Chapter 11

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A marylis slept like a log. When she woke the next morning to find herself curled up in her own bed, warm and carefree, she smiled happily and stretched, enjoying just knowing that everything was okay in her world for once. It seemed the stress had been never ending over the last few days, the chaos coming at her nonstop from all directions. She was happy that, for the moment, she could just chill and take a breath.

She checked her phone for messages, and, sure enough, one was from Tristan. It was short and sweet.

Heading to bed, a bit late. Tons of new intel. I’ll call you in the morning.

She looked at the time his message had been sent—two in the morning, just as she had suspected his night to go. She swore at that because he would never get any restorative sleep at this rate. She got up slowly, noting she was a little on the sore side—standing too long over her tables—and headed to make coffee. She wasn’t even sure who all she was making coffee for because she didn’t know whether her guard was outside her door or not.

As she stepped into her kitchen, she looked to see if anybody was around, which didn’t make sense as Scott was outside. She made coffee and had a quick shower. After she got dressed, she poured herself a cup and sat down to relax but couldn’t. She still had heard nothing from Tristan or the guard. So she got up, checked her peephole but saw nothing. Then she looked through her front window.

No sign of Scott or anybody. Maybe he’d been called away, or maybe he was sitting in his car or walking around the perimeter of the building at the back right now. That would make sense.

She sent a message to Tristan, sharing that she was up, and she hoped he got some sleep. With that, she quickly rummaged in her kitchen and found enough bread to put on some toast, but that’s about all she had for food. Just as she was buttering the toast, her phone rang. “Hey,” she answered cheerfully. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing pretty well,” he murmured. “Got a bit of a headache, but that’s life.”

“You’re right. Life is that way sometimes,” she agreed. “Everything go okay last night?”

“It did. How about you?”

“I caught some sleep, which for me is starting to feel like something I never, ever get, but the wine last night at dinner helped, I think,” she shared. “So I’m doing just fine.”

“Oh, good. Sleep helps, doesn’t it?” he said, with a laugh.

“I haven’t seen Scott yet this morning, but I presume he’s outside somewhere.”

“I’ll check in with him. Do you normally talk to him?”

“Yeah, some. After spending a day with him at work, we interacted a bit, even if he wasn’t in the morgue itself. Plus, he drove me home last night, so we have been talking. Normally when I’m at home, he’s outside my door, but not this morning,” she said, yawning, “I’m just checking to confirm everything is still okay.”

“I’ll find out for you.” And Tristan quickly hung up.

She didn’t think anything of it, just sat here enjoying her coffee, until Tristan called her back.

“When did you last see Scott?”

“When he brought be home after we left the restaurant. Why?”

“Nobody’s heard from him this morning,” Tristan shared. “You need to lock yourself inside your apartment and stay put.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” she wailed. “Hurting Scott is not allowed. He’s just a nice young kid.”

“I get that, but we need to find him first. Don’t panic. For all we know, he’s sound asleep somewhere. We couldn’t get him relief on time last night, so he had to work a double shift. However, someone should have shown up later, and I’m not sure they did. I’m still tracking people down, so please don’t panic yet. I just don’t want to track you down too, if you leave the apartment.”

“Right,” she muttered, as she sat back and looked down at her toast that no longer had the same appeal.

She didn’t want anything to happen to that young man. Scott was a good kid, but he was still just a kid. She waited tensely for another twenty minutes, and, when no return phone call came, she bolted to her feet and started pacing inside her apartment.

She didn’t know where Scott could have gone or what trouble he could have gotten into, but, with all the chaos going on here at the base, it didn’t take much imagination to think that something bad may have happened to him.

She paced for several moments, and, when Tristan finally called her back, he said, “So, I just got off the phone, and Scott is in the hospital.”

“Oh my God,” she cried out. “What happened?”

“He’s alive, but he took a blow to the head.”

“When? Where?”

