Page 12 of Shadow
“Martha Lintz had FBI oversight. She’s dead. Roger Rousseau had federal protection. Someone shanked him in prison yesterday. Your oversight doesn’t work when someone inside is selling witness locations.”
Silence on the line. Good.
Daphne pulled on her jeans and started buttoning her shirt. “So either I do this my way,” she continued, “or I hang up and you explain to your superiors why you chose bureaucratic protocols over keeping witnesses alive.”
“What are your terms?”
“I choose the safe locations. I choose the methods. I choose the security protocols. You provide intelligence, but you don’t interfere with my operations.”
“We need oversight—”
“Remind me how Martha Lintz’s oversight worked out again?”
Pause. “Fine. Operational autonomy. What else?”
“Double my normal rate. Ten thousand a day plus expenses.”
“The FBI doesn’t have that budget—”
“You want your witnesses to stay alive?”
A beat. Caroline’s exhale came through the phone with frustration and resignation. “Done. What else?”
“Final say on all decisions. If I say they move, they move. No debate. No second-guessing.”
“Agreed.”
“Right to walk away. If I determine federal involvement is too compromised, I extract my clients and disappear. No questions asked.”
“You’re asking for complete independence.”
“I’m asking for what it takes to keep them alive.”
The pause lasted longer this time.
Daphne pulled on socks and her hiking boots, then started lacing them.
“Fine,” Caroline said. “But we need our man with you. Someone we trust.”
“I’ve been alone since I left the Marshals Service.” Daphne stood, walked to the bathroom, and pulled the drain. Watched her eucalyptus bath swirl down into nothing. “I don’t need anyone screwing up.”
“There’s two of them. You need backup.”
Maybe.
“You’ll work with our local agent. Asher Morrison. He has intelligence on Shadow Syndicate operations.”
Something nudged her. “What kind of intelligence?”
“He’s the agent assigned to the case.”
“How do I know he’s not the mole?”
“He tried to save Martha. But…yeah, there’s some rumor inside the agency about him. Could be dirty.”
“Send me his file.”
“Already done. Check your email.” Caroline’s voice shifted. “Like I said, Morrison was at the courthouse this morning when Martha was killed. Attempted to intervene. Witness statements say he knocked into the shooter. May have saved the marshals’ lives.”
