Out of Focus #SYTYCW15 Top10 Finalist! [COMPLETED]

33| Bait

Caught in a layover at Edmonton, Marshall paced away the endless stretch of minutes, restless for his connecting flight that had been delayed for the better part of an hour. Making the most of that wasted time, he decided to pick up the phone and start hammering heads, kicking off with Danni.

According to her, the information had been sent directly to Catherine, anonymously, and Gervais, that sanctimonious bastard, made the executive decision to run with it to CTV.

News is news, Marsh. I warned you this would happen.

And where Danni hadn't been the least bit sympathetic, Catherine was glacier cold.

"I'm not going to apologize for doing my job," she said. All cool indifference. "Eva is a goldmine. You dropped the ball and walked away. That makes her fair game, Marshall. Fair game. And now the promotion is as good as mine."

"Who's your source? Don't give me that anonymous bullshit."

"Now, now, darling. I never kiss and tell."

"This isn't funny, Catherine. You're fucking with a woman's life," he snapped, voice pinging off the walls of a quiet airport gate. "Kids! And for what? To get back at me because I didn't love you?"

"This is business. Don't flatter yourself," she quipped, but the snarling tone said he'd struck a bruised nerve.

"Catherine, I'm begging you. Stop this. You know you can."

"Sorry, darling. But the die is cast. Ta." She hung up on him and Marshall wanted to throw the stupid phone at the wall-almost did. God help him, when he landed in Toronto he was going to wring the bitch's neck in his bare god damn hands. He was going to-

Phone shrilling, he answered on a snarl. "Mouse. Just the weasel I've been trying to reach."

"Listen, son, it wasn't me," he said. "We go back, I'd never double deal on you. Never. So when I got your message, I dug around and you're gonna wanna hear what I found. The leak was an inside job, son."

As Mouse prattled off the sordid layers of filth he uncovered, Marshall stopped pacing.

"Someone handling Eva's case is behind this mess?"

"Most of the deets were black-lined, hard to make sense of. Only a badge was listed, but I sniffed through the database and got a hit. Jerry Harrows."

Marshall swore, shoved a hand through his hair. "He's an undercover operative working in Witness Protection."

Mouse whistled, long and low. "Damn, son."

"If he's the leak, then the fucking bastard is using her for bait." Because his legs weren't steady, Marshall slumped back against the wall, pressed a hand to his mouth.

"Bait for what?"

"I don't know." Cocking a wrist, he gauged the time. There should be a return flight heading back to Vancouver within the hour. Two more in the air, another stretch on the ferry, and with the time difference-if he was lucky he could make it back to Eva before nightfall.

Flagging down an airport shuttle, he dove in the back and barked directions at the irritated driver to take him to the ticketing counter.

"I'll call you when I land. Keep digging, Mouse. Find what we're missing."

#

"Okay girls. Be good for Mrs. Davies. Do as your told. Make me proud." Eva stooped to give each of them hugs and kisses, except for Hailey who only rolled her eyes and turned a cold shoulder. Still a long way off from talking to her, and that was only going to get a hell of a lot worse in a few days time.