“We think it happened sometime last night. The security detail that was supposed to relieve him got their wires crossed somehow, and nobody showed up. So we don’t know what time Scott was attacked. As it is, someone was sent to check on him when they realized this morning that nobody had relieved him overnight. They couldn’t contact him via phone, so they searched around for him earlier this morning, and that’s when they found him.”

She sat there, tears running down her face. She thought she might have been able to hide it, but Tristan heard her sobs.

“He’s alive, Amarylis,” he reminded her.

“Yes,” she murmured, “and, for that, I’m damn grateful, but what the hell?”

“I know. I will head to the hospital first, and then I’ll come to your place.”

“No, pick me up. I want to go to the hospital with you.” He hesitated and she added, “Either that, or I’m going there myself.”

“Of course you are,” he muttered, a note of humor in his tone.

“Just as you would,” she pointed out.

“I’ll be there in five,” he said, “but remember. Don’t open that damn door to anybody.”

She didn’t say anything but waited at the door, fully dressed, ready for Tristan to show up. When he didn’t show up on time, she texted him several times.

Finally he called her back. “Look. I’m stuck out here near the parking lot. The traffic’s been a bitch. I promise nothing’s wrong. I’m just running late.”

She sagged back in place and waited for him to get to her door.

When a knock finally came, Tristan called out, “It’s me. Let me in.” She hurriedly opened it. As he walked in, he saw the tears in her eyes. He just opened his arms, and she raced into them.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, when she could finally talk. “This is just too harsh.”

“I know, and it’s definitely something we’re still sorting out.”

“Why would somebody even do that?”

“Obviously they didn’t want him here, and that would mean that they were doing something that they wanted hidden, but I just don’t know what,” he admitted. “With any luck, the scout coming to find Scott ran off whatever bad guys were here. Come on. Let’s lock up and head over to the hospital, so you can see him.”

And that’s what they did. When they got to his room, Scott was awake and pissed. He took one look at Amarylis and asked, “Jeez, are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine, but what happened to you?”

He frowned. “After I dropped you off, maybe a couple hours later, I went out into the trees to take a leak,” he explained, “and I didn’t even see it coming. I heard this weird whoosh and lights out.” He gingerly put his hand to the back of his head. “When I woke up, I was terrified they’d gotten to you.”

“They didn’t.” Then she winced. “At least not yet.”

“And they won’t,” Tristan vowed, standing at her side.

“Jeez, you’ve got to look after her,” Scott said. “I don’t know what the hell these guys want, but they’re adamant.”

“A little more than adamant, considering we had a break-in at our investigation offices last night too.”

“They must want whatever it is they’re looking for pretty badly.”

“Oh, they want it pretty badly all right,” Tristan agreed, with a nod, “but they aren’t getting it.”

“Good,” Scott snapped. “And, after this knock on the head, now I for sure don’t want those assholes getting it.”

Tristan smiled. “What you need to do now is get better and get yourself out of here.”

“I would love to,” Scott muttered, “but the doc won’t let me go.”

“Of course not,” Amarylis noted. “Head injuries can be very tricky.” Scott scowled at her, and she shrugged. “Don’t glare at me. You have to talk to your doctor about setting you free, but, if you were my patient, I wouldn’t let you go either.”

Scott pointed a finger at her. “That’s because you see me as a kid, and you don’t want me to get hurt.”

She glared at him. “I don’t want you to get more hurt,” she retorted.

He smiled. “Hey, this one was pretty easy. I took a knock, but it’s not as if he was gonna kill me.” At that, he turned and looked at Tristan. “Wait. How come he didn’t kill me?”

“I don’t know, Scott. I just don’t know—maybe because you’re young.” Tristan shook his head. “However, we’ll take it as a good thing regardless.”

“Yeah, well, that’s a pisser in itself, isn’t it?”

Amarylis frowned at him. “What? Now you wanted to get killed?”

