With a Pull of a Trigger

Chapter Twenty-Three

Harold Thatcher was an old man. That was the first thing Reini noticed, considering the lack of hair in the middle of his head, and the white and gray hair surrounding the bald middle. He was fat—he could easily cover a corner table by standing in front of it—but he was also quite tall. He had the eyes of those who were tired and had seen too much of the world’s dark corners, with icy blue eyes and dark eyebags underneath. He had chapped lips not unlike those of a smoker, and his skin was wrinkled a bit, indicating he was in his fifties, if not his sixties.

With a sigh and a quick scratch on his head, Harold sat on the large leather chair behind his desk, facing the three agents—Catherine Aspen, Amrie Chase, and Reini Saunders—seated on comfortable leather chairs about two meters from the desk, facing him.

He sighed, tired. “It has come to our attention that this issue between The Alliance and the CIA is quickly becoming an issue for us all. Is it a national issue, Miss Aspen?”

Catherine shook her head, looking down her lap. She looked very much like a student scolded by a teacher. “No, sir.”

The man nodded once before putting both hands on the table and entwining them together. “Good. It is reaching that point, though, and it has come to our attention that it might compromise the safety of the citizens of this nation. It will do you good to avoid that.”

Miss Catherine nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Harold sighed. “I know that it’s hard, doing what you do. But we have to maintain control of ourselves, and we especially have to maintain control of the situation. You have to have the upper hand, or we will be forced to take this case from you.”

Catherine looked up sharply at the words. “What?”

“If you can’t handle this situation properly, I’m afraid we’re going to have to take the reins from you. Especially after what happened during the mission in Singapore, you are in a critical situation,” Harold said, his tired eyes staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass panes. “We simply cannot afford to have your situation affect the people of this nation.”

Spoken like a true diplomat, Reini thought, and it was sad how she knew that it was going to end badly, no matter what Catherine did. In the end, Thatcher had more seniority than Miss Aspen, and if he decided that the Department of National Defense were to handle the case instead, there was nothing they could do.

“Agent Saunders, you were with Agent Acker at that mission, were you not?”

Reini looked up from her lap, and into the warm blue eyes of the man. “Yes I was, sir.”

“From what I’ve heard, you still haven’t caught the killer, much less know of his identity. You suspect The Alliance though, even without solid proof.”

Reini nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Harold sighed. “You were with Miss Acker, and you were best friends with her, am I correct?”

Were.Past tense. “Yes.”

Another sigh. “I will allow you to handle your case for now, on one condition.”

“What is it, sir?” asked Amrie.

“That Miss Saunders be included in the Witness Protection Program and not be as involved in the cases as she used to be. She can still have her case files and her missions, but only low-profile missions. She can see no file or folder meant for clearance three and above.”

Amrie furrowed her eyebrows. “But she has clearance number three. She’s a senior agent of Cell Twelve.”

“She will be temporarily demoted to clearance four.”