Page 2 of Catch Me
The judge frowned, and his eyes scanned the text before nodding. “Agent Reed, I’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone this discussion.”
Reed’s face grew red, and he sputtered. “What do you mean, Your Honor? I don’t understand. This matter is of the highest urgency.”
The judge nodded. “Oh, I agree. This is absolutely of the highest urgency. However, it seems Mr. Gallagher is a popular man and the memorandum that I’ve just received has tied my hands.” The judge turned to the guards. “You may release him.”
Reed stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. “I want to see that memorandum. Who the hell has the authority to release a man in federal custody?”
Just then, the door opened, and a tall man in a crisp military uniform entered. He was striking, with sharp cheekbones, just the hint of graying hair around his temples, and an intensity in his gaze that made goosebumps dance across my skin. Thankfully, that gaze was locked on Agent Reed and he answered him with a voice that commanded the room. “The Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense do.”
The judge stood up and cleared his throat. “Sir, I’d appreciate it if you did not interrupt my court room or proceedings.”
The man nodded. “My apologies, Your Honor. My name is Colonel Jonathan Abrams. I have orders to ensure that the instructions in that memo are followed to the letter.” He dropped his gaze back down to Agent Reed, who still had his mouth gaped open like a fish. “And to make sure it was understood, in no uncertain terms, that Mr. Gallagher has the full backing and support of the State Department and the Pentagon.” Glee filled me and I couldn’t help the grin that broke out across my face, only to fall when that piercing gaze was turned onto me and, with a pointed stare, said. “For now.”
Reed spoke up again, apparently not content to let his prize slip through his hands. “You’ll have to forgive me, Colonel, was it? But I have no clue who you are or what authority you think you can operate here. This is a federal criminal matter.”
Agent Waters spoke up then, her voice winding through the tension in the room like smoke. “Apparently, Frank, it’s a state department matter now.” The entire time we’d been in the conference room, Agent Waters had remained so still and silent I’d nearly forgotten her presence. But now that her voice curled around us in a raspy whisper, I felt my palms grow sweaty with nervousness again. “But it seems there is another matter to discuss.” She turned towards me. “Would you care to enlighten the room on why I’m here, Agent Kelly?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded. It was show time. “Yes, Agent Waters,” I turned towards the judge and withdrew another plain manilla envelope I’d been hiding under the table before offering it to the bailiff. “Your Honor, there is another matter of federal importance that we need you to sign off on.”
The judge frowned. “This is a highly unusual procedure, Agent Kelly. Are you sure this isn’t a matter for a lower court?”
I offered the judge a smile. “Yes, Your Honor. The request was submitted and approved just before we arrived this evening.”
He glanced up from what he was reading, shock in his expression. “This is a request for a search and seizure of government property and a warrant for the arrest of a federal investigator. For you, Agent Reed.”
It took everything I had to maintain my composure as I watched Reed turn multiple shades of red and purple as he whirled towards me. “Is this some sort of sick joke?” Rage made his voice shake. “Just what kind of game are you playing at, Agent Kelly? May I remind you that your career is on the line here? And yet you think you’re going to have some sort of coup de grâce over me?”
He was mere inches from my face, and I could feel his hot breath wash over me. Gross.
“No Agent Reed, I would never consider the torture and abuse of a minor a laughing matter.” Shock and a glimmer of fear replaced rage.
“I have no clue what you’re inferring Kelly, but you had better pray to god that whatever game you’re trying to play doesn’t backfire because I can assure you, you will have nothing left to come back to at any level of the bureau when I’m done with you.”
I smirked and sat back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Agent Reed, are you threatening me?”
He stood suddenly and started towards me, but must have thought better about it and stepped back with a snarl before turning to Agent Waters. “Angela, this is ridiculous. I don’t know what Agent Kelly thinks she has on me, but I assure you, it’s nothing more than a twisted ploy to keep her in her position. I have done nothing wrong.”
I took the momentary lapse in Reed’s scrutiny of me to glance around the room, noticing how still and silent Simon sat as he watched the exchange. The only evidence of his thoughts was a small frown of confusion on his face. When he finally noticed me looking at him, he arched one eyebrow in question. It was the first time he’d really acknowledged me since he’d walked into the room, and I felt my heart leap with hope. He’d worked it out then. Now I just needed him to trust me to see it finished.
When I tuned back into the conversation, Agent Waters was speaking. “Do you remember a case you worked as a field agent about 10 years ago, Agent Reed? A case involving cyber theft?”
Reed shook his head. “I’ve worked dozens of cases Angela, you’re going to have to be more specific than that. And if you’re saying this is all based on the word of some low life I’ve put away, I think we both know how much weight their words will hold against mine.”
I pulled another file from my purse and slapped it down on the table, the little audience in the room turning back towards me. “Oh, this is actually one ‘low life’ that you never had the chance to put away. Probably because,” I held up one finger. “One, they weren’t a low life to begin with and two,” I flipped open the file to the face of a young girl, hair pulled back into twin pigtails and amber-colored eyes that were wide, scared, and haunted. “, she was a minor. A minor that you held without justification and subjected to torturous conditions and interrogations for days.”
Reed had the decency to pale in front of me. His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed before he reached out to snatch the file away from me. I pulled it back and clicked my tongue at him. “Oh no, no Agent Reed, you know better. You’re going to have to ask your lawyer to file a request for this evidence if you want to look at it before your grand jury date.”
He snarled. “Those files were confidential and restricted. How did you steal them?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please Reed. How long did you think someone was going to cover for you? You’ve made a lot of enemies on your way to the top. Turns out once I had the witnesses’ testimony, it wasn’t hard to narrow down just who the agent in charge of that case was. And from there, it was only a matter of getting the files unsealed and on the appropriate desks.” I cocked my head and smiled. “Turns out the bureau does indeed take reports of misconduct by its agents very seriously.”
Agent Waters stood up and moved around me to stand in front of Reed. “Agent Frank Reed, you’re under arrest for the misconduct relating to a federal agent and the inappropriate exploitation and interrogation of a minor.” Her voice trailed off as Frank sputtered and coughed, but I wasn’t watching him anymore because my eyes were on Simon. The guards had finally released him and he was standing next to Colonel Abrams, their heads bent towards each other, but their words were too muffled by Reed’s screeching for me to hear what they were saying. As if they both felt eyes on them, each one looked up and turned towards me at the same time and I shivered under the intensity of their gaze. These were two men who should probably never be in the same room together or meet on the opposite sides of a war. I pitied anyone who ended up caught in the crossfire. Then Simon nodded toward me, just once, before moving to the door, the Colonel following closely behind him. I didn’t even have a chance to stand up and go after him. The door closed with a click and just like that, Simon Gallagher disappeared. Again.
CHAPTERTHREE
Hannah
“Chunky Monkey or Moose Tracks?”