“No,… I obviously don’t want to get killed,” he scoffed. “Yet, if they didn’t do what they would normally do just because they see me as kid,… it’s insulting.”

She shook her head, then looked over at Tristan, who was grinning wildly. “Christ, you’re all nuts,” she muttered.

“Yeah, we probably are,” Scott admitted cheerfully.

“Now you’ve got your first war wound,” she snapped, glaring at him, “but you shouldn’t be quite so happy about it.”

“Hey, you’re not hurt, so it’s all good.”

She smiled at that. “I do thank you for taking such good care of me.”

He glared. “I’m just surprised he didn’t come up after you.”

“Me too,” she replied.

“So, what is our theory on that?” Scott asked, looking at Tristan.

“Maybe our guy scouting around for you disturbed the bad guy’s plans or maybe they thought she would be under guard inside her apartment as well,” Tristan suggested.

“Yeah, either makes sense. So then what? They just sit back and see what happens next at her apartment or at her office—or yours?”

“Maybe,” Tristan replied, with a nod. “That could very well be it.”

She glared at the two of them. “They sure as hell better not come after me again,” she snapped. “I’m pretty fed up with this whole thing.”

“Yeah, we all are too,” Scott noted, with a smile. “So, we need this to come to an end, one that finishes it, not just an end that leaves us with no answers.”

Tristan nodded. “We have the two guys who broke into our offices last night,” Tristan shared, with a smile, “We got some information from them, and we’re hoping to get more.”

“Good.” Scott snarled. “Any assholes come back after me, I’m taking them down.”

They left him still in his feisty mood, which in some ways relieved Amarylis. As they walked outside, she asked, “Is that all talk coming from Scott?”

“Not all of it,” Tristan replied. “Some of it is just relief, and, whatever happened, he did survive. Now he’s got something he can brag about,” he added, with a chuckle.

She shook her head, “That head wound is nothing to laugh about.”

“No, it isn’t, which is why he’s damn happy to be where he is. Nobody’s releasing him anytime soon,” Tristan said, “so don’t you worry about that.”

She smiled. “He’s a good kid, and I hate to see him get hurt.”

“He’s already been hurt, and he’s damn lucky it wasn’t a lot worse. So, with any luck, he won’t come up against something like that again.”

She nodded and smiled, as they headed out of the hospital. “Now what?”

“You’re not going to work.” She stopped in her tracks and frowned at him. He nodded. “Dr. Cox has already been briefed on all that’s happened, and he’s the one who doesn’t want you bringing that shit to work.”

She groaned. “Oh, great , so now I’m bringing this crap to work, am I? How come it’s all on me now?”

“It’s not that you’re responsible, but we must consider other people who could get caught up as collateral damage,” he pointed out. “Your coworkers at the morgue.”

She sighed. “So where am I going then?”

“You’re coming with me to my office.”

“Oh, great ,” she muttered. “What is this, take your kid to work day?”

He stated, “I don’t know what kid you think you might resemble, but you’re all woman to me.” She flushed bright red at that, and he chuckled. “Come on. This isn’t how you wanted your day to go, but—”

“Definitely not how I want my day to go,” she grumbled.

“But you’ll behave because you know people are out there, ready to take a hit to protect you. Therefore, you’ve got to do your part to make sure it’s not in vain.”

She glared at him. “That, sir, was a low blow.”

He gave her an infectious smile. “Hey, whatever works. Right about now everybody in my world would just as soon see you locked down and going nowhere, until this is all sorted out. So don’t expect too many people to give you any leniency to be out and about.”

“It’s not about leniency,” she clarified. “I just don’t want to be a prisoner.”

*

Looking at her, his gaze darkened, as he took a moment to consider whether he should voice what he was thinking. And, since it was important, he did.

“I don’t want you dead.”

Opposing his stance on her death was a hard position to argue, and, as Tristan had hoped, Amarylis wasn’t putting up much of an argument against him. Generally she was incredibly cooperative, but it was evident that seeing her young guard in the hospital had hit her hard. “Scott will be fine, you know?”

