Special Agent | ✓

Thirty (I)

It was sensitive work, as it required whoever worked the case to refrain from the lure of intercepting cargo worth several lifetimes' of pay. These minor missions, whether it was cargo transport or wiring money through online banks, could be accessed by the primary intelligence analyst on the main mission file. To access their data, one needed to put in a special code — a code given to each Analyst, wired to access certain levels of encryption within the Agency files.

As Quinn was highly regarded and used for sensitive missions, her personal code could be used to access most data and information within The Agency. The file in front of Adina listed the uses of her code on a number of these smaller missions, which in itself didn't really prove anything. The next page, however, did.

Some of these smaller missions had been intercepted by local criminals, or had been found to be missing cargo. Adina had handled some of these cases herself, but in the end she could do little more than scold the field agent in charge for failing to prepare all of the cargo for transport, before sending them to their own Chief for scolding.

But that wasn't the issue — the issue, in this case, was that all of the smaller missions who had been found to be missing valuables, or were entirely intercepted by some type of criminal organization, had been accessed using Quinn's code. Adina frowned, reaching for her whiskey again. She could argue that, in some cases, it had been to access mission-critical information for whatever case Quinn had been handling for Kent. In other cases, though, there were no arguments.

Quinn had accessed the missions files for a number of valuable transports, and they had later been intercepted. There were two lists detailing each of these access points, and exactly when and how the cargo had been hit. It hadn't been brought to the attention of all Chiefs because not all of the cargo or money had been missing — chunks big enough to be worthwhile, but small enough to blame it on the field agent and analyst which had been handling the minor case.

"Oh, bloody hell," Adina remarked, skimming through the page's contents again. She reached for her glass once more, frowning as she re-read its contents. The file had thus far painted a picture of a troubled young woman who'd run into trouble with the law on a number of occasions, before landing a job at The Agency. Once there, she'd seen an opportunity to turn the tide of her luck, using critical mission data to score quick money.

It was a dangerous narrative that the file had managed to set — one Adina was entirely convinced had been carefully constructed to feel entirely bulletproof. Sure, the contents were entirely logical — they made sense to anyone who didn't know Quinn O'Reilly.

If they did, they'd see a strong woman who'd beat her shadowy past and shaped a living anyone would be proud of. This file displayed none of that. Additionally, if they knew Quinn, they'd know she had adored Cameron Kent. Adina had been given the impression that they regarded each other much like sisters — an impression she now knew was entirely one-sided.

Tibble's heart sunk when she realized what this meant. Cameron Kent had waltzed back into The Agency for seemingly one reason: to ensure Quinn O'Reilly tasted some of the punishment their bureau was known for doling out. Despite the supposed risks to her life, Kent had chosen to knowingly stride in here, clutching this file like a lifeline.

All of that supposed risk, only to present this file.

She's made Quinn into a scapegoat.

But that wasn't what made this absolutely heart-wrenching — it was the fact that Adina knew she'd have to be the one to tell Quinn that her sister had shoved a knife in her back for the past years they'd been working together. Every inch of Tibble knew that whatever version of Quinn Kent had tried presenting in this file was wrong. All of it, completely wrong.