Page 181 of Claim Me
"And what does Marcel ever want? Manipulation, guilt-tripping, and threats."
A moment of silence. I sigh and rub my temples.
"He didn’t say anything surprising, except he repeated something I’d already heard from him, that he has powerful allies and that he’s still on his mission."
I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. "I regret not pushing him further, although I doubt he would’ve told me more."
"I don’t think so either. He wouldn’t reveal his cards." Blue steps a little closer, standing by the sink.
"During the trial, Detective Arnold did some digging through social media and phone connections, looking into his links with different groups. Marcel showed up at a few Beta Empowerment meetings. At one of them, even the ex-capo, Anzo Ferro, was present, but it doesn’t look like he had any deeper connections with the BE leadership. Other than that, Arnold gave me a list of various pages and organizations Marcel liked. They were mostly environmental groups, especially the more aggressive ones, but nothing that stood out in any significant way."
I stay silent, and probably my skeptical expression prompts Blue to ask, "Did he ever mention anything? Any prospects?"
"He sometimes fantasized about collaborating with several groups, like NeverTrue or NFH, but nothing ever came of it. However, he knows how to stay hidden, to cover his tracks and stay discreet. If he wanted to cooperate with some kind of domestic terrorist organization, I doubt the police would find evidence of it easily. Marcel is not stupid. He had a very clever way of operating."
Blue narrows his eyes slightly.
"I would never accuse him of being stupid. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been interested in him. And his defense in court was nothing short of brilliant, that has to be acknowledged."
I look away again, fixing my gaze on the mirror, where I see my still-damp face. Blue’s face beside mine seems strangely calm.
I speak with emphasis.
"Marcel was an excellent strategist. Honestly, he would have made a great general. He thought ahead, anticipated consequences. His plan to attack the laboratory was actually very good, bulletproof… if not for me, the weak link. He overestimated how invested I was in him."
"I can imagine that he followed his own moral system without considering that other people have different values."
"Yeah. In every other respect, Marcel was nearly flawless," I say, then realize how that must sound to Blue.
He asks in a slow tone,
"You admired him. His mind."
I fall silent for a moment. I didn’t want to take the conversation there, but I can’t lie.
"Yes, I admired him. There was a certain greatness in him that I lacked. The same is true for you," I add immediately. "Some people feel jealousy toward those who are better than them in any given field, but that was never me. It drew me in."
Blue stays quiet, then gives a faint smile.
"Interesting. Most people are drawn to a beautiful body, and you’re sexually attracted to brains?"
I let out a soft chuckle.
"You could say that, although in your case your body doesn’t fall behind either," I add with a teasing smile and take a step closer to him.
A thought forms in my mind, something important I need to tell him, something that’s been bothering me for a while.
"Blue, the threat involving Marcel should not be dismissed easily. You mentioned before that you’d reinstate the additional bodyguards, so they could go with us whenever we are outside the building. Will it materialize?"
Blue sighs and straightens slightly, lifting his hand to rub his neck. He does it absentmindedly, but there’s a certain persistence to it, like it’s itching.
"Yeah. I was hesitant since my previous chief of security was compromised by the Ferros. I have very low trust in them, but… maybe it’s a lesser evil after all. I’ll reach out to their current company. After I let them go, I recommended them there, so we should be able to use their services again."
"Wait. You fired them but got them another job?"
Blue raises his brows. "Of course. I didn’t fire them for misconduct. Why wouldn’t I help them?"
I blink dumbly.