She just nodded and didn’t say anything more. When they got to his office, she still hadn’t talked very much. He looked over at her. “Look. If you don’t want to be here, I can probably arrange for a guard someplace for you, though probably not at your apartment right now.”

“No, that’s fine,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I just need to remind myself that this isn’t my deal and that I’m caught up in something I don’t have the skill set to take on. Thus, I need to be grateful that you are here to keep me safe.”

Surprised but happy at her change of heart, he nodded. “Good. Please don’t sneak away or do anything stupid or heroic that will cause any of us to panic and to expend resources figuring out where you are.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she said, looking over at him.

“I get that, but not everybody always thinks clearly at times like this, and what we don’t want is to inadvertently create more confusion or chaos.”

She nodded and still didn’t say anything.

Hoping that she was good to go, he took her into the office, where she passed by Sam and Morgan. She smiled at the men and greeted them. “Hey.” They smiled back. As soon as Amarylis and Tristan reached the office he used, Tristan got a phone call and a request to go back out front.

He groaned. “Now I’m about to get grilled by the men.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I suspect it’s mostly because they don’t want you here.”

“Oh, great ,” she muttered, staring at him. “That’s not guaranteed to make me feel very good.”

He smiled. “Not because you’re a danger to them, but because they don’t want you here, where you could be in further trouble. We had a break-in right here last night, remember?”

She nodded slowly. “I still don’t understand how the intruders thought they would get the key.”

“I suspect they were sent in as a test of sorts, to see how they handled themselves. And, if they found the key, all the better.”

“But, if the intruders could identify the man who wanted the USB, why the hell would that man risk using those two guys?”

“I’m not so sure that the guy they think they know is the one who’s involved.” She shook her head at that, and he laughed. “Apparently the deal with our two burglars was arranged through an intermediary, and they just assumed it was him on the USB. Thus, they assumed that he was the one they were helping, thinking he was some bigwig figure who would bring them some money down the road.”

“Who are these guys? That sounds like sheer stupidity.”

He smiled. “I don’t know about sheer stupidity, but let’s just say it’s not the smartest move somebody would make.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” she replied. “So many things can go wrong with that picture.”

He smiled. “Not only go wrong but, in theory, they don’t have a clue about an awful lot, and I think that’s what’s happening here.”

“So these two bumpkins were just the hired help? Like those terrorist groups, with each part of the op segregated, knowing only their task to do? If so, whether stupid or part of a bigger op, how much of their story is worth listening to?”

“Exactly.” He chuckled cheerfully. “We’re sifting through it, trying to confirm what we’ve got so far. Meanwhile, settle in here for a while.”

“So, if I had my laptop,” she noted, “I could get some work done here.”

“I can have it brought to you, if you want.”

She looked over at him and nodded. “If you’re okay with that, it would be a good compromise.”

“I’ll get it. Is it at home?”

“No, it’s at the office. I can get Dr. Cox to have it ready for me.” She quickly called him and explained what she wanted.

He agreed. “I’ll get it ready for you. Just send one of the men over to pick it up.”

And with that done, she smiled at Tristan and sat back. “All I need now is an office.”

“You can have an office,” he said, as he got up. “Do you want mine?”

“I want one that is private and won’t get broken into.”

He burst out laughing. “I think we all want one of those.”

She nodded. “I imagine you do, but, all joking aside, anyplace will work.”

“Good enough.” He smiled. “Give me a few minutes.” Then he stepped out of the office and left her alone.

He walked out to the main office, where Sam and Morgan sat at their desks. “Amarylis needs an office to work in. Any concerns about one room versus another?”

They turned, their eyebrows raised. Sam spoke up, an attitude evident in his tone. “How long is she here for?”

“I don’t know. Have you got a better suggestion? The guard outside her apartment was attacked last night, so I hardly think her sitting at home is the best location for her.”

