwise.

The two teams were now gathered around the conference table as they waited for Zack and Bea to come out of Zack’s office.

“How’s the head, Luce?” she asked as she turned in her seat to look at Lucy who sat beside her, Jace on her other side.

He had been hovering ever since she had been hurt. The love between those two was evident for anyone to see, but it was the way he treated her like an equal. Often, she had seen him defer to Lucy about something on a mission planning meeting because Jace recognised that sometimes she was better than he was. Despite his training and abilities, he saw her, and he adored her. That was what she wanted for herself.

“Okay, just a lingering ache now. I’m angrier with myself for getting caught out like that. It was a rookie error and one I shouldn’t have made. Let that be a lesson, Emme. You never stop learning and you’re never too good at this job.”

She mulled over those words as she watched her boss walk in followed by Beatrice. He looked pissed off and she wondered if they’d had words. He strode towards the head of the table and she turned to look at Shane, who shrugged his shoulders. He had been quiet since his return from the mission. She wondered if he too was feeling regret about his imminent departure.

“Okay, everyone, Bea and I have discussed the situation with Bolton and given the information we have, we feel it best that Fortis take it from here. The evidence we have suggests that Bolton is our man. I am fully aware that this is not concrete and some of us have doubts, but until we get something to suggest otherwise, we feel he is our man. Bea and her team will leave this afternoon and of course, we will keep you all updated as things progress.”

Emme was shocked by this and the feeling that something wasn’t right returned, especially given the tension coming from Zack. Beatrice, however, seemed calm enough and that gave her pause. Maybe this was nothing to do with this mission. Zack was usually more inclined to go over the top to prove someone was guilty not this half-assed attempt that was happening now.

Her eyes caught Beatrice looking at her and she returned the look. Beatrice was challenging her, but she didn’t know why.

“Any questions?”

“Yes,” Emme replied without thought. “If we are unsure we have the wrong person, why aren’t we looking further?”

Zack eyed her carefully. Emme could feel the silence in the room; it was dense with an undercurrent of tension. “Bea and I believe that Bolton is responsible and as such, there is no need for Bea and her team to remain.” Zack was very exacting in what he said and as her boss, she would not argue with him. But as they all stood and moved towards the door, the bad feeling she had remained.

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