MISSING LINK》t. briggs & v. stirling

Chapter 《06》

"What is she doing here?"

Agent Sterling's words were clipped, harsh. The venom in her voice cut through Felicity like a knife to the chest. Maybe it was the fact that she'd addressed the words to the other teens in the room rather than Felicity herself that made them hurt so much. Or maybe it was just the way in which she'd said them that hurt—as if Felicity's very presence was the worst possible thing she could've walked in on. Felicity thought back to the disappointment that had appeared on her mom's face when she'd realized that Felicity was Abigail Jones. The way she had been so ready to push Felicity aside and just get her statement from the police.

Clearly she was not wanted—shocker.

Her mom turned to Judd—who had been sitting at the desk in the other room, working on a crossword and for the most part leaving the four teens alone—for an explanation. But instead of responding, Judd simply raised an eyebrow at her. "She's right there you know," he said, his voice stern, but not unkind, "why don't you ask her?"

Agent Serling's jaw clenched as she turned to face Felicity who shrunk under her gaze. "Well?" She asked.

"Personally," Lia cut in, "I think the real question anyone should be asking is why we're here, not her." She rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the word. "I mean, she lives here. We dropped a different case to work this one." She turned to Briggs and Sterling, "Tell me, were either of you ever planning on mentioning that the reason we're here is because this case is at your kid's school?" Lia asked flippantly, "Or was that bit rather difficult since—you know—neither of you ever bothered to mention that you even have a kid?"

Briggs and Sterling stared at the girl, both of their jaws gaping. Neither one seemed to be able to find their voice to answer her accusations.

"That's not how it works, Lia." Judd cut in, saving them before they could respond. "Ronnie and Briggs didn't know she was here." He looked away sadly, a heaviness filling his voice, "none of us did."

Felicity looked down, letting her eyes trail the carpet. She wasn't sure she would ever get used to the soft tone Judd used to talk to her and about her. It was so starkly different from the frustrated and angry tone that her mother was using with her that it almost didn't feel real. She snuck a glance at her mom just in time to see that she was already staring at her, waiting expectantly for an explanation.

One Felicity wasn't sure she could give.

Explaining why she was here meant explaining that she had sent the email—which was a direct breach of her WITSEC contract and would likely cause her parents to lose their crap. Either that, or it meant explaining that she had tampered with a crime scene, which was, you know, illegal, all because she thought that Jamie was murdered—something she couldn't prove because she'd never been able to ID the poison—and also would likely cause her parents to go berserk.

All in all, not a lot of great options.

Felicity looked back down.

Agent Sterling found a different target. She turned to Sloane and Lia, "I assume the security footage was a dead end?" She asked instead, her patience clearly wearing thin.

Felicity's heart hammered in her chest. She looked up, her eyes going to the two girls across from her, the panic clear on her face. Sloane reciprocated the look, her wide-eyed gaze going to Lia unsure what to say, and certain that Agent Sterling would see through anything she did say.

But Lia, suave as ever, didn't reciprocate the look, instead she simply waved her hand dismissively, "Our killer was not on the footage, no."

Agent Sterling stared at her, her eyes narrowing.