“Yeah, but that’s only because you’ve got plans for her.”

Tristan frowned at Sam. “Your attitude already wants me to stomp the hell out of you, but the idea that you would insult somebody like her in this situation is beyond belief. I suggest you get a hold of whatever it is that’s pissing you off and deal with it, and you better do it fast.” Tristan then turned to Morgan. “Do you give a shit about what office she uses? Otherwise I’ll just park her in the one beside mine.”

“Why don’t you just put her in yours?” Sam asked, with a sneer.

Fed up, he turned to reply, but Morgan intervened. “Let it go, both of you. This isn’t the time or the place.”

“Maybe not,” Sam conceded, “but obviously he’s another one who thinks he’s running the show, and I’m getting damn tired of it.”

Tristan shook his head as Jasper walked in the front door.

“What’s the problem now?” Jasper asked.

“Just looking for a place to put Amarylis, so she can work.”

“Right, we can’t have her going into her office, can we?”

“No, Dr. Cox asked her not to be there in order to keep the rest of the staff safer.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Sam retorted, yet with a smile this time. “Damn, you don’t have to act like you’re some kamikaze all the time, always working alone.”

“Yet it feels that way,” Tristan declared, turning on him. “Every time I’m here, I have to break through your walls to get anything done.”

Sam glared at him, and, without another word, he turned and walked out of the building.

Morgan sighed. “I get that he’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but he is a good investigator.”

Neither Tristan nor Jasper said anything to that. Tristan turned to Jasper. “Can we finally start getting some work done, please?”

And with a slight head movement from Jasper, they headed over to the in-house jail to visit Terry, the intruder they’d captured at Amarylis’s apartment. Finding him still uncooperative, Jasper and Tristan next visited Lem and Stu, the two guys who had broken into their investigative offices. When they walked in, Stu hopped up.

“Look. I need to get out of here,” Stu explained. “You don’t understand. My wife will be pissed.”

Jasper shook his head. Lem groaned. “See? He’s not the most brilliant guy.”

Stu pointed a finger at his brother-in-law. “You know perfectly well she’ll be pissed.”

Lem winced and nodded. “Yeah, she will, and these guys already know everything they need to know, so they don’t need to be here asking us more questions.”

Tristan turned to Jasper, as they both moved farther from these cells. “They didn’t get any smarter overnight,” Jasper muttered, “but that’s no surprise. I was hoping Terry would talk.”

“He started talking but has stopped,… unless maybe he finds out,” Tristan whispered, “that Lem and Stu are our guests as well and are talking.”

Jasper grinned. “That wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.”

“Right,” Tristan agreed, “all we have to do is just let them see each other.”

“Yet these two might not even know who he is.”

“Maybe not,” Tristan conceded, “but what are the chances that they know Terry as Tony? It’s worth a shot for sure.”

“Let me go put Terry in a different cell,” Jasper shared, with a smile, “and I’ll be back in a few minutes. You go chat with Stu and Lem.” Jasper winked and was off.

With that, Tristan returned to stand in front of Lem and Stu’s cells.

Lem asked, “So what are you two talking about? Ready to release us?”

“We’re checking how much truth we can verify in your story. We’re sure as hell won’t believe anything blindly.”

“We already told you who’s involved,” Lem wailed, with an exasperated tone.

“And yet, as far I can tell, you guys didn’t tell us the truth. You told us that Tony was the manager at the pool hall.”

Lem nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Yet Stu’s gaze narrowed, and Tristan could see him thinking. Stu finally asked, “You think Tony wasn’t the manager?”

“Oh, I’m thinking he managed you quite nicely,” Tristan quipped, “but that doesn’t mean that anything Tony had to say was the truth. Tony just let you think that you were working for him and not some other guy.”

Lem and Stu shared a glance, then frowned at Tristan. Stu shared, “That wouldn’t be good.”

