Drink Me

39. SNAP OUT OF IT

SNAP OUT OF IT

Riley paced the spacious living room in apartment eight with long strides, his hands behind his head, as he went through the huge amount of information that he had to report.

The events of that morning had been a huge twist, and he was sure it could have been a positive turn in the investigations.

Finally, at twenty past eleven in the evening, the door opened and agent Smith and Alice walked in giggling like teenagers.

Alice and the Mad Hatter.

They immediately stopped when they saw Riley.

"Hey," Alice said tentatively, almost gauging the man's expression.

They hadn't seen each other since that evening when Alice had admitted her feelings for Nicole.

Alice was sporting one of her eclectic outfits in an oversized olive green suit with padded shoulders and trousers cinched at the waist. Her white trainers matched the white T-shirt that emerged from the jacket, 'let them talk' was in black letters across her chest.

"I'm so glad you're here," Riley replied, too excited for resentment. There was plenty of time for that during his sleepless nights.

A suspicious yet amused look appeared on Alice's face as she walked to the living room and let her jacket fall on the sofa. 'Blah blah blah' was in black letters across her back.

"I take it your meeting went well?" Smith asked, following Alice to the living room.

Where to start.

"Good news and bad news," Riley offered.

"Jesus Murphy, just spill it," Alice interrupted him, but her tone was playful.

Riley looked at the two officers sitting on the sofa in front of him and opted for good news first.

"They're ready to make a move," he started. "They're meeting with a contact in the US and are hoping to seal the deal and begin the trade of material," he quoted with his fingers.

"So they're right on time to make their threat," Smith said, looking at Alice with a concerned expression.

Riley frowned, he had hoped to get a more excited reaction, but still asked, "What threat?"

"Maybe Parliament House, Valentine's day rings a bell?" Smith offered.

And it rang the whole Big fucking Bang. "Noraid was behind that message?" Riley asked wide-eyed.

The two officers nodded but added nothing else.

Riley couldn't believe he had been so close to finding out the truth. He wondered if Aidan himself had ever used the messaging system he had detected, but decided not to go down that road.

"So their claim for an initial peaceful approach was all bullshit," Riley mused, hating himself for ever believing a single word that came out of his cousin's mouth.

Alice passed her fingers through her hair and sighed in frustration. "We need to get some incriminating evidence and quick."

"Well, that's where the good news becomes great news," Riley declared and immediately feared Smith's theatrical ways had infected him too.

Two very interested faces stared up at him. "Aidan asked me to got to New York and attend the meeting with him," he finished with an ecstatic smile.

Alice darted up from the sofa and took a step towards him, grabbing the sides of his arms.

"Are you joking?" she asked and, although her expression was hard to read, Riley knew she was happy with him.