Chapter 25 Harper
Chapter twenty-five
Harper
Roger immediately gets on the phone with Ethan and updates him on current events. He swipes the speaker function so that the four of us can be a part of the conversation.
“Simms only allowed us to listen in, hoping I would learn something new,” Roger says. “I didn’t, and I can only assume that I am missing something vitally important. Ethan, I’ve sent you the recording. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it. We’re all exhausted, and it’s been a very trying day.”
“I know it has,” Ethan replies. “We’re getting close.
All we need is one break to crack this thing wide open.
Rosie went through the file on Finnegan’s computer and found a schedule of ship departures from Cuba over the past few years.
They occurred once a week like clockwork until a month ago, when they nearly tripled.
The last departure on the schedule coincides with the recent delivery of uranium. ”
I’m too tired to think straight. “What are you trying to say, Ethan? Spell it out for us because we’re all ready to pass out from exhaustion. At least I know I am.” Jessie and Elijah nod in agreement, even though Ethan can’t see them. Roger doesn’t have to. It’s written all over his face.
Roger grunts. “It means that there wasn’t a delivery scheduled for tonight, and it was all a set-up. Finnegan wouldn’t have sent his men there, knowing that. That’s why Eloise accessed the file. She was confirming the shipment schedule, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, Jerry checked all the keystrokes and the only subfile that Eloise accessed was the shipping schedule,” Ethan replies. “Hey, I have an incoming call from Whitman. Let me call you back.”
Ethan disconnects, and I take a moment to stretch out the kinks. “I’m trying to figure out if this is a good development or not. Wouldn’t it confirm that my parents and The Demon Kings aren’t working together?”
Roger and Elijah both grimace, but Jessie is the one who verbalizes what they’re all thinking.
“Maybe. We know that Zurkowski, Henrickson, Ackerman, and Walsh are all working closely with your parents, your father in particular. We know that they had eyes and ears on the boat and a listening device planted inside Roger’s luggage.
They had all the same information as we did, which means they know someone is pulling Thomas’ strings. Maybe it’s your father.”
Elijah speaks up. “Whoever called Thomas told him that the uranium theft was planned and to expect it to happen again. We know that it’s your father who coordinated the confiscation of uranium.
What if he told Thomas the false information and sent The Demon Kings to attack the FBI? Simms was right. It was a trap.”
“Then why would The Demon Kings have attacked Zurkowski and Ackerman? And Roger, by default?” I ask, my voice rising in irritation. I’m not frustrated at the team but with the situation. I tell them as much.
“The Demon Kings are thugs for hire. I’m not even sure they know who they are working for. As long as the money ends up in their bank account, they don’t care,” Roger says.
“Then they’re playing both sides,” I say. “If that’s the case, we need to take them out of the equation.”
Roger’s laptop chimes with an incoming video call from Ethan, and the feed is mirrored on the wall-mounted television screen.
Ethan’s face is red with fury as he says, “I just got off the phone with Whitman. We’re officially off this case.
If we pursue our investigation, he will come after Shining Knight and shut us down. ”
“No way!” Jessie yells. “Why would he do that?”
Ethan puts a fist to his mouth and puffs up his cheek.
He takes a calming breath before he says, “The intel we provided Simms and Monroe nearly got them killed. On top of that, the boat crew from the resort got away, and five of The Demon Kings are dead and the other half escaped. I won’t repeat the words that Whitman used when he chewed me out, but tonight’s operation was a disaster. ”
“Not every mission goes according to plan,” I say. “Whitman should know this with his many years of experience.”
Roger inclines his head. “What aren’t you telling us, Ethan? What’s the real reason behind Whitman’s decision?”
Ethan looks away for a moment, then directly at the camera. “Whitman believes that we are working with Finnegan; more specifically, that you and Harper are working with Finnegan.”
Jessie scoffs. “That’s preposterous! Roger would never compromise his integrity! Neither would Harper!”
I begin choking. “Up until a week ago, you all would have said the same thing about my dad.”
Roger’s face and shoulders fall as he admits, “Look at it from Whitman’s perspective.
Zurkowski asked me to meet alone in the middle of nowhere and didn’t personally attack me.
Yeah, I barely survived that encounter, but Zurkowski and Ackerman helped Elijah and Jessie rescue me.
I miraculously found the schematics for a nuclear bomb under the floorboard in the cabana.
Turning it over could be viewed as either a willingness to share information or a way to make me appear innocent.
Factor in the last-minute change in plans tonight and my request that Simms and Monroe take lead on the operation, I can’t fault Whitman for believing I’m involved. I would, too, if I were in his shoes.”
Ethan’s body tenses up as he prepares to deliver another blow.
