12. Derek
Derek
Dean and I returned to the office, exhausted from the long morning spent exploring the headrace tunnels. I sat behind my desk, and he leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at the street, deep in thought.
We now knew where Anathema’s hideout was located but still had no way in.
They had been operating underneath the city all this time, possibly longer; just because Conrad recently found out about their establishment didn’t mean they hadn’t been lurking in the shadows of Minneapolis for years.
The fact that the Minneapolis PD never investigated further into the calls regarding the flour mills and suspicious sightings begged the question of whether they were in on it themselves, a cover-up to protect them .
I glanced down at my phone, which I had set on the desk, and checked the time. This entire day had blown by, and we had been silently sitting here in my office for the past hour. The two of us, deep in concentration, contemplating our next available move.
With a deep sigh, I broke the silence that had settled between us.
“We need a third party, Dean,” I mumbled, chewing my lower lip.
“There is no way we are going to be able to progress any further in this case without one,” I added, tapping the corner of my phone on the desk.
I didn’t want to add another variable to our work unless it was absolutely necessary, and I guess that time had come.
"It would need to be someone on the inside willing to risk everything for a way out of Anathema. "
Better yet, if we could find out who was running their organization, this would be all over as fast as it began.
Dean shifted his gaze from the sunset to me, pulling out his phone with a light chuckle.
“Lucky for you, I found us just that.” He grinned slyly. “Took a while to find him, but while we were exploring, I got a name and an address.”
“And you waited until now to tell me? How long have we been sitting here, Dean?” My voice was filled with annoyance.
“Calm down, Derek. I wanted to make sure the information on him was accurate. The apartment was listed under a different name.” Dean frowned, unlocking his phone and going through his messages. “Besides, what good would it have done if we cornered the wrong guy?” He gave me an expecting glance .
“Anything would’ve been better than sitting here and staring at the fucking wall all day,” I growled, falling back in my chair and rubbing my forehead.
“You could have stared out of the window like me,” He added, raising an amused brow as he continued to search through his phone. Smart-ass.
I had to give him credit for finding the person we needed to access Anathema and their hideout.
That was one of his better assets as an agent.
His attention to detail was unparalleled in our division.
I’m sure after he got the initial information, he had one of the other agents do the vetting for him while we were gone, passing it off as a deep-dive background check.
Something that wouldn't raise any flags as to what we were actually doing.
I still wish he had told me earlier instead of letting me sit here and grow increasingly frustrated with this case and the dead end that stood in our way.
If I had known that another agent was vetting the information he acquired, I would have been way more relaxed and patient while we waited for the confirmation.
Not to mention, being left in the dark that he had found that kind of lead to begin with was another reason why he pissed me off. If he wanted me to work with him, I needed to know what he was doing and everything he knew.
“Are you going to tell me who this mystery lead is or make me sit here silently for another hour?” I chastised, growing more impatient.
This was the last place I wanted to be right now. The first was with my viper, knowing she would most likely slam the door in my face if I showed up at her apartment right now. Almost an entire day has passed. I’ve missed my opportunity with her, and it fucking kills me.
“Here. Take a look and tell me if you know who he is.” Dean handed me his phone, and my eyes widened when I read the address.
It was the same apartment building that Alexis had been visiting more and more frequently, and the name… Eli fucking Wilder.
Goddamnit.
As we pulled up to the apartment building, my insides began to twist into a knot, bile burning the back of my throat.
I knew Alexis had been here, but I didn't know who she was visiting or staying with, and I hoped to god that this was just a coincidence and she wasn’t, in fact, fucking around with Eli Wilder.
Dean and I approached his unit and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened, and just as quickly slammed shut in our faces, a loud curse came from the other side. I laughed with a smug smirk and banged harder with my fist.
I hated this guy, but he sure as fuck was fun to intimidate and mess with.
“Get the fuck out here, Eli. We need to talk.” I shouted through the door .
We’ve arrested Eli several times in the past year, but never at his actual apartment.
He was always getting caught doing some sort of illegal shit, never learning his lesson—a frequent flier of the CIA, if you will.
He was always the accomplice but never the primary offender, which was why he’s not behind bars—yet.
It didn’t surprise me in the least to discover that he would be our link and information resource for Anathema. The question was, how involved was he with them? And could he be trusted to give us all the information we required? He had no reason to, after all.
“You’re going to need a warrant this time, Derek,” Eli yelled.
I huffed another laugh and licked my lips. I’d break down this door if I had to to get what we came here for, but Dean stepped up and pushed me aside, knowing what I had intended to do next. Fun sucker.
“Eli. We’re just here to talk. You’re not under arrest. We have questions regarding something that you might have valuable information on.” He spoke calmly. Dean, the voice of reason. Unlike me, I intimidate men to the point of pissing themselves if I can.
“I’ll open the door if you promise to keep your mutt on a fucking leash,” Eli growled, and I continued to laugh, leaning my shoulder on the wall beside Dean and crossing my arms over my chest. This was more fun than I initially expected it to be.
