Page 1 of Catch Me
CHAPTERONE
Hannah
They say if you don’t learn from your mistakes, you’re doomed to repeat them. I had no freaking clue who ‘they’ were, but as I looked up at the ugly grey building in front of me, I wondered if I was going to end up a victim of the cliche. Just a few weeks ago, I’d stood in the same spot, on the same busy street corner, filled with the self-assurance that I was going to be delivering the hand of justice. Today, though, doubt clouded my thoughts, and I glanced down nervously at my phone for what seemed like the millionth time in the past few hours.
Still nothing.
I could turn around. I could go back to my apartment, smash the burner phone I was clinging to like a desperate hope, and put the entire thing behind me. Sybil had disappeared. No one had seen or heard from her in weeks, and I suspected she’d gone underground when she realized I was closing in on her. They had temporarily lifted my suspension pending a full investigation, but I could still take a leave of absence. I had vacation days to burn. Whatever happens in the secret hearing today could stay there and I could stay out of it. Preferably somewhere in the Bahamas with a mai-thai and endless supply of sunshine.
I heard the engine before I saw it turn down the street and took a step back as a blacked out Triumph motorcycle flew past me. Simon. My heart stuttered. The imaginary taste of rum and coconut soured on my tongue. It wouldn’t matter how far I ran, leaving Simon to rot in a prison he didn’t deserve to be in was not an option for me.
Reality crashed through me.
I wasn’t afraid of the consequences of this hearing or that I would likely lose my job forever. I was afraid of seeing Simon again. Of seeing the accusations in his eyes, or worse. Not seeing anything at all. He’d poured his heart out to me in Helsinki. Shared all his fears and regrets over how he’d treated me, only for me to turn around and betray them all. I didn’t know if I’d be able to forgive myself, either. But I would do this. I would look him in the eye and take whatever he offered. And then he could disappear from my life and into the shadows where he belonged, like the Ghost he was. Only to haunt me forever.
* * *
I was back in a conference room and I realized I would be perfectly happy if I never saw the inside of a room like this again. Agent Reed sat to my left, shuffling a stack of papers and clearing his throat just about every thirty seconds. I bit the inside of my cheek and tried to keep my eyes trained on the door as we waited for everyone else to arrive. He cleared it again, and I tasted blood.
“Cough drop?” I reached in my purse and pulled out a wrapped cherry flavored drop, sliding it towards him. He looked down at it and then looked back up as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, giving me a blank stare.
“No, thank you Agent Kelly.” And then he cleared his throat again and went back to reading through the papers in front of him. I huffed and squirmed in my seat. Most of the courthouse was empty. It was after hours and all the cases on the dockets for the day were done. The only people left in the building were the janitors, the security guards, and us.
The quiet of the room and the heavy emptiness of the building seemed to press down on me. Agent Reed chuffed again, and I picked up the cough drop, slamming it on the stack of papers in front of him. “No really, I insist.”
Watery brown eyes turned towards me, widening at my outburst before he slowly reached out and picked it up, twirling it through his fingers. “You seem a little stressed, Agent Kelly. Is everything alright?” The question was innocent enough, but his voice was filled with an underlying venom. I shifted in my seat and turned away, my eyes returning to stare at the door. “Nope, just looking out for my fellow agent, Agent Reed.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his lips twitch and he leaned forward. I could smell the scent of coffee and cheap aftershave. “I heard that about you Agent Kelly, that you like to look out for your fellow Agents.” He tapped the cough drop on the back of my hand, where I had placed it on the table, gripping the wrapped end and drawing a slow line from my finger up to my wrist. Then he turned my palm over, placing the drop in the very center, before closing my fingers over it. “I like to look out for my Agents too. Maybe when this is over, we can look out for each other.” He cleared his throat and went back to reading his papers. Bile rose and visions of shoving the cough drop down his throat to choke on it danced through my head.
Just as I was opening my mouth to respond, the conference room door swung open and two federal security officers walked in, followed by a face that made my mouth go dry while other parts of me did the exact opposite. I sat forward a little more and watched as he entered, eager to drink in the sight of him. This was the second time I’d seen him in a prison jumpsuit. Only this time, he wasn’t half covered in blood. Stormy grey eyes found mine and for the second time this evening, my heart stuttered. If he was shocked or felt any emotions at all, he didn’t betray them. I tried to keep my features just as blank. A guard approached and Simon held out his hands as they removed the handcuffs before they led him to a seat placed just off the conference table. The arms of the seat held bolts that they looped his chains back through, and the cuffs were once again locked back into place.
