Cloak and Dagger

chapter thirteen

I could feel my breathing getting shallower as panic set in.

"Aspen," Catherine said worriedly, watching my features shift as she slowly moved towards me, "this isn't what you think."

"Isn't – isn't what I think?" I stuttered, inhaling sharply as I tried to pull the reins on my emotions. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my jaw, struggling against the restraints that held me in place. "What am I supposed to think right now?" I asked incredulously, my voice growing louder with each word. "Everyone here thinks that I had something to do with the alarm last night, all because I'm related to you, and considering it was my father who somehow broke into the Division unseen, I'm starting to think that maybe they aren't wrong for having trust issues. After all, someone had to help him get inside."

By the way that Joe's skin paled and his eyes widened, it was clear that Catherine hadn't told him the truth about what'd gone down last night. "Damon was here?" he asked in disbelief, his gaze shifting towards Catherine.

And even though I expected her to be angry that I'd let that bit of information slip – to narrow her eyes or vehemently deny the accusations, she didn't.

Instead, she looked defeated.

"He was," she admitted weakly, her gaze on the ground and her shoulders hunched.

His gaze became murderous as he stepped closer to her. "And you saw him?"

Though she didn't flinch at the force behind his words, she swallowed thickly, nodding as she debated what to tell him. "He knew that once the alarms were activated everyone would be scrambling," she admitted, though I wasn't sure if what she was saying was true. After all, agents, especially skilled ones, were trained in the art of deception. "He also knew that I'd go to my office to oversee the grounds and act as the front line of defense within the building, because when I got there, he was already there."

"How did he even get in?"

By this point, it was as if Joe had forgotten I was there. His back was facing me and his focus was solely directed towards my mother as I sat silently, watching the interaction and soaking in any useful information.

"I don't know how he got onto the grounds unnoticed, but the timing doesn't add up. To get to my office that quickly, he would've had to scale the building, and while it's a possibility, I think he had help. Either he wasn't acting alone or – "

" – he had help from one of our own," Joe finished for her, to which she nodded solemnly.

The silence stretched on as they both considered the possibility that someone within Division 27 had helped Damon, but after a few moments, Joe was the one to break it. "What did he want?" he asked, and although it was an automatic reaction to the question, he immediately trailed his eyes over her in search of any wounds or bruises.

There was a flash of intensity in her eyes that faded as quickly as it'd appeared, and while I couldn't grasp what it meant, that didn't stop Joe's eyes from widening in understanding.

"Look," I interrupted, bringing their attention back to me as I rattled the chains that secured me to the chair, "I don't think you brought me here just to listen to the two of you discuss something that's clearly private, so for the love of god, just let me go."

Catherine's resolve toughened at my words as she looked to Joe.

"No," he said firmly, turning to face me before he stepped forwards to adjust the lie detector. "I brought you here because this," he gestured between Catherine and I, "has gone on for far too long. Now, neither of you can change what's been said and done in the past, but that doesn't mean you can't move past this."