Inner Workings

Inner Workings - Part 41

Cetz sat alone at his desk, waiting for word from Watch One and his team while he went back through his own records of Justin Cowl. The dissolving of Justin and Louis' partnership had been fiercely mutual, if the photos of the dented walls were any indicator. At the time Cetz had approved the split, sending Watch One a recommendation for Cowl's transfer without question. But now he wondered what kind of festering grudge Cowl had against Louis.

His headset beeped. A call patched through from Reese.

"What's up?" "What's wrong?" would be a more accurate question.

"Pick up Will's SkySprecht," said Reese. "Louis' abductors are calling from his phone."

Could be good, thought Cetz. Or very, very bad.

Cetz tapped the app on his tablet and connected his headset. He checked the signal on Will's phone. The call came from Louis' cell, the spotty signal enough to track. He put in a last call to Grant before switching to SkySprecht frequency only.

"Grant, check the GPS on Agent Louis' cell and get me a location."

***

If it had been a landline, Will would be twining and twisting the cord in his fingers. Instead he stood huddled against the wall, away from Beni and Devi's family. Reese stood next to him and nodded when Cetz hooked up to the SkySprecht. He acted as a shield, keeping Will from the crowd milling about, and away from the worrisome Devis. Will kept his eyes on Reese, needing something to ground himself.

"What can I do for you?" said Will, keeping his voice even, light. He wanted to take the gruff voice on the other end and punch it. Reese leaned in close to hear the exchange, still listening with Cetz on his own cell, but keeping it away from Will's.

"An exchange," said the voice. The connection was gritty, peppered with sparks and pops. "Look, we don't give a damn about the Indian doc, we don't give a damn about the blond guy. We just want you."

Will felt a plummeting in his spine and Reese grasped his shoulder. What if Sandra Pearl's ire had transferred from Massaru to himself? What could she want from him? Would he exchange his own life for Louis? After the week they had?

Crap. Yes I would.

"Why me?"

"You put two of my friends on heavy pain meds."

"I was defending myself." He remembered the hard punch to his stomach. And the people with me.

Cetz's voice came through the SkySprecht in the other ear. "Stay calm. Let them feel in control. Whatever they try to throw at you we can overcome."

Will bit back his reply to Cetz. He leaned into Reese's hand and continued the conversation with the phone. "You probably would have done the same."

"Not as bad as what you did to them," the voice growled.

Will wondered how much damage he had done to the two flannelled men. He didn't think he had hit them that hard. The squeeze to the crotch he could understand. "You said you wanted an exchange."

"You come to us, alone, and we're square."

There had to be more to it. Sandra wanted Massaru hurt, dead. "Is this what Sandra Pearl wants?"

"Fuck that bitch. She's not a part of this."

Will and Reese's eyebrows shot up.

"That's a twist," mouthed Reese. A division in the ranks? Maybe they did have hope.