Double Agent

Know Your Frenemy

The call connected after a few rings, and my mouth ran instantly dry at the familiar voice which answered.

"Nikki? Where the hell have you been?" Henry said hurriedly, sounding thoroughly distressed and concerned.

"It's been a little crazy here," I replied, spotting my bloodstained top from yesterday, laying on the top of the washing basket. "I've not had much time to check in."

"Are you okay? You sound off."

I flopped down on the bed, resenting the fact that my handler just happened to be my ex. The one person who could see through me, no matter how much I tried to mask my struggles. Deciding it would be counterproductive to lie. I settled on a half truth, using the events of yesterday to mask the real reason for my struggles.

"Yeah, I'm good. There was just some trouble here yesterday. I wasn't expecting it. Caught me off guard, but I'm alright."

"We heard a report from local PD about a shootout. But it didn't go anywhere, it seems someone swept it under the rug."

I couldn't pretend that I was surprised at that idea. The Calaway's didn't strike me as the type to leave their backs unprotected. They no doubt had many people in high places to help when needed. Then there was Jonas, who was sure to have his own share of them too. It was really a fifty fifty guess as to which got there first on the cover up.

"Well, that's the least of our issues right now. I found out who they're here for." I informed him.

"Known to us?"

"Oh, you could definitely say that, yes." I half chuckled, tiptoeing to the bedroom door to make sure that nobody was creeping up on me. "Jonas Hartel."

"Oh shit." Henry groaned, before muttering a string of curse words under his breath.

I could practically envision his face falling and his hand scraping his jaw as he always did when he was stressed.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too. His men were behind the attempt on our lives yesterday."

"We have to step up our timeline before this gets messier, I guess."

I made a non committal grunt of agreement, unable to fully find a way to agree. Henry wasn't aware of the fact that they had a reason for going after Hartel. Not that I knew what it was, nor would it change anything in his eyes. Both sides were criminals. They were all wanted, and there wasn't going to be any reason that would allow them to go free. But still, I found myself needing to know what it was.

"You still there?" Henry asked, recapturing my attention and making me realise that I'd just missed a mass chunk of what he was saying.

"Yeah. Sorry, thought someone was coming." I lied.

"Okay, I'll be quick." I heard the fluttering of paper, followed by a thud as what sounded like a file was tossed onto a desk. "We ran background on those names you left us. Eddie Mcallister, thirty years old, born in Surrey UK. He's the younger cousin to the Calaway brothers. Joined the firm under his Uncle's command when he turned eighteen and clearly remains a part of it."

I opened my mouth to tell him what Dash had told me. How they weren't working for his father. That they were on their own mission, and working solo. But before the words would come, I stopped myself, holding back a piece of key, helpful information, and allowing him to continue.

"Not much on his time with the firm. As with the others, there's connections to separate jobs and crimes that they are suspected of. But no evidence to back it up." More fluttering of pages followed the trailed off end to his explanation, before he chimed back in again. "Sage Healy, thirty-two born in Manchester UK, seems to have moved to London at seven with her mother. She has a string of misdemeanor crimes under her belt as a minor, mostly petty theft. We tracked down an arrest at sixteen, but there's nothing on her record to explain it."

"You're thinking another cover up?" I asked.

"Makes sense. We know that Duncan Calaway found her somehow. From there on, her record is pretty clear. Aside from reports of her affiliation with the firm, she's pretty much a ghost."

Being involved in such a life from teenage years was hard to think about, I wondered just what types of jobs they had pulled in that time. Did their intentions now make up for the acts that they'd already carried out?

"Daya turned out to be Dayanara Drake, thirty-one London born and raised. There were several entries from her childhood, her name came up in a series of reports involving her mother Kayla Drake, a prostitute. Seems she was taken into care at the age of seven. Ran away repeatedly as a teen, before disappearing suddenly at the age of seventeen."

Hearing just these few scraps of her history painted a sad picture of a life for the woman who I'd met. It was no wonder that she had such a tough and prickly exterior after going through such things. My heart went out to her as I imagined what it must have been like for her to choose the streets over a foster home.

"She's been off the radar since then, until now. But given she was still a minor at the time of her disappearance, it's hardly surprising. And under Duncan's employment, she would have been easy to keep as a ghost."

He paused once again and I let the information begin to sink in, mentally taking notes on the people that I was sharing a house with.

"As for Rae, we have a positive ID on her. Rae Meadows. She's a thirty-three year old Brit and confirmed member of the Calaway Firm. She's believed to be behind at least twenty-three murders all suspected to be under Duncan's orders."

"Twenty-three?" I gasped, "Why isn't she in custody?"

Henry let out a laugh on the other end.

"Because she's untouchable. No charges can stick because there's never any evidence that can be tied to her. She's also untraceable. A series of aliases, and she knows how to disappear. If she's communicating with the brothers, then it's likely that this is going to get much worse. She's bad news Nikki."

"You don't say." I bit back.

"Be careful. If she is involved, she knows her stuff. If you're caught, she won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head."

"Thanks for the pep talk, I feel much better." I added sarcastically. "I have to get going, I've been gone too long."

"Sure, just quickly though, your mother called, she's been trying to get hold of you."

"Shit." I cursed.

It was typical that we'd go for weeks without speaking, only for her to try to chase me when I wasn't able to talk to her.

"What did you tell her?"

"I said you were seconded to Quantico, and would be in touch when you could."

I was impressed with the lie. Grateful that he hadn't given her any other cause to be alarmed, or pissed off with me for taking risks in the job that she hated for me.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just stay safe and keep me updated."