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“That’s why you came here, you asshole. To see what evidence Zirkov had against you. You’re who I’ve been giving the intel to. You’re the traitor, Sutherland.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
ZIRKOV
Sutherland grabbed Maggie and held her in front of him as a shield, but Zirkov’s brave female whipped her head back and slammed into his face.
“You bitch!” Sutherland grabbed his bloody nose, giving Maggie the opening she needed.
She swung behind Sutherland and kicked the back of his knee, forcing her boss to the ground.
“No one will believe you. Either of you,” Sutherland screamed as she handcuffed his hands behind him.
She searched his pockets until she found the key, then threw them as far as she could in the warehouse. “I’m remembering a lot of details, Sutherland. Like how you assigned me as the liaison officer to GI7afterthey gave Dekar a new identity. You demanded GI7 tell you his location, but Zirkov refused. That was the start of all your problems, wasn’t it? GI7 didn’t record the names or locations of witnesses into the DAA’s servers and you didn’t have access to Galactic Intelligence’s. That’s why you needed me. Someone on the inside of GI7. You used me from the very beginning. No wonder Zirkov never trusted me.” Maggie lifted her head to look at Zirkov. “Why he’ll never trust me again.”
“Maggie,” Zirkov said, not sure how he could convince her he believed in her and always had. Doubt and hurt lingered in her eyes after what he’d put her through. He’d been desperate to prove her innocence and ended up wounding her.
To his surprise, she smiled at him. “You look like you’re going to a funeral, Z. I’m fine, really.”
“I didn’t want to put you through that,” he said softly.
“You made the right call. This confrontation yielded results, even if not the way you expected. Somehow you got past all the barriers in my head, helping me remember Sutherland’s involvement.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Sutherland spat. “You have no evidence. Only the word of your alien lover.”
Maggie kicked him between his shoulder blades, knocking Sutherland flat on his face. When he cursed from the pain, Maggie didn’t smile. Instead, she stared at the male lying on the concrete floor.
“Magdalena, whatever you’re planning, don’t be rash. We’ll prove Sutherland’s working with the og’dals.”
She turned to him, eyes wide and hopeful. “You believe me now?”
“I never stopped believing in you. When you insisted on coming here, I knew Sutherland would arrest you unless I made him see that you had no memory of any crimes.”
“You didn’t know he was the person who did this to me?” She rubbed her temple.
“I suspected another human in Earth Intelligence. Shaunda Cole.”
“Shaunda’s a friend. Why would you accuse her?”
“She’s an analyst with top clearance to all the systems. And you are always talking about her baking. Maggie, I thought she’d been drugging you.”
“Walsh, I have agents all over the place, with orders to shoot if you leave here in anything but my handcuffs,” Sutherland said as he rolled onto his side.
“I’m sure they’ll reconsider when I tell them all about your debriefings,formerAssistant Director. One in particular. One that brought the Grud back to Earth. Zirkov never read me in on anything about the tekklan scientist he had in witness protection, but I followed Ri’Nom and found Dekar’s location. You didn’t know where they hid the tekklan, not until I reported back to you. Days later, the Grud arrived, and GI7 scrambled to extract him to a secondary location off Earth. It’s a good thing they never told me which planet they took him to, or he’d be dead by now. I wonder how many other debriefings I’ll remember in time. Even if I remember nothing else, that one incident is enough to hang you.”
Sutherland paled four shades. She had him.
“And all those women…” Maggie began.
“Women?” Zirkov asked.
“The slave trade never ended, Z. The og’dals you found murdered have been kidnapping and exporting women like they’re cattle. And Sutherland’s the reason they could sneak on and off Earth, even after Planetary Defense activated the defense shield.”
“We can make a deal, Walsh. I’ll destroy the evidence against you and give you ten percent.”
“You think I want to make money off what you did? Unbelievable. You don’t even see how you’ve betrayed more than the people you swore to protect, but all of humanity. And for money! There’s no word for a bastard like you.”
“It was a few women no one will miss.”
