Special Agent | ✓

Thirty-Three

"Could they, really? I've seen your security," said Adina, eyeing a decanter of whiskey propped on the corner of her desk, " — you'd need to be skilled."

"I'm counting on that." Quinn, felt her mind whirring and clunking as she started up the logical train of thought she'd disbanded when overwhelmed with the news.

The first step, Quinn.

"If they broke through my security, it means they're not in your department, Chief. It means they're in tech. Chief Vahid's department, surely."

Adina uncorked the bottle, reaching for a crystal glass, "You believe Kent has someone rerouting it for her?"

"If Kent - If Kent — " Quinn swallowed, hard, " — if Kent framed me this way, it means she's had it in the works for a while."

Adina heard Quinn's tone, and it made part of her ache for the young woman she'd taken under her wing.

"We'd need to get Vahid to speak to us about her people. Not many Chiefs would be willing to talk about their departments in that way, not behind the backs of their employees."

"I believe that might not be as much of a problem as you think, Quinn," Adina sipped at her now-filled glass of whiskey, " — as Chief Vahid has already turned her back on her department by helping us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she wiped the admin's code I used to clear your Knightsbridge HQ computer."

"You used your admin's code — " Annoyance tinged Quinn's tone, "Adina, you can't get caught up in this. Not because of my —"

"It was the fastest way to wipe it, O'Reilly," Adina interrupted, " — and if you want to start that discussion, I'll say it's my way of getting back at Kent for stabbing the Agency in the back."

Quinn closed her eyes.

"I won't justify myself to you, Quinn. You're too bloody smart for that, and I won't simplify any reasons to you. Deal?"

Not that Chief Tibble wanted to simplify those reasons for herself, either. Both her and Quinn were brilliant analysts, no doubt, but when analyzing their own state of emotional stability they were subpar.

"Deal," Quinn muttered, tiredly. Adina was just as tired, not that she uttered it out loud. Instead, she chose to take another sip of her drink.

Adina knew they had a long way to go in their attempts to clear Quinn's name, and erase the corruption that was seemingly clinging to the Agency's business. The Agency had been founded as a department that would do the dirty work between governments and official bureaus, an institution beyond the law governed by competence and intelligence. They got the work done.

And now someone had messed with that balance.

Bloody hell, Adina thought, glancing at her liquor cabinet. I have a feeling I'll be seeing you a lot more than usual the coming weeks.

*

Special Agent Sarraf was in a bad mood. The drink she'd had with Kent had left a sour taste in her mouth — not the cinnamon coffee, though, that'd been incredible — but the entire conversation.

Intervening in another Special Agent's business was simply something one did not do. You didn't interfere — you did the very opposite, staying out of it. It was not just because most of the high-profile missions Special Agents like Kent, Davidson, Locke and Sarraf took care of were classified, it was a matter of respect.

And Kent had none of it.

Can't stand it, Sarraf thought, thinking I won't get the mission done on my own.