Simon didn’t even look at the guards, who were busy re-securing him. He kept his stony gaze locked with mine. “A bit of an overkill, don’t you think?” I thought for a moment he was asking me the question and was about to agree with him, but then he shifted his focus to Agent Reed. The way he dismissed me stung, and I tried to ignore how my heart sank. I knew seeing Simon was going to be difficult and that he would not be pleased to see me. But a small part of me had hoped that maybe he’d realized what I’d done was to protect him. That I wasn’t given much of a choice and had made the best out of a crappy situation.
Agent Reed cleared his throat again. “I’ve learned not to let my guard down around you, Mr. Gallagher. You have an unnatural ability to suddenly disappear. And when that happens, someone inevitably ends up injured or dead.” His eyes narrowed, and I noticed Reed had unconsciously brought his hand up to massage a spot on his throat. It was then that I noticed a faint scar, and I looked from Reed to Simon, curious about the exchange I was witnessing. Simon seemed to catch the motion as well, and a sinister smirk curled at his full lips. “How’s your throat Frank? I never got a chance to apologize for that.”
Reed dropped his hand quickly and glared. “I have permanent scar tissue damage and I can’t eat or drink without pain.” A mocking smile appeared. “But don’t worry, I’m in excellent hands. The bureau looks out for its agents, doesn’t it, Agent Kelly?” His oily voice curled around my ears and I turned to him, glaring. But I could see it, the challenge in his eyes as he dared me to speak up against him. I swallowed around the words I wanted to say and nodded. “Yes, Agent Reed. The bureau takes care of their agents.” I glanced back at Simon as I spoke and faltered. His grey eyes were piercing through me with an intensity that was full of dark promises, and I felt my body heat in response. “We always look out for our own.” It felt like my words came out in a whisper, but I knew he heard them. I just prayed he understood.
The guards moved to step away from Simon, taking up positions behind him and then the door to the conference room opened once more to allow Agent Waters to enter and I felt a bit of the tension in my shoulders ease. She took a seat across the table from us just as a second door, leading from what I presumed were the Judge’s chambers, opened and a disgruntled-looking man in his late fifties or early sixties entered. A frazzled-looking bailiff hurried after him and gave a half-hearted “All Rise…” before the judge waved a hand in his face. “Enough of that. It’s late. Let’s just get on with this.”
We all paused, half-way out of our seats as the judge took his own chair at the head of the table and grabbed a gavel, giving it two knocks on the table. “Alright, let’s get this over with. What’s the charges?”
My stomach turned. It was now or never. My hand rose to grip the Saint Michael’s pendant around my neck. Please let this work.
CHAPTERTWO
Hannah
Agent Reed held up a manila envelope for the Bailiff to collect and gave the judge a charming smile. “Your Honor, thank you for attending this matter on such short notice. Mr. Gallagher has been a known target of the bureau for some time now. We’re requesting that given his connections with foreign governments and the depth of his resources, he be moved to a maximum security prison in an undisclosed location until he can await a full trial.”
I sat up at the words ‘undisclosed location. “You’re talking about a CIA black site.” My outburst caused everyone at the table to turn towards me, but my eyes were locked onto Simon, whose only reaction was to remain coldly indifferent. Fear squeezed my heart. If Simon was sent to a black site, it wasn’t to detain him. It was to kill him. I knew Simon had connections and more than a grey area in his past. But to want him put to death? Ice-cold fear flooded my veins.
Reed cocked his head slightly. “Yes, Agent Kelly, you are correct. Mr. Gallagher’s reputation and his resources are of a particular interest to the Agency.” He turned back to the judge and dismissed me. “As you can see, your Honor, we have the authority to request his release and transfer. We are in full cooperation with the Agency.”
The judge looked from me to Agent Reed and then back down to the file in his hands. “And you’re certain you have the authority necessary to request this transfer? Or that I have the authority to grant it?” He frowned, reading through the file, and flipped over a page.
“We are certain of it, Your Honor.” Reed’s smile could have cut diamonds, and I wanted to scream “Liar!” Very limited federal authority could grant the transfer that Reed was suggesting. He was either lying through his teeth or had managed to bribe someone very high up in the State Department to give him the leeway. This wasn’t a hearing to determine charges or set bail. This was a witch hunt. But I had no proof and as much as it killed me, I had to wait to see how everything played out.
“Very well then. I see no rea- “A loud knock interrupted the judge’s statement, and we all turned towards the conference room door. The bailiff, frowning, moved to open it and I could just hear the hushed undertones of a conversation before the door was shut. He returned to the judge’s side, where he leaned down and whispered in his ear before handing him a sheet of paper.