“No, it wouldn’t be good at all. It would also mean that you were working for somebody you don’t know, and for somebody maybe you shouldn’t trust.”

Lem narrowed his gaze. “But you don’t know that for sure.”

“How can I, when we don’t have all the information on your manager friend,” Tristan pointed out, enunciating the word clearly.

Stu flushed. “We told you everything.”

“No, you didn’t. You told me what you wanted me to know.” Tristan grinned. “You haven’t exactly been forthcoming beyond that.”

“We can’t give you everything,” Stu protested. “We would have nothing left to bargain with.”

“You have nothing to bargain with now,” Tristan snapped.

Lem stared at him. “You think we got roped?”

“I don’t know if you got roped as much as you eagerly signed up for something you shouldn’t have,” he pointed out, looking over at him. “I don’t know which is the case because, when we talk to people, we get one version, and then you turn around and talk among yourselves and give us a completely different version.”

Stu shrugged, sticking with his tight-lipped position. “We’ve got to keep some things secret, don’t we?”

“I wouldn’t at this point in time,” Tristan said. “This guy who hired you isn’t necessarily the guy who you thought hired you.”

“I get what you’re saying. I just don’t see what the point would be.”

“The point would be that, if you don’t know who did the hiring, you might be one step removed, or he is.”

“Sure, but it’s not as if we haven’t been around these guys.”

“And that’s why you assumed that he was making the arrangements, right?”

“Yes,” Lem replied, carefully looking at him. “I still don’t know that he wasn’t. We only have your word for it.”

Tristan nodded. “I highly doubt that Tony was the big boss. He just involved himself in the hiring process for you guys.”

“No, of course not, that’s what the boss has Tony for.”

“Right, and what if this guy was hiring you for somebody else, and you just didn’t know it? Maybe what he does is hire people, but he didn’t hire you for the job you were thinking it was.”

“It was to get that USB key,” Lem argued, standing up, waving his arms about, and clearly getting frustrated now. “We just wanted to get paid.”

“Exactly, so you’re happy to do what you needed to do to get money, and he was happy because he got two clowns to come in here on a military base, with the ability to get in because of your day jobs, just hoping you might find something he’s looking for. Or maybe not what he’s looking for but that somebody else is looking for.”

“Sure, but again it don’t matter who the USB is for.”

“It’s a slight difference from your point of view,” Tristan acknowledged. “All I’m saying is that the actual end boss may not be who you think it is.”

Lem frowned. “Okay.” Lem sat down now, staring at Tristan. “I see what you’re saying. It’s important that you get the right guy, I suppose.”

“We have five bodies that we know of, plus the kidnapping and torture of a military investigator, plus a sniper shooting another military official,” Tristan explained. “So it’s important to find the big boss man behind it all.”

Lem paled at that news. “We had nothing to do with all that,” he stated.

“You got any idea who was involved in the sniper shooting?”

Lem winced and nodded. “Yeah, but I haven’t seen that guy in a while now.”

“I don’t suppose his name was Drew, was it?”

Lem just stared for a moment. “Why do you ask us if you already know?”

“Because Drew is dead. His body was found a few days ago. He had been shot, or maybe he shot himself. That investigation is pending, but, either way, he’s still dead.”

“No, no, no.… We knew he went missing, but we didn’t have nothing to do with no murders,” Lem stammered, nervously backing away from Tristan, but physically unable to put any more distance between them because he was already against the back wall of his cell. “Jeez.” He turned and looked at Stu, his brother-in-law, who was staring at Lem in shock.

Stu asked, “What did you get me into?”

Lem roared, “Nothing, nothing like this, I swear. No way, I wouldn’t put my own life or my sister’s life in jeopardy.”

That slowed down Stu slightly, as he pondered that. They both turned to look at Tristan. “Why the hell would you even think we were involved with murders and snipers and torture?”

