The Agent
With one final jiggle of the silver pin in my hand, the locks finally clicked on the other end.
I let out the breath I’d been holding as I gently pushed the door open.
Breaking and entering was undoubtedly easier when all you had to do was disable some alarms. Maneuvering locks was a skill in and of itself - one I had to master quickly.
Thomas Reddison was still old school when it came to his security measures. He didn’t arm his private investigation firm with high-tech alarms or cameras. Just a bunch of locks on every single door.
Mateo and Maria thought that would work better in my favor considering the deed I was here to do, but really all it did was add another bullet to my to-do list for this assignment.
I peered through the tiny crack of the door, using the moonlight to check for any unexpected movement.
The office had closed down a few hours ago, but Thomas often came back to his office in the dead of night, unable to put down whatever work he’d started.
It was a habit he probably picked up while he was still working at the agency.
Rarely could we resist the urge to leave unfinished work on our desks.
Only the air particles floating through the light caught my eye. I’d beat him here - just as I’d planned.
I slipped into the office, slapped the timed door jammer against the side and shut the door behind me.
The lock clicked again as I set it back into place.
Everything needed to be in the exact order he’d left them in.
I couldn’t risk even the slightest hint of suspicion.
Not if I wanted to catch him completely off guard.
I tiptoed over the file cabinet and pulled out the middle drawer. The abundance of files inside would’ve deterred a regular burglar. But I knew all the tricks. Lodged in the front, wedged between the file folders and the metal of the drawer, was a gun.
I plucked it out from its place before pushing the drawer back in.
The framed photos atop his desk caught my eye as I walked towards it. Most of them were of his wife and children, but some were from his time in the agency. Of his glory days.
Faded photos of him with medals and awards also came with faces that were no longer here. My chest tightened when I realized my father was one of them.
Just when I thought I couldn’t hate the man more, here he was: with a photo of his arms around the mentee he gave a death sentence to and the one he ordered to deliver it. I hoped he felt sick whenever he looked at it.
I settled into his desk chair and tapped at the keys on his keyboard. Maria had already accessed it remotely, giving me the freedom I needed to click around and find the evidence I needed to seal this deal.
Just as I’d set up the files and browser I needed, the sound of footsteps echoed from afar.
I leaned back in the seat and put my boots up on the desk. It was showtime.
The lock on the office door turned with a soft click. The silver doorknob twisted a second afterwards.
“Fucking imbeciles,” a familiar voice grumbled as a silhouette stepped through the door. “Can’t even follow a tail without being spotted.”
The door slammed shut, and keys clanked against the glass bowl sitting on the small table beside the door. Leather shuffled against cotton as he shrugged off his coat.
“Now, I’ve gotta figure out a new way to keep an eye on - holy shit!” His muttering abruptly stopped when he flicked on the lights and finally noticed he wasn’t alone.
“Hi, Mr. Tommy,” I said with a small wave.
The sight of me sent him reeling back against the door, his hand flying to his chest and his eyes widening. “Simone,” he breathed, the color flushing from his face with every syllable. He blinked a few times, trying to will away my image. “No…you’re…you’re not really here. You’re…”
“Dead?” I finished for him. “I am. Your other protege killed me - the same way he did my father.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. He turned on his heel and grabbed the doorknob. He tried to twist it, but it was too late. The door jam was already in place.
“Why the rush to get out? Aren’t you happy to see me?” I asked as I watched him struggle.
He whipped around, taking me in again. The panic in his eyes faded as he assessed the situation, rationalizing his next moves.
“I am,” he said. He faked a wide smile and stepped towards me.
“I’m relieved, actually. When I heard about your death, I was shaken to my core.
I couldn’t imagine something had happened to Xavier’s little girl.
I’d let him down once. I was so disappointed I’d done it again. ”
“Wow. You are a hell of a good liar.”
He continued towards the desk, his steps taking a slight turn towards the right where the file cabinet was.
“Simone, you know me. I don’t lie. Especially not to you.
” He leaned his back against the file cabinet, and his hand discreetly slipped around one of the handles.
