Opaque

34 | Diversions

"Diversion weakens thy mind." ― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Ah! Agent A, come in," Agent Hook said.

I walked inside his office, my head swirling, my ears ringing. I watched the smile on his face enlarge.

"Sir, I'm here to–"

He raised his hand. "No need, Agent A, no need."

"But, sir, I need to–"

He shook his head. "Agent A, I know what you want to say and honestly, there is no need. I know you're innocent."

"You do?"

He nodded. "Of course. I know you aren't a cold-blooded killer. You only kill, excuse me, end crime."

I nodded, the room spinning. Everything was confusing, confusing was everything.

Get a hold of yourself, I repeated in my mind. I couldn't lose my concentration and willpower now. Not when everything and anything seemed to be going wrong.

"Sir, I'm glad that you believe in my innocence, but I still like to apologize for going on personal missions when I should be focused on the Irwin High case."

"Ah, yes, for that you aren't completely off the hook. It was irresponsible of you to go undercover and attack Scarface, but what's done is done. There's no point of remembering the past when we can't change anything," he said, his eyes glancing at me every so often.

"That's true and I am sorry for actions, but now that Scarface has been murdered, I can't help but feel that he is connected to the Irwin High case," I said, shifting my weight from one leg to another.

"Why do you feel that way," he asked, leaning back into his chair, twirling a pencil in his hand.

I shrugged. "Gut-feeling, I guess."

He nodded. "Well, we don't have any evidence yet to support your theory. Now, that doesn't mean I don't have faith in you, because I do. A lot. But, for now, I think you should make Liz's safety and the training sessions your priority. Leave Blaze and Scarface to me."

"I agree, sir, that Liz and Irwin High should be my top priority, but I feel like there is something about Blaze that is off."

He placed the pencil on the desk and folded his hands on the desk.

"Look, Agent A, I have great hopes for you. You know that I personally vouched for you when Agent Matthew was being skeptical about your abilities. Call me biased, but I know you for a long time now. Heck, I've known you since you were a kid. So don't get me wrong when I say that you should forget about Blaze."

"But, sir–"

"No, buts," he gave me a pointed look, "Forget about Blaze and focus on Liz. I'd hate to see your three going to waste, Agent A. I know you've put your blood and soul into cracking this case, but as long as Agent Matthew feels his daughter is unsafe, you need to keep an eye on her."

I sighed. "For how long? How long am I going to play babysitter?"

"Until you figure out who is trying to harm her."

I clenched my fist. "But that could be anyone. I don't have a small list of potential mastermind criminals, sir. The list is huge. Agent Matthew is an important government official. It's only natural that someone would try to hurt him by inflicting harm upon his daughter."

"The list is huge, I know that, but not all of people on the list know that Liz is his daughter. Only a select few individuals, you and me included, are privy to that information. So, I suggest you figure out who knows about Liz's connection to Agent Matthew."