“Somebody is sure as hell involved,” Tristan noted, “and we’re not thinking anything. We already have the proof. We’re just finding out who is ultimately behind it all. We have the sniper shooting of a high-ranking navy official and the kidnapping and torture of a navy investigator to solve, in addition to all these other murders and related crimes.”

“And you think all of that has something to do with that USB key?” Lem asked Tristan.

Tristan looked over at him and asked, “What do you think?”

Lem sat down suddenly. “Oh my God.… I don’t feel so good.”

“I wonder why?” Tristan asked. “When you screw up, you really screw up, don’t you?”

Lem shook his head. “Don’t even say it that way,” he muttered, hanging his head. “I didn’t have nothing to do with this.”

“Yet you did, and you got Stu involved as well.”

Lem looked over at his brother-in-law and again shook his head. “We were told it was no big deal. We were told that we wouldn’t get caught, as long as we got out before the allotted time was up. We were told it was a simple B&E. Just pick up a USB key shaped like a car and go.”

“Yet you were supposed to be in and out in twenty minutes, right?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Then he stopped and stared, his eyes wide open, “How did you know?”

“I heard you two talking, when you first came in.”

He stared at him and moaned. “Jeez. We were caught inside immediately. So we would’ve never got out of here cleanly, would we?”

“Nope, you wouldn’t,” Tristan replied. “I was giving you enough time to hang yourselves.” Lem just glared at him, as Tristan shrugged. “What did you expect me to do? Let you walk, when you were obviously involved in this mess on base. Meanwhile, the body count and injuries just keep going up.”

Lem shook his head. “Christ, I don’t know how it all got so bad.” Just then his eyes widened, as somebody caught his attention. Lem jumped forward and frantically yelled, “That’s him. That’s him.”

Tristan turned to see Terry, the intruder they had captured inside Amarylis’s apartment. “Him who?” he asked Lem, looking to get clarification on the record.

“That’s the guy who hired us. That’s the manager, Tony.” Lem looked over at Jasper, who was leading the man to a cell farther down the hallway.

Jasper stopped the MPs guarding Tony, aka Terry, and declared, “Look at that. These two just ID’d you as somebody who hired them to do a B&E into our offices right here on base.”

Tony looked at the two men behind bars and sneered. “Not likely. Who would ever hire those bozos? They couldn’t even do a simple job.”

At that, Lem replied, “You didn’t even know who you were doing the job for, and you sure as hell didn’t let us know who we were really working for, did you?”

“You didn’t need to know,” Tony stated, with a shrug. “And look. You’re in jail. You got caught. You did a piss-ass shitty job of it.”

“Yeah, well, we might not have been quite so bad if we’d understood our roles.”

“Are you kidding? You might have been even worse,” Tony snapped, with a sneer. “Look at the two of you,… completely useless.”

“That’s hardly fair,” Lem argued, glaring at Tony. “You told us the key was there, not that it might be.”

“I was told it was there,” he corrected. “Obviously you didn’t find it.” Then he stopped and asked them, “Or did you?”

Lem shook his head. “No, we didn’t find it.”

“And that’s because,” Tristan shared cheerfully, “it’s not in our offices, which we’ve been very clear about all along.”

Tony ignored him.

It was fascinating to watch these men close up like this. They were almost friends but not quite, more like acquaintances. They were men caught up in circumstances beyond their understanding and yet had been hired to do a job, be it together, apart, or something else.

Then Tristan suddenly understood and studied the man they knew as Terry, but Lem knew as Tony. “So, you were hired to find that key, and you’ve been busy hiring other people to hit the places you couldn’t get to.” Tony didn’t respond. “You hired these guys because you were getting pretty desperate. Yet they had easy access to the base, and that made sense to you.”

“It should have made sense to them too,” Tony replied bitterly. “But then you realize that there’s just no making sense for some people.”

The two men stiffened and glared at him.

Tony shrugged. “Look at you guys. It should have been simple.”

“If it was that simple, why didn’t you do it?” Lem snapped.