“Harper, two agents will be by to pick you up first thing in the morning. You’re required to hand over your badge and gun upon their arrival.
Whitman wants you in for questioning and will be detaining you until this is all sorted out.
As of right now, you are currently suspended until your name can be cleared. ”
“That gives us time to get out of here,” I reply.
“I wish it were that simple,” Ethan says. “If you run, it will only make you look guilty and make matters worse.”
Roger growls loudly. “I’m not letting them take my wife!
I’ll take Harper somewhere safe until this blows over.
I know you, Ethan. You aren’t going to walk away from this.
I understand where Whitman is coming from, but he needs our help whether he realizes it or not.
Let’s figure this out and end this for him. Then, all of us can walk away winners.”
I steel myself for what I’m about to do, knowing it’s the right thing in the end.
It isn’t going to make Roger happy. I cup Roger’s tightened jaw and place a kiss on his lips.
“I need to go with the agents when they arrive in the morning, Roger. I’m not going to let Ethan, Ben, and the rest of you throw away what you’ve built to protect my career.
There’s zero proof that I’m involved other than trying to find out the truth.
I’ll just have to trust that God has a reason for pulling me from this investigation. ”
Roger pulls me into an embrace and rests his chin on top of my head. He asks Ethan one last question. “Are you really going to let this go so easily, Ethan?”
I turn my head so that my cheek is flush with Roger’s chest, waiting for Ethan’s answer. Ethan smirks and his eyes twinkle with an impish glint. “Do you trust me, Roger?”
“With my life,” Roger responds.
“Good. Once the agents pick up Harper, I want you, Jessie, and Elijah to drive up to Marathon and meet up with Carter and Jaxon. They need your help finding Eloise since Patrick lost her after she entered a gym. We’re running out of leads, and she’s our best bet.”
Roger’s forehead wrinkles as his eyebrows raise. “Why weren’t we updated?”
Jessie clears her throat, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “We were, but it was while you were resting. Since there was nothing we could do about it, it fell to the bottom of my priority list. Simms and Monroe were at the top of it, botched operation and all.”
Roger lets it go. “We’ll be there, Ethan.”
Jessie and Elijah use the pull-out mattress hidden inside the sofa, while Roger and I are forced to sleep in the same bed. With danger lurking around every corner, we all agree that safety in numbers is the key to a good night’s sleep.
I cuddle up in the crook of Roger’s arm as he holds me, but there isn’t any kissing or pillow talk this time around. However, there is the sound of Roger snoring as soon as his head hits the pillow. Despite my exhaustion, I don’t fall asleep as quickly.
I hold out my left hand and admire the fake gemstone adorning my finger.
It’s not the stone itself but what it represents that has me smiling.
When Roger came to my defense, he didn’t refer to me as Harper or Agent Finnegan.
He called me his wife! His wife! I can hardly believe it, and I wonder if he even realized that he’d said it.
I spend the next few minutes contemplating whether or not I should broach the subject of staying married when this is all over, but my eyes drift shut, and I’m off to the land of Nod before I can come up with an answer.
I’m woken up by soft lips against my forehead. “Time to wake up, Angel,” Roger says.
“I don’t wanna go to school,” I groan, but eventually flip the covers off my body and sit up. I wipe away the grogginess and wish I could do the same to the puffy bags underneath my eyes.
Roger pulls me to my feet and wraps his arms around me. “I don’t want you to go either. Let’s stay here and play hooky.”
“As tempting as that is, duty calls. It’s time to do some adulting,” I tease.
His face becomes tight, and his smile falters. “I really don’t want to let you go, Angel.”
I raise up on my tip toes and place my lips next to his ear. “Then don’t.”
Roger’s mouth finds mine, and he gives me one last kiss. Instead of feeling full of promise, it feels more like a goodbye.
There’s a hesitant knock on the bedroom door. Elijah says, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Harper’s ride is coming up the walkway.”
“Thank you for letting us know,” I choke out. It pains me to walk away from Roger, especially with the longing I see in the depths of his eyes.
He reaches out to stop me. “You don’t have to do this, Angel. You can give up your gun and badge, but you don’t have to go with them. They don’t have any evidence against you or any reason to detain you.”
I give him a feeble smile. “It’s just a few questions. I’ll be in and out in a jiffy. Trust that God has a plan, and this is all part of it.” Of course, “jiffy” in the FBI means 48-72 hours.
He lets go of me and steps back. “I trust Him in all things, but He also gives us free will. You have a choice here. I just want you to be sure it’s the right one.”
“It is. Deep down in my bones, I feel that I need to go; that it’s the right thing to do.” As I head to the bathroom to freshen up, I turn around and say, “It’s not like I’m going away for forever.”
Right before I close the door, I hear him mutter, “But that’s what I’m afraid of.”