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Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Viktor, my boss from the agency.
Aww fuck.
“Viktor.”
“Did you see 04’s message?”
“I did.”
“I had 06 check out what she was doing before the chat went corrupt.”
“And?” I held my breath, knowing this would not be good. If Viktor had another analyst check up on her, it wasnotany indication of anything good.
“She was digging again, Reynolds.”
I groaned and paced in front of the window, rubbing my temples. Of course she was. She just couldn’t keep her head down and do the work. She was always getting bored and seeing how far she could push the limits. “What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing. I’m sending a team in.”
Shit.
“Just wait a minute.” I snapped.
“It’s already done. I’ve dispatched the team.” Viktor said calmly, though I could sense a hint of pleasure in his voice.
“Viktor, just wait a fucking minute.” I frantically searched, looking for a way to stall him. “Come on. There’s got to be another way.”
“The other way is that I cut her loose all together.”
“If you cut her loose…” I searched for a way to reason with him. As the sentiment settled, I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by cutting her loose. This was not good. Not good at all. “She’s done everything we’ve asked, at least consider dropping the terrorism charges then.” I paused, and Viktor said nothing. “She’s good. You know that. We need her.”
“She’s messy, and she continues to step outside her scope, Reynolds. She’s a liability. And if she can’t keep the terms of her contract, then I can’t keep the government from pressing charges.”
“Just give her one more chancefor me.” I pleaded. I never pleaded. But for Emma, I pleaded. “You know she’s the best on the team.”
“Fine, but this is the last time I’m granting her special treatment after this. She’ll be your responsibility. You’ll be accountable for her actions.”
“Done. So you’ll call off the team?”
“No.”
“For Christ's sake. Viktor, she’s hardly a buck sopping wet. She doesn’t need an entire team.”
“She needs to learn a lesson. You know as well as I do, there are consequences for stepping outside of scope.”
I clenched my hand at the thought. He was right. I did know the consequences. If the agency had any doubt in you… you were either intimidated into submission, tortured into submission, or just eliminated all together.Iwas equipped to handle that.Iwas strong enough to take the literal beatings and to withstand the psychological torture.Emma,on the other hand, was not. She didn’t choose this life. But being in this life did give her choices. It was this, or prison. And Emma, spunky as she was, was not built for prison. “Who did you send?”
“The usual.”
“Who?” I demanded, as I anxiously watched her house through the blinds.
“James, Brandon, and Andrew.”
“What the fuck, Viktor. She doesn't need three guys.” I leaned against the wall, feeling my stomach sink. If they were going the intimidation route, it could get ugly, really quick. My stomach clenched at the thought of her at the mercy of all three of their hands. With someone as small as her, things could get out of hand quickly. Too quickly. Those guys were used to bringing men like me to tears. Men like me, who didn’t cry for anything, ever. If they applied even a fraction of the force I knew they were capable of, she might not recover.
No, I couldn’t let him send them. I paced in agitation. There was only one way to protect her now. “I’ll do it.”
Viktor sounded pleased. “You’llgo?”
