The Ghost

chapter 8

The drive to the office was short and nathan wanted to get on the case as soon as possible. The more time he wastes the dangerous the killer gets. He didn't have time to play with howard and his little games.

He walked towards Balden's office and before he could enter he was stopped by kate who had noticed Balden standing in front of the conference room.

Relief washed over Balden's face when he saw Nathan and kate walk over to him. He was a good investigator and never was a good fan of all the political crap that goes around the system. He always knew Nathan could handle anything he was tough as it come.

" i am glad you came suddenly . Howard and his pair of juniors were making a mess about the case. They said they had clues on the killer. Something about a hit on the victim's or something like that. " balden clearly was anxious and Nathan placed a hand on his shoulder making him relaxed.

" leave him to me balden. I will take care of it. He just want to earn the praise of the media. We know what capability he has in real investigating. " nathan knew that balden would calm down eventually. But he had more concerning things.

Nathan looked at kate and nodded indicated that it was time to face the circus. He very well knew he could count on kate to have his back wherever he went.

When he entered the conference room he could see howard sitting in the centre talking to two young agents. One was a woman and the other was a male agent. Seemed like partners in how they interacted with each other.

Howard noticed nathan coming in and stood up with a smile. The smile he always used to mask his inner self. The wolf he is craving praise. Nathan knew very well not to trust his smile.

" long time no see Nathan. Heard you were doing very well and haaa kate too , it is very nice to see you as well. Your father and me had a meeting yesterday"
Howard was charming when he spoke to kate. He knew kate was the heir to a multi million corporation and having good relations were a key to his success.

Kate knew howard meeting her father was not a good thing. Her father and him was very similar.

" what does he want from me now. I am not quitting the system. I enjoy my work and that's final. " kate was confident that would stop her father from disturbing her about quitting the job.

" Not at all. He understands that very well. But he thinks that you should rise up on your ranks so that you are not a lowly agent anymore. You know you should consider your family status" howard said it with a sweet smile but nathan could feel the stab he intended at him .

Nathan gripped his hand hard on his chair resisting himself from beating up the guy. A hand squeezed his hand on the armrest. He looked down and saw that it was kate . He relaxed with her touch .that was something only she could do.

Kate smiled at howard and sat down in her chair.

" then how should i do that . I am already on an interesting case. I thought solving cases would place you under promotion list. " kate was the daughter of a business magnet and she knew how to ride the waves.

Howards mentioned the two young agents to come to him . He sat down in front of nathan . The two agents looked at nathan. He could see that the agents were green . May be straight out of the academy. Definitely top ranked. The arrogance and smirk on their faces completely gave it away.

" I want kate to head up the investigation of the recent hyped case assisted by these two new agents. They are top ranked in their class and better than the previous first rank holders. They even have a theory on the victims and the connection. "

Howard spoke to kate with a hint of superiority. He never looked at nathan and was completely ignoring him . He jabbed him with his words about the ranked being the best because the previous best ranked agent in the academy was Nathan .

But something amused his mind. The newbies were able to find a link. May be this may help him to find the killer. May be he was not needed on the case after all. It is all about the next generation and their skills.

Kate stood up and looked at howard straight in the eye and shook her head.

" not happening , Nate is the lead in the case and he is the best investigator i know . I could head the investigation but we will never be able to find this one without him."
She was not letting howard take nathan's credit just like he did the last time.

" No offence special agent Everleen but he was not able to find any evidences or clues on the case. May be he is becoming old and outdated. In some cases we should think outside the box to find the killer."
The female agent named Angela was the one who spoke up .

Nathan was now clearly amused , the newbie was putting up arguments then they should have something important they had found out about the case.

Nathan stood up and looked at them with a smile playing on his lips. He knew that they were becoming nervous when he approached them. Even though they were top ranked agents in the academy . Nathan was an experienced special agent.

" what is your name" nathan asked  the male agent who looked like he was bored by the case. Like he already solved it.

" agent warren harris" he smirked at nathan to which nathan gave a chuckle. All of this was amusing for him.

" so what do you think about the case. What have you found out"
nathan wanted to know whether they were good as they said. But howard interrupted the conversation.

" excuse me special agent drake. You are not part of the team so the case should not be discussed with you around. " He was difinitely trying to piss him of.

Nathan wanted to just punch him across the face. But he knew doing something like that would only delay the case. He needed to do something that would silence howard.

" i will just give them a chance to explain their theory. If i get convinced that they can handle the case i will step down as the lead. " nathan was giving them a chance that was all he could do. There was no time to play and he knew the killer would not wait.

Howard was adamant on excluding nathan from the case .

" No you should step down. I was not requesting it was an order from your superior" howard stood up from his leather chair. The tension in the room was increasing . Nathan stood up from his chair and stood in front of Howard. It was like a battle of wits both of them stared at each neither backing down.

" you will have to fire me Howard. You know very well firing me will give you a lot of trouble. You will be asked a lot of questions by the director. Do you want that now" Nathan knew that his track record was something worthy of keeping on the line . Something that even Howard cannot deny.

Howard sighed and sat down in his chair. He knew nathan was correct and firing him would cause him a lot of problems which he was not ready to face right now.

Howard was silent for some time and then he spoke up.

" Fine I will give you a chance to hear them out" he said and mentioned the two agents to explain their theory on the killer.