The ordinary eye wouldn’t have caught him slowly pulling it open as he continued.
“Whatever’s going on - whatever you’re thinking right now - I’m sure it’s just one big understanding. ”
“Hm, I’ve heard that one before.” Sighing, I bought my feet off the desk and straightened up in the seat. “Tell me: what exactly am I missing? You weren’t laying in bed with the criminal my father just happened to be chasing?”
He laughed. “What? Who told you such an absurd story?”
“The criminal himself. Well, his documents, anyway. Lots of offshore accounts with transactions between other accounts that so happen trace back to not only you, but a few of your brass buddies too. It’s crazy what lengths people will go through for money.”
His wrist slipped back and forth behind the cabinet door. “Those transactions aren’t what you think.”
“Then, what are they? I thought the FBI paid pretty well. Unless you’ve got a gambling problem. Or the criminal has something you can’t risk getting out. Or was it a little bit of both?”
His jaw muscles jumped as he clenched it. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I raised a brow. “I don’t?” Keeping my gaze on him, I clicked some keys on his computer’s keyboard.
“So, I shouldn’t send your wife these photos of you at the poker table with some noticeably young, droopy-eyed, women draped over you?
I’m sure she’d love to know where her husband goes during those long work trips. ”
“Oh, you little bitch,” he snarled, his hand moving more rapidly in the drawer.
“Looking for this?” I asked, holding up the gun that was stored there when I first arrived. “Come on, Tommy, even my father taught me better than to walk into a confrontation unprepared.”
Blood rushed through his face, becoming redder than a tomato. The friendly facade had since disappeared, leaving me with the true devil he was hiding underneath. His livid eyes stared me down. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I want to know how your problems trickled down to the rest of the department. Marcos had you, and only you, under his thumb for a while. How did so many others get involved?”
“Regardless of what you think, the arrangement with Marcos came with perks. Money, women, properties, intel that boosted my status. Imagine being respected in the agency and the crime world. Others wanted in on that, and I’m not one to be stingy.
Especially not when it only opens doors for more benefits. ”
“Always comes back to greed, doesn’t it?” I tsked. “So predictable. I was hoping my father’s life was worth taking over something more interesting than that.”
“Look, I didn’t want to kill your father. He was one of my best. One of my favorites. But, all the things I loved about him were the same ones that would jeopardize not only my career and life, but so many others too. I…I couldn’t let that happen.”
“But you could let a man be murdered?” I scoffed. “Has anyone stopped kissing your ass long enough to tell you you’re kind of pathetic?”
“You know what’s pathetic? Carrying around a torch for someone no one gave a fuck about.
” He abandoned the file cabinet and stepped towards me.
“How long after his funeral was his desk occupied again? How long did it take for Logan to brush off the dirt from the fall he had to take? Hell, how long was it before your mother hopped on a new dick? Bought you a new daddy quick, didn’t she? ”
I didn’t even think as I rose from the chair and slapped him straight across the face with the gun.
His surprise at the attack, and the impact, sent him flying onto the floor.
He hissed as he put a hand to his cheek, split open from the hard metal.
A chuckle rumbled in his chest from the sight of the blood on his palm.
“My bad,” he said, looking up at me. “Even Xavier hated it when I told him he’d married a whore. ”
His words struck a nerve I didn’t even know I had. My mother and I may not have had the best relationship, but that didn’t mean I was about to sit here and let this asshole disrespect her.
I held up the gun and slammed my finger against the trigger. Over and over and over again.
Gunshots rang through the air, but I couldn’t hear them. I was too focused on Tommy’s eyes, widening from the shock and pain as I riddled his body with bullets. His blood splattered on my face and clothes, coating me in all his sins.
Eventually, the gun ran out of bullets and I was forced to stop.
The sight of his body, riddled with holes and seeping in blood, wasn’t satisfying enough for me. Not after the things he said about my mother.
I rubbed some of the blood off of my gloved hands as I made my way back to the computer. Without hesitation, I hit send on the email with the files that started this whole thing.