“Oh, right.” Tony sneered. “I was a little busy dealing with other aspects of the same issue.”

Lem muttered, “If you had told us that more shit was involved, we might have been able to do something about it.”

Tony gave a bitter laugh. “No way. Guys like you? They never get it. It’s all we can do to get you to understand the basics,” he sneered, “and now look at you, both sitting in jail.”

“Look at you,” Lem retorted. “You’re in the same jail, so it’s not as if you’re in any better position. At least we have some information we can trade off.”

Tony snarled at them, then turned and looked at Tristan. “What do you care? If you weren’t sleeping with that chick, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“For the record, I’m not sleeping with that chick ,” he shared, staring him down, as his gaze narrowed. “Interesting that you think that I am. Regardless, I protect the innocent.”

“Hell, I can see the signs.”

“ Wanting to sleep with a chick and sleeping with that chick are two different things,” Tristan pointed out.

Tony laughed. “Doesn’t matter,” he said, shaking his head. “You think you’ve got all the people I hired, but you’re wrong, and you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Oh, that’s nice to know,” Tristan noted, refusing to turn and look behind him to the office where Amarylis was working. “How many did you hire?”

“As many as I figured I needed and more,” Tony stated. “One of them should get the job done.” He turned to look at Lem and Stu in the nearby cell, still sitting there, listening in, and snarled again. “It’s obvious that these bozos couldn’t do the job.”

Lem stiffened, but he didn’t say anything, as he watched the conversation between Tristan and the man who had hired Lem and Stu.

“You do know that you will get your ass kicked before this is over,” Tony vowed.

“Don’t know and don’t believe it,” Tristan stated cheerfully. “You guys threaten people constantly, I suppose, but very few can make good on those promises,” he pointed out, with a laugh, “except me.”

And, with that, the MPs pushed Terry, aka Tony, into his new jail cell.

Tristan stopped them and called out, “What would it take for you to own up to being the asshole you are?”

“It would take a lot,” Tony declared, with a chuckle. “Why? What do you care?”

“The question is, why do you care? Why are you doing this?”

“Money,” he replied. “My reason is always the same, money.”

“When is it enough? Money, I mean.”

“I don’t have enough, so I can’t tell you that,” Tony stated, with a snort. “I’m not some do-gooder like you, who just has to sit here and justify my paycheck.”

“Me?” Tristan asked. “What do I have to do with all this?”

“You’re the one who’s hunting me. You’re the one who’s stopping me, but you don’t even know what the hell is going on or how powerful any of this is.”

“No, but it would sure be nice if somebody just told me.”

“Nobody will just tell you . You have to figure it out for yourself. You haven’t got all the answers, and, at this rate, you won’t either.” Tony laughed. “I may get the last laugh after all. Meanwhile, you better watch that girlfriend of yours.” And, with that, he sauntered into his new cell, the two MPs on either side of him.

Tristan felt the anger vibrating through him.

Jasper stepped up and murmured, “Don’t let him get to you.”

“Too late,” Tristan answered, his tone harsh.

“But that’s what Tony wants. Instead use that anger to get some answers, to take action in some way.”

“Not only is my anger what he wants, it’s what he’s got, and that means he’s still after her.” Tristan turned to reassure himself that she was here and safe. He left the cell area and entered the office area. His gaze suddenly widened. “Where the hell is she?” he asked, spinning around, looking for Amarylis.

He raced into the office where he had left her but found no sign of her. He stepped out, looked at the two men across from the office, and asked, “Did you see anything happening here?”

They both frowned at him and asked, “What?”

He turned to Jasper, who had followed him here. “Where did she go? What happened?”

Jasper squeezed his shoulder. “Take it easy now.”

“How can I take it easy?” he snapped. Tristan spun around, his fists at the ready, when Jasper gave him a hard shake.

Tristan took a moment, then shook his head. “She was right here,” Tristan said, “right here. So where the hell could she be?”