Getting Eli all riled up for no fucking reason whatsoever.
Most of my interactions with Eli have always been unpleasant—for him.
I’ve always played the ‘bad cop’ when he was brought in for questioning, so he knows just how ruthless I could be.
Not that I’ve broken any of his bones yet, but that option was never off the table—especially if I find out Alexis has been inside this apartment unit with him .
The thought alone caused me to fist my hands tightly, knuckles turning white.
“You have my word, Eli. Derek will keep his hands to himself.” Dean glared daggers at me as he shouted back through the door.
I returned a smug smile and nodded in agreement. I’ll keep to myself as long as he cooperates and doesn’t make this a bigger headache than it already was.
There was silence for a few minutes as we stood outside his door, waiting for him to open it.
Minutes passed, and I heard the deadbolt click.
The door opened, and Dean and I stepped inside.
I slid my hands into my pockets as I entered, the only way I could show that I would keep my hands to myself during this visit.
My eyes wandered around his small studio apartment, taking in every tiny detail and hoping to find some sign that Alexis had been here—or not, the latter being the better outcome for the both of us.
Satisfied that nothing seemed to jump out at me, I turned to face Eli and grinned. Just because I couldn’t touch him didn’t mean I wouldn’t intimidate his ass from a distance. Eli cleared his throat out of nervousness before his eyes moved from mine to Dean’s.
“You want to tell me exactly what it is you want with me then?” He asked, running a hand through his hair and crossing his arms over his chest. He was dressed lazily, wearing a worn gray T-shirt and sweatpants. There was no way Alexis could be interested in someone who looked like him. Right ?
“We’ll just cut straight to the point. What’s your involvement with Anathema?” Dean asked, placing his hands on his hips.
He was determined to get the answers we came for, and I knew he would refuse to leave without them. Dean always did his research before diving headfirst into anything, so he knew exactly what information Eli could provide us and could tell if he was lying or not.
“Anathema? Never heard of it.” Eli tilted his head and shrugged nonchalantly as if he had been asked that same question multiple times today.
I pressed my lips into a hard line as my eyes narrowed on him. If he were going to make this difficult, I would not hold up my end of the bargain by keeping my hands to myself. My patience was already wearing thin as it was.
“I’ve done my research, Eli. You can’t lie to us. I already know you are associated with them, but what I don’t know is the extent of it.” Dean stated, his voice stern and authoritative. It wasn’t often that I heard him speak this way—to anyone. He must be in a take-no-shit mood today.
“Look, you know as well as I do that if I open my mouth to the CIA, I am nothing more than a dead man to them, an ask-questions-later , bullet-to-the-head liability,” Eli responded defensively. He wouldn’t talk, knowing that his life was on the line.
No one in their right mind would willingly betray Anathema without a reasonable price .
“You’re a dead man to us if you don’t talk,” I added, stepping up beside Dean and resting my hand on my gun. I wasn’t planning on using it, but the threat was all the same to him.
Eli took a long stride back, his palms held up in submission.
“I don’t want any trouble with you, Derek. But I can’t tell you what you want to hear. You and I both know what Anathema is capable of to those they deem problematic .” He looked around the room as if it were bugged, and they were listening in on our conversation right this second.
Eli swallowed and blew out an uneasy breath. “If I’m going to risk my life for the CIA, I need insurance that I’m going to be protected from them. That’s the only way you’ll get me to talk, " he admitted.
I scoffed, scratching the side of my jaw.
We needed him to help us, but I don’t know if we could make him a promise like that.
We could certainly try, but it would require keeping him closer to us moving forward.
An offer for a deal was better than nothing at all, especially one that we could easily make with him.
Glancing over at Dean, I saw he was thinking the same thing I was. We were on the same page, so I gave him a nod as I sucked on my teeth.
We would figure something out when it was just the two of us, but right now, we needed to know what he knew and if he would be an asset to our assignment or not. There was no point in protecting someone who wasn’t useful to us.
I held out my hand to Eli, and he flinched. I bit back the laugh at how scared he was of me. As long as he stayed out of my way, I had no intention of hurting him. I may hate that he was the answer to our dead-end issue, but I am not about to beat the shit out of him for no reason.
“You have a deal. We will do what we can to protect you from Anathema as long as you give and tell us everything we want to know. No lies, no games.”
Eli grasped my hand to shake it, and I tightened my hold on his, jerking his body forward, closer to me.
“Lie to us, even once, and you’ll have more to fear than them ,” I added with a hiss of malice. Eli swallowed and nodded.
“I’ll tell you everything and anything you want to hear… Where do we start?” he asked, looking between Dean and myself.
This entire interaction went better than I had anticipated. Now, we just needed to see what kind of valuable information Eli had to offer us.
“Why don’t you take a seat? We’ll be here a while.” I grinned and gestured for him to sit at his desk.
The three of us would be well acquainted by the end of this day, and Dean and I would be one step closer to getting our hands on the primary target of our assignment.
The Anathema leader.